Neanderthal

Lead a prehistoric tribe through the Ice Age: hunt mammoths, teach your children to talk and outlast other species.

Designer: Phil Eklund
Published by: Sierra Madre Games
Editions by: Banana Games, Fox in the Box, Ion Game Design, 500 Nuances de Geek

Neanderthal drops you into Ice Age Europe around 43,000 BC, at the dawn of modern humans. You lead one of three species: Archaic, Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon. Your males hunt megafauna and try not to become lunch. Your women teach children vocabulary, which feeds a more flexible mind and a stronger tribal culture in the next generation. Elders specialize in fire, war, big game, inventions or animal domestication. You also pick a mating strategy: promiscuous, harems or pair bonding. Which choices score depends on your plan. A heavy, dry-humored simulation with worker placement, negotiation and dice, and it connects to the companion game Greenland so the story can flow on.

Three human species with different strengthsHunting, vocabulary, elders and mating strategiesContinues into the companion game Greenland

Who it's for

You like heavier simulations with an unusual theme, and you want a prehistoric strategy game that works with one to three people.

Not for you if…

You dislike long, rules-heavy sessions or want a light and breezy theme. This is a serious puzzle, not a family evening.

Vibe's take

Heavy, quirky and a little grim. You juggle many small decisions about who hunts, who teaches and who risks being eaten, and the evolution theme makes every choice feel oddly weighty.