Disclaimer: The Fox Experiment was provided for free by Pandasaurus Games, although the writing and opinions of this article are my own.
Despite The Fox Experiment being a light and fluffy game of matchmaking mummy and daddy foxes, it challenged me. Sending me on a journey of self-reflection about the ethics of animal experimentation.
Based on a 1958 experiment that continues today, scientists attempted to recreate the domestication of wolves into dogs by breeding foxes for their friendliness. The results of this experimentation are beyond fascinating. They found that both psychological traits, such as tail wagging and barking, and physical traits, like spots and floppy ears, emerged within only a few generations of foxes.
It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of these results, that you miss thinking about the suffering the foxes endured. Now, although The Fox Experiment focuses heavily on the success of the science, it doesn't dispense completely with this darker undertone. Making it one of the more interesting board games I've played.
Putting aside the theme, The Fox Experiment is a wonderful mid-weight board game, that's beautifully presented. The art is gorgeous to look at and evocative of the science taking place. While the pastel colour scheme and fox meeples work overtime to remind you to have fun while playing.
As for gameplay, The Fox Experiment feels like you're on a train with each phase a distinct new station filled with opportunities for thought. The first of which is an intense drafting phase, before moving on to rolling dice to breed foxes and gain trait tokens. Finally, you'll spend earnt trait tokens to purchase upgrades for the next round.
Throughout this train ride, one big point-scoring opportunity is completing your study card. Given to you at the start of the game, it requires you to birth a fox with specific traits. With each card having three levels, you'll need to put together the perfect pairing to complete the card.
Otherwise, you also gain points from upgrades purchased, patrons, and friendliness awards. Adding up all these sources to find out who wins the game.
It's a boy!
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