You might think that the market for dinosaur-themed drafting games would only be big enough for one game but apparently that's not the case. Alongside Draftosaurus (Ankama) and Cubosaurs (Catch Up Games), there's now also Djeco's Dino Draft. Yann Dupont's game design makes things as simple as possible for younger players, tho' there are still decisions to be made...
There are five types of dinosaur and five colours, and the 2-5 players will be given a secret objective for each. After drafting dinosaurs, they score points for each dinosaur of their secret type and each of their secret colour, but they also score for the types and colours that are being sought by the person they're passing to. This means there's a guessing game of what each player might be collecting and important choices of how best to maximise your own score while restricting your neighbour's scoring opportunities.
There can even be an element of bluffing. However, there is a large degree of luck as well because not every card will be used and if you're able to draft both copies of your double-scoring cards (right Dinosaur and right colour) you're bound to beat someone for whom these cards weren't available. Nevertheless, this isn't a problem for such a quick game (the 10 minutes suggested on the box is entirely realistic), and it's an enjoyable filler for both children and adults, and for children playing with adults.
(Review by Matt Young)