Happy Little Dinosaurs
Happy Little Dinosaurs is a lighthearted card game about surviving life's extremely inconvenient disasters. Play point cards, use instant effects, lean on your dinosaur's traits, and try to reach safety before meteors, emotional crises, and predatory mishaps cause your extinction at a Midnight Oil community game night.
Watch How to Play
Video source: Tabletop Jason · Runtime: shown in the player. Edition note: A complete tutorial for the standard 2–4 player base game.
Quick facts
What is Happy Little Dinosaurs?
Each player chooses a dinosaur with its own disaster-related strengths and weaknesses, then moves a matching meeple along a 50-point escape route. Every round begins with a new natural, predatory, emotional, or meteor disaster.
Players choose point cards simultaneously, then apply dinosaur traits, card effects, and instant cards. The highest adjusted score advances, while the lowest takes the disaster. Reach 50 points first—or remain as the last dinosaur not eliminated—to win.
How does it play?
- Choose a dinosaur. Take its player board and meeple, place the meeple at the start of the escape route, and draw a five-card hand.
- Reveal a disaster. Turn over the top Disaster card so everyone knows which danger the lowest-scoring player may collect.
- Choose and reveal point cards. Every player selects one Point card face-down, then all cards are revealed together and their effects are resolved.
- Adjust and compare scores. Apply dinosaur traits and eligible Instant cards. The highest scorer advances by the final score; the lowest scorer adds the disaster to their board.
- Survive or escape. Disasters provide a small end-of-round advance but can eliminate a dinosaur in dangerous sets. The first player to 50 points or the last surviving dinosaur wins.
Why you might like it
- Cute artwork and absurd disasters give the take-that effects a playful personality.
- Simultaneous card selection keeps rounds moving and gives everyone the same moment of suspense.
- Two different victory paths let players race forward while also trying to avoid extinction.
Who is it best for?
Happy Little Dinosaurs is best for families with older children, teens, casual groups, and players who enjoy humorous card effects and some direct interference. Luck and surprise are important parts of the experience, so it is less suited to groups seeking a purely strategic contest.
Play it with Midnight Oil
Library games are available to play free at select Midnight Oil community events. They are not currently available for take-home borrowing. Game availability and teaching assistance may vary by event, and visitors may contact us in advance to request a particular game.
Visit the Events page for Midnight Oil's upcoming community gatherings in Titusville. Happy Little Dinosaurs is a friendly choice for groups that enjoy the humor and interaction of games such as Exploding Kittens but want a visible point race as well.
Frequently asked questions
How does a dinosaur win?
Be the first to reach 50 points on the escape route or be the last dinosaur remaining after the others are eliminated.
How is a dinosaur eliminated?
In the standard game, collecting three disasters of the same type or one of each of the three main types causes extinction. Meteors can count as any type.
Why do disaster cards also move my dinosaur forward?
At the end of each round, every disaster in your area advances you one space. The danger gives a small benefit, but collecting the wrong combination can still eliminate you.
Are there special rules for two players?
Yes. The rulebook recommends removing low Point cards and changing the disaster combinations required for elimination to improve two-player balance.