Dinosaur Island Recipes: Herbivores, Carnivores, and Paddocks

Every dinosaur you create comes from a recipe in your park. Which recipes you take, and how many dinosaurs you put in each, shapes your whole game: your threat, your excitement, your DNA needs, and a large part of your final score. This lesson is about choosing them well.

What a recipe gives you

A recipe tile goes into your park when a scientist procures it, filling two zones: an exhibit and its paddock. Each recipe shows:

• The DNA needed to create one dinosaur of that species.
• Excitement: how much your excitement rises with each dinosaur created.
• Threat pips: 1 for herbivores, 2 for carnivores.
• A VP value for the exhibit, multiplied by the number of dinosaurs in its paddock at the end.

Every paddock starts with room for one dinosaur. Upgrade it, up to 4, by paying the new capacity in dollars: $2 to reach 2, $3 to reach 3, $4 to reach 4. That is $9 to take a paddock from 1 to 4, plus the Tool Bench actions, or a free step with an upgrade like the Renovation Committee.

Three stacks, three scientist levels

The research center shows one face-up recipe from each stack: herbivores, small carnivores, and large carnivores. They need a scientist of level 1, 2, and 3. When one is taken, the next tile in that stack flips at Cleanup.

That means a large carnivore always costs your level 3 scientist, the one you would otherwise use to triple a die. Taking one is a real trade, not just a free pickup.

Herbivores versus carnivores

Herbivores add 1 threat each. They are easier to secure, and the recipe needs only your weakest scientist.

Carnivores add 2 threat each, so every carnivore usually needs two security raises to stay safe. They often need advanced DNA. In return, they tend to bring more excitement per dinosaur and score more per exhibit.

Neither is better in general. Herbivores fit a park short on workers or money. Carnivores fit a park with spare workers for security and a DNA supply that includes advanced types.

Stack or spread?

Here is the core decision once you own a recipe or two: grow the paddock you have, or take a new recipe?

Stacking in one exhibit:

• Uses the same DNA recipe each time, so your research targets are simple.
• Multiplies one exhibit’s VP value. Four dinosaurs in an exhibit worth 3 VP each is 12 VP at the end.
• Costs money and Tool Bench actions for each paddock upgrade.

Spreading to a new recipe:

• Costs a scientist placement and two park zones.
• Opens a second DNA target, which helps when the dice do not cooperate.
• Adds another exhibit that must not be empty at the end.

A practical rule: take a second or third recipe early, while you have time to fill it, then stack. A new recipe late in the game is the most common source of the 10 VP empty exhibit penalty.

Space in the park is limited

Your park has a fixed number of zones. Every recipe takes two and every attraction takes one. A park filled with half-empty exhibits has no room for attractions, and attractions add visitor spaces without adding any threat. Each recipe you take is space you are not using for something else.

Excitement compounds

Excitement is the number of visitors you draw each round, up to 20. A dinosaur created in round three adds its excitement to every Park Phase after it. A dinosaur created in the final round adds one Park Phase of visitors plus its end-game exhibit points. Early dinosaurs pay you many times; late ones pay once.

That is why recipes with high excitement are worth more early, and recipes with high exhibit VP values are worth more late.

Species and objectives

Some objectives care about variety. The short stack includes “Create dinosaurs of 2 different species,” not counting your starting species, and “Have 6 dinosaurs in your park.” Others reward a big park, like “Have 12 dinosaurs in your park.” Let the open objectives tip close decisions between stacking and spreading.

A recipe checklist

1. Can I fill this exhibit at least once before the game ends?
2. Do I have the workers and money to secure its threat?
3. Would one more dinosaur in a paddock I already own score more?

Our piece on theme vs mechanics looks at why a choice like “how big is my T. rex pen” feels like story while doing serious math underneath.