Clash of Chaos and Confetti #26: Happy Little Dinosaurs

The Premise and Standings

Each week we’ll face off in a best of three series playing a different board game from our collection.  The winner claims the moniker of C&C Clash Champ for the week.  The loser’s self esteem goes extinct.  The lesser player also gets to choose the game for the next week.

We will maintain a record of wins and losses throughout the year to see who finishes 2022 as the ultimate board game champ in our household.

Our current C&C Champion is Confetti after winning last week’s King of Tokyo battle.

Pre-Clash Current Standings:

• Weekly Winner: 13 Chaos – 12 Confetti
• Individual game wins:  38 Chaos – 32 Confetti

After losing last week, Chaos has chosen Happy Little Dinosaurs.

The Game – Happy Little Dinosaurs

Happy Little Dinosaurs takes the hardships of being a cute dinosaur and turns it into a game.  Players will repeatedly face potential disaster.  Whether they overcome these possible tragedies or succumb to their endless onslaught will determine the winner.

Each player will choose a dino-character, which comes with an adorable meeple and a player board.  The different characters will each have their own stat modifier which will become important during scoring.  The benefits and weaknesses are minimal though, so the game should still feel pretty balanced.  

Every round, the game will present players with a disaster.  This disaster will normally come in one of three flavors: natural, predatory, or emotional (there are also comets which count as all three types).  In order to avoid the disaster befalling them, players will select one of the five cards in their hand to play facedown.  When everyone is ready, the cards will be revealed.  If the cards have any special effects they may be used and players will also have the option of playing instant cards from their hands to tip the skills for themselves or against others.  When the dust settles, the player with the lowest numerical score will add the disaster to their player board.  The player with the highest score should move their dino-meeple the number of spaces equal to their score.

There are two ways to win Happy Little Dinosaurs.  The first dinosaur to reach fifty points on their board’s escape route may claim victory.  The winner may also be the final dinosaur standing.  Any player who collects three of the same color disaster or one of each color will be knocked out.  This means players will have to be strategic about which disasters they try hardes to avoid.

It’s a disastrous world for dinosaurs.  Find out who can persevere life’s hardships and whose hope will go extinct.

Chaos’ Pre-Clash Thoughts:

I couldn’t get the win with giant monsters, so this week I’ll give it a go with tiny, cute dinosaurs.  With only two players, I imagine this will be more a game of survival than points.  I’ll have to play carefully and make sure that I avoid picking up disasters.  In fact, I’ll have to make sure this week is a disaster for Confetti!

Confetti’s Pre-Clash Thoughts:

This is the start of my winning streak, I can feel it! Happy Little Dinosaurs is my game and it would be a travesty if I couldn’t pull out the victory here. I’m going to give it my all to make sure I come out victorious. 

Game 1 –

For today’s battles, Chaos chose Stego, the happy stegosaurus, as his champion.  Confetti opted for Nervous Rex, the anxious t-rex, as her terror-filled warrior.

Happy Little Dinosaurs is a fast game, especially without the suggested two-player rules.  It didn’t take long for Confetti to smash Chaos in the face with back to back weather-related natural disasters.  She used a combination of high cards and devious instants to put Stego through a downpour and a ptornado. 

Chaos tried to rally by forcing Confetti to experience the emotional disaster of a bad hair day.  Confetti responded by giving Chaos a bad picture day.  

The end finally came whe Chaos collected his a final natural disaster.  His prized produce where trampled and so were his hopes for victory. 

Game 1 Winner – Confetti via knockout

Game 2 –

The second game started with yet another natural disaster pummeling Chaos and his pal Stego: a volcano went off during their afternoon stroll.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, the emotional turmoil of being hit in the face by a ball in front of his crush came at Chaos next.  He did find some reprieve as Confetti’s Nervous Rex experienced getting ghosted on a date.  Nervous Rex proved that his true weakness was emotional trauma.

Hope would not last long for Chaos as a meteor showed up and crushed Stego.

Game 2 Winner – Confetti via knockout

Game 3 –

Before these tales of dino-suffering could be added to the history books, there was one final game to be played.  In typical Stego fashion, he finally found some success… when it was already too late to change the overall outcome of the week.

This time it would be Confetti who faced natural disaster as she accidently took a spa day in a tar pit.  Then, holding to the idea that Nervous Rex hates emotional distress, he took back to back hits from them.  First, he laid awake at night absorbed in his own personal disappointment, and then there was a fire drill which forced him to go outside in his underwear.  The fire drill was so emotionally hazardous it actually counted as two disasters, which was enough to render Nervous Rex unable to compete further.

Again, it was too little, too late, but Stego did leave with a win! 

Game 3 Winner – Chaos via knockout

Your Winner and NEW C&C Clash Champion: Confetti!!

Chaos’ Post-Clash Thoughts:

Turns out size doesn’t matter.  Whether it’s big or small creatures, Confetti had my number.  She tied up our weekly record, so I really have to get the win next week.  I hate it when I fall behind in the overall standings.  Confetti has had her fun, now it’s time for me to reascend to my title.

Confetti’s Post-Clash Thoughts:

Woo-hoo! I did it! I managed to retain the C&C Clash Championship. Let this be the start of a long, historic reign. Can’t wait to crush Chaos again next week.

New Standings:

Post-Clash Standings:

• Weekly Winner: 13 Chaos – 13 Confetti
• Individual game wins: 39 Chaos – 34 Confetti

Next Week:

Chaos and Confetti will add some smash to their clash as they mash-up in Smash Up!  It’s all the fun of a crossover team up, without actually having to work with anyone else.  Prepare for some epic and wacky pairings next week!