Long Neck card in evolutuon

Question

Does the Long Neck card mean that you get 3 extra food every time before feeding? Meaning you get 4 food each time? Or... Does it mean each population gets just one food and any population over 3 still get 1 food.

Answer 1

Warning: This answer is about Evolution (with or without the Flight and Climate Change expansions) as you specified. It is possible you are actually asking about the related-but-different Evolution: The Beginning. See this answer for the answer about Evolution: The Beginning.

Read on if your Long Neck card reads:

Long Neck: When the Food Cards are revealed, take 1 Plant Food from the Food Bank.

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The species gets one extra food before anyone else. Population doesn't enter into this (except that you can't place more food on your species than its population).

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Before anyone starts feeding, species with a Long Neck will be fed one food (from the Food Bank, not the Watering Hole).

This doesn't matter much if there's enough food to feed every species of every player^[1]. But it helps if there's a food shortage.

For example, let's say there are four players, and each player only has a single species with a population of two and no traits. There are only 5 food in the Watering Hole.

• Player 1 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 2 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 3 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 4 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 1 takes a food from the Watering Hole.

Result:

• Player 1's species is satiated.
• Player 2's species's population reduces to 1.
• Player 3's species's population reduces to 1.
• Player 4's species's population reduces to 1.

But what if Player 3's species had a Long Neck?

• Player 3 takes a food from the Food Bank.
• Player 1 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 2 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 3 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 4 takes a food from the Watering Hole.
• Player 1 takes a food from the Watering Hole.

Result:

• Player 1's species is satiated.
• Player 2's species's population reduces to 1.
• Player 3's species is satiated.
• Player 4's species's population reduces to 1.

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1. It could matter if the species is a burrowing species. It also gives the species a chance to eat before any carnivore can reduce its population.

Answer 2

Warning: You appear to be asking about Evolution: The Beginning even though you simply specified "Evolution", the name of a related-but-different game. This answer is about Evolution: The Beginning. See this answer for the answer about Evolution (with or without the Flight and Climate Change expansions).

Read on if your Long Neck card reads:

Long Neck: Before feeding this species, it eats 3 food from the Excess Food pile.

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Each long-necked species only get (up to) three free food each turn.

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Each species only feeds once per turn, either at the watering hole (if herbivore) or via multiple attacks (if carnivore).

When feeding a long-necked herbivore, take as much food from the Excess Food pile as the species has population, up to a maximum of 3. Distribute that food among the population of your species. If it's still hungry, feed as much as possible of the remainder of the species's population from the Watering Hole.

When feeding a long-necked carnivore^[1], take as much food from the Excess Food pile as the species has population, up to a maximum of 3. Distribute that food among the population of your species. As long as it's still hungry and able to attack^[2], feed on other species as detailed in the rules.

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1. Yes, that's possible in Evolution: The Beginning. Ref 1. Ref 2.

2. Remember, if your carnivore is hungry, it must attack even if the only species is can attack has horns or is your own.