In Dino Dynasty, players represent dinosaur species from the Cretaceous period that compete in various aspects of survival. Which aspects are important vary from game to game. Each game features a scenario with specific starting conditions and a set of random challenges. The player who completes the most of these challenges wins.
The map, called the territory, is created by the players placing territory tiles. These tiles create biomes can span several tiles. It is not specified where in the world the game takes place, but the biomes are based on the ones that existed during the Cretaceous period. The map is mostly unknown at the start of the game and is gradually revealed as players spread and explore it.
There are alternative ways to play using different map set-ups called scenarios, playing in teams and even playing several games as a campaign. In addition, a "legendary" part of the game gives players the ability to change between species inside a dynasty and save their current development over several games. This can be used to get suitable dinosaur variants to manage harder scenarios; it can also be used to get a specific dinosaur or combination of dinosaurs to best counter opponents.
The foundation for this game is facts, what is known and theorized by the latest scientific discoveries regarding different dinosaur species, but in Dino Dynasty, the players can explore the fantasy of what could have been. What would have happened if a dinosaur had developed in an evolutionary direction other than it did? These possible changes are still within reasonable limits and are based on the real physical characteristics of the dinosaurs.
