Staring with the First Player and continuing in turn order sequence, each player can play as many of their Trait cards as they like. Trait cards can do a number of things during this phase.
Play Traits to Species Board
If the player chooses, they may play Trait cards to their Species board. Trait cards are played above the Species board face-down (they will be flipped over at the end of this phase). There are only a few limitations when playing Trait cards to the Species board.
A Species board may not have 2 or more Trait cards of the same type
A Species board may not have more than 3 Trait cards
A player is welcome to discard 1 Trait card previously played to a Species board if they so choose in order to make room for a new Trait card. Discarded Trait cards are placed face-up in the Trait discard pile. Players should take a moment to consider which traits to give their species and how the Trait cards on the Species boards to the left and right impact game play. There are many different combinations that provide interesting effects, but not every Trait card goes well with others. In addition, not every Trait card should be played to a Species card.
Create New Species
Instead of adding Trait cards to an existing species, the player can discard 1 Trait card face-up to the Trait discard pile to obtain a new Species board. The newly acquire Species board is handed to the player along with 2 wooden markers that are placed on the “1” spaces of the Population and Body Size tracks.
When starting a new species, the Species board must be placed to the left or right of existing Species board, creating a row. Never in the middle. Think of it as adding to a chain. You don’t add a link by breaking the existing chain in half. Instead, you add a link to either end of the chain. The same goes for the Species boards. If table space is a concern, each Species board is double-sided with one side used for large playing areas (horizontal orientation) and the other side for smaller playing areas (vertical orientation). In all cases, Species boards are always placed in a row in front of he player.