Sometimes, nature takes an orderly and structured path towards ensuring the survival of a species. The rest of the time, nature has to take what it can get, such is the premise of Niche – A Genetics Survival Game.

The digital board game about genetics, heredity, and evolution has already shown some promising results from Switzerland based developers, Team Niche. The game was Greenlit on Steam in only eight days and will be launching its Kickstarter campaign in April.

Niche drops players into a procedurally generated top-down world where they must manage the daily survival of a tribe of adorable critters. As each tribe is taken through it’s daily life-cycle players must divide their focus between discovering new resources and growing the tribe’s gene pool through breeding. Using real-world genetics, Niche introduces the scientific mechanics of dominant/recessive genes as well as population genetics to deliver a unique experience each time.

As tasks are completed and more offspring are added to the tribe, players unlock additional gene points increasing the odds of helpful or unusual evolutions. It’s not all about making sweet love down by the fire, however. Hungry predators, changing climates, and dwindling resources keep the game moving fast. Players have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to find an evolutionary niche for their critters before the tribe dies out.

Team Niche is a founding member of a collective of indie developers who make games with a focus on nature/biology called, “Playful Oasis”. Keep an eye on their Twitter and Facebook accounts for more updates as the Niche Kickstarter launch draws closer.