darwin's journey review

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Larry Levy:  Review/Preview of Darwin’s Journey

Darwin’s journey.

• Designers: Simone Luciani, Nestore Mangone
• Solo Designer: David Turczi
• Developer: Pierpaolo Paoletti
• Artist: Paolo Voto
• Publisher: ThunderGryph Games
• Players: 1-4
• Time: 60-150 minutes
• Times Played: 5, with review copy

Let me start this review by sending a big shout-out to a fellow OGer, Steph Hodge.  My buddy Ben got to go to his first Gathering of Friends this year and naturally was on the lookout for new things to try.  One of those was Darwin’s Journey.  Fortunately, Steph had her review copy of the game there.  Ben played it with her and loved it.  He asked if he could borrow the game and she not only agreed, but told him to keep it for a few months if he liked.  As a result, I, and the other members of our group, got the chance to try this much anticipated game out prior to its release.  Thanks, Steph—you’re not only a good gamer, but a great gaming citizen!

That generosity allows me to write a review that also serves as a preview, as the game isn’t scheduled to hit the streets until early next year.  So you’re getting two articles in one!

The reason we were so looking forward to checking out Darwin’s Journey (heretofore abbreviated DJ) was primarily the name on the box cover.  We’re all huge fans of Simone Luciani’s previous designs, so we were hoping for more of the same.  This time, his co-designer is Nestore Mangone, with whom he previously collaborated on Newton and Masters of Renaissance, two other successful designs.

The theme of DJ is a little unusual.  It’s based on the momentous voyage that a young Charles Darwin took aboard the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos; his findings there were the basis for his eventual theory of evolution.  It’s a very attractive theme, but for some reason, the game is based on Darwin’s recollections of the voyage (as you can see, the box cover shows Darwin in his later years).  Thus, things are based on Darwin’s diaries , and not the active cataloging work he did.  I’m not sure why they felt this was necessary—maybe they realized that there weren’t actually competing scientists on board the Beagle!—but all the trappings of the initial voyage are there and it’s easy to immerse yourself in the expedition itself and ignore the peculiar sidestepping.

The game board is a big one and it needs to be, as it includes a crapton of stuff.  The board’s upper portion shows a large number of action areas, some of which change from game to game.  Most of them are organized into half a dozen diary sections , which are basically groups of related actions.  Below that are three of the Galapagos islands, with tracks where the players’ explorer tokens can move along.  Each player begins with one of their explorers at the start space on the first island.  Finally, at the bottom, are the ocean spaces near the coasts of those islands, where the player’s ships (and the good old Beagle) can roam.  Each player starts with their ship token at the beginning of this watery track.

The focus of the game are those action spaces.  Most of Luciani’s games feature Worker Placement, which usually isn’t my favorite game mechanic (it’s really been done to death).  However, he always seems to find a fresh twist for it and DJ is no exception.  Each player begins with 4 workers (with the possibility of unlocking a fifth) and each of them is different.  There are four main action types in the game (academics, navigation, exploration, and correspondence) and each is associated with a different colored seal.  Over the course of the game, you’ll be assigning one or more seals to your workers.  This is important, because for most of the action areas, if you want to choose it, your worker must have a certain combination of seals assigned to it.  In addition, you can sometimes get extra benefits if your worker has enough seals.  So not only are the workers all different, you get to decide how to differentiate your workforce.  It’s a very clever system and it works marvelously.

The game lasts five rounds and in each round, the players take turns putting a worker on an action space.  Once all the workers are assigned, a few benefits are gained, the players reclaim their workers, and then the next round begins.  At the end of the fifth round, endgame VPs are earned and the player with the most points wins.

Of course, since this is an Italian-designed game, things aren’t quite as easy as that.  Some action spaces are limited to only one worker per round.  Most of them aren’t, but if another worker (even one of your own) is sitting on any of the spaces of that diary section, you have to pay a placement penalty of a few coins.  So even if your chosen action space is vacant, if another worker is sitting on a related space, you might have to fork over some bucks.  Needless to say, money is tight, so you always have to take that into account.

That’s all well and good, but what do those spaces do ?  Most of the actions revolve around the four seal type categories, so let me talk about those first.

When you place your worker on a space in the Academy diary, you get to add one or more seals to some of your workers (any of them, not necessarily the one you just placed).  At the beginning of each round, 12 randomly drawn seals are available to be chosen.  Some of these are free, but as the supply dwindles down (they’re not replenished until the end of the round), more expensive ones will have to be purchased, particularly if there’s a specific color shield you’re interested in.  In addition, the later slots for each worker have costs associated with them when you cover them up.  Hey, no one said education was cheap!  But your more highly trained workers will be able to activate more action spaces; there are also some benefits associated with workers who have a bunch of seals.  So educating your workforce can be well worth the effort.

Spaces in the Navigation diary allow you to move your ship token a certain number of spaces.  There are two principal reasons why this is desirable.  The Beagle will move forward to specified ocean spaces at the end of each round and there are benefits for keeping up with the Mother Ship.  In addition, if your ship crosses a certain threshold, you get to place an explorer on the second island; we’ll soon see why this can be valuable.  There’s a second threshold which allows you to place another explorer on the third island.  So ploughing the waves can set you up for some lucrative actions.

Spaces in the Exploration diary let you move one of your explorer tokens a certain number of spaces.  Land movement tends to be more involved than sea movement (there are some choices to where you move your ship, but most of the time it’s just full steam ahead).  On the islands, though, there are quite a few branches leading to one-way paths (so once you decide to take one path of a fork, the other path is off limits to you).  There’s all sorts of goodies available if you land on certain spaces, including earning money, VPs, and triggering actions (such as the right to buy seals or move your ship).  One of the more interesting possibilities is discovering specimens .  There are 16 different specimen tokens in the game, which represent plants, animals, and fossils unique to the Galapagos.  These are randomly distributed face up at the start of the game.  If you land on a space that contains a specimen, you mark it on your board and can make good use of it later (more on that in a bit).  Overall, exploring the islands can result in some extremely valuable rewards.  The second and third islands have even greater payoffs than the first one; in addition, there is usually less competition on them for discovering specimens and earning VPs (some spaces only reward VPs to the first player to reach them).  That’s why getting your ship far enough along to let you start on one of the later islands can be so worthwhile.

The spaces in the Correspondence diary let you send off letters, which is more significant than penning notes to your loved ones saying “Contracted Yellow Fever—wish you were here.”  At the start of the game, three envelope spaces are chosen at random.  Each of these gives a different reward to the player with the most stamps on them (stamps, envelopes, diaries…sometimes this game is a little too precious for its own good!).  Each space in this section lets you place a certain number of stamps on one envelope.  At the end of the round, the player with the most stamps on each envelope earns its reward, with the second most getting a lesser reward.  For each envelope, the rewarded players lose half their stamps, so if your opponents ignore this area, a single turn’s stamp placing could conceivably give you rewards for several rounds.  These rewards are all nice, but not indispensable.  Still, experience has shown that letting one player dominate the envelopes is not a good idea.

Those are the four main action areas, but there are others.  One of the most interesting lets you unlock actions.  At the start of the game, there is only one available action for each of the four diaries I talked about above.  However, there are two more powerful actions in each diary (for example, ones that let you buy more than one seal at a discount, or let you move more spaces during navigation or exploration), and these are locked at the beginning.  One space lets a player unlock the action of their choice, so that it’s available for all the players for the rest of the game.  It’s expensive, but there are two benefits for the unlocking player.  First, as part of their turn, the player gets to do the unlocked action without placing a worker on it, even if they don’t have the seals to qualify for it.  And second, choosing the right action to unlock can set you up for the future, either because it’s an area you’d like to focus on or because your workers have the seals to actually take it (or both!).  Needless to say, the more powerful actions require that the worker using them have multiple seals (for example, the initial Exploration space only requires one Exploration seal, but the others require 2 and 3 of them, respectively).  There’s another diary that has 6 different actions, which are randomly chosen at the start of the game.  Two of these are available from the beginning, but the other four have to be unlocked to be used.  These actions are all quite powerful, but they all require different mixes of seals to be used (for example, one might require 2 Academic seals and 1 Correspondence seal).  Making sure you have enough money to unlock actions and doing so at the right time is a big part of DJ.

Then there’s the specimens and the good old Theory of Evolution.  One action space lets you deliver a specimen that’s on your player board that hasn’t been delivered by anyone else.  The rewards for this vary—at the beginning of the game, it brings you mostly money, while later on, most of what you earn is advancing along the Theory of Evolution track.  The money infusion can be sizable and this is often the best way to ensure you have enough cash on hand to carry out your desired actions.  And the further you advance along the Evolution track, the more VPs you’ll earn at the end of the game.  But you have to plan for all this, by arranging to discover the specimens and making sure you’re the first to deliver them (which is another reason why playing in your own sandbox on the second or third islands can be so worthwhile).

Another way of earning points is by meeting Beagle Goals, which are objectives for each round that are randomly chosen at the beginning of the game.  These might be discovering certain kinds of specimens or having certain seals on your workers—they’re fairly varied.  At the end of every round, each player earns VPs for these, based on how well they match the objective’s criteria.  However, you only earn the full VP amount if your ship has advanced at least as far on the Ocean track as the Beagle has.  The further you are behind, the more VPs you lose.

I’ve probably only described about half the game (those crazy Italian designers love their detailed games!), but those are the most important features.  At the end of each round, the players with the most stamps on each envelope earns those rewards and everyone gets VPs based on how well they met the Beagle Goals.  Then, you take back all your workers and we start things again.  At the end of the game, there are some bonus VPs for players who have advanced their ship far along the Ocean track and everyone also earns their Theory of Evolution VPs.  As usual, the player with the most VPs wins and they get to be the first to poke fun at the ridiculously long beard ol’ Chuckie Darwin sports on the box cover.

So what do I think of this sneak peak of a 2022 title?  I like it a lot and I think most fans of Simone Luciani will enjoy it as well.  Obviously, there’s a huge amount going on and it’ll take you at least a game to figure out what the hell you should be doing, but it shouldn’t take too long for the farthing to drop.  The seal system which is at the core of the game works very well and it means that building up your workers requires just as much planning as assigning them.  As is often the case with the Italian designed games, you’ll carry out only a small number of basic actions (as few as 20 of them over the course of the game), but, if you’re playing it well, they can lead to a large number of triggered actions, which, to the players’ delight, can cascade merrily over various areas of the design.  In my games, I’ve done well by focusing on Exploration, but I’ve seen each major area be the centerpiece of a winning strategy.  It’s not a short game—our initial attempts weighed in at 3-3.5 hours—but now we’re managing to wind things up after only about 2.5 hours, which is fine with me for a game of this weight.  Overall, I think this stacks up very well with Luciani’s other games, which is high praise indeed, as he’s easily my favorite designer of the last 10 years.

Both money and actions are tight, but not to the point of strangulation.  In a lot of modern titles, you have to scratch and claw for every dollar you so badly need.  In DJ, there are quite a few ways of earning coins; as I mentioned earlier, you can get a bunch by delivering specimens, particularly early in the game.  Of course, the question then becomes if you want to devote actions to increasing your bank account.  So it’s an efficiency issue and learning how to get by without throwing money around too exuberantly is a useful skill.  It’s a similar situation with actions; there aren’t so many that you can afford to waste them, but there’s still enough that most rounds, you can accomplish quite a bit, particularly with the many cascading options available.  So it’s a tightly designed game, but not so much to be frustrating.

Replayability will not be an issue with this game.  There’s a ton of stuff that is randomly determined prior to beginning each game, including some of the action spaces, the envelope rewards, and much more.  The beginning setup has a significant effect on how the game plays, so you’ll always have a new challenge in figuring out how to best approach each session.

I’ve played DJ with both 2 and 3 players and, based on those experiences, I think it scales very well.  With 2 players, you have to pay the placement penalty if there’s a worker in the diary you chose or in a second, adjacent one.  The penalty is also slightly higher.  This means that money is just as tight (and essential) with 2 as with higher player numbers.  There are a few other adjustments to make up for the smaller number of players; none of them are drastic, but they keep the tension of the game high.  Finally, there is a fairly involved set of solo rules (by the master of such things, David Turczi), but I haven’t had the chance to check them out.

The theme works well, despite the strange time travel switch utilized—as I’ve mentioned, you just kind of ignore this and assume you’re out there with Darwin doing his Galapagos thing.  There is just one thing that nags at me.  The system of building up your workers to be able to use more and more powerful actions is a terrific one, but why did Luciani and Mangone choose to use it in this game?  It doesn’t seem to particularly fit the theme.  The time scale is all wrong, for one thing—even if you assume each turn lasts a couple of months, when would your workers find the time to get such training/education?  And what the hell is the source of all this advanced learning while your dudes are traipsing among the giant tortoises off the coast of 19 th century South America?  It would have made more sense in a game with a much longer time frame, or maybe in a sci-fi setting, with futuristic ways of learning.  Or perhaps with robot workers, who could just download the latest “seal” and add it to their internal programming.  It’s just strange to me that they choose this theme for this mechanic (or vice versa).  Of course, game themes aren’t really that important to me and it all works in the end, so this is more the result of my overactive mind than anything else.

I’m assuming that the components for the review game are pretty much the ones that will be shipped with the final game.  If that’s the case, they’re all of professional quality and I have no complaints.  The board is packed full of detail, but with two dozen action spaces, three islands, the specimens’ grid, and various other play areas, I don’t see what choice the publisher had.  The good news is that, thanks to solid iconography and decently sized fonts, everything is quite clear.  There are an awful lot of icons used, so I’m hoping some player aids will be provided.  The colors are all easily distinguishable, although some of the specimens take a bit of squinting to identify.  I don’t think that anyone is going to be blown away by the game’s beauty, but the art is reasonably attractive and, what is far more important, it makes a complex game easier to play.  Functionality is essential for a game like this, so I’m pleased with the job the graphic designer did, with the good looks being a nice plus.

I’m not quite as happy with the rules that came with the game I played with, although I think ThunderGryph may be revising them.  But all I can comment on are the rules I saw and, as is so often the case these days, they are complete, but the organization leaves something to be desired.  They outline the game’s basic concepts at the beginning, which is usually a good idea, but that portion of the rules goes on too long, so that there’s too much information to absorb before you have any idea of how the game actually plays .  It took me several reads before I felt comfortable with the game and that’s less than ideal.  Unfortunately, that’s becoming the standard these days and, as rules quality decreases, watching instructional videos (many of them paid for by the publishers) becomes more and more essential.  That’s not my preferred way of learning a game, but I might just have to learn to adjust.  So a demerit for the rules as they exist now, but they’re not awful, they might get better, and most of you will probably take the time to watch the videos anyway.  So, yay?

Overall, Darwin’s Journey is an involved and crunchy Euro that’s another fine example of Italian game design.  It’s a challenging game to learn, with a reasonably long duration, but fans of games like this will be rewarded with innovative mechanics and enjoyable decision-making that benefits from advanced planning.  There are many ways of approaching the game and quite a few paths to victory.  I’m very much looking forward to the game’s release, which right now, is slated to be the Second Quarter of 2022.  Luciani delivers again (with the very able assistance of Nestore Mangone) and you don’t have to be an evolved gamer to appreciate the man’s genius.  If you agree, in a few months, you might be able to hitch a ride on the HMS Beagle and see for yourself!

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers:

Craig M (2 plays) – I’ll start by saying that I have only played this online via TTS so I’ll leave any thoughts about the look of the game and its physical components out of my comments. Darwin’s Journey is most certainly an example of the Italian school of design. Whether this is good or bad depends on how you feel about Luciani’s previous games and Italian designs in general.  The mechanisms did not feel particularly innovative, but rather felt very familiar. I’m not a huge fan of learning games online (huge understatement really)  because I spend as much time or more trying to figure out how to accomplish things in a virtual setting as I do the rules of the new game. This often leaves me feeling extremely reluctant to play a new game online. With Darwin’s Journey the mechanisms and rules were easy to grasp because it all felt like something I had seen before across many different games. I’ll hold any further comments until I get a chance to play a game with a physical copy. 

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers:

I love it!   Larry I like it.   Neutral.  Craig Not for me… 

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4 responses to larry levy:  review/preview of darwin’s journey.

I love reading long reviews for games I’m interested in. Thanks for sharing this. I was interested before and I still am now. I will also mention that a word I find hilarious in game reviews is “crapton”. Maybe it will become an official part of the language if we keep using it.

You’re welcome, Jacob. And in my neck of the woods, “crapton” is definitely already part of the language!

Appreciate the near-recusal on a rating Craig… Playing a game solely online is an extremely different experience than playing in person, I agree, and I have to take any review based only on online plays (or even BGG user comments) with a big grain of salt.

I’d take my comments with a heaping teaspoon of salt Jeremy! That being said, I don’t think my general feeling about the game is likely to change all that much when I sit down to play an actual physical copy with my group – which I fully intend to do. If you enjoy the Italian school of design, even if not quite as effusively as Larry does then there is much to like about the game. If you are less enamored with the same school, then I would approach Darwin’s Voyage with more trepidation.

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Buy The Game

You Might Like

• Great theme which comes out in the gameplay and art
• Placing one worker can lead to multiple activations which is very satisfying
• Super replayability even without extra modules and expansions
• Components excellent

Might Not Like

• Later rounds can involve analysis paralysis
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Darwin’s Journey Review

All aboard the HMS Beagle for a voyage of a lifetime. Explore the rich, diverse ecology of the Galapagos Islands while you research species, deliver them to museums, correspond with home, advance the theory of evolution and establish a base (campsite) on one of the main islands. All by sending your workers to one of the multitude of sites of this table hogger of a game. What more could you want? At its heart Darwin’s Journey is a simple work placement game. Played over 5 rounds, each round you have 4 workers to do your bidding. Once they occupy a certain slot, this will allow you to explore an island, navigate the Pacific Ocean, send letters home or upskill one of your workers. The more skilled a worker, the more complex task it can under-take in future turns.

Many of these slots can lead to further actions with the game being won by gaining the most victory points (VP’s). These VP’s can be gained by a a smörgåsbord of options – exploring further and faster than your rivals on both the islands or the ocean; completing tasks; filling or emptying spaces on your player board; up-skilling workers; carrying out correspondence; advancing the theory of evolution; completing crew cards and successfully achieving the ‘Beagle’ end of round goals. Analysis paralysis yet?!

The Good Stuff

Darwin's Journey is a beast, no question. I have the collector’s edition and just unpopping and sorting the tiles and tokens took over an hour. I can genuinely say my mind was awash trying to sort them out as not only have half the tokens been upgraded, but the game box includes a solo mode, a major expansion and 3 mini-expansions. Once I had sorted these out into the various sized insert trays and had a strong cup of coffee it was time to set up the game.

Here the manual (nearly as thick as ‘The Origin of the Species) is brilliant. Clear and concise instructions made the set-up relatively pain free, if not quick. You have six areas with different tokens to sort. Luckily they have a first play set up and all tokens are clearly labelled – in fact it was at this point I realised that half the tokens/tiles I’d unpacked were for one of the many expansions included in this edition.

Once the Darwin's Journey board is ready, the player boards are a doddle, a few workers, tents, stamps, wax seals and crew cards (these also having an introduction game suggestion) and you are ready to go. These crew cards along with the six areas on the board have a multitude of options, giving even the main game massive replayability without even looking further into the content.

When set up is complete you can start your PhD into evolution. Here the game settles into a pretty standard worker placement – send them to a lens (area on the board) on a diary section if your worker has the required wax seal requirements (paying a coin penalty if you aren’t the first worker in a section:)

• Academy allows you to gain wax seals, which in turn power up a worker so they can go to a more profitable site. There are four main-coloured seals and a special (purple) seal. This purple seal can be treated as any colour.
• Navigation means you can advance your ship along the Ocean track.
• Exploration is similar but one of your explorers gets to move further in-land discovering the abundant riches there.
• Send letters home (by using the in-game stamps) via Correspondence. At the end of the round, bonuses are gained if you have the most stamps on one of the letters. Once a stack of stamps is empty you will have additional actions to perform. It could be one of the ones already mentioned, or one that we will see later on.

Each diary section has upgrade sites. You can send a worker to open a new lens on one of the 6 sections and pay for the privilege. These upgraded sites require more wax seals, but increase the reward gained. Once you open one up, all players can use the site, but you receive a coin from the supply if they do.

Where you can send your workers doesn’t stop there. When you are exploring on land or sea you will encounter specimens that you can collect. Thus on a future turn you can deliver that specimen to the museum gaining coin and advancing the theory of evolution in the process.

You can also send a worker to research a specimen already in the museum – this could be to complete an objective.

Start Of Game

You start Darwin's Journey with two objectives but can gain more by: you guessed it, moving one of your workers to the ‘gain objective’ site. This also has the added bonus of getting you cash, which can be hard to come by, particularly in the early stages of a game. You can complete five silver and 5 gold objectives in a game and each will bring about VP’s, bonus actions, gain an additional worker or reduce the cost of certain actions for the remainder of the game .

The game runs in turn order (randomly assigned at the start.) The final place to send a worker is the ‘reverse turn order space.’ This does what it says. If you are the first to go there in a round, the next round you’ll be number one in the turn order. It also gains you some much needed coin.

So lots of actions and only four workers to start with – how are you going to do half of them you cry? Well as mentioned you can gain an extra worker, but when you explore, not only do you collect specimens, but you can trigger all the actions previously described. As well as some extra ones…

• Establish a campsite – this can also set in motion further additional actions. Oh, and when you have placed more than one tent there are more actions activated on your player board.
• Gain a temporary knowledge token – you start the game with one – they allow you to boost a worker if they don’t have the required wax seals for a particular action. (Discarded after use.)
• Place an explorer on a new Island.
• Gain a special purple wax seal.
• Research any specimen.
• Perform a locked action (one without an opened lens spot.)

So as you can hopefully see, those four or five little workers can produce a lot of actions via their placement and resulting rewards. As you get deeper into rounds 3,4 and 5, and actions start chaining together, this of course brings multiple dilemmas of: if I do this it will propel me down a certain route or I could do this and this brings something else into the equation.

How Does It Play

That was a brief intro in to how to play the game, but probably more importantly how does its play?

In one word: Excellent. It is beautiful to behold on the table with the art fitting with the theme and components out of the top drawer (even without the collector’s edition upgrades.) Cardboard tokens are thick, the dual player boards are a joy and any cards used made from good cardstock.

When playing we found the game quickly flowed, with little thinking time after the first few rounds where symbols and rules had to be looked up and reread to make sure we haven’t missed anything. Every time you place a worker it feels it has meaning. How does it move my game plan forward? What do I get from it? And to some extent how does it affect my opponent? All this leads to turns that are satisfying. You can place your operative, watch it activate and that can lead to a lovely chain reaction of moves after which you can sit back with a smug smile on your face knowing it completed a hard days yakka. As with many work placement games the complexity of the turns increases as the rounds progress. Thankfully this hasn’t been a major issue in games played so far at a number count of two and three, but I can see it being a problem once people get more au fait with the game.

There appears to be many roads to victory, with points being allocated in various ways all linking with the theme of retracing Darwin’s steps through the Galapagos Islands, documenting new species and developing his Theory of Evolution.

Final Thoughts

I would agree with the game time on the box of 30 minutes a player, but setup/ packing up does add additional time onto this. A minor gripe is the there are 3 storage trays included, but we were at a loss as to what tokens go in which compartments and have they been designed to hold the extra bits from the included expansions?

For those who like direct conflict with their fellow players Darwin's Journey , like many a eurostyle game, is limited. You can block them from worker slots or when exploring an Island, but other than that it is negligible. There is no stealing specimens from other players – there is a pirate expansion, but that hasn’t made onto the table yet.

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First Look at Darwin’s Journey

A good, decent, medium-complex euro which has great theme and historical background? Well, that is exactly Darwin’s Journey – a new title form ThunderGryph Games. A game for which I was desperately waiting for pretty long (you know, all those post-pandemic issues with production and distribution). It was among my Top Anticipated games for 2022 and then 2023 . And this week it came true!

In below material we present first look into the game box, its components and storage solution. Enjoy!

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I will have to take a look! A couple of friends are finally getting their copies of it.

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Pretty decent EURO, with a worker placement twist. I should be playing this that weekend.

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Board Game Reviews

Darwin's journey: fireland expansion review.

Tom, Chris & Wendy take a look at the Fireland Expansion for Darwin's Journey! 

Darwin's Journey: Fireland Expansion

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Darwin’s Journey Game Video Review

6 things you need to know.

Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.

Explore the Galapagos Islands finding repertoires, sending correspondence, and developing your crew in Darwin’s Journey by Thundergryph Games. Boardgame Brody is in love with this game!

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Darwin's Journey details

• Designer: Nestore Mangone , Simone Luciani
• Artists: Paolo Voto
• Publishers: CMON Global Limited , Ghenos Games , Korea Boardgames co., Ltd. , Portal Games , Skellig Games , Tcg Factory , ThunderGryph Games , 黑城堡桌游 Black Castle Games
• Release Date: 2021 , 2023
• Player count : 1 - 4
• Age range : 14+
• Time range : 60 - 120 minutes
• Mechanism(s): Contracts , Ownership , Point to Point Movement , Set Collection , Turn Order: Stat-Based , Variable Set-up , Worker Placement, Different Worker Types
• More articles about Darwin's Journey .

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Darwin’s Journey Review

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Tom, Chris & Wendy take a look at Darwin’s Journey!

0:00 Intro 1:26 Overview 7:07 Final Thoughts

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Dogged by Bad Health and Bad Reviews, Darwin Needed Friends Like These

In a new book, the medical historian Howard Markel homes in on Darwin’s physical and emotional travails — and the colleagues who rallied to his cause.

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By Sam Kean

Sam Kean is the author of six books on science history, including “The Icepick Surgeon” and “The Disappearing Spoon.”

ORIGIN STORY: The Trials of Charles Darwin , by Howard Markel

Charles Darwin was not a well man. He spent most of his adult life as a recluse, suffering from a whole host of symptoms: boils, rashes, ulcers, headaches, and bouts of vomiting and gas so painful that they often prostrated him. Modern doctors have retroactively diagnosed him with more than a dozen different ailments — lupus, narcolepsy, gout, pigeon allergies, etc. — without reaching any consensus. But one thing is clear: Darwin’s ups and downs correlated strongly with the stresses and joys of his scientific work, especially “On the Origin of Species,” which at different times proved both a soothing panacea and a veritable poison.

In “Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin,” Howard Markel, a medical historian (he favors a diagnosis of lactose intolerance as Darwin’s primary ailment), details how the scientist came to write his magnum opus, as well as the many trying days he endured on its behalf.

Markel’s first section recounts the familiar story of how Darwin nearly got scooped. He opened his mail one day in 1858 to find a draft of a paper from the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. To Darwin’s horror, the paper duplicated his own, then-unpublished theory of natural selection. Rather than risk losing credit, Darwin slyly dispatched two friends to approach a journal and pressure it to solicit a paper from him to run alongside Wallace’s. The two friends also insisted that Darwin’s name — and his many professional honorifics — appear first in all publicity for the pieces. Generously, Wallace never raised a fuss over these machinations, but here we see Darwin the operator, shrewdly working levers of power.

Later, though, Darwin got worked over himself. The most entertaining section of Markel’s book dives into the composition of “On the Origin of Species” and the toll it took on Darwin. He secured a publishing deal in just four days, but even those mild negotiations clobbered his health. He then had to rally and finish the thing, penning each page on a long board propped in his lap, with sheets of fool’s cap clipped to it. He nearly lost one chapter when a colleague’s children scribbled all over it. Darwin nevertheless churned out 513 pages in 13 months, then more or less keeled over and spent nine weeks in a hospital.

His publisher toyed with changing the book’s title (he preferred “The Origin: Natural Selection”), and one peer reviewer suggested that Darwin drop all the evolution stuff and expand the chapter on raising pigeons. (“Everybody is interested in pigeons,” the reviewer explained.) Darwin demurred.

Sales of “Origin” were brisk, especially considering that a copy cost the equivalent of $105 today. It helped that Darwin secured a coveted slot in Mudie’s Lending Library program, a sort of Victorian-era Oprah’s Book Club for working, middle-class folk. But initial reviews were mixed. Darwin admired George Eliot’s novels, but she didn’t return the favor, privately calling “Origin” “ill-written.” Published assessments were harsher still. After reading one screed, Darwin moaned, “I am thrashed,” and his health yo-yoed up and down depending on the tenor of the clippings in each day’s post. Incredibly, Markel suggests that Darwin’s own publisher arranged for one nasty review, hoping to gin up controversy and therefore sales. Friends like these!

The final section of “Origin Story” recounts the legendary debate on the merits of Darwin’s theory in June 1860, with the biologist Thomas Huxley — “Darwin’s Bulldog” — squaring off against Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, known as “Soapy Sam” for his unctuous ways. (Darwin, inevitably, was too sick to attend.) This is another well-trod tale, and at times Markel’s account descends into a sort of scientific period drama, with parades of silk hats and velvet trousers and lavish descriptions of the décor.

That said, he does capture the pathos and passion of the debate. At one point Robert FitzRoy — the captain of the Beagle, the ship in which Darwin sailed to the Galápagos and other lands — stood up and apologized to the crowd for having taken Darwin along and thus enabling his blasphemous book. Darwin’s stomach couldn’t have taken that very well when word trickled back.

Markel also clears up popular misconceptions about the debate, including the notion that Huxley walked away triumphant. In truth, many people present, including some scientists, thought Soapy Sam waxed him. Indeed, it wasn’t the debate that won people over, Markel argues, but the decades of labor that followed, as scientists worldwide — many of them anonymous, poorly paid assistants — trudged out and gathered evidence for evolution. Public acceptance, then, was as painstaking and slow as evolution itself.

The public’s attitude toward evolution has (mostly) softened since. And while few people read “Origin” nowadays, it remains revered. “Darwin was far too close to his book,” Markel says, and swore at times that he hated the damn thing. But the trials he endured for it defined his life. All heroes have an origin story, and Darwin’s nearly finished him off.

ORIGIN STORY : The Trials of Charles Darwin | By Howard Markel | Norton | 352 pp. | $35

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Sweet Tooth Season 3 Review: Netflix's Huge End to Gus' Journey

The following contains spoilers for Sweet Tooth Season 3, Episodes 1-3, now streaming on Netflix.

Netflix's Sweet Tooth Season 3 has a road trip vibe, but it isn't an easy ride for Gus and his allies. It's a bittersweet to experience the end of such a superbly crafted television series, but a lot of that is due to the fascinating source material by legendary comic writer Jeff Lemire, whose other works include Essex County and Black Hammer . In Season 3's first three episodes, it's clear that Gus and his friends are going out with a bang -- after even more hardships, of course.

Christian Convery puts in the performance of a lifetime in Sweet Tooth , but the show's entire cast is fantastic . Nonso Anozie as Tommy Jepperd, Stefania LaVie Owen as Bear and Adeel Akhtar as Dr. Aditya Singh are all back in top form. Joining them in Season 3 is Kelly Marie Tran, who steals just about any scene she's in. Her character Rosie Zhang is as far away from Star Wars' Rose Tico as one could possibly imagine -- and Tran puts in a gutsy performance that makes the distinction more than easy to make. The actors give Sweet Tooth an incredible sendoff that Netflix viewers will appreciate.

Sweet Tooth's Third Season Introduces New Villains

Season 3 provides plenty for gus to be wary of, sweet tooth's rosie and the wolf boys, explained.

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It feels unfair how emotionally charged the first three episodes of Sweet Tooth 's final season are -- especially when you consider Gus' innocence and the trials he's already had to endure. One would assume that with the death of General Abbott in Season 2 and the disintegration of his militia, there'd be a pretty clear path toward Gus' assumed mother Birdie and her home in Alaska. But enter Helen Zhang and her ruthless daughter Rosie as Season 3's villains.

With Helen's goal of reestablishing humanity after "The Sick" has resulted in exclusively hybrid births, the mother/daughter combo are compelling villains in the absence of General Abbott. Tran delivers an extremely layered performance -- both menacing and sympathetic at the same time. She makes audiences want to spend more time with Rosie, despite the fact that the character is clearly an antagonist.

"The Sick" is also posing a big problem for Gus, because obsessive Dr. Singh's motivations aren't entirely clear, either. While he has historically wanted nothing more than to cure the sickness spreading throughout the world, he's gone to some unforgivable measures that make his willingness to help Gus a little bit suspect. Akhtar plays the character to such perfection that it's difficult to get a true read on him -- but that only adds to Sweet Tooth Season 3's tension.

Sweet Tooth's Relationships Remain Its Strongest Aspect

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As was the case in the first two seasons, Sweet Tooth Season 3 is driven by its character dynamics -- some of the best on television. The tender determination shared by Gus and Jepperd is the backbone of the series, but it's all the surrounding relationships that really make the show feel alive. Jepperd and Bear have a unique bond as they both aim to keep Gus safe at all costs, even when it seems impossible. A moment in Season 3, Episode 3, "The Pack," when they're forced apart makes viewers understand just how important they are to each other on this long journey.

On the other side of the coin, seeing Rosie navigate a difficult relationship with Helen puts into perspective how important true friendships and bonds are. Rosie can't enjoy her four children the way a normal mother would be able to, due to Helen's bias against hybrids. Helen then forces these half-wolf kids to essentially work as muzzled hunting dogs for her, which weighs heavily on Rosie. "The Pack" ends with an emotional gut-punch for Rosie, putting her at a crossroads and making her one of Season 3's most interesting characters. And that's saying a lot in a TV series filled with interesting characters .

Sweet Tooth Season 3 Introduces the Mystery of the Cave

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Making Birdie a main character injects new life into Sweet Tooth during its final crop of episodes. In a less-developed series, scenes following someone who had been a side character would feel like an unnecessary pivot that took audiences out of the story, but not on the Netflix fantasy drama. Watching Birdie struggle to find a cure for The Sick and seeing her determination to ensure Gus' welfare in an apocalyptic landscape adds a dimension to the story that was missing from previous seasons.

Birdie's research into "The Cave" also provides a fantastic new mystery for audiences to engage with. Finally, the show is answering questions that have been lingering since the very first episode -- like what is The Sick, and how did it spread? All roads lead to Gus, whose journey is to not only find his mother, but also find the reason behind everything viewers have been experiencing. Sweet Tooth has masterfully crafted this organic mystery and the final season is poised to provide all the answers.

Are Parts of Sweet Tooth Season 3 Redundant?

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While the majority of Sweet Tooth Season 3 is a treat to watch, it does become a little exhausting to see the show retread character beats that should have long since been wrapped up. Jepperd's apprehension could've ended in Season 2 -- he's vowed his allegiance to Gus at every turn. Yet twice within the same Season 3 episode, his determination wavers, most notably after an otherwise exhilarating avalanche scene. While he is getting older and his previous injuries are catching up to him, these moments stop the show's narrative in its tracks.

This being the only true criticism speaks volumes about the overall quality of the season -- and the entire series. Sweet Tooth helped a world struggling with a legitimate pandemic by showcasing characters who accepted reality and approached it with both tenacity and tenderness. That lesson remains true during the third and final season. While there's plenty for Jepperd, Gus and their friends to overcome and to find out in Season 3, it preserves the heart of the TV series that fans have come to love so much.

Sweet Tooth

Release Date June 4, 2022

Cast Stefania LaVie Owen, Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar

Main Genre Adventure

Genres Drama, Action, Adventure

Rating TV-14

• Incredible performances across the board
• A heartfelt story that engages viewers on an emotional level
• An apocalyptic setting that feels fresh
• Wonderfully directed and shot
• An underrated score that deserves praise
• A bit of redundancy to catch viewers back up

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For those already versed in Torres’ CV, “Fantasmas” has some repetition. His passion for the color “clear” comes up in “My Favorite Shapes”; a bit about dramatic hand acting has had several lives, moving from Instagram to “The Tonight Show” to this newest iteration. But this Hollywood critique is both new and biting, even as it’s softened by the silly context. With backers like HBO, A24 and Emma Stone — an executive producer on “Fantasmas” who also appears in the show’s “Real Housewives” parody “True Women of New York” — Torres has successfully forged a platform for his uncompromised, unfiltered voice. But between the lines, “Fantasmas” hints at how hard he’s had to fight to stay himself, even if his work suggests Torres couldn’t be anyone else if he tried.

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Absolutely outstanding experience at this Brazilian churrasquearía! From the moment I walked in, the ambiance transported me straight to the heart of Brazil with its vibrant décor. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, making sure we picked the best representation of the Brazilian cuisine. My plate was filled with a variety of succulent meats, grilled to perfection. Each steak, rib and chicken was more delicious than the last, from the tender picanha to the flavorful ribs. It was not just a meal; it was an exquisite culinary journey that delighted all my senses. For anyone craving an authentic Brazilian churrasco experience, look no further. This place truly deserves its 5 stars and then some! Obrigado for an amazing experience!

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When is Hajj 2024? More about the spiritual journey for Muslims that leads to Eid al-Adha

• Hajj, or pilgrimage, is one of the basic foundations of Muslim beliefs and is one of the five pillars of Islam.
• Hajj takes place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

With the final month of the Islamic calendar, Dhul Hijjah , on its way, some Muslims will prepare to make their way to Saudi Arabia to perform an obligatory spiritual journey called Hajj, or pilgrimage. 

The month of Dhul Hijjah is anticipated to begin on the night of June 6, with the sighting of the crescent moon. 

So, what is Hajj? When does it start? Here is what to know. 

When is Hajj? 

With the period of Hajj to begin on the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah and end on the twelfth day, it is predicted to start on June 14 and end on June 19, lasting five to six days. 

What is Hajj?

Hajj, or pilgrimage, is one of the basic foundations of Muslim beliefs and is one of the five pillars of Islam, according to Islamic Relief . It takes place at Holy sites in Saudi Arabia. 

The five pillars of Islam include: 

• Profession of faith (Shahadah)
• Prayer (Salah)
• Charity (Zakat)
• Fasting (Sawm)
• Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Hajj is required to be done once in a lifetime, but Muslims have the option to go more than once if they have the means. 

The history of Hajj traces back thousands of years ago to the Prophet Abraham who built the Kaa’ba. Later, Prophet Muhammad began the pilgrimage in 628 CE during Dhul Hijjah. 

What is that Kaa’ba?

The Kaa’ba, known as the ‘Baitullah’ or the House of God, is ultimately a mosque — Muslims do not worship it.

It was built by Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ishmael. It was later used by polytheistic Pagan Arabs until Islam came and Prophet Muhammad made it a holy site, initiating the Islamic duty of pilgrimage. 

Today, as Muslims observe their five daily obligatory prayers, they specifically pray in the direction of the Kaa’ba in any part of the world. 

Who goes to Hajj?

Hajj is obligatory, but it is only required for adult Muslims with the financial capacity to travel and who are healthy to perform it, both physically and emotionally. 

Approximately 2-3 million Muslims participate in Hajj every year. Anyone performing Hajj is called a pilgrim. 

Where is Hajj done?

Hajj takes place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. 

How do Muslims prepare for Hajj? What happens at Hajj?

Hajj is a special, spiritual time for pilgrims, as some of them have spent their lives waiting for this time to come. Many Muslims may have spent years saving money to finally attend Hajj or waiting for a permit from Saudi authorities, according to AP . 

To perform Hajj correctly, pilgrims must follow step-by-step rules to fulfill this journey, according to Islamic Relief . This includes maintaining a state of intention — to please God and fulfill the religious duty — and entering a state of Ihram, or spiritual state, to perform Hajj. 

To maintain a state of Ihram, pilgrims must refrain from wrongdoings, and be mindful of their words and actions. Pilgrims must refrain from smoking, engaging in sexual relations, swearing, shaving hair, and cutting nails. 

Ihram includes wearing the proper clothing for Hajj.

Men wear a two-piece white cloth wrapped around the waist and over the shoulder, and women observe the rules of hijab, which requires the head covering and loose clothing covering the body from head to toe. Footwear must be in the form of sandals. Because Hajj brings unity to the Muslim community, rich and poor, all pilgrims must dress simply without any stitching on the garments. 

Though Ihram is simple, it must be followed and adhered to. 

Next, pilgrims enter Mecca to begin their pilgrimage.

This begins with Tawaf, which is walking around the Kaa’ba counterclockwise seven times. Then, pilgrims will perform S’ai, which is walking or running between the hills of Safa and Marwah, which reenacts the struggle of Prophet Abraham’s wife, Hagar, searching for water for her son, Ishmael. Both of these actions take place in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, known as Masjid al-Haram. 

Permitted to leave a state of Ihram, men will shave their heads while women cut a fingertip’s length lock of hair, then maintain a state of Ihram again. Pilgrims will camp in an area called Mina and later head to Mount Arafat, 12 miles outside central Mecca, on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah (known as Yawm al-Arafah), where they will stand in supplication and ask God for forgiveness.

Then, pilgrims will travel to Muzdalifa, where they will pick up pebbles to stone the devil in the Valley of Mina, where it is believed that Ibrahim was tempted to neglect God’s command to sacrifice his son. 

When is Eid al-Adha?

Eid al-Adha, the second major holiday for Muslims, translates to ‘Festival of Sacrifice’, as this day commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, for God. But God stopped him and sent him a ram to sacrifice instead.

Eid al-Adha will take place during Hajj. It is expected to begin on the night of June 15 and will be celebrated worldwide on June 16.

On this day, Muslims will attend a community prayer in the morning, often in a mosque or Islamic center, donate to those in need, and will spend the day with friends and family, eating and enjoying each other’s company.

Pilgrims attending Hajj will offer Qurbani, which is the sacrifice of a permitted animal, to reflect Ibrahim sacrificing a ram sent to him by God after his willingness to sacrifice his son. Goat, cow, lamb and camel are some of the animals permitted to be sacrificed. It is mandatory for a portion of the meat to be donated to the needy.

Hajj concludes with repeated steps of Tawaf, the stoning of the devil in Mina, and shaving and cutting of the hair once more, which signifies a Muslim’s renewal. 

A more detailed description of these steps can be found on Islamic Relief’s website , which is verified by Islamic scholars. 

What purpose does Hajj serve?

Not only does performing Hajj fulfill one of five religious duties, but it also demonstrates the struggles Prophet Abraham and his family went through in Mecca and serves as a reminder to Muslims of Prophet Abraham’s devotion to God.

The completion of Hajj wipes a Muslim’s sins, builds spirituality, demonstrates submission to God, and brings unity to those in attendance.

Is pilgrimage allowed only during Hajj? 

Hajj, the major pilgrimage, can only be done between the 8th and 12th day during Dhul Hijjah and is to be completed in five to six days. However, there is a minor pilgrimage called Umrah, which in most cases can be completed in a day.

Umrah is not obligatory but is highly encouraged for those who have the financial capacity and are in good health. It has fewer steps than Hajj and can be done at any time of the year.

The Key Points at the top of this article were created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed by a journalist before publication. No other parts of the article were generated using AI. Learn more .

The state of AI in early 2024: Gen AI adoption spikes and starts to generate value

If 2023 was the year the world discovered generative AI (gen AI) , 2024 is the year organizations truly began using—and deriving business value from—this new technology. In the latest McKinsey Global Survey  on AI, 65 percent of respondents report that their organizations are regularly using gen AI, nearly double the percentage from our previous survey just ten months ago. Respondents’ expectations for gen AI’s impact remain as high as they were last year , with three-quarters predicting that gen AI will lead to significant or disruptive change in their industries in the years ahead.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Alex Singla , Alexander Sukharevsky , Lareina Yee , and Michael Chui , with Bryce Hall , representing views from QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and McKinsey Digital.

Organizations are already seeing material benefits from gen AI use, reporting both cost decreases and revenue jumps in the business units deploying the technology. The survey also provides insights into the kinds of risks presented by gen AI—most notably, inaccuracy—as well as the emerging practices of top performers to mitigate those challenges and capture value.

AI adoption surges

Interest in generative AI has also brightened the spotlight on a broader set of AI capabilities. For the past six years, AI adoption by respondents’ organizations has hovered at about 50 percent. This year, the survey finds that adoption has jumped to 72 percent (Exhibit 1). And the interest is truly global in scope. Our 2023 survey found that AI adoption did not reach 66 percent in any region; however, this year more than two-thirds of respondents in nearly every region say their organizations are using AI. 1 Organizations based in Central and South America are the exception, with 58 percent of respondents working for organizations based in Central and South America reporting AI adoption. Looking by industry, the biggest increase in adoption can be found in professional services. 2 Includes respondents working for organizations focused on human resources, legal services, management consulting, market research, R&D, tax preparation, and training.

Also, responses suggest that companies are now using AI in more parts of the business. Half of respondents say their organizations have adopted AI in two or more business functions, up from less than a third of respondents in 2023 (Exhibit 2).

Gen AI adoption is most common in the functions where it can create the most value

Most respondents now report that their organizations—and they as individuals—are using gen AI. Sixty-five percent of respondents say their organizations are regularly using gen AI in at least one business function, up from one-third last year. The average organization using gen AI is doing so in two functions, most often in marketing and sales and in product and service development—two functions in which previous research  determined that gen AI adoption could generate the most value 3 “ The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier ,” McKinsey, June 14, 2023. —as well as in IT (Exhibit 3). The biggest increase from 2023 is found in marketing and sales, where reported adoption has more than doubled. Yet across functions, only two use cases, both within marketing and sales, are reported by 15 percent or more of respondents.

Gen AI also is weaving its way into respondents’ personal lives. Compared with 2023, respondents are much more likely to be using gen AI at work and even more likely to be using gen AI both at work and in their personal lives (Exhibit 4). The survey finds upticks in gen AI use across all regions, with the largest increases in Asia–Pacific and Greater China. Respondents at the highest seniority levels, meanwhile, show larger jumps in the use of gen Al tools for work and outside of work compared with their midlevel-management peers. Looking at specific industries, respondents working in energy and materials and in professional services report the largest increase in gen AI use.

Investments in gen AI and analytical AI are beginning to create value

The latest survey also shows how different industries are budgeting for gen AI. Responses suggest that, in many industries, organizations are about equally as likely to be investing more than 5 percent of their digital budgets in gen AI as they are in nongenerative, analytical-AI solutions (Exhibit 5). Yet in most industries, larger shares of respondents report that their organizations spend more than 20 percent on analytical AI than on gen AI. Looking ahead, most respondents—67 percent—expect their organizations to invest more in AI over the next three years.

Where are those investments paying off? For the first time, our latest survey explored the value created by gen AI use by business function. The function in which the largest share of respondents report seeing cost decreases is human resources. Respondents most commonly report meaningful revenue increases (of more than 5 percent) in supply chain and inventory management (Exhibit 6). For analytical AI, respondents most often report seeing cost benefits in service operations—in line with what we found last year —as well as meaningful revenue increases from AI use in marketing and sales.

Inaccuracy: The most recognized and experienced risk of gen AI use

As businesses begin to see the benefits of gen AI, they’re also recognizing the diverse risks associated with the technology. These can range from data management risks such as data privacy, bias, or intellectual property (IP) infringement to model management risks, which tend to focus on inaccurate output or lack of explainability. A third big risk category is security and incorrect use.

Respondents to the latest survey are more likely than they were last year to say their organizations consider inaccuracy and IP infringement to be relevant to their use of gen AI, and about half continue to view cybersecurity as a risk (Exhibit 7).

Conversely, respondents are less likely than they were last year to say their organizations consider workforce and labor displacement to be relevant risks and are not increasing efforts to mitigate them.

In fact, inaccuracy— which can affect use cases across the gen AI value chain , ranging from customer journeys and summarization to coding and creative content—is the only risk that respondents are significantly more likely than last year to say their organizations are actively working to mitigate.

Some organizations have already experienced negative consequences from the use of gen AI, with 44 percent of respondents saying their organizations have experienced at least one consequence (Exhibit 8). Respondents most often report inaccuracy as a risk that has affected their organizations, followed by cybersecurity and explainability.

Our previous research has found that there are several elements of governance that can help in scaling gen AI use responsibly, yet few respondents report having these risk-related practices in place. 4 “ Implementing generative AI with speed and safety ,” McKinsey Quarterly , March 13, 2024. For example, just 18 percent say their organizations have an enterprise-wide council or board with the authority to make decisions involving responsible AI governance, and only one-third say gen AI risk awareness and risk mitigation controls are required skill sets for technical talent.

Bringing gen AI capabilities to bear

The latest survey also sought to understand how, and how quickly, organizations are deploying these new gen AI tools. We have found three archetypes for implementing gen AI solutions : takers use off-the-shelf, publicly available solutions; shapers customize those tools with proprietary data and systems; and makers develop their own foundation models from scratch. 5 “ Technology’s generational moment with generative AI: A CIO and CTO guide ,” McKinsey, July 11, 2023. Across most industries, the survey results suggest that organizations are finding off-the-shelf offerings applicable to their business needs—though many are pursuing opportunities to customize models or even develop their own (Exhibit 9). About half of reported gen AI uses within respondents’ business functions are utilizing off-the-shelf, publicly available models or tools, with little or no customization. Respondents in energy and materials, technology, and media and telecommunications are more likely to report significant customization or tuning of publicly available models or developing their own proprietary models to address specific business needs.

Respondents most often report that their organizations required one to four months from the start of a project to put gen AI into production, though the time it takes varies by business function (Exhibit 10). It also depends upon the approach for acquiring those capabilities. Not surprisingly, reported uses of highly customized or proprietary models are 1.5 times more likely than off-the-shelf, publicly available models to take five months or more to implement.

Gen AI high performers are excelling despite facing challenges

Gen AI is a new technology, and organizations are still early in the journey of pursuing its opportunities and scaling it across functions. So it’s little surprise that only a small subset of respondents (46 out of 876) report that a meaningful share of their organizations’ EBIT can be attributed to their deployment of gen AI. Still, these gen AI leaders are worth examining closely. These, after all, are the early movers, who already attribute more than 10 percent of their organizations’ EBIT to their use of gen AI. Forty-two percent of these high performers say more than 20 percent of their EBIT is attributable to their use of nongenerative, analytical AI, and they span industries and regions—though most are at organizations with less than $1 billion in annual revenue. The AI-related practices at these organizations can offer guidance to those looking to create value from gen AI adoption at their own organizations.

To start, gen AI high performers are using gen AI in more business functions—an average of three functions, while others average two. They, like other organizations, are most likely to use gen AI in marketing and sales and product or service development, but they’re much more likely than others to use gen AI solutions in risk, legal, and compliance; in strategy and corporate finance; and in supply chain and inventory management. They’re more than three times as likely as others to be using gen AI in activities ranging from processing of accounting documents and risk assessment to R&D testing and pricing and promotions. While, overall, about half of reported gen AI applications within business functions are utilizing publicly available models or tools, gen AI high performers are less likely to use those off-the-shelf options than to either implement significantly customized versions of those tools or to develop their own proprietary foundation models.

What else are these high performers doing differently? For one thing, they are paying more attention to gen-AI-related risks. Perhaps because they are further along on their journeys, they are more likely than others to say their organizations have experienced every negative consequence from gen AI we asked about, from cybersecurity and personal privacy to explainability and IP infringement. Given that, they are more likely than others to report that their organizations consider those risks, as well as regulatory compliance, environmental impacts, and political stability, to be relevant to their gen AI use, and they say they take steps to mitigate more risks than others do.

Gen AI high performers are also much more likely to say their organizations follow a set of risk-related best practices (Exhibit 11). For example, they are nearly twice as likely as others to involve the legal function and embed risk reviews early on in the development of gen AI solutions—that is, to “ shift left .” They’re also much more likely than others to employ a wide range of other best practices, from strategy-related practices to those related to scaling.

In addition to experiencing the risks of gen AI adoption, high performers have encountered other challenges that can serve as warnings to others (Exhibit 12). Seventy percent say they have experienced difficulties with data, including defining processes for data governance, developing the ability to quickly integrate data into AI models, and an insufficient amount of training data, highlighting the essential role that data play in capturing value. High performers are also more likely than others to report experiencing challenges with their operating models, such as implementing agile ways of working and effective sprint performance management.

About the research

The online survey was in the field from February 22 to March 5, 2024, and garnered responses from 1,363 participants representing the full range of regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialties, and tenures. Of those respondents, 981 said their organizations had adopted AI in at least one business function, and 878 said their organizations were regularly using gen AI in at least one function. To adjust for differences in response rates, the data are weighted by the contribution of each respondent’s nation to global GDP.

Alex Singla and Alexander Sukharevsky  are global coleaders of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and senior partners in McKinsey’s Chicago and London offices, respectively; Lareina Yee  is a senior partner in the Bay Area office, where Michael Chui , a McKinsey Global Institute partner, is a partner; and Bryce Hall  is an associate partner in the Washington, DC, office.

They wish to thank Kaitlin Noe, Larry Kanter, Mallika Jhamb, and Shinjini Srivastava for their contributions to this work.

This article was edited by Heather Hanselman, a senior editor in McKinsey’s Atlanta office.

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‘the acolyte’ review: amandla stenberg in a disney+ ‘star wars’ spinoff that shakes up the formula.

Set decades before the events of the films, the dramatic thriller follows a Jedi knight and his former Padawan as they search for a mysterious Force user who's killing off Jedi one by one.

By Angie Han

Television Critic

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It would certainly be unfair to say that all Star Wars stories have the same plot. Andor is not The Last Jedi and The Last Jedi is not The Phantom Menace , and each is more interesting for the new paths they cut across familiar territory. In broad strokes, though, a whole lot of them seem to come down to the same trusty formula: heroic Jedi freedom fighters versus dark-side imperialists, on and on across the galaxy for decades.

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Daniel brühl on 'becoming karl lagerfeld,' meeting the fashion icon and being seduced by his co-star, 'star wars: the acolyte' stars talk ocd jedi, x-23 with a lightsaber and charting their own course, the acolyte.

While the opening text indicates a time of peace and prosperity, the premiere, directed by creator Leslye Headland , makes clear that those blessings are not shared equally by all.

Our protagonist is Osha ( Amandla Stenberg ), a former Padawan who washed out of the academy before reaching full-fledged Jedi status. Now she works as a “meknik,” doing outer-ship repairs for wealthy clients who don’t care that the job has been deemed too dangerous for anyone but R2 droids. (That her name happens to be the acronym for the agency that regulates workplace safety in our own reality seems a sardonic joke.) But when Mae (also Stenberg), the twin she believed died 16 years earlier, resurfaces as a killer of Jedi, Osha reluctantly teams with her old master ( Lee Jung-jae ) to find her sister and bring her to justice.

While Mae’s spree has political implications for the Jedi, The Acolyte concerns itself with its more personal impact, with uneven results. Stenberg makes restraint her weapon as Osha; the more she turns her rage inward, the more we feel for the anguish bottled up inside her. Lee does similarly subtle work as Sol, conveying more tenderness with a single facial expression than could be explained in any clunky speech. (Though he’s very smooth at delivering necessary chunks of exposition, too.)

As Osha slowly pieces together the truth about her and Mae’s shared history, The Acolyte takes on the grim momentum of a conspiracy thriller: every answer seems to raise more unsettling questions, until it feels impossible to know whom to trust. The Jedi’s role in the sisters’ childhood starts to look less benevolent than Osha had always assumed it to be, though perhaps also less malicious than Mae had.

“This is not about good or bad. It’s about power and who gets to wield it,” their mother (a regal Jodie Turner-Smith) says in a flashback — and indeed, the closer the series stares at the line between the two sides, the blurrier it becomes.

A standout third episode, directed by Kogonada ( Columbus , After Yang ), embeds itself with a coven persecuted for their “unnatural” use of the Force. Yet what we see of their ways hardly seems sinister; they seem like women who want only to be left alone to practice their traditions in peace.

From their perspective, the Jedi are the persecutors who barge in where they’re not wanted, imposing their traditions on others with the full might of their institutional power. “Thank you for your cooperation,” the Jedi add after their most unreasonable demand, a fig leaf of courtesy to reframe their intervention as a civil exchange.

But in its willingness to challenge our assumptions, The Acolyte finds its own place. It’s one deep in the gray, between the poles of light and dark that have defined so much of its galaxy.

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'Sweet Tooth' Season 3 Review: A Bumpy, Satisfying Journey to the End

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The Big Picture

• Sweet Tooth is a hybrid of concepts that shouldn't work but surprisingly does, focusing on humans resisting change.
• Characters like Bear and an excess of new faces in Season 3 distract from Gus' core journey.
• The final episode appropriately concludes the series, showcasing its hopeful and loving nature while honoring the source material.

For three seasons, Sweet Tooth has followed Gus ( Christian Convery ), a kid who is a hybrid between animals and humans — he looks just like a little boy, but he’s also got big ol' antlers coming out of his head. Since its beginning , Sweet Tooth itself, however, has felt like a hybrid of things that shouldn’t work . For example, this was a show about a pandemic that premiered on Netflix as we were dealing with our own world-altering pandemic. The show, developed by Jim Mickle , also took Jeff Lemire ’s decidedly dark graphic novel series and gave it a much lighter approach, the rare apocalyptic series to prioritize wide-eyed hope.

This is also a show packed with adorable animal hybrid children (Bobby, a groundhog hybrid, might be the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life), who are being hunted by humans afraid that they’re being replaced by this new evolution. As Season 3 brings Sweet Tooth to an end, this conflict of hybrids as the next step in our progression and humans losing their grip on their position in the world, this conflict takes center stage in an occasionally bumpy, but ultimately satisfying end for Sweet Tooth’s journey.

Sweet Tooth

A boy who is half human and half deer survives in a post-apocalyptic world with other hybrids.

'Sweet Tooth' Season 3 Sends Gus to Alaska to Find His Mom

Season 3 begins with our main group reunited after the events of the last season , as Gus, Tommy Jepperd ( Nonso Anozie ), Bear ( Stefania LaVie Owen ), and Wendy ( Naledi Murray ) head to Alaska to find Gus’ mom, Birdie ( Amy Seimetz ). Birdie has been attempting to find where the Sick came from, searching for a cure and its origin. When Gus and his team head to find Birdie, they run into Dr. Singh ( Adeel Akhtar ), who wants to help Gus reach his destination after having a vision. They also find themselves hunted by Helen Zhang ( Rosalind Chao ), who has become the “last warlord standing” in this new world and wants to get human births started again, as she’s aided in her hunt by her daughter Rosie ( Kelly Marie Tran ), and her children/wolf hybrids. As Gus and his gang head to Alaska for answers and to find his mom, the humans tracking him down want to undo whatever caused hybrids to be born and bring the world back to the way they remember it.

More than any other season, Sweet Tooth Season 3 is very much about the fight against change from humans who just want things to go back to the way they used to be. While this primarily comes in the season’s new primary villain, Zhang, the series is far more overt about this theme than in the past. Early on, Gus and his crew meet a family who try to hide that one of the children is a hybrid, having them bind their chest to hide their wings. For many of the humans that remain, there’s a very strong focus on how things used to be versus how they are now and trying to make the world great again. Especially for Gus and his allies, there’s a question of whether humans are even worth saving if they're trying to murder and harm innocent hybrid children.

Christian Convery Is Excellent in 'Sweet Tooth's Final Season

This question is most perfectly encapsulated by the journey that Gus goes on in Season 3. It's especially a great season for Convery, who literally has the entire world on his shoulders at times. Through Convery’s performance, we’re seeing a kid who has had to grow up far too early evolving into a storyteller and a leader who has to decide what’s best for the world he’s been born into that mostly doesn’t want him. Gus has almost always had someone on his side to help him on his journey, but one of his best episodes this season, “Beyond the Sea,” mostly isolates him and forces him to figure out what’s best for his group and those who have been lost. It’s a beautiful episode of self-realization that turns Gus into an essential part of what this world will become and needs. Convery excels at bringing this evolution of Gus to life , as he becomes an adult who realizes his importance to the world and how to best help the world move forward.

Last season, Sweet Tooth struggled when it separated these characters , with the middle section often feeling a bit too stretched out and like it was spinning its wheels, which led to an eight-episode season that could’ve been cut in half. Season 3 has a similar problem, which also leads to more of a focus on secondary characters than is needed. This is especially true when Bear and Wendy go on their own adventures away from the primary group. Unlike many of the main characters, the former is a creation specifically for the show, but Sweet Tooth has often struggled to make Bear as compelling as the rest of the main cast. That issue remains in this final season, and unfortunately, teaming her up with Wendy doesn’t do much to fix that.

'Sweet Tooth's Final Episode Irons Out Season 3's Problems

Similarly, Sweet Tooth 's final season also introduces a whole slew of new characters that tend to slow down Gus' main journey rather than elevate it in any major way. We meet the community Birdie has lived with in Alaska, including her friend Siana ( Cara Gee ), Siana’s hybrid daughter Nika ( Ayazkhan Dalabayeva ), and plenty of other members of this small town. But most of these characters are just a means to an end in the larger story, mostly in fighting enemies to get Gus to his destination without us having much of an opportunity to learn too much about them.

This problem also arises when it comes to Zhang and her family. While we knew Zhang before, as Season 2 set her up as the finale’s big bad, this season also has the unfortunate issue of introducing her crew and family. In addition to Zhang’s pregnant daughter and her team of anti-hybrid workers, the most substantial addition this season comes in Kelly Marie Tran’s Rosie. More than almost any other character we see, Rosie is torn between a future where her wolf children can thrive, or the wishes of her mother to end all hybrid lives. Rosie’s an intriguing character stuck between two hard decisions , but we don’t get to delve into this conflict until late in the season.

But the end of this final season is where Sweet Tooth all comes together in a lovely, fitting way . This entire series has been told as a story by our unknown narrator ( James Brolin ), with the season starting with him stating, “All stories end,” and, as with any great story, Sweet Tooth nails its ending. Despite all the mythology and history that this season throws into the mix to try and explain the hybrid situation the world has found itself in, this has always been a story of a boy and “big man” Jeppard. Particularly in the final episode, “This is a Story,” Sweet Tooth pays off this bond perfectly in a way that makes the journey worth it for the final destination. Like so much of the show, Mickle (who wrote and directed the final episode) nails just the right blend of paying homage to Lemire’s comics while finding the perfect tone for this more positive take on the source material.

Sweet Tooth hasn’t necessarily been the smoothest ride, with the wonderful first season being followed by a clunkier-than-expected second , and with many of those issues still consistent in the final season as well. But taken as a whole and with a conclusion that pays off this story in a delightful way and a pitch-perfect performance by Convery, Sweet Tooth is the rare apocalyptic story full of hope and love .

Sweet Tooth's final season is a bit of a bumpy ride, but a fantastic lead performance and great ending make it all worthwhile.

• Christian Convery excels in showing Gus evolve into a leader and storyteller.
• The series finale is possibly the best episode of the entire show.
• Too many secondary characters aren't given enough time and often hold back the main story at hand.

Sweet Tooth Season 3 is now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix