Entropy · Board game rules
How do Biomes affect Entropy locally?
Quick answer
Biomes don't directly grant local Entropy; however, Scarce Biomes require you to spend 1 Entropy to collect their reward, while Abundant Biomes give their reward for free [p.10 — SET BIOME].
Details
Biome tiles are categorized as either Abundant or Scarce. Both types provide an ongoing ability that triggers when you land on a specific Action space (the "Trigger"), and you collect the associated reward at the end of the Movement step [p.10 — SET BIOME]. The key difference is that Scarce Biomes require spending 1 Entropy in order to gain their reward, whereas Abundant Biomes do not have this cost [p.10 — SET BIOME].
This spending of Entropy is not itself a "local" effect tied to a specific Planet — it's simply the price of unlocking the Biome's reward. The "Local" symbol in the game instead refers to effects that affect only the specific component you are interacting with (e.g., Lifeforms on a particular Planet), and is unrelated to how Entropy interacts with Biomes [p.16 — SYMBOL INDEX].
Biomes can also be "fulfilled" by collecting the required Lifeforms on the Planet where the Biome is placed, flipping it as a free action to unlock an improved reward — this fulfillment process does not involve Entropy directly [p.10 — SET BIOME].
Watch out: Don't confuse the Entropy cost for Scarce Biome rewards with the general Entropy Exchange free action (spend 2 Entropy to gain 1 Energy or 1 Mass), which is a separate mechanic available during the Action step [p.7 — ACTIONS].