If I am playing on Map A then I usually go for the bonus giving a move up the conservation track in each income phase. A game for players who like to have a lot to manage at any given point but also for players who have always wanted to build a Zoo the way you want it to be built. The similarities to Terraforming Mars come from the massive deck of cards that contain tags in a similar fashion to the big red game. This last aspect could generate serious damage if a player has built a great hand and they are just waiting to deploy their strategy.

Ark Nova | Board Games | Zatu Games UK Ark Nova | Board Games | Zatu Games UK

The game ends when one player’s appeal and conservation markers pass each other (as in Rajas of the Ganges), after which all other players take one last turn and you handle endgame scoring. It’s not flawless – odd components here and there could do with an upgrade and you’ll need to invest a couple of hours in most games.Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. This is handy because this isn’t a short game, even though the end may creep up on you more quickly than you might think. The cards are Animals which lets you play your animal cards as long as you meet their requirements in terms of icons present in your zoo and enclosures. And while the images aren’t as unique as Wingspan’s inimitable avian illustrations, they do create the feeling of populating a vibrant, three-dimensional zoo. As usual, in Ark Nova, the player with the highest positive score is the winner and that means you made the most successful zoo!

Ark Nova - Board Game Guru Ark Nova - Board Game Guru

When using the Sponsor action instead of playing a sponsor card you can move the broken token forward the same amount as the power of the action and take that much money. The Animals card is laid in the number 1 slot and the other four cards are random to the other slots.The sponsor action lets you play blue sponsor cards, which generally offer an ongoing benefit and an endgame scoring opportunity, or take a break, advancing the coffee-cup token on the break track and taking income. When an enclosure is filled, you simply flip the tile to show it is now occupied or, in the case of aviaries, reptile houses and petting zoos, place a cube on one of the remaining spaces. Not only did the zoo-building strategy game win a recommendation at the 2022 Kennerspiel des Jahres but for months it was effectively extinct in the wild –both the initial printing and second printing were pounced on so fast that it was effectively impossible to get hold of. Ark Nova took me about 20 minutes to set up, after which I watched a nearly 40-minute tutorial video to learn how to play. You have a scoring marker at the start of each one and the game ends as soon as one player makes them meet or cross.