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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played Ark Nova over the last year and a bit. In the run up to Christmas 2022 (when I first got hold of the game) it was THE game I would want to play, and is still my first choice when we have the time. Anyone who utters ‘board game’ in my presence in promptly regaled with my recommendations…and Ark Nova is always mentioned! Some good friends introduced it to me, and I was instantly hooked.
I’ve always enjoyed a board game, and have expanded my collection over the last few years (thanks Zatu!), but I have never played a game quite as much and enjoyed it every time (the exception being when I’ve built a rubbish zoo)! It should be said, I LOVE a real life zoo - but even if that isn’t what floats your boat, the artwork, game play and re-playability will still keep you coming back for more….This blog was also meant to talk about Everdell (another animal game) - but that will have to wait for next time, as my enthusiasm for the wonderful world of Ark Nova took over. Although if you’re after the 3% discount for 3 games…you definitely can’t go wrong with Everdell.
If you like card development games, with a brilliant theme and enough variety to keep the variety going - Ark Nova is for you! It’s also not directly competitive (although there is the occasional squabble at our gaming table re someone taking the card you had your eye on), but you quickly get absorbed in your master plans for your zoo, whilst keeping an eye on what the competition around you is doing (sometimes providing you with financial benefits for doing so).
Ark Nova is a 1-4 player game where you compete to build the best zoo, complete with animal enclosures and your own personal selection of animals - from petting zoo to reptiles to tigers and everything in between. I love the quality of the animal cards, and the sheer number which means even if I want my favourite animal to come up, it’s not guaranteed (although this is slightly fixed with the new expansion, more below).
There are two main ways to gain points - conservation (releasing animals into the wild, or collecting a number of different continents or collecting sets of animals) and reputation (primarily gained from the animals in your zoo giving you ‘points’…the more animals in your zoo / the better the ‘reputation’ of your animal, the more income you generate - much like real-life zoos)! Those tokens move in opposite directions, and once they cross - the game ends (and the further apart they are once crossed, the higher your score). But honestly - you won’t mind about that, you’ll be far too interested in what you’ve put in your zoo!
The game uses a clever mechanism to determine the strength of the five different types of action you can play (one per turn) - you can find out more about this in the game description for Ark Nova. Due to the 255 playing cards (without an expansion), there is such a variety that I have never played the same game twice. The rules seem overwhelming complicated when you first read them, but I promise it is quite straightforward once you’ve played a couple of rounds, especially if you’ve played strategic games before.
The box says 90-150 minutes per game. I think this depends on how decisive your group is, and how you decide to play it. When playing as 2-4 player, we’ve tended to make it last 3-4 hours, but that’s in part because we get so absorbed in building the best zoo we can, that we are reluctant to end the game until we’ve put the animals we’ve been working towards for a while in our zoo! I may not be the most decisive gamer either (too competitive)!
My recommendations are:
Use the ‘break’ mechanism in the game to take a break, grab a drink or snacks and make a cup of tea (the token is literally a teacup after all).
If the game is going on too long/it’s too late, stop at the next break and leave the game for the next day (or gaming session). This obviously requires somewhere you can leave the game set up where it won’t be disturbed by pets or children.
Start earlier in the evening. I’ve hosted game nights where we’ve met for an earlier dinner, gone through the rules over dinner (for new players) and started earlier than normal game nights. Everyone I’ve played with has picked it up quickly and loved it - so much so that some friends bought their own copy and taught their son (who is almost as obsessed with it as me)!
This isn’t in the rules, or a requirement BUT in my mind is the best bit…when you’ve all finished completing your zoo (i.e. the game is over). PAUSE and take a moment to take your opponents on a ‘tour’ of your zoo. Did the person with the highest score actually have a zoo you would want to go round (in real life), or did they just major in on sponsor cards and conservation (both great strategies for winning, but can make for a poor quality zoo in terms of animals)! As a very competitive person (banned from Risk and Monopoly), I don’t mind if I lose this game - as long as my zoo is great at the end and I’ve accomplished what I wanted to.
As you can tell, I flipping LOVE Ark Nova. It’s one of the best games out there & I can’t recommend it highly enough for a strategic, re-playable and fantastically themed game.
Marine Worlds: Ark Nova Expansion
Slightly cheating in this listicle as Marine Worlds is an expansion of Ark Nova! As an Ark Nova addict, I was SO excited for this expansion and it has not disappointed. New enclosures are introduced so that alongside a reptile house and birdhouse from the base game, you can now add aquariums! There are some amazing creatures included from sharks to reef dwelling fish to rays and turtles.
The marine life which live in these aquariums help you get through the 250+ cards more quickly by using a ‘wave’ effect. If you turn over an animal with a wave icon (6 cards are shown face-up at all times), you discard the bottom card and turn over a new card. The result is you end up moving through the deck a lot quicker, which makes a massive difference, particularly when playing with 2 players. You still may not get the card you want (much like if you play Wingspan with all the various expansions at the same time), but it does provide greater variety.
Another perk is the ‘reef dweller’ sea creatures who provide you an immediate effect when played, but when you next play a ‘reef dweller’ into your zoo, you trigger all the effects of the reef played previously. This can trigger a range of effects and quickly rack up points along both score tracks. Another exciting element is the cute wooden animals you get to put on your board, which you use to mark what conservation projects you have done. The fish are a nice touch, but the penguins are the cutest!
The expansion doesn’t provide any new maps (sadly), although you can buy an extra couple here . However, at the start of the game, you draft new action cards (taking it in turns), until 2 of your original 5 cards are changed. These provide you with different (and unique) benefits e.g. not having to discard cards when you pick up, giving you extra money in exchange for X-tokens, allowing you to build over water and/or rock. This massively changes the way you play the game and offers another way to differentiate your zoo (and therefore your game play) from your opponents’.
Conclusion
If you enjoy playing strategic games with an animal-themed twist, these two games are for you. There are so many animal-themed games, with a variety of different levels of difficulty but these are by far the best. Feuerland have created an absolutely smashing game, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.