Exceptional consensus · 5 organizations

Ark Nova

Mathias Wigge · Feuerland Spiele · 2021

Design and manage a modern zoo, balancing conservation projects with visitor appeal. Play cards representing animals, sponsors, and staff while upgrading your action cards throughout the game.

Players

1–4

Time

150 min

Ages

14+

Difficulty

Heavy

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Why you'll like it

The card-driven action system is brilliantly designed
Zoo theme feels genuinely immersive
Enormous deck of unique animal cards
Strong solo mode
Deep strategy that rewards repeated plays

How it plays

In Ark Nova you design and build a modern, science-based zoo. Your board is the zoo grounds, and you place enclosures and animals to earn appeal (how attractive your zoo is to visitors) and conservation points (how much you help protect species in the wild).

The central idea is the action card row. You have five action cards, and the stronger an action is, the further right it sits. Using a card resets it to the weakest slot, so you constantly balance taking a powerful action now against setting up your next turns. A deck of over 200 unique animal, sponsor and conservation cards means each game plays out differently.

Appeal and conservation move along two tracks toward each other, and the game ends once a player's markers cross. It's a long, heavy game with lots to think about, and it rewards repeated plays.