- Publisher : Super Meeple
- Designer(s) : Mathias Wigge
- Artist(s) : Steffen Bieker, Loïc Billiau, Dennis Lohausen, Christof Tisch
- Players : 1–4
- Playing time : 90–150 Min
- Weight BGG : 3.75
What's this?
In Ark Nova, your task is to orchestrate the preparation and design of a scientific zoo. Your role involves creating enclosures in harmony with the animals’ natural needs, while providing financial support for conservation initiatives aimed at maintaining species diversity
How do you play?
Each player has five Action cards that are assigned to numbered locations on their Zoo board.
The higher the number, the more powerful the action. On their turn, players choose an Action card, resolve its action, then move the cards to the left and replace the chosen card in the first slot.
At the start of the game, all Action cards are Level I, but players can upgrade them to Level II for more powerful effects.
The actions :
➡️ Action Cards: Allows you to gain new Zoo cards from the deck or the river.
➡️ Action Construction: Allows you to build enclosures, kiosks, pavilions and other buildings in your zoo.
➡️ Animal Action: Allows you to add animals to empty enclosures by respecting the specific conditions and paying the required cost.
➡️ Action Association: Allows you to send volunteers to work in zoological associations to increase your reputation, build partnerships and support conservation projects.
➡️ Patron Action: Allows you to play Patron cards to obtain direct support, finance projects or benefit from permanent effects.
➡️ Action Token X: Allows you to earn X tokens, which can be used to increase the strength of an action.
By welcoming more animals, your zoo attracts more visitors, increasing your appeal and revenue. However, you also need to ensure animal welfare to support conservation projects such as breeding.
🔚 When a player crosses his attraction track marker with his conservation track marker, the game ends.
Is it good?
Ark nova really makes you feel like you’re running a zoo. It will be necessary to build enclosures before being able to put animals in them, hire patrons, finance projects, find partnerships, support conservation projects and of course bring animals into the appropriate enclosures. Ark Nova offers a mix of known mechanics, such as the placement of tiles in our zoo, resource management, as well as an original mechanic with the power of action varying depending on the location of our cards.
The game is very rich in strategy and offers many different possibilities in each game (there are a lot of different cards). Managing your zoo well and seeing it develop provides a real feeling of satisfaction.
However, its complexity at first glance and its duration of the game may put off casual players (I do not recommend it for more than 2 players). Additionally, the lack of direct player interaction and a small amount of frustrating luck might not suit everyone. (the card we need and which does not come out)
In conclusion, Ark Nova, with its refreshing theme, its solid and varied game mechanics, as well as its high replayability, makes it an excellent choice for fans of strategy and resource management games.
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Review Ark Nova
Positives
- The game really makes you feel like you are running a modern zoo.
- The game mechanics are solid, including action selection, tile placement, and resource management.
- Excellent replayability.
- A rich and deep game
- Seeing your zoo develop provides a feeling of satisfaction.
Negatives
- Games can be long, especially with more than 3 players.
- Lack of Interaction: The game is primarily focused on managing your own zoo, with little direct interaction between players.
- A small amount of frustrating luck linked to the river of cards.
Breakdown
- Components and illustrations 9.0
- Mechanics 9.5
- Theme 10.0
- Replayability 10.0
- Handling 9.0
- Interaction 8.0
- Originality 9.5
