My Current Favorite Game Is Ark Nova

Normally, I do not purchase games until I have played them first; however, I made an exception for Ark Nova.  I found it on Amazon for $58 after using my cashback bonus of $16 and ordered it for my husband to give it to my for my birthday.  After getting to play it at a library game day, I couldn't wait and asked him to give it to me for sweetest day instead.  My birthday wasn't until December so this way I got it two months earlier and have been playing it ever since!  

I like the theme of building a zoo with animals, buildings, conservation projects and sponsors.  It has a very unique scoring system with two scoring tracks:  conservation points and appeal points.  When the first player whose marker on the appeal track passes their marker on the conservation track, the end of game is triggered.  The other players get one last turn and whoever has the biggest difference between their markers that passed each other wins.

Players have five action cards (Association, Sponsors, Animals, Building, Cards) and can choose to play any of them when it is their turn.  Forming associations with zoos in other countries gives you discounts when placing animals from that country as well as giving opportunities to advance on the conservation track.  The Association action also helps players meat research requirements necessary to play certain cards and can give allow a player to hold 5 cards instead of only 3 at the end of rounds.  Sponsors give various benefits that can help players advance on both tracks.  Animals primarily give appeal points (more animals and different bigger animals attract more people to come to your zoo).  Acquiring animals to fulfill conservation projects is another way to get conservation points.  Players build enclosures based on animal sizes before they can place animals.  The cards action gives players more cards in their hand.  At the beginning, all players get two secret objective cards that give opportunity to earn conservation points at the end of the game but must discard one when any player reaches 10 conservation points.

When playing with beginners, they get an easier map that gives bigger benefits than some others.  Everyone can play with the same map or advanced players can choose from 9 other different maps that give different benefits.  This game works best with 2 or 3 players but I also enjoy playing the solo version if I have no one to play against.  The game lasts between 2-3 hours depending on the number of players.  

There are lots of decision to make along the way and players must manage their money to build enclosures and play the animals they want to put into their zoos.  I love playing this because it's fun to see your zoo develop.  Even if I don't win, this is a game I enjoy.  It's a challenge to make your turns count and be efficient.  It takes some planning ahead and is a race to get the conservation projects done ahead of your opponents if possible to get a choice of additional bonuses.

This is a game I play a lot.  I certainly got my money's worth from this one!  It can be a bit intimidating at the beginning because there are a lot of rules; however, they all make sense and it's worth sticking with it.  My one friend said "I really like this game!  I wish I had learned it sooner so  I could have been playing it all this time."

Check out this video to learn to play and get some tips:

So, have you played Ark Nova?  What do you think of it?  What is currently your favorite game?