Dusting Off Ark Nova to Build a (Petting) Zoo from Memories

Embark on a journey to build a modern zoo and support conservation efforts with the many animals of Ark Nova.
There are some solo games I take ages to get around to playing, and there is no surprise around the popularity of Ark Nova! I never took the time to explore my copy, yet it was definitely time to try my prowess with the solo mode. Several variants exist for plenty of customization… But the base game called out to be explored before I branched out!
Game Overview
Game Name: Ark Nova
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Mathias Wigge
Artists: S. Bieker, L. Billiau, D. Lohausen, & C. Tisch
Publishers: Capstone Games & Feuerland Spiele
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Building a zoo takes a careful bit of planning with actions that involve filling in a map with tiles, adding animals, finding sponsors, and promoting conservation. Tons of options present all sorts of strategies, and earning a winning score is not so easy… Not even with a petting zoo!
First Play
November 29, 2024
Complexity
4
Latest Play
December 1, 2024
Expansions
2
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
5
Game Area
46" x 26"
Low Score
-43
The Observation Tower
Maps provide lots of variety in the terrain layout, along with special abilities. I started out with one that seemed pretty simple to understand. Observe the nearby animals!
Gameplay can feel pretty dry and serious at times, despite the focus on animals. Yet that’s never deterred me… My stories are pretty great, as will be evidenced here. Ha ha!
There are lots of strategies, and even understanding the core path to victory can take quite some time to learn.
Yet despite the rather lengthy rules, it didn’t take me long to recall my multiplayer plays and dive into my best zoo!
My “Best” Zoo
Let’s just say my first solo attempt started off with the assumption that a petting zoo was all I needed for a zoo.
A horse? A donkey? There you go: Best modern zoo for conservation projects the world has ever seen! I was done.
Ha ha! Actually, this is how this play started and it didn’t expand much further than this. It was mostly a learning play anyway, though, as I remembered all of the actions.
The nice thing was that I could see why I was doing so poorly. Could I blame someone? Maybe the horse’s rather judgmental glance over his shoulder unnerved me. Ha!
Slight Expansion
I liked how the base game solo mode worked. It felt like I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do, but this kept me focused on my zoo without needing to do extra work.
There was a race to do a lot before each break, which was sort of like a full round. This was amazing… I managed to build a gigantic enclosure and add a sea lion. Winner!
I knew how far behind I was, but laughed at myself for literally investing in a petting zoo. Just a petting zoo. Ha!
With a huge stack of cards and plenty of randomness, it’s worth it to make up little stories about each play.
Welcome to… Nothing
My building plans weren’t as bad as they might have been, as I filled in a lot of the map. I kept many enclosures empty because that petting zoo was everything. Ha ha!
The greatest move came with a sponsors card that granted me a side entrance. Such a great possibility for more income and more appeal at the end of the game.
Ah, but my side entrance was amazing and led to a patch of completely empty terrain. Yeah, another great move!
I made lots of mistakes, yet this debacle of a first play will certainly go down as a memorable kind of experience.
Board Game Stories and Sudden Memories
Although it was entirely different, I realized that while I was playing that I was reminded of a childhood favorite computer game: SimPark! It was more about building a park, and the porcupines always overran the world, but I remembered making up stories along the way in much the same way. Too bad there wasn’t a petting zoo there. Ha!
I think a lot of the joy that comes from some board games is from my early memories with vaguely similar games from childhood. There were so many excellent days spent learning some concepts, although I think playing anything on the computer was more of a treat for limited amounts of time. Only more reason why I remember the games so well!
This is also why you never know what is going to stick around as a happy memory. Some of my favorite solo board games are never going to be popular or even great experiences for everyone, but I have strong ties to them for my own reasons. And this is also why I keep trying new games… There is always bound to be a wonderful one on my shelf!
Affronted Emu
I think this emu said it best with that expression… It was like I added a side entrance to the most nonsensical spot I could possibly find. It’s an emergency exit… Right?!
The large animals were quite costly, but I was apparently very much in favor of Australian wildlife. Plus petting zoo animals. You just can’t forget their importance!
Did this result in a score almost too embarrassing to report? Absolutely. Did I have fun? Absolutely!
There were many possibilities and lost opportunities, and I eagerly reset to try my luck with another kind of zoo.
Smaller Animals
A-ha! I had a much better time when I shifted away from the petting zoo to house smaller animals in their own enclosures. Don’t mind the spotted hyena compound!
Kiosks sprang up and I was only unfortunate in my shift to sponsors. That was a lot of empty space in my zoo.
Still learning, though, I wasn’t upset about this attempt. I picked up on some obvious strategies and bonuses.
The action cards proved to be so nuanced, too! Only 4 of 5 can be upgraded by the end, so it’s important to choose which one will always remain on its basic side. Clever!
Sponsor Central
Along with plenty of animals, I also got a better grasp on picking out sponsors. These weren’t just great for abilities, but also end game conservation points.
Scoring in this one is both unusual and interesting. Appeal increases, as does conservation, but victory is only possible if these cross paths somewhere on the track.
Not at all easy to do! I didn’t mind my struggles, though, as I had a great time thinking about my zoo’s tales.
This featured a diverse range of animals, and I was quite pleased with the extra conservation points I earned.
Starting to Make Sense
Yeah! After several plays, I started to see improvements. This zoo was skilled with partnership zoos and education. I was also pretty proud of how I built it up and filled it in.
Not surprisingly, a lot of success came from supporting conservation projects. Those bonuses from placing cubes were vital, and I finally saw how useful they were.
Even with a lot of good choices, I didn’t reach a victory. I really liked this… No lucking into a win by accident!
It was also nice to see most of my enclosures filled up. Yet there were noticeable ways to improve my turns.
Conservation Star
End game goals provide extra ways to score at the end, and I knew I wanted to support conservation this time.
I had other grand plans, but only managed to support the base projects at the lowest levels. Although not ideal, these bonuses still made a huge difference in my score.
Some of these combinations can be a little random and difficult… But never fear! If you’re thinking I should own the main expansion, I do. Just saving it up to add in!
Actually, that was my reward if I could earn a victory here with just the base game… I could do it! Hopefully…
Welcoming the Animals
Despite not having a lot of sponsor cards, I found plenty of animals to welcome to my zoo! It was also neat to use the flock animal ability to put more animals in an enclosure.
I know I played rather horribly overall, yet I had such a great time! Play time didn’t feel too long and I liked how I had to carefully think through all my turns.
Each zoo had its own little story to tell, and I’ll forever remember laughing about my bad petting zoo investment!
Now to just keep on playing to get even closer to a proper victory… I know it’s within sight of the observation tower!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Beginner Difficulty Level
Outcome: -43, -30, -4, -25, -23, -19 (6 Losses)
So close! Which couldn’t be said about my other attempts, but I felt like I was moving in the right direction. This was a lot of fun and I didn’t have to look up the rules much at all, which surprised me for how complex the choices can be. Note to self: Beware of the petting zoo. Ha ha! I’ll have this on my table for a little longer to see if I can earn a win and reward myself with the expansion. Quite the bonus!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Actions are all quite interesting and tie together with the way the cards slide to affect the power of each action.
- There are a lot of neat combinations that can happen, particularly cascading effects with triggered bonuses.
- Tons of animal cards add a lot of visual variety, along with different kinds of strategies and paths to victory.
- Planning a zoo feels quite thematic with the different actions to build enclosures, add animals, and conserve.
- Different map layouts and abilities offer plenty of variability and new challenges to try out over time.
- Although the base game solo mode is more like a timer, it works well to stay focused on optimizing every turn.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The play area is pretty large, mainly from the central board, yet feels like it could have been condensed for solo.
- A fair amount of randomness and luck is needed with finding cards that work together for conservation points.
- Scoring can feel a little unusual with the way appeal and conservation need to intersect in order to achieve victory.
- It can be difficult to come back from a slow start and early mistakes that require a shift in strategy.
Victory Conditions
Score 0+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 18%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the beginner difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game with every map (1/10).
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite part of Ark Nova? Have you created any memorable zoos? I had such a great time exploring the solo mode for the first time! Definitely nowhere close to an expert, but I have a feeling that I’m getting pretty close. Which means the expansion should be added in soon enough, and I have plenty of other maps to explore. Awesome!
I am really tempted to get this game, but I will hold off for a few months. Do you think it is worth the cost for solo?
Good question! Usually, if I hesitate over the cost of a game, that’s a sign that it’s probably not the right one for me. It’s a lot of fun solo, but is also a lot heavier than it might first appear. There is a lot of focus on optimizing your turns and it takes a fair amount of work to do well… As evidenced by my horrific negative scores. Ha ha!
Setting aside the variety in the cards, I think it’s important to understand if the underlying system is fun for you. If you’re undecided on buying, take a look at a large sample of opinions and check out the rules. How often do you think you’ll play? Solo takes me a little under and hour, yet this also calls for a pretty large amount of table space.
As someone literally nicknamed the Breaker of Wallets, I try to save wallets when I can! Although I love the solo mode and plan to play a lot more, it’s a little bit of a different mashup of mechanics that won’t be right for everyone. Good luck as you explore it some more and decide if it’s going to be right for you or not!
Thanks for the reply. I just set up a solo 5×5, so I’ll finish that first before I try it. It’s also on BGA, so I ran through the tutorial there the other day. I think I’ll enjoy it when the time comes. I really enjoy your blog 🙂
You’re very welcome, and thanks for the kind words! Hope you enjoy exploring the game digitally, which should give you a pretty good idea of what it has to offer. Good luck!
Oh I found now your old posts that Obsession is your favorite game to solo. I haven’t been able to find a copy of it yet, but it is highest on my want to play list! I just read pride and prejudice and have really wanted to “pair” it with obsession. There are no copies for sell where I live sadly, but your reviews and session reports of playing it make me want to try it even more.
I am of course happy with the games I have, I don’t want to just desire for stuff I don’t have, but you know how it goes.
I am positively dangerous when it comes to that one. Ha! And I know exactly how it goes about finding a game you want, even if your shelves are full of unplayed games. Enjoy the research process! I know that’s not the same as playing, but learning more about games you might be interested in can be a lot of fun… And costs much less than buying everything. It’s a tip I really should actually listen to. Ha ha!