Dog Park: One More Trick to Learn with an Expansion
Take walks through the park with all sorts of adorable and talented dogs who are ready to learn new tricks in Dog Park.
My last solo stroll through Dog Park was a couple of years ago, and I realized I never added in the latest expansion! This one has fantastic artwork with hundreds of unique dogs, although the gameplay never grabbed me. With additional layers of complexity, though, I was interested in finding out what I could find… And maybe I could learn a new trick or two. Ha ha!
Game Overview
Game Name: Dog Park
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: Lottie Hazell and Jack Hazell
Artists: Kate Avery, Holly Exley, and Dann May
Publisher: Birdwood Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The goal is to collect the most victory points by walking the best assortment of dogs and using resources wisely. All of the mechanics are straightforward, but the expansion adds in new tricks that provide unique bonuses. The dog days of summer are always at hand with this beautiful game!
First Play
November 14, 2022
Complexity
2
Latest Play
June 19, 2025
Expansions
4
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
16
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
64
Game Area
38" x 26"
Low Score
23
Learning New Tricks
Technically, I played with this expansion in a multiplayer experience last year. It wasn’t particularly great, and I recall only going so far as unpacking and organizing my copy.
The new training mechanic adds on a lot of overhead. Tricks are randomized based on breed categories, so there’s a lot of constant thinking to understand what a dog can do.
Multi-breed dogs are fantastic and look adorable, yet they require sorting during cleanup and aren’t just mixed in.
I approached this solo experience with caution because I wanted to love all of the dogs… But I was on the fence.
Confusing Setup
Perhaps it was a good thing that I took awhile before playing and had already gone through some help topics. The first setup step confused me more than it should have.
In a nutshell, it says to shuffle 25 multi-breed dog cards with 50 base game dog cards. I almost used the entire deck!
There are some solo games where I don’t mind the sorting process. Roll Player comes to mind with the 1-dot and 2-dot cards. It’s a slight process, but makes sense and is quick.
Some of the multi-breed dog cards require the expansion, so it isn’t necessarily easy to just use them on their own.
Bidding on New Dogs
Look at the all of the good dogs! It was nice to see the new cards from the expansion, which features mixed breeds and rescues. Lots of adorable faces just asking to be pet!
The first step of bidding on dogs makes sense, yet has never felt all that thematic to me. It works well solo with a clear priority order based on the breed expert categories, but…
I didn’t like this mechanic. It felt very stilted and I didn’t feel like I was doing anything thematic to add dogs.
The different resources felt the same in many ways, and it didn’t feel like a challenge to manage them most of the time.
Walking and Training
Were these dogs adorable? Absolutely! I still enjoyed the choice of which ones to take on walks to activate various abilities. When it came to the tricks… I was rather lost.
Only a few dogs could be trained during the course of play, but any sense of immersion was lost as I kept referencing my trained dogs’ breed categories with the tricks.
Could this dog perform a trick? Oh, yes! What could it do? Oh, neat! But is the dog in the kennel? Oh, nope. Can’t do it.
The fact that the tricks were on a separate board led to some visual fatigue, too, as my gaze constantly moved.
Taking a Realistic View of My Collection
I always wanted to love this game, and there was a time when I enjoyed it for a little bit. But as new games continue to arrive and shelf space is still a battle, I’ve realized that I keep some games sitting around because I want to enjoy them more. Which simply means I never choose to play them, and when I do, the experience is mediocre at best.
That’s not a dig against this game, though: I dislike giving any game a less-than-stellar rating, yet that’s really a reflection of my preferences. I use the numbers to help me make decisions and I have a pretty good idea of what to expect with a game I rate a 5 or 6 vs. 8 or 9. It’s more about being able to make those tough calls and really understand a game.
For me, that means I’m getting better about not playing a game once or twice, labeling it as OK, and then putting it on the shelf to return to when I might like it better. It’s true that I try not to judge a game too early, but in a hobby with so many choices, I feel like my free time is best spent learning new games and spending time with the ones I love. Always fun times!
Trick Fatigue
Tricks are randomized during setup and are either triggered when a dog is in the kennel, or on the lead. Then, there is a different cost depending on if the trainer is with the dog.
Many have restrictions, like once per round. Finally, multi-breed dogs cover a pair of breed categories… So a trained dog could know 2 tricks. Or even more, with one ability.
These all felt like they added complexity and more things to track, sort of taking away from the core gameplay.
This display is meant to go above the main board, where it’s hard to see, but I put it at the bottom near me. Much better!
Breed Categories
I love the idea of majority bonuses, but with the tricks, I lost sight of some goals at one point. My luck helped me qualify to proceed to final solo scoring, rather than any planning.
This is such an adorable game, yet I felt like there was way too much going on. Walking through the park was more random than anything. The dogs felt rather absent.
Dogs are the best, and I wanted to love everything about this! Alas, I know there are dozens of games I prefer to it.
Another important lesson learned. So, I suppose in some ways, this old dog did learn a new trick? Ha ha!
Session Overview
Play Number: 15 & 16
Main Expansion: Dog Park: New Tricks
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Intermediate Difficulty Level
Outcome: 43 & 48 (2 Losses)
So many cute dogs! I loved spotting the ones who reminded me of some real dogs I know. Gameplay just didn’t resonate with me, although I can see why it would be a very fun choice for the right players. My earliest plays were enjoyable and I still remember the moment when I found my childhood dog in the deck. Some great memories to keep!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every dog card features unique art that is spectacular, bringing all sorts of dogs to life with the cutest expressions.
- Gameplay moves along pretty quickly, especially with a simple process to manage a pair of solo opponents.
- Deciding which dogs to walk during each round takes a little bit of planning around resources and abilities.
- All of the wooden components and cards are high-quality with some adorable shapes, like the pink toy.
- Breed expert categories help provide an overall source of victory points, which can pair well with dog abilities.
- Forecast cards offer additional variety with random events that make each round a little bit different.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The expansion content feels like it adds extra work to setup and cleanup, along with far too much to think about.
- Aside from the artwork, the theme doesn’t really come through with the phases that feel a bit mechanical or abstract.
- Luck plays a major role with the enormous deck of dog cards, and it can be hard to score well simply due to the cards.
- Tricks introduce a ton of additional decision points and the process of working through them can be overwhelming.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Objective
- Overall Goal Progress 50%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 62 points at the novice difficulty.
Score at least 62 points at the intermediate difficulty.
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite part of Dog Park? Is there a card or breed category you enjoy the most? I had fun with this one early on and will always admire the artwork. So many dogs I just want to pet! Ha ha! But not every game will work forever, and I’m trying to get better about moving the solo games I don’t play onto new homes so they don’t sit unplayed forever.
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