Ark Nova
301 questions players ask about Ark Nova, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-23.
301 questions players ask about Ark Nova, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-23.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Personal Setup" section.
Yes — pick your map first, then draw your Final Scoring cards and the 8 starting cards. The designer says the maps aren't built around particular cards and choosing with more information mostly adds downtime; experienced groups may agree to choose later, which isn't a balance problem.
The rulebook answers this in its "Personal Setup" section.
With the advanced maps 1–8, either deal each player 2 random maps to choose from, or lay out player count + 1 maps and pick in reverse turn order. Mixing is fine: the rulebook suggests giving newcomers Map A or Map 0 as a head start.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Personal Setup" section.
No — everyone puts Animals in slot 1 and shuffles their own other four cards into slots 2–5, so setups differ. The designer chose this asymmetry on purpose; you don't pick the order.
The rulebook answers this in its "Personal Setup" section.
No — starting with one is a house rule. Turn order is balanced by the staggered starting appeal (0, 1, 2, 3) instead.
The rulebook answers this in its "Personal Setup" section.
Everything except the display: the base conservation projects and bonus tiles are already out, while the 6 display cards stay face down until everyone has chosen.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
Yes — hand size, money and association workers are open; only the identity of hand cards and Final Scoring cards is hidden (and the discard pile may not be searched).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Your Zoo Map" section.
Yes — the starting size-3 enclosure and the printed kiosk are real buildings, so you keep building adjacent to them rather than starting at the border, and the printed kiosk earns income. You may lay a kiosk tile on it as a reminder.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2025.
No — a covered space no longer exists for the game, so the feature's effect ends. You can only cover such spaces with effects that let you build on water or rock. The features aren't buildings either, so they don't help place your first building.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes — both count as rock spaces (for Geologist and similar effects), and the Outdoor Areas count as water.
Yes — a standard enclosure next to the Outdoor Areas is 2 sizes larger for every purpose, permanently, and it isn't optional. When releasing an animal or moving one to a special enclosure, judge "smallest" by that enlarged size.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
A free Reptile House or Large Bird Aviary from the map bonus needs no Build II. A third partner zoo still needs Association II. The rule of thumb: a restriction printed on the spot where the item goes applies however you gain it; a restriction on an Action card only limits that action.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Once the map's ability is active, you may ignore one condition on each animal you play for the rest of the game — including the Animals II requirement. It never ignores enclosure size, rock or water requirements or the cost, and it doesn't apply to sponsor conditions. It stacks with other condition-ignoring effects such as WAZA Large Animal Program.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
They are placement bonuses: covering one with any building lets you place a free kiosk (optional). Covering all three also unlocks the map's extra bonus. Its Pouch bonus needs no Pouch animal — tuck up to 2 hand cards under the map when unlocked and in each break's income step.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Once per turn — not once per action, so extra actions or a Multiplier don't add sales.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
The H spaces aren't placement bonuses (they lack the yellow pentagon), so Archaeologist and similar cards ignore them. Once active, the discount lowers the level of every sponsor you play, including ones played by paying money equal to the level.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — icon size means nothing; they count as placement bonuses for everything, including Archaeologist.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
The bonus is "immediate" only in that you gain it right away rather than at a break; the ability itself still happens after finishing your action. So with a Multiplier on the card you first do the second execution, move the card to slot 1, and then resolve the map ability.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — it is a printing slip in some copies and works like every other worker bonus: you activate an association worker.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "X-TOKEN" section.
Yes — any Action card can be used for the X-token action, including the one already sitting in slot 1, which simply stays there. The main point of the action is to free up a card you don't want to use yet, but nothing requires the card to change position. You still can't take it while holding 5 X-tokens.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "X-TOKEN" section.
No — with 5 X-tokens the X-token action is not available, so you cannot use it to stall or to reposition a card. Pick one of the five regular actions instead.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
Yes — you may spend as many X-tokens as you hold on one action, so strength 6, 7 or more is possible. It only pays off where the action scales past 5: Build II (more total building size, e.g. a 4 and a 3 at strength 7), Association II (more task value), and Sponsors (higher-level cards, or more Break steps and money). Cards and Animals have no table entries above 5, and Build I and Association I gain nothing either.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
No — you fix the strength, including every X-token you spend, before the action starts. X-tokens earned while resolving it are only available for later turns.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
No — X-tokens only add 1 strength each for this one action; the card stays where it is and then goes to slot 1 as usual. A slot 1 card boosted with 3 X-tokens is used at strength 4 and ends up back in slot 1.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
Yes — you can always take a bonus you can only partly use, and gain as much of it as fits. With 4 X-tokens a "gain 3 X-tokens" bonus gives you 1. The limit applies at every moment, so after spending a token you can gain one back later in the same turn.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
No — the side and strength of the action are locked in when you start it, so an upgrade gained mid-action doesn't add a second animal, a donation, extra association tasks or the Animals II reputation bonus. Requirements, however, are checked at the moment they matter: after upgrading Animals mid-action you may play a second animal that needs Animals II, and after upgrading Build you may place a bonus enclosure on Build II spaces.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
No — flipping a card leaves it in its slot only at the moment of the flip; the normal end-of-action shift still happens, so the card you used goes to slot 1 as always.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
You choose the order of all your "after finishing" effects. They happen only after the whole action is done and its Action card has moved to slot 1, so the other cards have already shifted right; a bonus action from such an effect is taken at its card's new slot strength. If you somehow got the same action twice, the second would be at strength 1 because the card is now in slot 1.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
They shift — cards never swap. Moving a card to slot 5 slides every card that was to its right one slot left; moving one to slot 1 slides every card that was to its left one slot right. The other cards keep their order.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
It stays in slot 1 — you remove it and put it into the empty slot 1, which is where it was. It is weak at strength 1, but X-tokens can boost it.
No — the strength is a maximum. You can, for example, use a strength 5 Build action just to build a kiosk.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes — nothing forbids it. The card is simply in slot 1 the second time, so it is weak unless you boost it with X-tokens.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
Not in the base game — there are only four upgrade sources: space 2 of the Conservation track (where you may take a worker instead), the Reputation track, your second partner zoo and your second university. You will always leave at least one card on side I, so choose which upgrades matter most.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — a bonus action is performed with whichever side of that Action card is face up right now.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Only if the bonus is an unspecified action. If the effect names a specific action, such as Build or Animals, you must take that action or forfeit it; the X-token action counts as separate from the five actions.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS II" section.
No — taking a card into your hand is free, whether by Snapping, by drawing within reputation range with Cards II, or through a bonus. The extra cost (money equal to the folder number, 1–6) applies only when you play a card straight from the display with Animals II, Sponsors II or Association II, and you pay it for each such card on top of its normal cost.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "SNAPPING" section.
Any card — Snapping takes 1 of the 6 display cards regardless of reputation, at no cost. Effects that say to take a card from the display without saying Snapping (placement bonuses, Science Lab and similar) are limited to cards within your reputation range, or let you draw from the deck instead.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "CARDS II" section.
On side I the only way to take a display card is to snap, at strength 5 or more. On side II you may snap from strength 3, or instead draw cards within your reputation range and/or from the deck. Upgrading Cards is also what lets your reputation go past 9.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "The Reputation Track and the Display" section.
Only after your whole turn — not after each card. Then slide the remaining cards toward folder 1 without changing their order and fill the gaps from the deck. So you can't take a card and then take the card revealed behind it in the same turn, unless a card's text says to replenish earlier.
The rulebook answers this in its "DRAWING FROM THE DECK" section.
No — the discard is part of drawing from the deck. Snapping replaces that option entirely, so you just take the one display card.
The rulebook answers this in its "DRAWING WITHIN REPUTATION RANGE" section.
Yes — on side II you may mix cards within reputation range and cards from the deck in any order. The display stays unrefilled until your turn ends.
Shuffle the discard pile into a new deck and keep playing. The rulebook is silent because it almost never happens, but the publisher made this the official ruling.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "The Reputation Track and the Display" section.
No — the discard pile is not public information and may not be searched. The rulebook suggests keeping it face up only so it isn't mistaken for the draw deck; the designer plays it face down.
The rulebook answers this in its "The Reputation Track and the Display" section.
Specifically the Cards action card. Upgrading any other card does not unlock spaces 10–15 of the Reputation track, whatever the source of the reputation.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
It is lost — you stay on 9 and get nothing for it. The 1 appeal per extra reputation only applies at the true end of the track (space 15). You can still take the action or card that would have given the reputation.
The rulebook answers this in its "The Reputation Track and the Display" section.
Your counter stays on 15 and each further reputation step gives you 1 appeal instead (not conservation points).
The rulebook answers this in its "The Reputation Track and the Display" section.
Yes — you collect every bonus on spaces you reach or move through, not just the one you stop on. When several trigger from one gain, you choose their order.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023, consistent with the rulebook's "BUILD I" section.
No — you must take each bonus you reach or cover, though you choose the order when several trigger together; only bonuses described with "may" are optional. If a partner zoo or university bonus is available you must take one, which also removes it from the Association board. Only when none can be taken does nothing happen.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — requirements such as the reputation cap are checked at the moment they apply, and you choose the order of simultaneous effects, so flip Cards first and then advance past 9.
The rulebook answers this in its "Break" section.
They remind you that in every break the two cards in folders 1 and 2 are discarded before the display slides down and refills.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
None in gameplay — the sides only lay the card display out in a different orientation, so pick whichever suits your seating.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD I" section.
At least one space of your first building must be on a border space of your zoo map. Every later building must share an edge with a building already there.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Only the hexes on the outer edge of the map. A land hex that merely touches water or rock is not a border space, and edge hexes stay border spaces whether or not you may build on them yet.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD I" section.
No — every building after the first, kiosks included, must touch an existing building along at least one edge. An example image in an early rules PDF showing a detached kiosk was wrong.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "BUILD II" section.
No — each building must be legal at the moment you place it, adjacency included. You place, pay for and collect bonuses one building at a time.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD II" section.
No — every building in one Build II action must be different. Standard enclosures of different sizes, a kiosk and a pavilion all count as different, so strength 3 can place a kiosk, a pavilion and a size-1 enclosure. The Engineer sponsor is the exception that allows a duplicate.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "BUILD II" section.
Yes — you build one building after another and take each placement bonus immediately, so money or other bonuses gained from the first building can be used for the next.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD I" section.
There must be at least 2 spaces between any two kiosks, counted along the shortest line, not around buildings. Any spaces count toward the gap, including water and rock. The rule applies only to kiosks; pavilions may go anywhere.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD I" section.
It gives 1 appeal once, immediately when built (this isn't optional), and it counts as an adjacent building for kiosk income. As a size-1 building it is also handy for covering placement bonuses and filling gaps.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD II" section.
Immediately, as soon as the last buildable space is covered, not at game end. Water and rock spaces don't need covering, and it doesn't matter whether your enclosures hold animals.
The rulebook answers this in its "BUILD I" section.
No — buildings can only go on empty spaces, and nothing in the base game removes or moves a placed tile. An empty enclosure you regret is yours for the rest of the game.
The rulebook answers this in its "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
No — you may not perform an action that does nothing. Use the X-token action with the Build card instead: it moves to slot 1 and you gain an X-token (if you have fewer than 5).
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — standard enclosures, kiosks, pavilions and player tokens are not meant to be limited; use a substitute if you run out. The real limits are the items a zoo may only have one of, such as each special enclosure.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
No — you just flip the standard enclosure to its occupied side. Player tokens are only used to mark used spaces in the Petting Zoo, Reptile House and Large Bird Aviary.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
One animal per standard enclosure. The enclosure must be at least the size the animal needs, so a size-2 animal may take a size-5 enclosure, but you can't combine two smaller enclosures for one animal. Only Flock animals and special enclosures let animals share.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — the game doesn't track which animal sits in which enclosure, only which enclosures are occupied, and there is no way to reassign them. The only relocation is into a newly built Reptile House or Large Bird Aviary; otherwise only releasing an animal empties an enclosure.
The rulebook answers this in its "Special Enclosures" section.
No — each zoo may have only one of each special enclosure. The Petting Zoo needs only Build I (size 3, 6 money); the Reptile House and Large Bird Aviary need Build II and cost 10 money each (size 5).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Special Enclosures" section.
As many as its spaces allow: the number in an animal's special-enclosure icon is how many of the 3 (Petting Zoo) or 5 (Reptile House, Large Bird Aviary) spaces it fills with player tokens. An animal showing 0 takes no space, so it fits even into a full Reptile House.
The rulebook answers this in its "Special Enclosures" section.
No — only animals whose card shows that special-enclosure icon. All reptiles have the Reptile House icon, but only some birds have the aviary icon (the Emu, for one, does not). Animals with the icon may still use a standard enclosure instead; Petting Zoo animals can only live in the Petting Zoo.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Special Enclosures" section.
Yes — the special enclosure must be next to the required water or rock spaces. The tile is judged as a whole: if any part of it touches the needed spaces, every animal placed there meets the requirement, and one adjacent water space serves all the reptiles that need 1 water.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — it must be adjacent to two different water (or rock) spaces; two enclosure hexes touching the same space count once. It doesn't matter which hexes do the touching: one hex may touch both spaces. Two water hexes in the same lake are still two separate spaces.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Special Enclosures" section.
Only at the moment you build it, you may move any number of eligible animals out of standard enclosures, as space allows; later you can only play new animals into it. For each animal moved, flip the smallest occupied standard enclosure that meets all its requirements back to empty, which need not be the one you originally used. You choose the order of the moves, and you still get any placement bonus the new building covers.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes — an effect that grants a specific building ignores the Build II requirement for that building type. Normal placement rules still apply, though: it can't use Build II spaces until your Build card is upgraded, and you can't have a second one.
The rulebook answers this in its "Break" section.
No — you may build the Petting Zoo, Reptile House or Large Bird Aviary without filling it. An empty special enclosure even counts for kiosk income, unlike an empty standard enclosure.
No — the icon overview says you may build it, so you can decline, for example when your map has no room. Most other bonuses are mandatory.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
No — animals have no level. Strength only sets how many animals you may play (and, on side II, whether you can play from the display and gain reputation at 5). Any animal is playable if you meet its conditions, can pay, and have a big enough empty enclosure.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "A Turn / The 5 Action Cards" section.
No — no action may be used to do nothing, at any strength. First-printing cards showed a 0 in slot 1; later printings show a dash to make this clear. To cycle the card, use the X-token action instead.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS II" section.
No — you must play at least one animal. The +1 reputation comes whether you play one animal or two, but taking only the reputation counts as doing nothing. The designer explained the rule exists so players can't loop X-tokens into reputation to stall the game.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS II" section.
Yes — the reputation is gained at the very start of the action, so your reputation range for that action is already one higher, and any Reputation track bonus it reaches happens first. You can't postpone it to later in the action.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2026.
No — you must be able to play at least one animal. If you have no playable animal in hand or within reputation range, you may not draw blind from the deck, because that could leave you in an illegal turn; if you do draw, you must then play an animal.
The rulebook text says "may"; a second-hand designer report and the BGA implementation say otherwise, and there is no direct official ruling.
Probably yes, but it is disputed. The rulebook says you may increase your reputation, and the German original uses the equally optional "darfst", so by the text you can decline it (which matters when an appeal overflow at reputation 15 would bring your markers together). A second-hand report says the designer considers it mandatory, and Board Game Arena forces it, but there is no published ruling.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS II" section.
Yes, X-tokens that bring the action to strength 5 earn the reputation just like slot 5 does. It is always 1 reputation; the 2 printed on the card is the number of animals you may play.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
For conditions, no — they are checked before the card is in play, so a Europe animal requiring a Europe icon needs one already in your zoo. For effects, yes — once played, a card always counts itself (the first golden rule in the glossary), so an "each time you play this icon" card triggers on its own icon.
“The card is not in play yet when you check for requirements, therefor its own icons do not count. The card is in play when you do the effects, therefor its own icons do count.”
— zlorfik, publisher
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS I" section.
Yes — animals are played one after another, so the first is already in your zoo when you check the second. The reverse doesn't work: an immediate effect of the first animal only counts what is in your zoo at that moment, not the animal you play next.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS I" section.
Yes — each animal is fully resolved before the next, so money gained can pay for the second animal and a card drawn or snapped by the first (e.g. American Alligator) can be the second animal played.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS I" section.
In any order you like, together with effects of other cards it triggers — but you must finish everything from that animal before playing the next one. You can't hold back the first animal's appeal until after the second animal's attack; play the attacking animal first instead. Only "after finishing" effects wait until the action ends.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — the bonus puts the card in your hand for free, and you can then play it as your next animal, paying only its normal cost (reaching space 10 or higher requires an upgraded Cards action).
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — enough discounts can make an animal free, but they never pay you money back.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
That many matching icons anywhere in your zoo before you play it — on animals, sponsors, partner zoos and universities alike.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes — if you meet the conditions you may play it; any part of the reward you can't take is simply lost.
Large (4+) animals need a standard enclosure of size 4 or 5; small (2-) animals need size 1 or 2; size-3 animals are neither. Only the standard enclosure size on the card counts, even if the animal lives in a special enclosure using 1 space. Petting Zoo animals also count as small.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
3, then 6, then 9 — each one gives 3 appeal per Petting Zoo icon in your zoo, and it counts its own icon. With three in the Petting Zoo that is 18 appeal in total.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ANIMALS I" section.
It is the alternative effect for solo play. A group that dislikes the interactive attacks may agree beforehand to use the blue effects instead, which the designer calls an official variant — but for the whole game, not as a per-card choice.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
The next time you take the action on that card, you may perform it twice in a row at the same strength — two executions, not double strength. Using it is optional and you may decide after the first execution. An unused token stays on the card (moving with it) until you use it or until the next break removes it.
Two X-tokens, yes; a mix, no. With a Multiplier on a card you either perform that card's action twice or take the X-token action twice, but you can't combine one regular execution with one X-token.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — unlike Venom and Constriction tokens, Multipliers can stack. Each one adds one extra execution, so two tokens give up to three executions in total (not four).
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — the glossary only lists Association, Build, Cards and Sponsors because no animal places a Multiplier on Animals, but a Multiplier from another source (such as the Conservation track bonus tile) can go on any card, Animals included.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — a Multiplier gained while you perform an action (including during a multiplied execution) can't add more repeats to that action. All repeats of a multiplied action are bundled together, so a newly gained token only helps a later action on that card.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — the repeated executions form one bundle. The card moves to slot 1 and all "after finishing" effects (Boost, Clever, bonus actions) resolve only after the last execution, in the order you choose.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes to both — the executions happen one after the other, so if the first flips the card the second uses side II, and X-tokens gained during the first can boost the second. Each X-token you spend boosts only one execution, so raising both costs separate tokens.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
These are "after finishing" effects, so your Animals card has already moved to slot 1 and the others have shifted. Take the bonus action with the named card at its current slot strength (X-tokens allowed), then move that card to slot 1 as usual.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes, you get two extra actions, and nothing expires: if you resolve Determination first, effects like Clever wait and join any new "after finishing" effects from the extra action, and you again choose the order. Extra actions are part of the same turn, so the display isn't refilled in between. Determination may pick any action, including the X-token action.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
After the action is finished (Animals card already in slot 1), Clever moves any Action card to slot 1 and Boost moves one to slot 5, with the other cards shifting to fill the gap. Several Clever effects can each move a different card. A second Boost on the same card does nothing extra.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — it is the same timing; "finishing" was left out on cards where the regular and solo effects left too little space.
No — every animal ability is a one-time effect when the animal is played. Recurring effects exist only on sponsor cards.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
You may play a Flock animal without filling an empty enclosure if your zoo already has another herbivore whose printed standard enclosure requirement is at least the Flock value — a size-2 Ibex sitting in a size-3 enclosure doesn't enable Flock 3. The same herbivore can be used for any number of Flock animals.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Any Zoo card from your hand (animal, sponsor or conservation project), never Final Scoring cards. Pouched cards are kept apart from the discard pile, usually face down, and are out of play for good. Releasing the animal later doesn't cost you the appeal the pouch gave.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
It places up to that many free buildings, each a kiosk or pavilion of your choice — it has nothing to do with size-3 buildings. "Up to" makes it optional, and the normal placement rules (adjacency, kiosk spacing, Build II spaces) still apply.
The designer explained on BGG in 2025 why Snapping only takes from the display; players agree that, lacking "may", it is mandatory.
It is mandatory (it doesn't say "may" or "up to"), and it always takes from the display — never the deck. The designer kept it that way for consistency and to keep the display moving.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Hunter reveals cards to everyone; if any is an animal you must take one animal into your hand and discard the rest. Perception draws cards privately; you keep the stated number and discard the others from among the cards just drawn, not from your older hand cards.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes — for each use you choose either to discard a display card and refill that space, or to discard a hand card and draw a replacement, in any mix. Digging overrides the end-of-turn refill rule, so the display is replenished after each discard.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
No — you must pay the full cost before any of its effects resolve. That money can, however, pay for a second animal played later in the same action.
You hire an association worker: take the next lying-down worker from below your notepad and make it active. It does not return a worker already on the Association board.
One of the base conservation projects set aside at setup — not the ones in play, even if blocked in a 2-player game. You look through those unused cards, choose one and add it to your hand.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2025.
You can't use a Multiplier via Hypnosis — the opponent's token stays on their card and you act once. A Multiplier you gain during the hypnotized action goes on one of your own Action cards, never on the opponent's.
Each zoo with more appeal than yours (and at least 5 appeal) gets a Venom token on its lowest-strength Action card (Venom 2: its two lowest). A card holds at most one Venom token; if it already has one, nothing more is placed there. At the end of each of your turns, if you still have a Venom token and didn't remove one from your own card that turn, you pay 2 money — once per turn, however many tokens or extra actions you had. You can never venom yourself.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes — using the card for the X-token action counts as using it, so the token is discarded, even if the card is in slot 1. This is the usual escape when you can't or don't want to perform the venomed action (unless you already hold 5 X-tokens).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
You may not end your turn unable to pay: take back the action and pick one that removes the token or leaves you enough money (an X-token action with the venomed card, or a Sponsors break action for money). You may even try an action whose payout is uncertain, like Pilfering for money, but if it doesn't give you enough you must undo it.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — only removing a Venom token from your own Action card satisfies Venom. Using the opponent's venomed card through Hypnosis discards their token, but you still pay 2 money if your own card keeps one.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
A card can never hold two Constriction tokens — a duplicate goes back to the supply. A Constriction animal checks both appeal and conservation, so an opponent you trail on both tracks is hit twice (on two different cards). A Constriction token reduces every execution of a multiplied action.
The rulebook answers this in its "Animal Card Layout" section.
No — interactive effects only affect zoos with 5 or more appeal; the mark on space 5 of the Appeal track is the reminder.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
Yes — the animal's appeal and its ability happen at the same time and you choose the order, so you can attack first and then advance your appeal (or the other way round). With two animals in one action, the first is fully resolved, appeal included, before the second animal's attack is targeted.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
It stops you from receiving new Venom or Constriction tokens and makes Pilfering and Hypnosis skip you, so they hit the next player who qualifies. It doesn't remove tokens you already have, and it never lets you target an opponent you wouldn't otherwise be able to hit.
No to both — the target chooses between giving 5 money or a card drawn at random from their hand (Final Scoring cards excluded). With fewer than 5 money they must give a card; with no hand cards they give 5 money, or all their money if less. Pilfering 2 hits the same player twice if they lead both tracks. Keep the draw truly random even when a base conservation project with a different back is in that hand.
You use the opponent's Action card exactly as it is — its side (upgraded or not) and its slot strength — but everything else is yours: your hand, zoo, money, reputation range and restrictions. You pay the costs and may add your own X-tokens. The opponent's card then moves to slot 1 of their row.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
You may choose the target (the zoo with the most appeal) before advancing your appeal for the Hypnosis animal, but the hypnotized action itself only happens after your whole Animals action is finished. It can't set up the second animal of the same action, and you can never hypnotize yourself.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION I" section.
One worker if none of your workers is on that task yet, two if one of yours is already there, and the task is closed to you once three of yours are on it. Other players' workers never matter. Placed workers stay until the next break.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
No — Association II lets you perform several tasks whose values add up to at most the strength, but they must all be different tasks. Only a Multiplier lets you repeat one, because each execution is a separate action.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes — tasks are performed one after another, so a worker hired by an earlier task (e.g. via a partner zoo or reputation bonus) can be placed on a later one, as long as the total task value fits the strength set at the start. The donation comes last, so a worker gained from donating can't be used for another task.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION I" section.
Yes — the strength only has to be at least the task's value; unused strength is simply lost.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Nothing — there is no replacement reward, so the bonus is lost. Four is the maximum.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — each execution is paid in full, so every task in both executions needs its own worker(s).
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
No — a third or fourth partner zoo always requires Association II, however you gain it, so choose another bonus. If the card gets flipped earlier in the same action, before the partner zoo arrives, the requirement is met. During an action taken through Hypnosis with an opponent's Association II card, that card's side counts as yours.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
3 money per matching continent icon in the top-right of the animal you are playing, so 6 for an animal with two such icons. Condition icons on the left and icons on other cards in your zoo add nothing. Discounts can bring the cost to 0 but never pay you; when playing from the display, add the folder cost first and then subtract.
A continent icon condition is met by that many icons of the continent anywhere in your zoo — animals, sponsors or partner zoos. A handshake condition on an animal needs the partner zoo of that animal's continent. On a sponsor (e.g. Breeding Cooperation 215) a handshake without a continent just means that many partner zoos of any continents.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION I" section.
No — only one currently available on the Association board, and never one you already own (one partner zoo per continent). Taken tiles are replenished during the break.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — you may take a bonus you can only partly use and gain as much as fits. But if you are stuck at 9 reputation without an upgraded Cards action, the task would do nothing, so you can't choose it.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION II" section.
Only a Conservation Project card for the conservation project task: you may play one within your reputation range, paying its folder number in money, and support it immediately. It never plays animals or sponsors.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
No — a donation is an extra on top of at least one association task performed in the same Association II action, at any strength. And the task must actually do something: at reputation 9 with Cards not upgraded, you can't take the reputation task just to unlock a donation (once Cards is upgraded, reputation past 15 becomes appeal, so it works).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
No — the donation is the last part of the action, made after all your tasks. So a worker unlocked by the donation's conservation point can't be used for another task in that action. Some players read the rulebook as allowing it, but the designer has ruled otherwise.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
No — donations use player tokens from your general supply and give no zoo-map bonus, only the 1 conservation point. The seven tokens on your zoo map are only for supporting conservation projects. Once every space but the last is covered, each further donation costs 12 money and no token is placed.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION II" section.
Exactly one per Association action, however many tasks you perform, and only with the upgraded card.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
Yes — money from a project reward or a Conservation track space reached earlier in the action can pay for the donation. You can't use the donation's own conservation point to fund it, of course.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
Use the conservation project task of an Association action. You place the card on the leftmost space above the Association board and must support it immediately with that same task; if you can't, you can't play it. With Association II you may instead play one from the display within reputation range.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
No — each player supports a given project once, even with a strength-10 Association action. The exception is Migration Recording (224), which lets you support a release-into-the-wild project again, on an empty space.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION II" section.
No — even on side II every task in one action must be different, so a second project needs another Association action or a Multiplier (each execution paying its own worker).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — every support uses one of the 7 tokens on the left of your zoo map, and supply tokens can't replace them. In practice this almost never comes up.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION I" section.
Any one you like — there is no bottom-to-top order. Every space pays its bonus immediately; spaces on a purple background (the hand icon) also pay it again as income in every break.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
No — first place the token on a level you already meet; only then collect the conservation points and the uncovered bonus, in whichever order you prefer. The token can't be moved up afterwards.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — you still support it and remove the token; you simply gain nothing from that bonus.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
For icon projects they are minimums, so with 5 predators you may take the level needing 4 or 2. Release-into-the-wild levels need an exact size match: a size-3 animal can't take the small-animal (2-) space, and a large animal is not also a small one.
The rulebook answers this in its "ASSOCIATION I" section.
Only for the level they occupy. Each level holds one token, so you can still support the project on any free level you meet.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
You keep all the points. A pushed-off card goes to the discard pile and its tokens go to their owners' general supply, not back to the zoo map, so your count of supported projects (empty zoo-map spaces) is unchanged. Losing icons later, e.g. by releasing animals, never costs you points either.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — discarded projects, base projects included, go to the normal discard pile; if one returns to a hand it can be played again, and even its earlier supporters may support it again because their old tokens are gone. Scavenging must stay random, so don't pick a card by its back.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2025, consistent with the rulebook's "Conservation Projects Layouts" section.
Only the player who plays the card from hand (or the display) and supports it in that action. Players who later support the project already in play never get it.
The rulebook answers this in its "Global Setup" section.
No — only the three base projects get blocking tokens at setup. Projects played from hand go above the board with all levels open.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Conservation Projects Layouts" section.
The icons in the top-right of your played animals and sponsors, the rock and water icons in their top-left, and the icons on your partner zoos and universities. Condition icons on the left of a card, conservation project cards and the Conservation track bonus tiles don't count. A card with two identical icons counts twice — Aquarium is two water icons.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Yes — each icon triggers separately, so a double research university triggers Science Library or Spokesperson twice, and a Cheetah triggers a predator effect twice. Partner zoos and universities trigger these effects too when you gain them.
No — only the water and rock spaces printed on your zoo map count for adjacency. A building's rock or water icons still count as icons for projects and effects.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
The partner zoo must match the continent of an animal card in your zoo that carries the project's animal icon. A sponsor's icon (e.g. Meerkat Den) has no continent and can't be used. It doesn't matter whether you played the animal before or after getting the partner zoo.
Yes — you may discard one token from each card toward the same project. They only work on the base conservation projects lying below the Association board; a base project taken into hand (e.g. by a rhino) and played above the board is an ordinary project for them. You still place one of your own zoo-map tokens and gain its bonus.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
No — you lose only the appeal printed on the animal card. Conservation points, reputation and appeal gained through abilities or other cards (Pack, Pouch, sponsors) are kept; you never move back on the Conservation track. The released card goes to the discard pile.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "ASSOCIATION I" section.
Pick the smallest place the animal could live: tokens in a fitting special enclosure count as smaller than any standard enclosure, so remove those first. Otherwise flip the smallest occupied standard enclosure meeting all its requirements, including water and rock; only if none exists, the smallest that meets its size. It needn't be the enclosure you used originally, and you never flip one smaller than the animal needs. The publisher has acknowledged the glossary wording here is unclear.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — you just don't flip anything. You lose the free enclosure but still support the release project.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Lose the appeal first, then gain the conservation points. Game end is checked only after both, at the end of your turn.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
The animal must already be in your zoo — not in your hand. Every player who supports a release project, not just the one who played it, releases a qualifying animal.
Players disagree and there is no official ruling; most read the rulebook example as keeping the icons until the end.
Unresolved. The rulebook's release example discards the animal card last, after the points and bonus, which most players read as its icons still being in your zoo during the bonus. Others read the release as complete — card discarded, icons gone — before any bonus.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "SPONSORS II" section.
Any number, as long as their levels add up to no more than the action's strength plus 1 (X-tokens add to it as well). Slot 5 plus one X-token gives a budget of 7, e.g. a level 4 and a level 3. You play and fully resolve them one at a time. If you use the action for Break steps and money instead, you take the money twice.
The rulebook answers this in its "SPONSORS II" section.
Yes — each card is checked at the moment you play it. An earlier sponsor can therefore enable a later one, or block it: Science Library pushing you past 25 appeal makes a "maximum 25 appeal" sponsor unplayable afterwards, so play that one first.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
You pay money equal to the sponsor's level (X is money, not X-tokens) and play it from your hand — never from the display, even with Sponsors II. Your Sponsors card's slot doesn't matter and it doesn't move, but the card's conditions, including any Sponsors II requirement, still apply. In the base game the bonus must be used immediately or is lost (on the Conservation track you can take 5 money instead); Marine Worlds replaced that tile with a storable one.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
No — placing the building is part of playing the card, so if it can't legally fit in your zoo you can't play the sponsor. Optional placements are different: a card saying you may place an enclosure (e.g. card 263) can be played without placing it.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "BUILD I" section.
They follow the normal placement rules — adjacent to an existing building, not on Build II spaces until Build is upgraded, next to rock or water if the card shows it — but they cost no money. Place them coloured side up; you may rotate but not flip them. Side Entrance (257) is the exception to adjacency. Placing one can complete your map for the 7 appeal.
No — unique buildings are not enclosures. They represent what the sponsor card shows and never hold animals you play; they are never flipped either. They do count as buildings for adjacency and kiosk income.
Both of its spaces must be border spaces of your zoo map; it doesn't need to touch another building. If it is your first building, later buildings must be adjacent to it as usual.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
It depends on the colour. A yellow one-time effect counts every matching icon already in your zoo, the card's own included, and pays per icon. A blue recurring "each time you play" effect only triggers on icons played from now on — plus the card's own icon, which triggers it once when played.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
You, as the player who played the card, order all the simultaneous effects — including ones that benefit other players. So you may pilfer an opponent before their Primatologist pays them, and take the larger amount.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
It triggers once per matching icon, but all triggers resolve after the Animals action is finished. Put Animals in slot 1 first, then make each move; the first card you moved ends up in slot 2.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
You may build over water and rock spaces as if they were building spaces, even with your first building. A building over them counts as fulfilling the rock and water requirements of cards played later. Covered water and rock spaces no longer count for Hydrologist, Geologist or Architectural Zoo, and they never count as building spaces for Native Farm Animals or Naturalist's Zoo.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — check each building as you place it: rock or water spaces still visible at that moment count, even ones the same tile is covering. Later buildings, even in the same Build action, earn nothing for spaces already covered.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
After a Build action, you may build one more copy of one building you built in that action, at normal cost, without using strength and even on Build I. It only applies to buildings placed after Engineer is in play, and only to Build actions — not to enclosures from sponsors, bonuses or map effects. Special enclosures still can't be duplicated.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
1 appeal per space that is on the border, is a building space (not water or rock), is still uncovered, and touches at least one of your buildings. On an empty map that is 0, not 25. Uncovered Build II border spaces count even before you upgrade.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
An uncovered space is connected if at least one adjacent space is covered by any building, empty enclosures included; otherwise it is isolated — the two are opposites. Each water or rock hex counts once on its own, so a 3-hex lake is 3 spaces and nothing counts more for touching several buildings.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Only placement bonuses still visible count. The immediate effect gives 1 appeal per uncovered bonus space touching one of your buildings; the end-game part scores the isolated ones with no building next to them.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
Each time you cover a border-space placement bonus, you also take one bonus matching any placement bonus still uncovered on your map. You don't mark the copied bonus — you can copy it again, and you still get it when you later cover that space.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
You still place your worker on the conservation project task as usual, but you can support a project with an Association action of strength 4 instead of 5. It doesn't help other uses of that space, such as hiring a worker in Marine Worlds, which still need strength 5.
The publisher ruled on this in 2023 and the designer accepted it, withdrawing his earlier suggestion that the display was allowed.
It must already be in play when your Animals action starts. If every animal the action played was small (one or two), you may play 1 more small animal at normal cost — from your hand only — and you take a small animal from the display as free snapping, regardless of reputation. The designer once said the extra animal could come from the display, then accepted the hand-only text.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — it only ignores conditions, the requirements on the left side of the card. Cost, enclosure size and the water/rock icons still apply, and the free size-5 enclosure it grants is a standard enclosure.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — you just need 4 research icons in total from any sources; the two rows are only a layout choice, and each icon is a separate condition.
No — the animal icon sits in the effect area to show what the income counts. With no icon in the top-right corner, they add no icon to your zoo.
The rulebook answers this in its "ANIMALS I" section.
Yes — after paying for and placing the animal, its appeal, its ability and Okapi Stable's sponsor play are simultaneous, so you may play a "maximum 25 appeal" sponsor first and take the appeal afterwards.
It means any zoo: Polar Bear Exhibit gives you 2 appeal whenever a bear is played into any player's zoo, yours included. A single-person icon means only your own zoo.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes to both — a card counts its own icon for both its one-time and its recurring effect, and an enclosure an Expert builds when your first animal is played is available for the second animal of the same action.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
No — both tracks stop at their last space and any extra is lost. The designer described the appeal cap as visitor saturation and a small penalty for neglecting conservation.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Appeal and Conservation Points" section.
No — you take the bonus when you reach or pass the space, once. If one gain passes several, you choose the order, e.g. upgrade Association first and then take a third partner zoo from the next space.
The rulebook answers this in its "Appeal and Conservation Points" section.
Your choice of upgrading one Action card or activating an extra association worker; every player who reaches it gets that choice. Taking the worker costs you one of your four possible upgrades.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Appeal and Conservation Points" section.
The first player to reach the space picks one of its tiles or 5 money; the tile is used immediately and removed, so later players choose from what is left. The 5 money is always available. These tiles never count as part of your zoo.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
From the Association board — like a free task without a worker — so only what is currently available there. If none fits (or your university spaces are full), pick another bonus such as the money.
Yes, by the letter of the rules — the publisher declined to forbid it, though it called the move against the spirit of the game and groups may agree not to.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — each card is taken from within reputation range or the deck, and the display is only refilled at the end of your turn (or after income during a break).
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — it gives exactly a size-3 standard enclosure, not one of size up to 3.
The rulebook answers this in its "Animal Card Layout" section.
Space 5 reminds you that interactive attacks only affect zoos with 5 or more appeal. Space 25 is for cards with a "maximum 25 appeal" condition, checked only when you play them — afterwards your appeal may rise freely.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "The Break Track" section.
No — only when an effect tells you to advance it: the Cards action (2 steps), the Sponsors action's break-and-money option, and abilities such as Jumping. In the solo game there is no Break token at all.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "The Break Track" section.
Only the player whose effect moves the token onto the last space, and they gain it immediately — so it can already be spent later in the same turn, e.g. on the second execution of a Multiplier. Merely advancing the token without reaching the end gives no X-token.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "The Break Track" section.
Yes — the break always happens after your whole turn: remaining animals of the action, a Multiplier's second execution and bonus actions from Determination and similar all come first. However many times the token reaches the end, there is only one break, and cards drawn this turn count against the hand limit in it.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "SPONSORS I" section.
No — the option is not "up to": you advance the token exactly X spaces (your strength including X-tokens) and take X money (twice that on side II). The designer stresses that breaks must happen, or the game could deadlock.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "SPONSORS I" section.
Yes — you take the full amount even if the token stops early. On side II you take money twice (e.g. 10 at strength 5), but the +1 strength of side II only applies to playing sponsors, not to this option.
The rulebook answers this in its "Break" section.
No — you may hold any number of cards during play. Only in step 1 of each break do you discard down to 3 (or 5 with the matching university). Since this comes before income, you can't pouch cards first to avoid discarding.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Break" section.
The display is first cleared of folders 1–2 and refilled. Then the player who triggered the break takes their income first, the others follow clockwise, and the display is refilled after each player has finished all their card-taking.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Break" section.
In any order you like. For example, play a sponsor from an income bonus before collecting appeal income to earn more, or build a free enclosure first to cover a kiosk bonus and then collect kiosk income including it.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Break" section.
No — you take the number printed next to your Appeal counter on the Appeal track, not the appeal itself; at 7 appeal, for example, you take 11 money. Kiosks and income cards are added on top.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Break" section.
Each kiosk separately earns 1 money per adjacent building tile: pavilions, special enclosures (even empty), unique buildings and occupied standard enclosures — only empty standard enclosures don't count. A tile touching the kiosk on several edges counts once, a building touching two kiosks pays for each, and a kiosk ringed by six pavilions earns 6.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes — the whole two-space tile is the Side Entrance; the icon on one space is only decoration. Buildings next to either space count, and it counts as a building next to a kiosk.
The rulebook answers this in its "Your Zoo Map" section.
Every uncovered bonus pays immediately. Those on a purple background with the hand (income) icon also pay again in every break — so a space showing both is gained when uncovered and again each break, while yellow lightning-only spaces pay once.
The enclosure is optional — its icon says you may build it. Snapping has no "may" and is mandatory, since it can never hurt you.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Break" section.
X-tokens are kept. Multiplier, Venom and Constriction tokens on your Action cards are returned in step 2 of every break.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Immediately, before the action ends or during that break — it is not an "after finishing" effect and can't be saved. In a break you may then collect the new sponsor's income in the same income step.
The rulebook answers this in its "Break" section.
No — you keep yours. Taken tiles are simply not replaced until the break, when the Association board is refilled so that one of each is available again (except ones every player already owns).
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2025, consistent with the rulebook's "1.Game end" section.
Not yet — the end is checked only for your markers at the end of your turn, or for everyone during a break. Crossing on someone else's turn triggers the end at the end of your next turn or at the next break, whichever comes first.
The rulebook answers this in its "1.Game end" section.
If your markers meet at the end of your turn, every other player takes one more turn and you don't. If the end is triggered during a break, every player, you included, takes one more turn. Then final scoring follows.
The rulebook answers this in its "1.Game end" section.
Yes — the end is only checked once your whole turn is over, so you finish the action, any "after finishing" effects and bonus actions first.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "1.Game end" section.
Yes — it is resolved normally after that player's turn, income included, and the game ends when the player who triggered the end would be next. If the end itself was triggered during a break, though, a new break set off on the very last turn of that extra round is not resolved.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Both happen: resolve the break first, then the other players take their final turns.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
No — income is only taken during a break, so there is none at game end unless a break actually happens during the final round.
No — rewards and break income are mandatory unless worded with "may" or "up to" (e.g. the free enclosure income), so you must take them even if that brings your markers together.
The designer ruled on this directly on BGG in 2022, clarifying the rulebook's "highest positive" wording.
Yes — the rulebook asks for the highest positive score, but the designer has ruled that 0 also counts as a win. Ties are broken as usual by the most supported conservation projects.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2024, consistent with the rulebook's "3.Determine Victory Points" section.
Find the scoring area your Conservation counter is in; its lowest appeal value is your target, and your score is your appeal minus that target. Newer boards print a second number so you simply add your two values — that is the old score plus 100, with exactly the same winner. The publisher made the change with the designer's consent so scores aren't negative.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "3.Determine Victory Points" section.
Yes — supported projects are counted by the tokens missing from the left side of your zoo map, and those never come back, so a discarded project still counts. Only your own tokens count; donations don't.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2025, consistent with the rulebook's "Appeal and Conservation Points" section.
No — the 5- and 8-point bonuses and the others are only gained during the game. Some players argued otherwise, but the designer confirmed in 2025 that final scoring doesn't award them.
The rulebook answers this in its "Appeal and Conservation Points" section.
Immediately, even mid-turn, every player chooses and discards one Final Scoring card, face down under the Final Scoring pile; nobody draws a replacement. It happens only once. If nobody reaches 10 by game end, everyone discards one before final scoring anyway.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
One more than usual. You draw 2 and keep 1 as an extra card. If you gain it before anyone reaches 10 conservation points, you still discard only one card when someone does, keeping two; if you gain it afterwards, you simply keep the extra. All your remaining Final Scoring cards score. A card discarded earlier can only be drawn again if the pile runs that deep.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Neither — they have no icons (the symbols in their brown box only describe the scoring) and are not part of your zoo or your hand, so they never count for conditions, projects or the hand limit, and Pilfering can't take them.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021.
No — only building spaces with no building at all on them count. Water and rock spaces never count, even if Diversity Researcher lets you build on them.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2025.
No — those cards only check whether you have the full set, so extra icons add nothing. Sponsors in general are not limited to 1 conservation point; it depends on the card.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Every single water and rock hex must have a building next to it; there are no multi-hex lakes or rock areas, and the spaces needn't link to each other. Spaces covered via Diversity Researcher no longer have to be checked.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Per category: each animal category in which you have more icons than your neighbour scores 1 point, so the maximum of 4 needs four such categories, however large each lead is.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
Yes — everything except returning the Break token: hand limit, removing tokens from Action cards, recalling workers and refilling the Association board, discarding folders 1–2 and refilling the display, and income. The dots after the steps shown on the solo tile stand for the rest.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022, consistent with the rulebook's "Turn / Cards" section.
No — the Break token isn't used, so you never trigger a break yourself and never earn that X-token. Effects that would advance the token do nothing, though any money tied to them is still paid.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2021, consistent with the rulebook's "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
No — you move one token per turn, however many actions the turn contains.
The rulebook answers this in its "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
27 — 7 before the first break, then 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2, because each break moves one token to the donation area. After the last round there is no break; go straight to final scoring.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023, consistent with the rulebook's "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
No — it always lasts all six rounds. Crossing means you are on course to win, and you keep playing to raise your score.
The rulebook answers this in its "Turn / Cards" section.
Two. Playing a third pushes the rightmost one off to the discard pile as in multiplayer; projects you supported still count through the tokens missing from your zoo map.
The rulebook answers this in its "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
Neither — the token comes from the solo tile and only blocks the cheapest open donation space, making your donations pricier. You can donate normally with Association II; no spaces are blocked at the start.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
A later rules update raises the limit by your starting appeal: it reads 35 when starting at 10 and 45 when starting at 20. Newer printings include a marker for this.
The rulebook answers this in its "Turn / Cards" section.
Yes — the Break token doesn't move, but you still take the money (e.g. 8 money with Sponsors II at strength 4).
The rulebook answers this in its "Gameplay / Breaks" section.
You win with at least 0 points on the old method, which is 100 or more on the newer additive track — in both cases your markers have met or crossed.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes — every Marine Worlds module can be used on its own, including the adjusted final scoring cards; the designer suggests treating the new Sea Turtle Tank as part of the sea animals module. The designer also sees no problem using the replacement cards in a base game. The action-card draft can also be skipped.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Shuffle the new action cards together and deal 3 to each player: keep 1 and pass 2, keep 1 and pass the last, then keep 2 of the 3 cards you collected; picks are visible. It happens after maps are chosen and before starting hands and Final Scoring cards. If you end up with three versions of the same action, swap one for a random undrafted card.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Effectively yes — the extra action cards remove the four-set limit — but no fifth set of player components is included, so you have to improvise markers in a fifth colour.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — it is fully compatible with solo play but adds no new solo mode. Cards that count other zoos, such as Franchise Business, stay in; they are just weaker solo (Franchise Business still gives its free kiosk).
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
It must be built next to water, and its printed water icon counts as a water icon in your zoo (e.g. the Aquatic project and the Aquarium sponsor). But its spaces are not water spaces on the map for other buildings or animals that need adjacent water.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Only animals showing the aquarium symbol in their top-left; base-game animals with a water icon can't. Animals whose size is printed in red with only aquarium symbols (e.g. Caribbean Reef Shark) can never use a standard enclosure. Aquariums are special enclosures, so a "free size-2 enclosure" bonus can't build the small aquarium.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Only into your first aquarium: eligible animals (e.g. penguins from standard enclosures, sea turtles from the Reptile House) may move in when you build it. Nothing may be moved into the second aquarium, and animals in one aquarium never move to another. Animals that fit either the Reptile House or an aquarium may move in either direction when the other is built.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Like any animal — a size-5 predator shark qualifies for a predator release project. Remove its tokens from the aquarium where possible; you can't flip a standard enclosure the animal could never have lived in.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes — you never lose the 7 appeal, and covering the whole map again gives it again. It is not a placement bonus, so effects that deny placement bonuses don't stop it. Re-placing buildings with Reconstruction is the exception: that never regains it.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes — regaining placement bonuses after Cut Down is explicitly allowed, and covering one with the Excavation Area gives it twice.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Normal building rules apply when you put them back (a unique building still needs its rock or water), but you get no placement bonuses, no new Map 8 sponsor cards and no 7 appeal for completing the map again. Uncovering a Hollywood Hills H space switches its discount off until it is covered again.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
During that Build action you may cover one water or rock space per action — paying 2 money extra on side I, or gaining 2 money on side II — once per action even with Diversity Researcher. It works for standard and special enclosures, kiosks and pavilions, not for unique sponsor buildings or anything placed by other effects (Zoo School, Emu). A border water or rock space can hold your first building.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — a covered space no longer counts as water or rock, and a covered map feature (Observation Tower, Park Restaurant, Outdoor Areas) stops working. Requirements are only checked when a card is played, so animals already placed are unaffected.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
For aquariums, yes — the publisher confirmed that was the intent despite the glossary wording. The Underwater Tunnel is unaffected and must still cover 2 water spaces.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2026.
Once you are on space 15, each further reputation step normally becomes 1 appeal; while the tile is still there, you may trade one of those steps for the tile instead. Gaining 2 reputation on 15 thus gives the tile plus 1 appeal. It can be claimed on any later gain, not just the first time you pass 15.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Only with that card's own partner zoo task (and university task once flipped) do you take the tile from the general supply — all four copies of each, at any player count — and may duplicate ones you own; if none is left in the supply you can't. Each duplicate partner zoo gives its own discount. Partner zoos or universities from bonus tiles or maps still come from the Association board with no duplicates.
Players disagree and there is no official ruling; this is the better-supported reading.
Normally no — each player may have only one of the new universities. Players read the upgraded Association card that allows duplicates as an exception that lets you take another new university still available, but there is no official ruling.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Each extra worker placed on the same task space lowers that task's required strength by 2, and you can add several. They must go on the space you are using — on a space already holding one of your workers that means 2 workers plus the extras.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
At most 1 X-token per action, and only on side I, which still allows a single task and no donation. Excess counts against what the task actually required, so Veterinarian's strength-4 projects leave room at strength 5.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
It doesn't copy an action at strength 5. Move the Association card to slot 1 first, then perform another action with a card at its new slot's strength; that card goes to slot 1 too, leaving Association in slot 2 — much like Determination.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
No — you place 1 worker on a task with none of yours or 2 on a task with exactly 1 of yours. Extra Shift returns a worker to your notepad but doesn't let you repeat a task within one action.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Per action: the first animal of every Animals action with that card is 2 cheaper, at any strength. A Multiplier gives two executions, so each one discounts its first animal.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Put your token on an Animal card in the display (several can be marked, each only once). If that card is discarded from the display — in a break, by a Wave or by Digging — it goes to your hand, with no extra hand-limit check after a break. If it leaves any other way, even by your own play, you gain 2 money. Rescue Station tucks it instead, and the marker gets the 2 money. The Animals card's Mark happens after finishing, so you can't mark and then play that animal in the same action.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Whenever a Wave card enters the display, except during setup — in a break, or when Digging or another effect replenishes mid-turn. Replenishing always slides every card down and fills every gap, including one left by an earlier Snap.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
You dig first, then draw. Digging is "up to" X, so it's optional, and each dig either swaps a hand card for a deck card or a display card for a new one (only the display if your hand is empty). The Cards card without Digging has no discard step at all.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
If you gain any money because of that Sponsors action — break option, a sponsor's effect, a placement bonus its building covers — you gain the extra money once in total. Money from unrelated effects (selling a card with Map 4, income on other turns) doesn't count.
Only one player's answer supports this; there is no official ruling.
Before or after the action, not between two sponsors, and it doesn't apply when you take the break option, since no sponsor is played. On side II it stacks with the X+1 strength.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes — you act with their card, so its printed abilities apply to you; your own card's abilities don't.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
At any time during your turn, even before choosing your action. A Multiplier gained this way works the next time you take that action, even later in the same turn.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2026.
X is the sum of the icon counts shown (e.g. 2 reptiles + 3 sea animals = 5). The revealed cards never enter your hand except the one you keep, so you can't play the others with an effect that plays cards from hand.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
It reveals, shown to everyone, as in the base game — the "draw" wording in the Marine Worlds icon overview is an error. On management plans without a printed X, X is your number of predator icons.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Take the first card with that animal icon (not just a requirement), even if you can't play it. The other revealed cards go under the deck, unlike base-game searches such as Hollywood Hills or Hunter, which discard them.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Symbiosis copies only an ability of another sea animal Animal card in your zoo, never a sponsor or a Reef Dweller effect. Sea Animal Magnet takes every display card with the sea animal icon, sponsors included — the glossary wording is an error.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Once when you play it — the icon and the text describe one effect — and again each time you later play another Reef Dweller. Cards tucked under the Rescue Station never trigger it.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
At most 1 per action or break, however many pavilions you place — including its own pavilion when you play it. Placing that pavilion is optional.
Only one player's answer supports this; there is no official ruling.
No tile is swapped: every size-3 standard enclosure touching a border space, built earlier or later, simply counts as size 5 for everything, including choosing which enclosure to flip when releasing. The building its one-off effect places is optional.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
After you place an Australia animal you may replace one standard enclosure — even the one it just entered — with the next size up, which must cover all its old spaces under normal building rules; you may not move other buildings. It stays occupied or empty as before, and you gain the extra appeal only for enlarging an occupied one. Only newly covered spaces give bonuses, and it never becomes an aquarium.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Any one whose base conservation project (below the Association board) you did not support; it needn't be in play. Species Diversity and projects added to the top row, even via Assertion, don't block anything. Then count all your icons of that kind.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Shape is all that matters: every size-1 building is the same shape, and unique buildings count like any other building. Mirror-image tiles such as 248 and 252 are different shapes, since tiles can be rotated but not flipped.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Each partner zoo adds 2 to that continent's icon count — three Europe animals plus a Europe partner zoo count as 5. It doesn't double the total.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
Go by the card's name, not its picture — experts, specialists, the Archaeologist, Explorer and so on. The community list was confirmed complete, and the Promotion Team promo also counts.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2023.
Yes — the missing 2 on the English card is a printing error; the card text is right.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
They need 2 icons of the shown animal type. Each supporter picks one open reward space; a reef option triggers all your Reef Dwellers, and "1 reputation per 2 research icons" gives 2 for 4 icons. The bottom-right bonus goes only to the player who plays the card.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — nothing forbids it, just as several players may use Map A or 0. The designer's own preference is that either everyone plays the same map or everyone a different one.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
It is in your zoo from that moment: its top-row icons (including rock and water) and its size (small or large) count for conservation projects, breeding programs and scoring, and it triggers other cards that react to those icons. You gain none of its own effects — Reef Dweller included — and its conditions don't count for Accessible Zoo.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
No — rescued animals can't be released, and since they live in no enclosure they can't be moved into a new Reptile House or Large Bird Aviary either.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
Yes — the rescued herbivore is in your zoo, so a Flock animal can rely on it if its printed size requirement is large enough, even though it has no enclosure. The publisher accepted the odd theme to avoid a special exception.
A Feuerland rules representative answered this directly on BGG in 2022.
At most 3 cards, even with Archaeologist, and never Petting Zoo animals. Tucking isn't playing, so a WAZA Special Assignment size choice doesn't block it. With its Digging bonus, discard first and then draw or replenish.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
An enclosure counts for an area if at least one of its spaces lies inside it, and a reptile placed in a Reptile House touching the area counts even if it takes 0 spaces. Playing an animal by Flock fills no enclosure, so it removes no cube. Bonuses already gained are kept if the animal later leaves.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
It removes one of the continent cubes still on the map and gives that area's bonus, as if you had housed a matching animal there. Each time you may pick any bonus, repeats included; it doesn't support a project.
The designer answered this directly on BGG in 2024.
First read the strength the map gives that slot (a covered slot takes the value of the next visible one), then add 1 per X-token. An X-token never moves the card to the next visible number.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
Yes — nothing caps upgrades at four; the base game just has only four upgrade sources, and Map 11's partner zoo/university pairs add more (one of each: an upgrade; two of each: a worker returns; three of each: a conservation point).
Only one player's answer supports this; there is no official ruling.
No — those abilities sit in squares, not the yellow pentagons of placement bonuses, so effects that copy placement bonuses ignore them.
Next to the pre-printed size-2 enclosure — the map already has a building, so the border rule for a first building doesn't apply.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
No — the few new icons (such as Cut Down on Map 13) are explained on the included rules sheet.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
At most 3 at a time — there are only 3 storage slots, even with Archaeologist. You can take a stored card back to hand at any time, but not swap it except by storing a new card with another Store bonus.
Several experienced players agree; there is no official ruling.
The bonus lets you play a person sponsor card for free. Display refills always slide cards down and add new ones at the far end, after your turn, even when a Snap and a Wave happen in the same action.