Tabletop games
Ark Nova
Super MeepleMathias Wigge2021
- players
- 1–4
- minutes
- 150
- years
- 14+
In the box
1 Association board · Individual Zoo boards · 255 cards: animals, sponsors, conservation projects · Enclosure tiles · Individual Action cards · Coins, tokens and pawns
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Mathias Wigge
- Artwork
- Steffen Bieker, Loïc Billiau, Dennis Lohausen
- Publisher
- Super Meeple
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementTile PlacementHexagon GridOnce-Per-Game AbilitiesIncomeSolo Play
- Expansions
- Ark Nova: Marine Worlds · 2023
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player runs their zoo to raise their appeal and their conservation points, two tracks that move towards each other. On your turn, play one of your five Action cards (Animals, Cards, Build, Association or Sponsors), whose strength depends on its slot, from 1 to 5, before it goes back to the first. When a player's two markers are in the same scoring area or have passed each other, the others take one more turn, everyone if it happens during a break. Under the revised rules, you add the small white number of your conservation space to your appeal: the highest total wins.
The rules, step by step
Setup
25 money, 5 Action cards, 4 zoo cards kept
- Each player gets a zoo map, their five Action cards and 25 money.
- Draw eight zoo cards and keep four.
- Each player gets two final scoring cards, kept secret.
- The base conservation projects are placed next to the main board.
How to play
Play 1 Action card, Strength 1 to 5, Back to slot 1
- On your turn, play one of your five Action cards: Animals, Cards, Build, Association or Sponsors.
- The strength of the action depends on the card's slot, from 1 to 5; once played, it goes back to slot 1 and the others shift along by one.
- You can also play a card without taking its action to gain an X-token, which boosts an action later.
- When the break track reaches the end, play pauses: everyone collects their income and the board is tidied up.
- The first time a player reaches 10 conservation points, everyone discards one of their two final scoring cards; if nobody gets there, everyone discards one before final scoring.
Scoring
Final scoring first, Appeal + white number, Revised rules v2.0
- Appeal rises with animals and some enclosures; conservation rises with conservation projects and some supports.
- Before reading the score, apply your final scoring card (4 conservation points at most) and the cards showing the end-of-game icon.
- Revised rules (v2.0): add to your appeal the small white number printed on the space where your conservation marker stands; the result gives your victory points.
- First rules: subtract from your appeal the lowest appeal value in the scoring area where your conservation marker stands; the score can then be negative. Both methods give the same ranking: the first gives everyone 100 points less.
End of the game
Markers have crossed, Or in the same area, Highest score
- The end is triggered when, at the end of your turn or during a break, your two markers are in the same scoring area, or one has passed the other. A scoring area is one space of the conservation track and the adjacent spaces of the appeal track.
- Triggered at the end of your turn, each of the other players takes one more turn, then final scoring follows. Triggered during a break, everyone takes one more turn.
- The highest score wins. Tie: the most conservation projects supported; otherwise, the victory is shared.
House rules and pitfalls
In Marquoir, enter each player's final score, read with either set of rules…
- In Marquoir, enter each player's final score, read with either set of rules, but the same one for the whole table.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Can you finish with a negative score?
Under the first rules, yes: as long as the appeal marker has not reached the area of the conservation marker, the gap counts as negative. The revised rules count differently: they amount to giving everyone 100 more points, without changing the ranking.
Why two ways of scoring?
The revised rules replace the subtraction with an addition, easier to read on the track. Their rulebook gives the example of a player on 16 conservation points, a space marked 24, with 80 appeal: 104 points. The first rules would have read 4 points for the same position.