'Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game?' Ark Nova Review

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[raizin]

Noticing the wrinkles of the plastic wrap around the board when Tom ate the egg (7:25) was a weird mix of relief, that thank god they didn't actually smudge their board and cards with greasy eggy stains, and disappointment in the illusion being broken.

[btmurphy]

Matt deserves an Oscar for still delivering his lines while Tom handlessly devours and egg off plastic wrap. Bravo, gents.

[TheNerindil]

SU&SD: Putting breakfast foods on board games for no adequately explained reason since 1623.

[GreenHam]

This is the first SUSD video where I actually gasped. Tom really went for that egg! Kudos for nailing the bit.

[tylerharris]

I said to myself “why does Tom have a gun?” I didn’t realize it was Chekhov’s gun.

[Gfloresadam]

Wow incredible editing here, I really felt like Matt and Tom were in the same room together!

[kehraus]

Something that needs to be stressed when playing in that is that it is very much a race up the various tracks to get stuff 'n' bonuses. Like Lost Ruins of Arnak, Ark Nova showers the strongest player with further rewards to help juice their engine, which can leave those lagging behind in the cold (not quite as bad as Arnak, mind you. 3rd and 4th players can get a consolation prize of some cash in lieu of a juicier bonus token). In all games of Ark Nova that I've played, the first person to get access to the various goodies on offer invariably went on to win.

Unlike Terraforming Mars, say, where there are arguably very few objectively bad cards in that you're always gaining something at least, in Ark Nova you absolutely can get junk cards that do nothing to support your strategy. Also in Terraforming Mars, each game feels largely equal and competitive up until the end - snowballs rarely occur and the various means of scoring points are well supported. This is in stark contrast to Ark Nova, thanks to its racing aspect. Your point dobbers for Appeal and Conservation serve to mark the end of the game when they cross over, so when your dobbers are adrift across the yawning chasm of the points track, you can only watch on helplessly as the frontrunner's dobbers rush together to close like the jaws of a steel trap.

When someone's dobbers cross over, signifying the game end, they also serve as a point threshold as you get a higher positive score the bigger the crossover. It means every other player essentially gets saddled with *negative* points based on how far apart their dobbers were at the endgame. Bad enough that you never drew cards that supported your strong opener and pivoted too late, or that you spent the last hour knowing full well how far behind you were on the board, but then to be told your zoo scored -28 points? Christ, what were you even doing the past 2.5 hours? Building an anti-zoo?!

Ark Nova has its merits but without some means of mitigating the card variance, it's difficult to recommend it over Terraforming Mars, with its gentler and fairer pacing, from a competitive gameplay perspective. Ark Nova is a different beast and I don't regret playing it, but for those unprepared to get their skates on and race you may well be left in the dust, with a half-finished petting zoo and some crushed dreams.

[dave]

As usual, you jump from absolute silliness to discussing something deep like the ethics surrounding environmental conservation projects in a seamless whim. And there is a worm and an egg, so absolute SU&SD branding there. 10/10.

[Ahoge-dono]

Wish Tom didn't eat that egg, revealed the illusion of willing dropping a fried egg on the expensive boardgame materials.

[bobloblawslawblog]

so happy to get to watch a double review in person. the zoom stuff and single is great but I love watching everyone play off eachother it's what has made SU&SD itself since episode 1. be safe love ya'll

[kiddota]

The arc of that game though: it starts as a hectic efficiency puzzle to get your economy going and your action cards upgraded. Then there’s beautiful breezy exploration finding synergies in the cards you draw. Until you realize that the scores are really ramping up and you have to decide which of your plans you can still finish in the few remaining rounds. This is one of the greatest game designs in years!

[mapanzer]

With the (often already problematic) deference given by reviewers to publishers over authors these days, I am surprised that folks find it so hard to distinguish between original publisher and international licensee. This is not a Capstone game. The game was published (and developed) by Feuerland. Capstone Games is merely the co-publisher in the US. They presumably had little to no input into the game development except for putting the logo on the box.

[garretzettel]

The ending to this is comedy genius. Between Tom's face and the fact that it follows Matt's 2 minute monologue on responsible conservation representation... omg.

[ChronoMager]

I cannot state how relieved I was at seeing the cling film underneath the egg.

[rossglenn]

Love it when two SU&SD reviewers work together!

And I think Matt is on to something at the 14:30 mark. One of the things I really like about Terraforming Mars is that you can build an engine that is light with plants and fish and scrub brush, or you can go dark with nuclear weapons and drug-fueled metropolises and indentured servants. It makes no difference mechanically but it really adds to the flavor of the game.

[AWonkyCarrot]

For some reason I've not been keeping up with susd vids for a year or so. VERY happy I get back into them by watching Matt and Tom barely contain their laughter as Tom slurps an egg. That's board games baby!

[jrhawk]

We have played a few times now and drawing from the deck early game works, but snapping and using the card upgrade to draw from the table makes it more competitive. Our last game was 18 to 24.

[Castorshells]

I flipped out on that egg until I realized you covered that board in plastic wrap. Great video and humor!!!!

[gabrielr]

I was horrified until I saw the creases in the plastic wrap form underneath the egg

[zawadi]

Lmao, Tom and Matt visibly fighting the urge to smirk at 7:36 😂