Number of Players: 2-6 players

Playing Time: Around 120-180 minutes

Components:

• Game board depicting the zoo with various building areas

• Player boards with action spaces and tracks for reputation, money, and victory points

• Animal cards with different species and requirements

• Sponsor cards offering special benefits

• Conservation project cards focusing on global efforts

• Enclosure cards for building habitats for animals

• Worker tokens for activating actions

• Break token to track action strength

• Money tokens

• Resource tokens (wood, stone, metal)

• Dice (for some actions)
  

Setup:

1. Choose Your Director: Each player selects a player board and starting resources.

2. Prepare the Displays: Shuffle the decks for Animals, Sponsors, and Conservation Projects. Place face-up displays for each deck, revealing the top few cards.

3. Break Track Setup:  Advance the break token a few spaces on the track (refer to rulebook for specific number).

4. Starting Hand: Draw a hand of starting cards (usually animals, sponsors, or conservation projects).
   

Gameplay:

The game is played in rounds, with players taking turns in clockwise order. Each round consists of two phases:

Phase 1: Action Phase

1. Activate Actions: Players take turns using their worker tokens to activate action spaces on their player boards. These actions allow you to:

   • Draw Cards:  Increase your hand size with new animals, sponsors, or conservation projects.

   • Build Enclosures: Construct various enclosures to house different animal species.

   • Play Animals: Pay the cost and place animals in compatible enclosures.

   • Advance Break Track: Gain access to stronger actions in the next round.

   • Other Actions: Depending on your player board, you might have additional actions like playing sponsors, starting conservation projects, or acquiring resources.
     

Phase 2: Income Phase

1. Receive Income: Gain money based on the number and types of animals in your zoo.

2. Refresh Displays: Discard the revealed cards from the animal, sponsor, and conservation project displays and refill them from the respective decks.
   

Winning the Game:

The game ends when a pre-determined number of rounds have been played (depending on player count). Players score points based on their:

• Animals in the zoo (considering species and conservation status)

• Completed conservation projects

• Sponsors acquired

• Reputation level

• Money remaining

The player with the most victory points is declared the winner and the most successful zoo director!

Core Mechanics:

• Deck Building:  Curate your hand of cards to acquire the animals, sponsors, and projects that align with your strategy.

• Worker Placement:  Strategically allocate your worker tokens to activate the most beneficial actions each turn.

• Resource Management: Gather and utilize resources (wood, stone, metal) to build enclosures.

• Engine Building:  As you play animals and sponsors, your zoo becomes more efficient at generating income and reputation.
  

Additional Notes:

• Variable Player Powers:  Each player board offers unique starting abilities and action spaces, encouraging diverse strategies.

• Card Drafting (Optional Rule):  A variant rule introduces card drafting, adding another layer of strategy to acquiring animals, sponsors, and conservation projects.

• Solo Mode (Expansion):  The "Solo Mode" expansion allows you to play Ark Nova as a single player against an automated opponent.