INTL GAMES | NEW YORK ZOO

Publisher: Feverland| Imported by Vibrant Hobbies

Ages: 10+

No.of players: 1 to 5

Duration: 30 mins 

Story:

New York Zoo is a lovely, lightly strategic tile-placement game that is so visually appealing. Its gentle racing gameplay isn’t too stress-inducing, and as such, I find it a calming, enjoyable experience to play.

In New York Zoo, the players take on the roles of developers as they work to construct animal parks and fill them with various animals and Attractions. Each player begins the game with an empty zoo board and a couple of animals. On their turn, they will either choose from a selection of polyomino tiles to add to their boards as animal Enclosures or choose from a selection of animals to add to their boards in an effort to fill their already existing Enclosures.

Along the way, certain animals will breed and produce offspring which are added to existing Enclosures. When an Enclosure is filled, the animals present on it are removed and the player can then add an Attraction tile to their board. And this is important because the goal of the game is to be the first player to fill in your board entirely and those Attraction tiles will help you fill in the holes left by your Enclosure tile placements. Animal breeding happens after tile/animal selection and placement, so it may happen that multiple players will fill in their boards as a result of this. If this occurs, the tie is broken by whoever has the most animals remaining.

In New York Zoo, Uwe Rosenberg plays to his strengths and it works out wonderfully for the players. It’s a gorgeous game that’s easy to set up, easy to teach, and easy to play mechanically. And it’s also a game that presents a lot of unique challenges along the way. New York Zoo is an excellent game for beginners and experts alike.