Gamehelparknova

Welcome to Ark Nova! In this game, you'll manage a modern zoo. In addition to putting popular and well-liked animals into it, you'll also aim to research more into zoology and support conservation projects and sponsorships. You'll do this by taking one of five actions each turn, with each them having strength related to how far they've progressed on your track - the longer it's been since the last time you took that action, the more powerful it'll be. Your score is measured by both your Appeal and Conservation points, and when they cross each other on the scoring track, the game has ended. The most points, as measured by how far apart these two trackers are from each other, wins the game!

What To Do On Your Turn

When it's your turn, you'll choose one of the five action cards in front of you to act with. This action has a strength associated with it, based on where it is along the bottom of your board, ranging from 1 to 5. You'll be able to add to this value by spending X-tokens. After performing that action, it returns to the far left position, at strength 1, while all other action cards move one space to the right.

Upon achieving certain conditions, you'll be able to upgrade these action cards as well by flipping them to the pink side, where they will remain for the rest of the game. These upgraded actions will usually allow you to use these actions more efficiently or at higher strength, but otherwise follow the same rules as their basic form.

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The Build Action

The Build action allows you to build a new enclosure 1 to 5 tiles in size (needed in order to play animals), or another special building in your zoo. To do this, you'll pay 2 money per space covered by the tile. All tiles must be placed adjacent to another tile, and no tiles can be placed on top of each other, the rock or water spaces already printed on your zoo, or outside the zoo's borders. However you can cover a space with a yellow pentagon, and upon doing so you gain the bonus pictured on it.

Special buildings

A Kiosk is a dark gray building of size 1. These give money during the income phase -- 1 money for each building adjacent building, excluding empty enclosures.

A Pavilion is a pink building of size 1. Upon placing these, you gain 1 appeal.

A Petting Zoo is a special enclosure of size 3, Some animals require being placed in a petting zoo, but it's special in that multiple animals can coexist on this tile.

Upgraded Build Action

1. Allows you to build multiple buildings with size no more than the action strength (as long as you can pay for all of them) -- for example at strength 5, you could build a size 3 enclosure, size 1 enclosure, and a kiosk all at once),
2. Allows you to build on spaces requiring the upgraded Build action.
3. Allows you to build the Reptile House and Large Bird Aviary. These can house multiple animals of a particular type. (Note you can move qualifying animals in when you build it, freeing up those enclosures)

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The Cards Action

The Cards action allows you to draw more cards. Depending on the strength of this action, you'll draw one or more cards from the top of the deck and possibly discard cards from your hand (including ones you just drew). At strength 5, you may instead snap one card from the board directly to your hand. Keep in mind a hand limit will be enforced during Breaks. Additionally note Cards also gives 2 Break.

Upgraded Cards Action

1. Allows you to draw cards from the board within your reputation range (to the left of your reputation marker)
2. Allows you to snap (from the board) at strength 3 or more
3. Allows your reputation range to reach the higher levels

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The Animals Action

The Animals action allows you to play animal cards. Each animal has a money cost and also enclosure of a specific size or higher. (Some may also need to border the rocks/or water.)

Take note any other requirements on the left side, such as requiring that you already have a particular icon. (Icons the card gives you when in play will be at the top.)

When you play a new animal card, you gain the bonuses on the bottom of the card. The most common things this gives are

1. Appeal points (number in a ticket)
2. Conservations points (number in a green box)
3. Reputation points (number in a black mortar board cap)

You may also gain icons at the top of the card, which may give additional benefits if called out by another card/component in play.

Upgraded Animals Action

1. Allows you to play multiple animal cards at a lower strength
2. Allows you to play animals from your reputation range (to the left of your reputation marker) and not just your hand
3. Allows you to play certain animals that list this as a requirement

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The Sponsors Action

This action allows you to play a sponsor card from your hand, less than or equal to the action's strength. Note these typically don't cost money to play, but may have other requirements. These may give benefits (such as money or appeal points) now, later, or at the end of the game:

1. A yellow section lists what you get immediately when played,
2. A purple section lists what you get on each income phase (listed with a hand)
3. A blue section lists what you get upon another condition such as playing or getting certain icons.
4. A brown section lists what you get at the end of the game

You can also take this action to you can gain money equal to the action's strength and Break equal to the action's strength (instead of playing a sponsor card).

Upgraded Sponsors Action

1. Allows you to play sponsors from the board within reputation range (to the left of your reputation marker)
2. Allows you to gain money equal to the twice the action's strength (and Break equal to the action's strength)
3. Allows you to play sponsors that list this as a requirement

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The Association Action

The Association action allows you to send workers to the association board to take actions there. You have a limited pool, but can gain more workers as the game progresses. Note taking the same association action a second time in the round costs two workers instead of one, though other players' workers do not affect this worker cost. Depending on the actions strength, you can take an action at that strength or less.

• Strength 2: Gain 2 reputation (one of the most straightforward ways to get reputation)
• Strength 3: Gain a partner zoo (handshake) from another continent. Playing animals from that continent costs 3 less money, and you gain an icon of that type. Place this on the right side of your board (starting at the bottom) -- you gain any bonus this covers up.
• Strength 4: Gain a partner university (gray monument) -- these may give reputation, research icons, or improved hand limit during Breaks.
• Strength 5: You can support a conservation project (existing or from hand) -- these will typically be some milestone, for example requiring specific symbols.

Conservation Projects

Typically conservation projects will give conservation points and possibly other benefits. To claim one in play (or from your hand), place a cube on the level you wish to complete, taking a cube from the left side of your player board. Whatever space the cube comes off is the benefit you'll get -- and if it comes from the purple/yellow section, you get the bonus immediately and each income phase. Note you typically can't claim more than level of a particular conservation project.

If a conservation project requires you to "release an animal", you'll be discarding a previously played animal, losing its appeal points and icons, as well as emptying its enclosure. However you'll still have the conservation points and can reuse the enclosure.

Upgraded Conservation Action

• Allows you to split the strength between multiple actions
• Allows you to have more partner zoos and partner universities
• Allows you to donate money once directly to get conservation points, in addition to your other action. Put a cube on each exchange rate when done -- it gets more expensive as these actions are taken, to a maximum of 12 money for a conservation point.

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The X-Token action

One extra action you have for your turn is to take one X-Token from the supply. Recall you can spend X-tokens to increase the strength of your action by 1 strength per token. After doing this X-token action, move any of your action cards to strength 1 of your board as if you took that action. (You only get one token regardless of the strength of the card moved.)

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Break Track

Players continue taking actions until the break track is met or exceeded. (For example, from taking the Cards action, or gaining money with the Sponsors action.) Then, the following steps happen:

1. Players discard down to their hand limit. (Note this may have increased if you have the related partner university)
2. Take any multiplier tokens off action cards, and any venom/constriction tokens off animal cards, if any exist
3. Return Association workers to the players and Replenish the partner zoos and partner universities to the Association board so that there is one of each again.
4. Discard the top two cards of the card display, slide the remaining cards down, and replenish the display.
5. Take income from appeal, kiosks, sponsor, and left side of board)

Then the break track marker resets and the next player can take their turn.

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Appeal Track and Conservation Track

To track how many Appeal points and Conservation points players have, players each move their token on the tracks. (On boardgamearena, you can click the appeal + conservation icon in the top right to see this.) Note these tokens start in opposite ends.

Moving your marker further on the appeal track increase the amount of income you get per turn

Moving your marker to certain key points on the Conservation track gives effects in pentagons

• (At 2 points) You may upgrade an action or get an Association worker
• (At 5 and 8 points) You may gain a benefit chosen for that particular game, each shown in a yellow pentagon. (Everyone can get the 5 money bonus, but only one player can get each of the others)
• (At 10 points) All players discard one of their bonus cards from the game start. (This only happens the first time this is reached.)

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Game End

If at the end of your turn or during a break your Conservation counter and Appeal counter are ever in the same scoring area, or if they have passed one another, the end of the game is triggered.

If the end of the game is triggered at the end of your turn, all other players (but not you) will take one more turn. If the end of the game is triggered during a break, all players (including you) will take one more turn.

At the end of the game, you still get conservation points or appeal from your Final Scoring card(s), as well as from all your cards with an end-of-game icon.

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Score

To determine your score look at the scoring area where your conservation counter is located. Find the lowest appeal value in that scoring area. This is your Target Number. Compare your Target Number to the value of your appeal counter. Subtract your Target Number from your appeal value and the result is your Victory Points. The player with the highest positive Victory Point total is the winner. In case of a tie, the tied player who supported the most Conservation Projects wins the game.