Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game – Kickstarter (Preorder)

In Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game, 1-4 players compete to build the most recognized zoo in the city. In this strategic and deeply thematic board game, each player has the freedom to develop their own zoo with 34 animals species, food booths, zoo shops and many more attractions. This is your zoo in a box! 🐘🐅🦌🦜🐒

Want to learn more about the game? In this video, Marc and Samuel (the game’s designers) answer some interesting questions and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game.

All components shown are photographed (not 3D animated) and thus already exist as high-quality prototypes. There may still be some changes (quality of life improvements, stretch goals, production optimizations), but in principle the game and its components will look like this in the final version. Especially the meeples will have exactly this accuracy (lasered, not stamped) and color intensity.

At the beginning of a game, each player starts with an empty park with nothing but a bit of money and their enthusiasm. The game is divided into 8 rounds, each consisting of spring (offspring), summer (trading on the zoo market), autumn (building) and winter (scoring).

Players find animals for their zoo on the zoo market, where demand and supply constantly change each round. Thanks to that, no game will ever feel the same.

All main species (which are represented by the 22 different Animal Meeples) have different characteristics e.g. number of animals per enclosure tile, behavior of males, biome, tolerance towards other species etc. In addition, it is also important to always keep in mind the happiness level of each species, which is composed of the following needs: (1) experience, (2) free space, (3) number of retreats and (4) group size.

Food booths, zoo shops, conservation centers, education booths and parks can all enhance your zoo. In addition you can also equip each enclosure tile with up to one focal point (small wooden houses). The focus you place on your zoo or the individual enclosures is entirely up to you.

At the end of each game, a completely different zoo will have been created in front of you. And the next zoo is already waiting for you!