Kavango: Climate Mini-Expansion
Kavango: Climate Mini-Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Mini-Expansion Overview
This edition of Kavango includes the climate mini-expansion, with eight extra animal cards and two additional conservation experts. We recommend adding these cards to your existing decks without removing any cards.
The climate mini-expansion focuses on animals that are vulnerable to climate change and global warming. The two desert-adapted animals added in this expansion are rare, endangered subpopulations of highly specialised animals; each is worth more than ten points because of the difficulty of introducing them safely into your reserve.
The mini-expansion also gives you two additional conservation experts, who protect your animals with their unique abilities. The Climatologist helps with both climate protection and mitigation during the game. The Veterinarian provides extra space in your sanctuary for your vulnerable animals.
Mini-Expansion Animal Cards
The mini-expansion contains the following eight animal cards. The number shown on each card is its points value.
- Long-Fingered Bat (4 points). Trait: Migratory. These bats are adapted to catch moving fish from the water and improve their skill by social learning.
- Vine Snake (7 points). Trait: Toxic. Southern vine snakes are superbly camouflaged like a branch. They inflate their neck when threatened.
- Saddle-Billed Stork (7 points). Trait: Migratory. These large storks are almost silent and make no call because they do not have any muscles in their voice box.
- Oribi (5 points). Trait: Antelope. Oribi communicate and mark territory by releasing unique scents from six different scent glands.
- Giant Eagle-Owl (7 points). This powerful bird is the largest owl species in Africa. It has unusual and distinctive bright pink eyelids.
- Angolan Giraffe (10 points). One of nine subspecies of giraffe in Africa, the Angolan giraffe is well adapted to dry savanna habitats.
- Desert-Adapted Elephant (11 points). Trait: Migratory. Considered a subspecies, they have huge home ranges and make long seasonal migrations.
- Desert-Adapted Lion (12 points). Trait: Cat. This rare and threatened subpopulation of lions has evolved over generations to endure the harsh desert.
Note: the requirements (habitat, poaching and climate protection levels) and the other icons on each animal card are printed on the card itself and are not reproduced here.
Mini-Expansion Conservation Experts
The mini-expansion adds two conservation experts. Both have a complexity rating of 3/5.
Climatologist
- Ability 1: Play an animal for which you do not yet have the required climate protection level. Tuck this card under that animal. You may untuck this card and use this ability again once you reach the required protection level for that animal.
- Ability 2: Double the money and points when you play a climate fund action card.
Tips from the rulebook:
- Effective at the start of the game for playing animals that need climate protection and are normally difficult to play. This increases your options for building your reserve.
- Helps you play animals earlier, which makes it easier to complete research tasks and earn money faster.
- The second ability helps increase the climate protection level and reach the climate conservation award.
Veterinarian
- Ability 1: You have a fourth sanctuary space. Use this card as your fourth sanctuary space, placing your animal card on top of this card. Animals on this sanctuary space cannot be relocated by another player.
- Ability 2: At the start of the game, randomly choose a third animal from deck C for your sanctuary.
Tips from the rulebook:
- The fourth sanctuary space can be used for a higher-risk strategy, keeping favourite animals for later until you meet their requirements.
- Starting with an extra animal in your sanctuary effectively gives you an extra turn.
- Remember to use your ability to protect an animal in your sanctuary from relocation.
Clarification: choose the third animal for your sanctuary at random after everyone has chosen two animals for their sanctuary.
Solo Play with Oppo
This paragraph is printed in the base solo rules (Spanish rulebook, p. 12) and names the mini-expansion experts; it is included here so the solo option is not missed.
When playing solo against Oppo, Oppo plays either (a) without a conservation expert; or (b) chooses from the botanist, the ranger, the local leader, the climatologist and the veterinarian. These experts improve Oppo's ability to play high-scoring animals and give Oppo more flexibility when choosing cards from its hand, which makes Oppo harder to beat.