Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Component Anatomy
  • Score Board
  • Zoo Board
  • Staff Board
  • Enclosure Tiles
  • Building Tiles
  • Animal Cards
  • Co-Species Tiles
  • Animal Exchange (AE)
  • Animal Exchange Sheet
  • Tuck Boxes
• Game Preparation
  • Board Setup
  • Player Area Setup
• Gameplay Overview
  • Goal of the Game
  • Game Overview
  • Spring
    • 1. Starting Player
    • 2. Event Cards
    • 3. Offspring
  • Summer
    • 1. Renew the Animal Exchange
    • Leaving & Arrival
    • 2. Leaving
    • 3. Arrival
    • 4. Clear the Animal Exchange
  • Autumn
    • 1. Enclosure Tiles
    • 2. Replace Donor
    • 3. Loans
    • 4. Building Phase
  • Winter
    • 1. Animal Keeping
    • 2. Education Scoring
    • 3. Taxes
    • 4. Revenue
    • 5. Reset Buzz & Staff
    • 6. New Year
  • End of the Game
• Excursus - Offspring Phase
  • Offspring Discs
  • Staff Actions in Spring
• Excursus - Leaving & Arrival Phase
  • Leaving Phase
  • Arrival Phase
  • Staff Actions in Summer
• Excursus - Building Phase
  • Enclosure Tiles
  • Enclosures
  • New Enclosure - Checklist
  • Focal Points
  • Buildings
  • Commercial Buildings
  • Construction Actions
  • Staff Actions in Fall
• Excursus - Conservation Projects
  • Reintroductions
  • Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program
  • Animal Welfare Project
  • National Park Cooperation
• Game Variants
  • Introductory Game
  • Two-Player Variant
• Event Cards
• Game Overview (Quick Reference)
  • Round 1
  • Round 2-7
  • End of the Game

Contents

• 1 Animal Exchange (AE)
• 1 Animal Exchange Sheet
• 1 Score Board
• 4 Zoo Boards, including 4 Staff Boards
• 33 Tuck Boxes
• 172 Enclosure Tiles — 3 different biomes (rainforest, savanna, and montane forest)
• 53 Building Tiles
• 35 Co-Species Tiles — 7 large Species, 5 small Species
• 60 Circular Tiles — 16 Contraception Tiles, 44 Prohibition Tiles
• 89 Animal Cards — 22 cards per player and 1 Giant panda card
• 12 Overview Cards — 3 cards per player
• 18 Event Cards
• 7 Donor Cards
• 236 Animal Meeples — 23 Species (females are lighter colored than males)
• 40 Offspring Discs — 20 male and 20 female offspring
• 200 Cubes / 4 Cylinders — 50 cubes and 1 cylinder per player
• 12 Worker Meeples — 3 per player
• 155 Focal Points — 4 different colors
• 8 Wooden Dice
• 2 Wooden Discs — Round Counting Marker and Season Marker
• 1 Starting Player Marker
• 1 Cloth Bag — for the Offspring Discs

! If the supply of a component is used up during the game, then simply use another similar component to replace the missing one, e.g. Red panda meeples for Tiger meeples.

Component Anatomy

Score Board

There is a space for the Event Cards and, below it, the space for the Donor Cards.

The yellow track measures the Popularity of your Zoo, which greatly influences your Zoo's Revenue. In addition, 10 Popularity unlocks Commercial Buildings and 15 Popularity unlocks the Asian elephant/Giant panda.

The green track measures the Conservation points of your Zoo. The leaders on this track receive one free Enclosure Tile per round.

! At the end of the game the lower of the two scores (Popularity or Conservation) represents the victory points. The Zoo with the most victory points wins the game.

The blue track measures the Education of your Zoo, awarding bonuses to Popularity and Conservation.

! If a Zoo has not yet left the white Starting Spaces of a track, it does not receive Revenue in case of Popularity, the free Enclosure Tile in case of Conservation, or the one Conservation point awarded per round in case of Education.

On the Round Track the 7 rounds of the game are tracked. Like years, each round is made up of 4 seasons.

The white Season Track shows the 4 seasons and their phases. It also shows where Staff Actions may be taken.

Zoo Board

Each player builds their own Zoo on their Zoo Board.

At the start of the game the top row of the Zoo Board is blocked by Prohibition Tiles. Until they are removed, players cannot build there.

Animals can be stored in Quarantine before they are placed in an Enclosure. Each of the two Quarantine spaces can host any number of animals from one Main Species.

! Animals in Quarantine are not considered part of the Zoo. Points, costs and other effects of animals are not applied until they are exhibited in the Zoo. Once integrated into the Zoo, the animals cannot return to Quarantine.

There is a space for unused, free Enclosure Tiles, whose biome can be freely changed until they have been placed.

The track on top of each Zoo Board is the Money Track. It is the bank account of a Zoo and shows how much money is available for purchasing Buildings, Enclosures, etc. At the end of the year, Revenue minus Running Costs gives the money supply for the next year. It cannot fall below -10 or exceed 30.

Staff Board

The Running Costs comprise the costs for the Enclosures and the Workers that are incurred per round.

During the course of a round, players can perform Staff Actions with their 3 Workers. The first Staff Action in a round is free; the second and third Staff Action each increase your Running Costs by $3 for one round.

Each Staff Action is assigned to a season and can only be performed during that season. Each Worker can perform one action per round. Actions with a repeat symbol can be performed several times per round by using several Workers. Actions with a briefcase symbol can be performed only once per game by each player.

When you perform a Staff Action, you place one of your Workers on the corresponding action of your Staff Board.

The Staff Board's actions are: Breeding (reroll one die, max. 1 per Species), Birth Control (activate contraception in a Species), Exchange (perform one more Trade on the AE), Unexpected Supply & Unexpected Demand, Animal Keeping (for one Species), Maintenance (perform one construction action).

Enclosure Tiles

Enclosure Tiles are used to create Enclosures on the Zoo Boards. An Enclosure is made of one or more Enclosure Tiles sharing the same biome: Rainforest, Savannah, or Montane Forest. Animal Species are placed on top of these tiles (Main Species and Co-Species).

Each round, Zoos receive between 3 and 5 free Enclosure Tiles. Additional Enclosure Tiles may be purchased each round.

! Until Enclosure Tiles are placed, they are stored on the corresponding field on the Zoo Board and their biome can be changed freely.

Building Tiles

There are 5 types of Buildings in the game. They help you to increase the Revenue, Popularity, Education and Conservation: Park, Education Booth, Conservation Center, Food Booth, and Zoo Shop.

! You cannot have the exact same Building (with the exact same illustration) twice in your Zoo.

! In order to have an effect, Buildings must be placed adjacent to other tiles. In this game, diagonal is not considered to be adjacent.

Animal Cards

The 23 Main Species in the game are represented by Animal Cards and Animal Meeples. On the Animal Card you can find all the important information about a Species. The Animal Meeples will be placed on your Zoo Board.

1. Level — This indicates in which area of the Animal Exchange the Species can be found.
2. Category — Each Species is assigned to one of 4 categories: Primates, Ungulates, Carnivores, Birds.
3. Base Popularity Value — This is the Popularity base value that is added directly to the Popularity Track on the Score Board when you add this Species to your Zoo. Tigers, Snow leopards, and American black bears have a special feature; their base value depends on the number of animals in the Enclosure (one or two). If the number of animals is increased, the Popularity adjusts accordingly.
4. Base Education Value — This is the Education base value of the Species. It is not directly added to your Education Track but can be scored by constructing a blue Education Focal Point. Focal Points are small wooden houses that players buy and place on Enclosure Tiles. They are used to score more points on one of the three scoring tracks on the Score Board.
5. Base Conservation Value — This is the base Conservation value of the Species. It is not directly added to your Conservation Track but can be scored by constructing green Conservation Focal Points.
6. Additional Requirements — A predefined number of Species of the same category must already be kept in the Zoo to be allowed to include a Level III Species or the Giant panda/Asian elephant. Furthermore, the Giant panda/Asian elephant are only available to Zoos with a Popularity of 15 and higher.
7. National Park Cooperation — Shows if and to which National Park Cooperation a Species belongs. If you are the first or second player to gather all Main Species and Co-Species of a national park within your Zoo during the game, you will be rewarded with Conservation points at the end of the game.
8. Number of Animals per Enclosure Tile — Indicates how many Animal Meeples of this Species can be placed on one Enclosure Tile. In addition, the colored background/icon shows which of the 3 biomes the Species requires (Rainforest, Savanna or Montane forest).
9. Cost per occupied Enclosure Tile — Enclosure Tiles occupied by at least one Animal Meeple incur Running Costs, e.g., $3 for each Enclosure Tile occupied by an Asian elephant.
10. Social Behavior of Male Animals — There may be a maximum of one male in the Enclosure (alpha male); or the males behave like alpha males, but if there are no females present, groups of males are allowed (bachelor groups); or all combinations of males and females are allowed in the Enclosure.
11. Tolerance for Mixed Enclosures — Enclosures with one Main Species and one Co-Species score one additional Popularity point. One icon shows the Species tolerates Co-Species; the other shows the Species does not tolerate Co-Species.
12. Animal Happiness — The Happiness of an animal Species is assessed through 4 needs. The lowest value of all needs is decisive for the Happiness, i.e., if one need is yellow and the others are all light green, the Happiness of the Species is yellow. Players use their cubes to mark the current satisfaction level of each need.

• Experience — The Experience with a Species increases over time but can also be accelerated with Staff Actions. If you already own a Species of the same category (Main Species or Co-Species) since the previous round, you start at the level of the brown paw print, i.e., square 2, otherwise you start at square 1.
• Free Space — Enclosure Tiles that are not occupied by a Main Species or Co-Species are considered free.
• Retreat — Number of Retreats that are part of the Enclosure.
• Group Size — Number of Animal Meeples in the Enclosure. If the top field shows a "+", this means that there is no limit to the Group Size.

The lowest number of a specific need shows the Minimum Standards of the Species. If you cannot reach the Minimum Standards of one or more of the needs, you cannot place the Species (e.g., the Asian elephant needs a minimum of 2 Free Spaces, 2 Retreats and a minimum Group Size of 3.) Therefore, cubes also cannot be placed on crossed out fields, because they symbolize invalid satisfaction levels. 13. Popularity Focal Points — The Group Size defines how many yellow Popularity Focal Points can be placed in an Enclosure. For example, with 4 Asian elephants you may place up to 2 yellow Focal Points in the Enclosure. 14. Offspring Dice Roll — The dice roll required for offspring depends on the Happiness of the Species. The higher the Happiness, the lower the corresponding dice roll needed for offspring. For the Asian elephant, if the Happiness level is yellow, rolling the dice is not possible. With a light green Happiness, a roll of 6 is required to produce offspring. The number of dice that must be rolled is Species-specific: one die per female, one die per pair, or one die. 15. Litter Size — Specifies how many Offspring Discs must be placed in the Enclosure per successful dice roll. 16. Nurture — If a female of a Species with a Nurture symbol has offspring, its Animal Meeple is laid down on its side for the next round. This means that this female animal cannot have offspring for one round.

Example - Minimum Standards and Happiness

The Minimum Standards for Bornean orangutans are 2 Free Spaces, 2 Retreats and a Group Size of 3-4. The 3 orangutans occupy 3 Tiles and together with the 2 Free Spaces, a suitable Enclosure would require 5 Enclosure Tiles. As orangutans have alpha males, a maximum of 1 male per Enclosure is possible.

With this Enclosure, Happiness is yellow. Once the Experience leaves the yellow area, the Happiness would rise to light green.

To achieve dark green Happiness, 2 more Enclosure Tiles, 2 more female Borneo orangutans and one additional Retreat are needed, and the Experience must be maximized (over time or with the use of Staff Actions).

Co-Species Tiles

Co-Species are represented by tiles which, like the Main Species Meeples, are placed on Enclosure Tiles. They can inhabit an Enclosure alone or together with one Main Species, but not with another Co-Species. Mixed Enclosures (an Enclosure with both Main Species and Co-Species), score one Popularity bonus point when they are created.

Large Co-Species occupy two Enclosure Tiles, while small Co-Species only occupy one. (The Animal Exchange shows a smaller depiction; the physical Co-Species Tile is the one actually placed in the Enclosure.)

Like Main Species, Co-Species have base values (Popularity, Education, and Conservation), incur Running Costs (always $2 per Co-Species regardless of their size), and belong to a category and biome.

! Unlike Main Species, whose availability is determined by supply and demand on the Animal Exchange in summer, Co-Species are always available and are not taken until the Building Phase in fall. They also have no offspring in spring and their Happiness does not need to be actively managed.

Animal Exchange (AE)

The Animal Exchange (AE) shows all Species available in the game. It is structured in 3 main parts:

• The 12 Co-Species sorted by their biome.
• The 23 Main Species in the game are divided into 3 Levels. Level I Species have no special requirements to be taken. To take Level II or III Species in the comparison, all Species in your Zoo require at least a light green Happiness. Certain Species also have Additional Requirements.
• The Conservation Projects are one of the main sources of Conservation points in the game and are scored at the end of the game. There are 4 types of Conservation Projects: National Park Cooperations, the Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program, Animal Welfare and Reintroductions. Reintroductions are only available for Level III Species.

Education can be seen as the 5th type of Conservation Project as it can provide up to 10 Conservation points.

Both Unexpected Demand & Supply are Staff Actions that can be performed once per game.

! The Giant panda is the only exclusive Species in the game and can only be taken by one Zoo.

! Each Species (Main Species & Co-Species) may only be kept once in each Zoo, e.g., you cannot have two Enclosures with Lions.

Animal Exchange Sheet

The Animal Exchange Sheet shows the demands/supplies for male and female animals for each Main Species. The AE is placed on the Animal Exchange Sheet so that the cut-outs of all 23 Main Species show a pair of supplies/demands.

There are 3 cases to distinguish between:

• Red (filled icons) — A Species is in demand (e.g. 1 male and 2 females).
• Green — A Species is offered (e.g. 1 female) but the number of animals offered is smaller than the minimum Group Size. Simultaneously 1 male is in demand.
• Green framed — A Species is offered, and the offer includes at least as many animals as needed to meet the minimum Group Size of this Species (taking into account the social behavior of the males).

Tips and comments from the game designers: The green frame is a help for new players that do not know the minimum Group Size for each Species by heart. This frame guarantees that if you have enough Enclosure Tiles/money, you can take this Species and place it in your Zoo in the same round.

7 sets of demand/supply are displayed during the game, one for each round, because at the beginning of each summer, the AE is moved by one position on the Animal Exchange Sheet.

Tuck Boxes

The game includes 33 tuck boxes (two sizes) in which the various wooden components and cardboard tiles can be stored. This should greatly speed up the process of setting up and putting away the game.

The design of the tuck boxes shows which components are to be accommodated in them. All the Main Species have a box (some share a box) and 3 boxes are provided for the Co-Species so that they can be sorted by biome.

In addition, there is a box for each player (all components in the player's color), for each type of Focal Point, for each Building sub-type, for the wooden dice together with the Contraception Tiles, and one for the Starting Player Marker, the wooden discs and the Prohibition Tiles. The only components that have no tuck box are the Enclosure Tiles, which are stored in the large plastic bag.

Game Preparation

The following explanations refer to the base game with 3 to 4 players. Rule adjustments for the Two-Player Variant are explained in a separate section, and those for the Solo Mode can be found on the separate rule sheet.

Board Setup

1. The Animal Exchange (AE) and Score Board are placed opposite each other on the table.
2. The Animal Exchange Sheet is placed under the AE so that a sequence of characters is visible in every cutout. Start at a random position.
3. All Offspring Discs are put into the cloth bag and are placed above the AE together with the 8 dice, the Giant Panda Animal Card, the Co-Species Tiles, and the Animal Meeples.
4. The remaining tiles (Enclosures, Buildings, Prohibition, and Contraception) and wooden components (Focal Points) are placed between the AE and the Score Board or above the Score Board.
5. Event Cards and Donor Cards are placed on the Score Board in well-shuffled piles. The top Donor Card is then turned face up.
6. Place the Round Counting Marker on the starting position ("1") and the Season Marker on Summer.

Tips and comments from the game designers: The game, especially the AE and the Score Board, can also be placed differently on the table (e.g. next to each other). It is simply important that all players have a good view of these two essential boards.

Player Area Setup

1. Each player receives 1 Zoo Board, 1 Staff Board, 22 Animal Cards, 3 Overview Cards, i.e., all components with their Zoo logo, and additionally 3 Workers, 1 cylinder, and all cubes in their color. The Zoo Boards are placed in front of each player, with the Staff Boards to the right.
2. Each player places a cube on square 10 of their Money Track, to indicate that they start with 10 money.
3. Each player also takes 6 random Enclosure Tiles, which they place on the corresponding field in the bottom left corner of their Zoo Board.
4. Each player places one cube on each of the two "0" squares of their Cost Track and the 3 Workers on their squares on the Staff Board.
5. Place 8 Prohibition Tiles on the top 8 squares of all Zoo Boards.
6. Place one cube of each player on each of the starting squares ("0") of the 3 tracks on the Score Board (Conservation, Education, and Popularity). Additionally, place the cylinder in your color below the "0" square of the Popularity Track.
7. Whoever has seen the largest animal that day receives the Starting Player Marker.

Tips and comments from the game designers: The 33 tuck boxes are particularly helpful when setting up and putting away the game. They speed up this process significantly and we strongly recommend using them.

Gameplay Overview

Goal of the Game

In Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game, you start as the new managers of four city parks. The city is aiming for a realignment of these parks and hopes that the addition of animals will enhance these green spaces, making them more attractive to the public. To ensure broad political acceptance for the project, the zoos must be financially self-sufficient and contribute to nature conservation. After a first evaluation (in 7 years), the management of all the newly developed zoos will be centralized. Whoever manages these 7 years most successfully may more than justifiably expect to be the preferred applicant for this attractive position. Give it your best shot!

Game Overview

Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game is played over 7 rounds (= years). Each regular round is divided into 4 seasons: In spring, the year starts and there can be offspring. In summer, departures and new arrivals of animals are handled. In fall, construction of new Enclosures takes place, and in winter, the year is evaluated and comes to an end. Whenever a season is completed, the Season Marker moves forward one season. The game ends after 7 rounds. For each player, the final scores of Conservation and Popularity are compared. The lower of the two scores represents that player's victory points. The player with the most victory points wins the game.

! The first round of the game works differently from all other rounds (e.g. spring is skipped). After the explanation of how a regular round is played, the rulebook explains which adjustments are necessary for the first round.

Spring

1. Starting Player

The Starting Player Marker is passed on in turn order.

2. Event Cards

Last year's Event Card is placed under the deck, and a new Event Card is revealed. Effects of Breaking News-Event Cards are executed immediately. News-Event Cards affect the entire upcoming round or at least one season. All Event Cards and their effects are explained in detail in the "Event Cards" section.

3. Offspring

For their Main Species to have offspring, players roll dice and, on a successful roll, draw Offspring Discs from the bag and place them in the corresponding Enclosure. In addition, they add the base value of their most popular Main Species to have Offspring this round as Buzz on top of their current Popularity (with the Buzz Cylinder). The players can do this simultaneously. All important details about this Phase can be found in the Excursus - Offspring Phase section below.

Popularity & Buzz

Popularity is permanent. You can earn it through animals, Buildings, Staff Actions, and Education. Buzz, on the other hand, is fleeting and resets at the end of each year. Buzz starts each year at the level of the Popularity and builds on it (tracked with the Buzz Cylinder). If the Popularity cube shifts up during the year, the Buzz Cylinder is shifted along with it. Buzz can be obtained from 3 sources during the year: (1) Event Cards, (2) the base value of the most popular Main Species with offspring (in spring), and (3) the base value of the most popular new Main Species in the Zoo (in summer/fall).

Buzz does not unlock the Asian elephant, the Giant panda, or the Commercial Buildings; only fixed Popularity can do that.

Summer

1. Renew the Animal Exchange

At the beginning of summer, the AE is moved by one position on the Animal Exchange Sheet so that the cut-outs of all 23 Main Species now show a new sequence of characters. Keep in mind that a position is never visited twice during a game.

Leaving & Arrival

After the Renewal of the AE, Main Species are given away and/or brought into the Zoo. For this purpose, Zoos have 2 free Trades available per round at the AE. There is no direct trade between players. A player can, for example, give away animals from one Main Species in the Leaving Phase and take in another Main Species in the Arrival Phase. All important details about the Leaving and Arrival Phase can be found in the Excursus section below.

2. Leaving

Following the turn order, players can give away animals that are in demand. For this, players take Animal Meeples from Quarantine or Offspring Discs from Enclosures and place them on the AE.

Each time animals from one Species (regardless of how many) are given away, this counts as one Trade.

! All animals that are given away can be taken in by other Zoos in the Arrival Phase, as they are considered part of the overall supply of animals available.

3. Arrival

In the Arrival Phase, the starting player takes one or more animals of one Species that is offered on the AE, followed by the second, third, and fourth player. After that, the fourth player can take one or more animals from another Species, followed by the third, second, and first player (Snake Draft). Play then goes back to the original direction from first to fourth player. This back and forth is followed until all players pass or cannot take any more animals.

Each time animals from one Species (regardless of how many) are taken, this counts as one Trade.

Tips and comments from the game designers: When taking animals (but also when giving them away), it is recommended to place a cube of your own color on the AE illustration of the corresponding Species so that other players (in case they have forgotten what was taken) can ask the player involved. This also allows you to track your Trades.

4. Clear the Animal Exchange

At the end of summer, all cubes used to mark Trades are returned to their players and any unclaimed Offspring Discs/Animal Meeples (previously given away) are removed from the AE and returned to the stock/bag. Cubes on Conservation Projects and on Unexpected Supply/Unexpected Demand are not removed.

Autumn

1. Enclosure Tiles

All players receive 3 free Enclosure Tiles and can be awarded up to 2 additional free tiles.

One of the additional free tiles is awarded by the revealed Donor. If two or more players are exactly equal with respect to the donor criterion, both receive a free Enclosure Tile. If no player meets the criterion (e.g., no player has savanna Species), no player receives the Enclosure Tile. There are 7 Donor Cards with 4 different donor types:

• Rainforest Donor (x1) — The player with the most rainforest Species in their Zoo (Main Species & Co-Species) receives one additional Enclosure Tile.
• Savanna Donors (x1) — The player with the most savanna Species in their Zoo (Main Species & Co-Species) receives one additional Enclosure Tile.
• Montane Forest Donor (x1) — The player with the most montane forest Species in their Zoo (Main Species & Co-Species) receives one additional Enclosure Tile.
• Animal Welfare Donor (x4) — The player with the highest Animal Welfare Score (at least "0") receives one additional Enclosure Tile. The calculation of the Animal Welfare Score is explained in detail in the Conservation Projects section.

The second free Enclosure Tile is given to the player currently leading on the Conservation Track as well as all players who are in the same color segment (e.g., 7-10) as that player. Players who are on the first 3 white starting spaces (0-2) of the Conservation Track never receive this free Enclosure Tile. If all players are still on the 3 white starting spaces no free tile is awarded.

! Until Enclosure Tiles are placed during any subsequent Building Phase, they are stored on the corresponding field on the Zoo Board and their biome can be chosen freely.

2. Replace Donor

A new Donor Card is revealed for the coming year and placed on top of the old one.

3. Loans

To be able to buy Enclosure Tiles, Focal Points and Buildings in the subsequent Building Phase, all players with less than 10 money on their Money Track can now take one or more Loans from the city. For each Loan you get 4 money, but also have to place an additional Prohibition Tile on a free square of your Zoo Board. If there are no free squares left, you cannot take the Loan.

! After taking a Loan, you may not have more than 10 money on the Money Track. For example, if you take a Loan with 7 money, you will have 10 money after taking the Loan, not 11.

! Prohibition Tiles block the squares of the Zoo Board on which they lie. It is therefore not possible to build on these squares. You can only remove Prohibition Tiles from your Zoo Board by buying Enclosure Tiles.

4. Building Phase

In the Building Phase, players simultaneously develop their Zoo and spend their Money. New Enclosures/Buildings/Focal Points are built, and existing Enclosures are expanded. Apart from the Arrival Phase, the Building Phase is the only time in the game when Main Species can enter the Zoo. It is also the only time when Co-Species can enter the Zoo. All these possible actions are not performed in any particular order and can be freely combined. All important details about this Phase can be found in the Excursus - Building Phase section below.

Winter

1. Animal Keeping

For all Species where maximum Experience has not yet been reached, the cube is moved up one space.

2. Education Scoring

The player who currently has the highest Education score receives 1 Conservation point. Each other player in the same Education segment as the leader also receives this Conservation point. Conservation points are only awarded to players who have left the 3 white starting squares (0-2) of the Education Track. Popularity and Conservation points shown on the Education Track are always awarded immediately when you reach them in the fall.

3. Taxes

All money above 3 is forfeited, i.e., each of you will have a maximum of 3 after this phase.

4. Revenue

According to the position of their Buzz Cylinder on the Popularity Track (or if not present, their Popularity cube), each player now receives their Revenue. Revenue is calculated as follows:

• A fixed amount according to the segment in which you are located
• + a bonus of $4, for the leading player on the Popularity Track, or a bonus of $2 for second place. In case of a tie for first or second place, the tied players all receive the full bonus for their place. If multiple players are tied for first place, no second place bonus is awarded.
• − the Running Costs on the Staff Board (equals costs of animals and Workers minus Revenue from Food Booths and Zoo Shops).

Players add this individual total to their Money Track (the Money Track cannot fall below -10 or exceed 30).

Example: the green player earns 31 (27+4), the blue player earns 25 (23+2), and the yellow player earns 20. From these Revenues, players subtract their individual Running Costs and add the total to their Money Track.

5. Reset Buzz & Staff

The Buzz Cylinders are removed from the Popularity Track (players take them back or temporarily place them below the "0" square of the Popularity Track). In addition, all deployed Workers are returned to their original position and the Running Costs Tracks are lowered accordingly.

6. New Year

The Round Counting Marker is moved forward one year. After 7 rounds the End of the Game follows.

First round

Now you know the gameplay of a regular round of Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game. There is one exception: In the first round you skip spring and start directly in summer ("Arrival"). In this first Arrival Phase you can ignore all requirements (e.g. light green Happiness) and start with any animal Species offered, except the Giant panda/Asian elephant. However, if you start with a Level III Species, you may not choose a second Main Species (you don't get a second free Trade and you also can't use Staff Actions to perform additional Trades), but you will receive a free Conservation Center, which you must place in the subsequent Building Phase. After this Arrival Phase, you clear the AE as usual and then move directly to the Building Phase in fall and finish the year with a regular winter.

End of the Game

1. Players with a negative amount of money at the End of round 7 are excluded from the End of the Game. They never win the game.

2. Each player counts all the Offspring Discs that are part of their Enclosures and then subtracts the value obtained from their Popularity Track.

   ! After this deduction, the Conservation Projects below the AE are scored from left to right. If several players have completed a National Park Cooperation in the same round or have the same score in the Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program or the Animal Welfare Project, all of them receive the full points. If multiple players tie for first place, no points are awarded for second place.

3. National Park Cooperations — The first and second players to realize a National Park Cooperation now receive their Conservation points.

4. Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program — The player with the highest score on the track of the Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program receives 8 Conservation points; the player with the second highest score receives 4.

5. Animal Welfare Project — Each player determines their own Animal Welfare Score. The player with the highest Animal Welfare Score (at least 1) receives 5 points, which are added to the value that is currently lower on the Score Board for that player (Popularity or Conservation). The player with the second highest score (at least 1) receives 3 points added to their lower value. Players with a score of 0 or -1 receive nothing. Players with a score below -1 lose 2 points from their lower value. If a player's values on both tracks are equal or become equal due to points received, the points not yet distributed are added or subtracted alternately to the two tracks.

6. Now, each player may spend all their money on Enclosure Tiles, Focal Points, Buildings, and paid Construction Actions, as in the Building Phase. Players may also use free Enclosure Tiles from previous rounds. Any resulting effects on the 3 scoring tracks are adjusted accordingly. It's important to note that no new animals (including Co-Species, converted offspring, and animals in the Quarantine) are brought into the Zoo. Staff Actions are also no longer allowed. After all players have completed this step, the game ends.

Each player now individually determines which value is their lower one (Popularity or Conservation). This value represents their victory points. The player with the most victory points wins the game, and in the case of a tie, there are several winners.

Excursus - Offspring Phase

In the Offspring Phase players roll dice for their Main Species. The players can do this simultaneously.

The dice have to be rolled for each Main Species that fulfills the following two conditions:

1. At least one male and one (upright) female must be present in the Enclosure.
2. The Happiness of the Species must be high enough to allow offspring/rolling the dice. (For many Species, the higher the Happiness, the lower the corresponding dice roll needed for offspring.)

The number of dice you have to roll is Species-specific: one die per female, one die per pair, or one die.

For animals with a Nurture symbol (see below) dice are only rolled for upright females.

After rolling the dice, check whether one or more of them achieved a result equal to or higher than the required minimum result for a Species (which depends on the Species' Happiness). For each successful dice roll you randomly draw the Species-specific number of Offspring Discs (= Litter Size) from the cloth bag and place them in the Enclosure of the parents (pink = female / light blue = male). Repeat this for all your Main Species.

For animals with a Nurture symbol, all females that are currently lying on their side will now be placed upright again and all females that have had new offspring this round are laid down on their side (one female Animal Meeple per successful die roll).

After rolling the dice for all Species, each player now moves their Buzz Cylinder up the Popularity Track by the Popularity base value of the most popular Species in their Zoo that had Offspring this round. If this year's Event Card already led to Buzz, you simply increase the Buzz from this point on. Otherwise, the Buzz always starts at the level of your Popularity.

If a Level I or Level II Species in your Zoo has offspring for the first time in the game, you move up the Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program Track. If a Level III Species has offspring, you can use the offspring for the Reintroduction Program instead of putting it into the Enclosure.

Offspring Discs

! Offspring Discs do not need space (they do not influence the Free Space/Group Size needs) and do not incur any costs. At any time they can be converted into Animal Meeples. Once converted, the offspring is treated like any other Animal Meeple. However, offspring can also be left in disc form for any length of time. Offspring in disc form can be given away in the Leaving Phase if there is suitable demand. Important — For each Offspring Disc still located in an Enclosure at the End of the Game, 1 Popularity point will be deducted.

Thematic explanation/contextualization of the rules: Why can offspring have a negative effect? Offspring is one of the most important attractions/visitor magnets for zoos, but at the same time, population management is also one of the most complicated tasks of a zoo. If no suitable place for offspring can be found in the zoo network, young animals may have to be euthanized.

Staff Actions in Spring

All general rules about Staff Actions can be found in the Component Anatomy - Staff Board section above.

• Breeding — For an animal Species, one of the unsuccessful dice may be rolled again. This action may only be used once per Species each round, but it can be used on several Species during one round.
• Birth Control — Place a Contraception Tile on one of your Animal Cards. From now on, you don't roll any dice for this Species in spring. You can remove this tile at any time (without a Staff Action).

Example - Offspring

Your Zoo has an Enclosure with 4 Asian elephants (1 male and 3 females).

In the Offspring Phase in spring, you first check whether the Enclosure meets the conditions for rolling the dice for offspring. In this example, this is the case because there are both sexes present in the Enclosure and their Happiness (light green) allows offspring to be rolled. In a second step, the number of dice that must be rolled is determined. In this case 3, because with elephants you have to roll one die for each female and they are all upright at the moment, otherwise you would have to subtract the number of females currently lying down from the total number of females.

Then you roll the 3 dice and get the following result: a 3, a 6, and a 2. This means that you have one successful roll, because with a Happiness of light green, you need a 6 to get offspring. With a dark green Happiness, a 3 or higher would be required.

After rolling the dice, take 1 Offspring Disc from the cloth bag and place it in the Asian elephant's Enclosure. In addition, one female Meeple is laid down for one round (because of the Nurture symbol). If this is your most popular Main Species to have offspring this round, add 7 Buzz to your Popularity Track.

Excursus - Leaving & Arrival Phase

In the Leaving & Arrival Phase Zoos have 2 free Trades available per round at the AE (there is no direct trade between players). As in the real world, when Zoos trade animals, no money is paid or earned in this board game.

Thematic explanation/contextualization of the rules: The Animal Exchange in this game represents the supply/demand of Zoos worldwide, of which the players' Zoos are a part. Zoos exchange animals with each other to maintain genetically healthy populations. This is important because when a Species goes extinct in the wild, these remote populations are the last line of defense against the complete loss of the Species.

Leaving Phase

Following the turn order, players can give away animals. For this, players take Animal Meeples from Quarantine or Offspring Discs from Enclosures and place them on their corresponding animal illustration on the AE. When a player has given away animals of one Species, it is the next player's turn.

Each time animals from one Species (regardless of how many) are given away, this counts as one Trade.

Animals can only be given away if there is a "red" demand for the corresponding Species on the AE or until this demand has been completely fulfilled by one or more players. Once a demand has been fully met, no more animals of the same Species can be given away during the same round.

Only Animal Meeples from Quarantine and Offspring Discs can be given away. Animal Meeples/Co-Species Tiles that are already part of an Enclosure cannot be given away.

Thematic explanation/contextualization of the rules: Wondering why you should give animals away if you don't get paid for them? (1) So that your two Quarantine squares are not blocked and (2) because at the end of the game you lose 1 Popularity point for each Offspring Disc still located within one of your Enclosures.

Arrival Phase

In the Arrival Phase, the starting player first takes one or more animals of one Species, followed by the second, third, and fourth player. After that, the fourth player can take one or more animals from another Species, followed by the third, second, and first player (Snake Draft). Play then goes back to the original direction from first to fourth player. This back and forth is followed until all players pass or cannot take any more animals.

Each individual animal of an offer can only be taken once. However, an offer does not have to be taken up completely, i.e., if parts of the offer are left behind by one player, these animals can still be taken by another player.

In order to take animals the following conditions must be met:

1. Availability — An offer must exist for the Species of interest. The total supply of a Species comprises all the animals offered by the AE and the animals given away by other players in the Leaving Phase. Any offspring discs picked up from the AE board are immediately converted into Animal Meeples.

2. Fulfilled requirements

   • Level I Species — Have no special requirements and can be taken by any player.
   • Level II Species — Only Zoos where no Species has a Happiness below light green may take new Level II Species. In addition, some Species have Additional Requirements that must be met in order for them to be taken.
   • Level III Species — Only Zoos where no Species has a Happiness below light green may take new Level III Species. In addition, all Species have Additional Requirements that must be met in order for them to be taken.

   ! Exception — You always have access to Level II & Level III Species that you already have in your Zoo or Quarantine until the end of the game, regardless of current animal Happiness levels within your Zoo.

3. Space — All new animals/Species must find space in one of two locations:

   1. Existing Enclosure — If you take additional animals of a Species that you already keep in the Zoo, you can place these animals directly in their existing Enclosure. The Happiness of the Species is then immediately adjusted (all Minimum Standards must be met!). If the Happiness increases/decreases, this can affect whether a player may take further Level II and III Species in this Arrival Phase. The same is true when placing a new animal Species in a pre-built, empty Enclosure. Their Happiness is also evaluated immediately, and all Minimum Standards must be met. If the resulting Happiness of this new animal Species is yellow, this prevents you from taking new Level II or III Species later in this Arrival Phase.
   2. Quarantine — All animals/new Species that are not placed in an existing Enclosure or that cannot be placed in an existing Enclosure must be put in Quarantine, which will accommodate up to two Species. In Quarantine, there is no limit to the number of animals, and you may keep combinations of animals that would not usually be allowed in an Enclosure, e.g., two male Tigers. Animals in Quarantine are not yet part of the Zoo and have no effect on Happiness, Popularity, Donor Cards, Experience etc.

Staff Actions in Summer

All general rules about Staff Actions can be found in the Component Anatomy - Staff Board section above.

• Exchange — Perform one additional Trade on the AE per deployed Worker. A player can have a maximum of 5 Trades per round (2 free Trades + 3 additional Trades from Workers).
• Unexpected Supply — In the Arrival Phase, use an offer that has already been used by a fellow player. This action uses up one of your 2 free Trades (or requires spending an additional Staff Action on Exchange).
• Unexpected Demand — In the Leaving Phase, empty one of your Quarantine squares without a demand being present. This action uses up one of your 2 free Trades (or requires spending an Additional Staff action on Exchange).

Both actions can be performed only once per game by each player. To mark this, players have to place one of their cubes on the corresponding square on the AE after performing one of these two Actions.

Excursus - Building Phase

In the Building Phase, new Enclosures/Buildings/Focal Points are built, and existing Enclosures are expanded. Apart from the Arrival Phase, the Building Phase is the only time in the game when Main Species can enter the Zoo. It is also the only time when Co-Species can enter the Zoo. All these possible actions are not performed in any particular order and can be freely combined.

Every time a player buys something, the Money Track is immediately lowered by the price of the purchase. Purchases may not result in a player falling below 0.

When developing your Zoo, different Enclosures do not have to be built adjacent to each other, i.e., you can build an Enclosure in the top right-hand corner and another Enclosure in the bottom left-hand corner.

All players carry out the Building Phase simultaneously. However, those players whose turn comes later may wait to make their most important moves until the players ahead of them have finished their Building Phase.

Enclosure Tiles

To build new Enclosures or expand existing Enclosures, players use the Enclosure Tiles they received earlier. In addition, if they run out of Enclosure Tiles (but not before) they can buy more Enclosure Tiles for 7 money each.

! For each Enclosure Tile purchased, the player may remove one Prohibition Tile from their Zoo Board.

! Purchased Tiles must be placed during the same round in which they are purchased and cannot be stored.

Enclosures

Enclosures must be built contiguously (diagonal is not considered contiguous) and consist only of tiles from one biome (rainforest, savanna, or montane forest). To show which Enclosure Tiles belong together, leave no space between the tiles of an Enclosure and push them close together.

Tips and comments from the game designers: Two or more different Enclosures of the same biome type can be placed next to each other. This is because if you push the tiles of an Enclosure close together, you can keep two neighbouring Enclosures with the same biome apart.

Enclosures can be occupied by up to one Main Species from Quarantine and/or one Co-Species from the AE which match the biome of the Enclosure. For this purpose, the corresponding Animal Meeples/Co-Species Tiles are placed on the Enclosure Tiles. Animal Meeples cannot be placed on top of Co-Species Tiles.

! Animal Meeples/Tiles do not have a set spot in their Enclosures and can be moved freely within them (and also to other Enclosures).

! Each Species (Main Species & Co-Species) may only be kept once in each Zoo, e.g., you cannot have two Enclosures with Lions.

The Checklist below shows you step by step everything you have to consider when adding new animals to your Zoo (in summer or fall). This checklist can also be found on the Overview Cards for all players, along with lots of other important information.

New Enclosure - Checklist

1. Minimum Standards - All of them must be fulfilled.

   • Experience (always fulfilled) — The Experience cube always starts on square 1, unless you already have an animal Species (Co-Species included) of the same category (e.g. ungulates, birds, etc.) which was placed in your Zoo in a previous year, in which case the cube will be placed on square 2.
   • Free Space — Ensure there are enough Free Spaces in the Enclosure (e.g. 1 for the Plains zebra). A Free Space is any Enclosure Tile on which no Animal Meeple or Co-Species Tile is placed. Focal Points do not make Free Spaces "not free" and therefore have no influence on this need.
   • Retreats — Ensure there are enough Retreats in the Enclosure (e.g. 1 for the Plains zebra).
   • Group Size — Ensure that the minimum number of animals is present in the Enclosure (e.g. 3 for the Plains zebra) and that the maximum number is not exceeded (e.g. Plains zebras have no maximum number).

   To keep track of this, you place the corresponding Animal Card to the right or left of your Zoo Board and mark the level of fulfillment of the individual needs with your cubes.

   In addition to the Minimum Standards, the Placement Rules must also be met.

   Placement Rules — Ensure that the social behavior of the male of the Species is taken into account and the maximum number of Animal Meeples per tile is respected. If you also want to add Co-Species to the Enclosure, this is only allowed for tolerant Main Species.

   ! If all these rules are met/fulfilled, you can place an animal/Species.

2. If the Enclosure construction is finished for this round, you add the base Popularity value of all new animal Species (including Co-Species) on the Popularity Track. If you built a new Mixed Enclosure (an Enclosure with both Main Species and Co-Species), you receive one bonus Popularity point.

3. The highest base Popularity value of a new Main Species that was added to your Zoo in this round is scored with your Cylinder as Buzz on the Popularity Track.

4. All newly incurred Running Costs must be added to your Running Costs Track.

5. If Buildings or Focal Points are affected by the new Enclosures/changes, it is necessary to check whether their effect also changes.

! Whether you place a new Species directly into an empty Enclosure in the summer/fall or expand an existing Enclosure in the fall does not matter; these steps must always be completed.

Example - New Enclosure/Mixed Enclosure

Rachel, the blue player, builds a new Enclosure for her 3 Plains zebras. The Minimum Standards are all met:

There are no more than 2 zebras on an Enclosure Tile, the group contains only one male, and the zebras tolerate the Fischer's lovebird in their Enclosure. With regard to Experience, the zebra starts on square 1, because it is Rachel's first ungulate. The Enclosure has 1 Free Space (not occupied by animals) and 2 Retreats (one more than minimally required). In addition, 3 Plains zebras meet the minimum number of animals required. Rachel marks this with her cubes on the Animal Card. The animal Species currently has a Happiness of yellow.

Then Rachel adds 4 Popularity to her Popularity Track (Plains zebra + Fischer's Lovebird + 1 bonus point because a new Mixed Enclosure was created). Rachel's Buzz is increased by 2 (base value of the most popular new Main Species). Last but not least, the Running Costs are increased by $4 ($1 + $1 = $2 for two occupied zebra tiles + $2 for the Fischer's lovebird).

Focal Points

Focal Points cost 2 money each and are placed on Enclosure Tiles. Each Tile may contain a maximum of 1 Focal Point. The effect of Focal Points is not static; when the situation changes (e.g. a Co-Species is integrated in the Enclosure), the strength of the effect also adjusts. There are 4 types of Focal Points:

• Popularity Focal Point — Score 1 Popularity point each. The maximum number of Focal Points that may be built as part of an Enclosure is determined by the number unlocked by the Group Size.
• Education Focal Point — Score the entire Education value of an Enclosure on the Education Track - including that of any Co-Species present. Thus, only 1 Education Focal Point per Enclosure is needed.
• Conservation Focal Point — Score 1 Conservation Point each. The maximum number of Conservation Focal Points that can be built in an Enclosure is equal to the total Conservation value of the Enclosure (including that of a Co-Species).
• Retreat — Each Retreat counts as +1 Retreat for the Species in the Enclosure and can improve the Happiness.

! Focal Points may only be built if they have an effect at the chosen position (Exception: Retreats may be built in empty Enclosures).

Tips and comments from the game designers: Like the number of Popularity Focal Points, the number of Focal Points for Conservation and Education that you can build in an Enclosure is also indicated on each Animal Card.

Thematic explanation/contextualization of the rules: What are Focal Points? In a Zoo, each part of an Enclosure is given a "focus" or purpose. Places where the animals are not visible and have their peace and quiet are represented by retreats. Viewpoints with lots of glass and perfect visibility are represented by the yellow Focal Points. Places with information boards, small exhibits, etc. where information is conveyed are represented by the Education or Conservation Focal Points.

Buildings

Buildings cost 5 money each, except for the Zoo Shop, which costs 8 money. Buildings, like Enclosure Tiles, are placed directly on the Zoo Board. As with Focal Points, their effect is not static, and they may only be built if they have an effect at the chosen position. Enclosures/Buildings may only count once toward each Building effect (e.g., an Enclosure cannot activate the effect of two adjacent Education Booths). In addition, each Building in the Zoo must be unique, i.e., two Buildings with the exact same illustration are not allowed. (So you can build up to 3 Parks, 3 different Education Booths, 2 Conservation Centers and 3 Commercial Buildings for each Biome.)

! For their effect to be activated, Buildings must be placed adjacent to other tiles. Diagonal is not considered adjacent in this game.

Focal Buildings

• Parks give 1 Popularity point per adjacent Building. Parks may be placed next to each other but do not give each other Popularity points. Each Park may score a maximum of 4 Popularity points.
• Education Booths combine 2 biomes each, e.g., savanna and montane forest. For each adjacent Enclosure with a matching biome and at least one Species with an Education value, 2 Education points are received (for a maximum of 8 Education points). An Education Booth can score a maximum of 4 Education points per biome, i.e., for it to score 8 Education points, it will need 2 adjacent Enclosures of each biome indicated on it.
• Conservation Centers give 1 Conservation point per adjacent Enclosure that contains at least one Species (Main or Co-Species) with a Conservation value. Each Conservation Center may score up to 4 Conservation points.

Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings can be built in Zoos with a Popularity of 10 or higher. If a popularity of 10 or higher is reached during the Building Phase, Commercial Buildings can already be built in the same Building Phase. Commercial Buildings generate additional Revenue for the Zoo. Food Booths generate a Revenue of $3, Zoo Shops $5.

Each of the available Food Booths (6) and Zoo Shops (3) is assigned to one of the 3 biomes. If you build the first Food Booth of a biome, it must be adjacent to two Enclosures with matching biomes that contain animals. The second Food Booth of a biome must be placed next to another Enclosure with matching biome that contains animals (i.e., for 2 Food Booths of a biome, you need 3 Enclosures with a matching biome). You can only build the corresponding Zoo Shop when you have built both Food Booths of a biome. The Zoo Shop itself must also be adjacent to a suitable Enclosure (a fourth Enclosure or one of the 3 Enclosures adjacent to the Food Booths).

The Revenue generated by Commercial Buildings is deducted from the Running Costs of your Zoo. For example, if you buy a Food Booth, you lower your Running Costs by $3. Running Costs cannot drop below "0"!

Construction Actions

In the Zoo, 3 types of Construction Actions, by means of which you can change existing structures, are allowed. Each individual action costs 2 money:

• Change biome — The biome of an empty Enclosure (i.e., an Enclosure without animals) can be changed. Focal Points that are part of the Enclosure are not removed.
• Move Building — A Building can be moved to any other place in the Zoo. When a Building is moved, its effect is set to zero at the old location and reevaluated at the new location. For Commercial Buildings, the new location must again meet all necessary conditions (i.e., enough adjacent matching Enclosures). Building effects may not be zero at the new location.
• Move Enclosure Tiles — An Enclosure Tile may be moved one space (even diagonally). If the Enclosure Tile is part of an Enclosure consisting of more than one tile, it may not be separated from the Enclosure. If a Focal Point is on the concerned tile, it moves with it. After moving one or more Enclosure Tiles, all Commercial Buildings in the Zoo must still be adjacent to enough matching Enclosures. Don't forget to adjust your points if adjacencies to other Buildings are affected.

Staff Actions in Fall

All general rules about Staff Actions can be found in the Component Anatomy - Staff Board section above.

• Animal Keeping — If you assign a Worker to this action, you can increase the Experience of one Species by 1. You may perform this action several times in the same round (even for the same Species).
• Entertainment — This action can be performed by only one Worker per year. You can generate either 1 Popularity point or 2 Education points or 1 Conservation point with one Worker.
• Maintenance — Perform one of the three Construction Actions with a Worker without spending 2 money.

Tips and comments from the game designers: Why should you do this if Workers cause up to $3 in Running Costs, i.e. more than the price of 2 for a Construction Action? Sometimes you don't have enough money in the fall and since the Running Costs only become relevant in the winter, you can "finance" Construction Actions in this way that you only have to pay for later in the winter (like a kind of loan).

Example - Focal Points

Rachel has expanded her Plains zebra Enclosure. The Enclosure now contains 6 zebras (increasing the Running Cost by $1).

Rachel now wants to make better use of the Enclosure. To do this, she builds an Education Focal Point on one of the Enclosure Tiles which do not already contain a Focal Point. This Education Focal Point allows Rachel to add 3 Education to her Education Track (2 from the Plains zebra and 1 from the Fischer's Lovebird). She also builds two Popularity Focal Points on the two remaining Enclosure Tiles without Focal Points. This is possible because the Group Size of 6 entitles her to do so. This allows her to add 2 Popularity to her Popularity Track. For these 3 Focal Points, Rachel pays 6 money.

The Focal Points score the same number of points regardless of where they are placed within the Enclosure. The only thing to keep in mind is that there may never be more than 1 Focal Point on any given Enclosure Tile.

After these constructions, the zebra Enclosure is currently 100% exhausted/complete. Conservation Focal Points are not an option for this Enclosure, as neither the Fischer's Lovebird nor the Plains zebra has a Conservation value.

Example - Building (I)

Elio has two Enclosures in his Zoo, a Black rhinoceros and a Dama Gazelle. In this Building Phase, he still has 10 money available, which he wants to invest.

With 5 money, he wants to buy a Food Booth. Since this is the first savanna Food Booth in his Zoo, it must border two savanna Enclosures. For this reason, he places the food booth in the corner between the Black rhino and the Dama Gazelle. He then immediately reduces his Running Costs by $3.

In the second corner between the two Enclosures, he places a Conservation Center for the remaining 5 money. This scores 2 Conservation points (since both Enclosures contain a Conservation Species), which Elio immediately adds to his Conservation Track. If additional Enclosures are built adjacent to this Conservation Center in future rounds, they may result in additional points if they contain Conservation Species (maximum 4 for 4 adjacent Enclosures).

Note that the two Buildings would have had exactly the same effect if their positions had been reversed.

Example - Building (II)

Christina places an Education Booth (rainforest & montane forest) between her Striped Skunk Enclosure and her Common raccoon Enclosure for 5 money. Since the biome of the two adjacent Enclosures (in this case montane forest) matches the Education Booth, she now immediately receives 4 Education points (2 per Enclosure). However, further adjacent montane forest Enclosures would not generate any further points since an Education Booth can only score a maximum of 4 Education points per biome. Further points are therefore only possible with adjacent Enclosures of the second biome (rainforest).

Excursus - Conservation Projects

The AE features 4 different projects with which players can earn Conservation points in the course of the game:

Reintroductions

For Level III Species you can decide whether you want to use the offspring for Reintroductions or add them to the Enclosure. In either case Buzz is generated as usual. You are allowed to draw the Offspring Discs before you decide if you want to use them for Reintroductions or not. You may also keep part of a litter and use the rest for Reintroduction. Once offspring has been placed in the Enclosure these individuals can no longer be used for Reintroductions for the entire game.

The Reintroduction Track on the AE of a Level III Species (white circle on the right) shows how many offspring are needed for a Reintroduction to be performed (e.g. 2 for Bornean orangutans). The values of the Conservation point squares on the right indicate how many Conservation points are scored for each Reintroduction (e.g., 4 with the Bornean orangutan). The number of squares indicates how many Reintroductions can be carried out for this Species throughout the entire game (e.g. 3 with Bornean orangutans).

If there are offspring of a Level III Species to be reintroduced, one cube from the corresponding player is placed on the Reintroduction Track for each offspring. If several players have offspring of the same Species, the track is filled up according to the order of play (the first player adds as many of their offspring as they want, then the next player, and so on).

Until a Reintroduction takes place, the cubes remain on the track, i.e., the track can also be only partially filled. A Reintroduction takes place when the Reintroduction Track of a Species is completely covered. If the track is covered and there are more offspring in this round, they are placed in the Enclosure, since a maximum of one Reintroduction per Species per round is allowed.

! After the Reintroduction takes place, all cubes are removed from the Reintroduction Track and one cube is placed on one of the Conservation point squares on the right. In addition, the player who carried out the Reintroduction is now immediately credited with the corresponding Conservation points. If more than one player is involved in a Reintroduction, the Conservation points are divided equally between all involved players (points are rounded up) regardless of how much each player contributed.

Once all Conservation squares on the right are covered (e.g., after 3 Reintroductions with the Bornean orangutan), all new offspring is automatically added to the Enclosure.

In the last round, offspring can be placed on the Reintroduction Track, even if it is impossible to get enough individuals for a Reintroduction to take place (given that the maximum number of Reintroductions has not been reached for this Species yet).

Example: The yellow player has a Bornean orangutan offspring and wants to reintroduce it into the wild. For this, a yellow cube is placed on the Reintroduction Track. (In Reintroductions, the sex of the offspring does not matter, even if the Reintroduction Track shows a male orangutan.) Since the Reintroduction Track is now full, the Reintroduction takes place. The two cubes are removed, and one (the color does not matter) is placed on the top square on the right. Both the yellow and the blue player directly score 2 Conservation points.

Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program

Whenever a Level I or Level II Species in your Zoo has its first offspring, you may move your cube 1 space (Level I) or 2 spaces (Level II) further along on the Conservation Breeding Program Track. The player with the highest value on this track at the end of the game receives 8 Conservation points. The player with the second highest value receives 4.

Animal Welfare Project

Each animal Species with a yellow Happiness is scored as -1, light green as 0 and dark green as 2 (the lowest colored need of each Species is decisive for its Happiness). If you add up the scores of all your animal Species, you get the Animal Welfare Score. The score is used for the Animal Welfare Donors and awards points at the End of the Game.

National Park Cooperation

If you manage to be the first/second player to keep all the Species from one of the 5 National Park Cooperations in Enclosures in your Zoo (Co-Species are highlighted in green), you can place one of your cubes on the upper/lower points square on the AE. The Conservation points scored are not added to your Conservation Track until the end of the game. If several players complete the same Cooperation in the same round, all of them receive the full points and place their cube on the same points square. If multiple players tie for first place, no point are awarded for second place.

The 5 National Park Cooperations are:

• Serengeti National Park (4 Conservation points) — Common ostrich or Plains zebra, Lion, Giraffe or Black rhinoceros, Blue wildebeest, Fischer's lovebird.
• Wolong National Park (10 / 4* Conservation points) — Giant panda, Red panda, Snow leopard, Bearded vulture. (*For the 3 remaining Species once the Giant panda has been taken by another player.)
• Plus 3 further National Park Cooperations shown on the Animal Exchange.

! The Serengeti project is unique in that you can choose to have the Plains zebra or the Common ostrich in your Zoo, and the Black rhino or the Giraffe.

! The Wolong project is unique in that it includes Giant pandas. The Giant panda is the only Species in the game that is exclusive, i.e., only one player gets a pair of pandas, which must be included in the Zoo in the following fall (Exception: Carnivore Disease). If a player takes the Giant panda in the Arrival Phase, they mark the "Panda Diplomacy" field (on the AE) with one of their cubes. Once the Giant panda has been taken by another player, you can still complete the Wolong project (with the other 3 Species), but then you will only get 4 Conservation points.

Game Variants

Introductory Game

Tips and comments from the game designers: Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game is a game that does not take you by the hand and contains many new game mechanics. We therefore strongly recommend adapting the game accordingly for your first playthrough:

1. Leave the Event Cards in the box and play without them.
2. The Donor Card is never changed and always remains one of the 4 Animal Welfare Donors. Thus, in each round, the player with the highest Animal Welfare gets a free Enclosure Tile.
3. Each player may perform one free Construction Action per round.
4. In addition to Offspring Discs and Animal Meeples that are part of Quarantine, Animal Meeples that are part of Enclosures may also be given away in the Leaving Phase.
5. Animal Exchange Trades are not limited to 2. Each player has an unlimited number of Trades.

Two-Player Variant

The following changes must be made to the game for two players:

1. The Event Card "Generous Legacy" is removed from the Event Card deck.
2. The player with the second highest score on the Popularity Track will receive the $2 Revenue bonus only if both players are in the same segment.
3. Only 3 National Park Cooperations can be completed in the entire game (moreover, you cannot complete a Cooperation in second place). If both players complete a Cooperation in the same round and these are the third and fourth Cooperations in the game, 4 instead of 3 Cooperations may be completed.
4. In the Worldwide Conservation Breeding Program, the second player receives the 4 Conservation points only if their cube is in the same segment (1-5 or 6-10) as the leading player.
5. In the Animal Welfare Project, there are no points for second place. However, players can still lose points if they have an Animal Welfare Score of less than -1.

Event Cards

! For all Event Cards that reward or punish a player, if two or more players are exactly even, both players are rewarded or punished equally. If you do not want to use Event Cards, they can be left out without adversely affecting the game.

• Broadcast TV Show (Breaking News) — A TV show about everyday life in Zoos has gone viral. Many viewers now want to visit the Zoos from the series in real life. All Zoos start this year with 3 Buzz.
• Normal Year (Breaking News) — Not every year is special. People enjoy the normality and the animals are relaxed. Nothing happens.
• The Jungle Story (Breaking News) — A story about a girl and her adventures in the rainforest is a big hit in cinemas worldwide. The Zoo with the most rainforest Species (Co-Species included) increases its Buzz by 3.
• Bad Weather (Breaking News) — A lot of rain leads to significantly fewer visitors. Savings must be made. Each player lowers their Money Track by 3, to a minimum of 10.
• The King of the Savanna (Breaking News) — A story about a young lion who rises to become the king of the savanna is a big hit in cinemas. The Zoo with the most savanna Species (Co-Species included) increases its Buzz by 3.
• Nice Weather (Breaking News) — Thanks to beautiful sunny weather, significantly more visitors than expected visit the Zoo. This year, more can be invested than expected. Each player increases their Money Track by 3.
• Elk Brothers (Breaking News) — A story about two brave brothers who challenge the Lord of the Mountains is a big hit in cinemas. The Zoo with the most montane forest Species (Co-Species included) increases its Buzz by 3.
• Generous Legacy (Breaking News) — A rich citizen and well-known animal enthusiast has included his favorite Zoo in his will. The Zoo with the lowest fixed Popularity receives a free Enclosure Tile.
• Educational Excellence (Breaking News) — A newspaper reports that one of the city's Zoos has an outstanding educational program for young and old. School classes flock to this Zoo. The Zoo with the highest Education receives 3 Buzz.
• Motivated Employees (Breaking News) — Your team appreciates your management style and is fully motivated at work. This round, the second Staff Action doesn't incur any Running Costs. Place the second Worker next to the first one so that you don't forget about it.
• Breeding Halt (News) — For all offspring in the Zoo, a place must be found within the Zoo network. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no space and breeding must be halted temporarily. There will be no offspring for Level II Species this spring. If this card is drawn in round 7, the effect is not activated, and another Event Card is drawn.
• Animal Rescue (News) — Some people don't treat their animals right, but fortunately there is Animal Rescue! Place this card next to the AE. Each Zoo is allowed to increase the supply of one Species by a maximum of 1 female and 1 male in the upcoming summer (and use this increased supply). This is even possible if there is no supply present, only demand. Species may still only be taken if you meet their requirements.
• High Fertility (News) — Maybe it is the water or the great weather, but this year there are strikingly more young than usual. Add 1 to the result of each dice. For example, a 4 rolled is a 5.
• Zoo Protest (News) — Animal welfare is a legitimate concern for people. Any Zoo with an Animal Welfare Score below -1 in the beginning of winter loses all Buzz before Revenue is calculated.
• Bird Disease (News) — Place this card next to the AE. For one round, no animals in the "birds" category can be added to an Enclosure (including all animals in Quarantine). Only offspring from your own Species can be added to the Enclosures. However, giving away and reintroducing birds is still possible, and birds can still be added to Quarantine (they just cannot enter the Zoo). If this card is drawn in round 7, the effect is not activated, and another Event Card is drawn.
• Primate Disease (News) — Place this card next to the AE. For one round, no animals in the "primates" category can be added to an Enclosure (including all animals in Quarantine). This Event Card works in the same way as "Bird Disease".
• Ungulate Disease (News) — Place this card next to the AE. For one round, no animals in the "ungulates" category can be added to an Enclosure (including all animals in Quarantine). This Event Card works in the same way as "Bird Disease".
• Carnivore Disease (News) — Place this card next to the AE. For one round, no animals in the "carnivores" category can be added to an Enclosure (including all animals in Quarantine). This Event Card works in the same way as "Bird Disease".

! If this card prevents you from placing the Giant panda in your Zoo this round (which is required), you may wait one round to do so, but you must go ahead and build the empty Enclosure (including required Retreats) so that the Giant panda can be placed in it next summer.

Game Overview (Quick Reference)

Round 1

Each player starts with 10 money and 6 Enclosure Tiles.

In the first round, spring is skipped completely, i.e., you start in summer ("Arrival"). In the Arrival Phase of the first round, you can start with any Species offered except for the Giant panda and the Asian elephant. If a player starts with a Level III Species, they are not allowed to choose a second Main Species, but get a free Conservation Center, which must be placed in the first Building Phase.

After this first summer, you move directly to the Building Phase in fall and finish the year with a regular winter.

Round 2-7

Spring

• Starting Player — The Starting Player Marker is passed in turn order.
• Event Card — One Event Card is revealed.
• Offspring — Dice must be rolled for all Main Species that can have offspring. For each player, the base Popularity value of the most popular Main Species with offspring gets scored as Buzz.

Summer (Players have 2 Trades per round at their disposal.)

• Renew the Animal Exchange — The AE gets moved by one position.
• Leaving* — One after another, the players give away as many animals as they wish, given a corresponding demand on the AE.
• Arrival* — By means of Snake Draft, the players take animals (Level I to III) which are offered by the AE, whose requirements they fulfill and for which they have enough space.
• Clear the Animal Exchange — All components on the AE that are no longer needed are removed.

Autumn

• Enclosure Tiles — Each player receives 3 Enclosure Tiles. The leading players in Conservation and the evaluation criterion of the Donor Card each receive an additional Enclosure Tile.
• Replace Donor — A new Donor Card is drawn and revealed.
• Loans — Players can increase their money by 4 several times (until they have a maximum of 10 on their Money Track). For each Loan taken, a Prohibition Tile must be placed on a free square on the Zoo Board.
• Building Phase — Players build Enclosures, Buildings and Focal Points or remodel their Zoo. In addition, they include new animals in their Zoo including Co-Species. For each player, the base Popularity value of the most popular new Main Species in the Zoo gets scored as Buzz.

Winter

• Animal Keeping — The Experience of each Main Species in the Zoo is increased by 1.
• Education Scoring — All players in the same segment as the player with the highest Education receive 1 Conservation point.
• Taxes — All money above 3 is forfeited.
• Revenue — All players receive their Revenue according to their position on the Popularity Track, plus the bonuses for being first or second, minus their Running Costs.
• Reset Buzz & Staff — The Buzz Cylinders are removed from the Popularity Track and Workers are reset to their starting fields.
• New Year — The Round Counting Marker moves one space further.

End of the Game

Only players with 0 or more money on the Money Track can win the game.

First, the number of Offspring Discs are subtracted from Popularity. After this step, the Conservation Projects below the AE are scored from left to right and their points are added to the Conservation Track. The points from the Animal Welfare Project are added to the lower of the two values (Popularity or Conservation).

Now the players spend all their money on Buildings, Focal Points, and Enclosure Tiles. Effects on the 3 scoring tracks are scored accordingly. After that, the number of victory points is determined individually for each player (the lower value of Popularity and Conservation). The player with the most victory points wins the game.