ARK NOVA | Boardgame | How to Play and Full 2-Player Playthrough

[@trenthogan4212]

This is the best way to teach; give an overview and then explain detail during actual gameplay. After watching 3 other tutorials with little result, this video did the trick. I love the way you have the cards and cameras setup. Another A+!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thanks again Trent. I think that if we just explained all of the rules at the start, it would be very difficult to follow because there wouldn't be any context, so we do prefer to just give a brief overview at the start and then explain the concepts as we come to them during the game. It's fantastic to hear that this video did the trick for you. Hope you have a lot of fun playing. Ark Nova is a really good game and it is quite smooth when you start playing though there are a lot of rules to remember. Cheers!

[@hoseinabbaspoor3569]

You’re my favorite couple KZbinrs. Really enjoy your play throughs. Love ❤

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thank you very much Hosein! Really glad that you like our playthroughs. We appreciate the comment. Cheers!

[@stephanemaleau4138]

Great play. I realy enjoy this game. I played it almost 100 times on BGA. Some small mistakes: - The first enclosure you bilt has to touch a border space. Pat’s first build wasn’t touching a border space (even if the rocks were). - At 37:12, the upgrade building card says that you can build different buildings at the cost, so you can’t build the same building twice (or three times in this case) on the same turn. - 43:11 , Pat forgot to advance his reputation by 2 (bonus of his sponsor card) - , Gaï payed an extra X to upgrade her sponsor action by one to play a level 5 sponsor, but the upgraded sponsor card already allow her to play a x+1 sponsor card. - , Gaï forgot to advance her reputation token by one after playing the upgraded animal card in level 5)

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Stéphane! Wow, that is a lot of plays. You must be pretty expert at it now! Sorry about the mistakes - you are absolutely correct about them. I have added notes to the Klingon subtitles. Thank you for taking the time to let us know. Ark Nova is indeed a great game. Very deep and a lovely theme.

[@MrTheBigNoze]

You guys are such an excellent resource for us couples without regular game groups and to see how games work with only 2! Thanks for the video

[@zkvonjava]

amen to this!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thanks a lot guys. We're delighted to hear that we are helping you guys out. It can be difficult to get a group together, but it's great if your partner is also into boardgames, and there are a lot of games that are great to play with 2 players! Thanks a lot for your comments!

[@mreroots]

Great video! love how you explain the rules as you go, rather than overwhelming the viewer with full rules before the game play, makes it easier to learn the game and makes it a more immersive experience!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi there mreroots! We're really glad to hear that you liked our video. We prefer to show the rules of the game as we play because it can, as you say, be very overwhelming if we just barrage you guys with rules out of context, and I don't think the concepts would stick. It's great that this method works for you. Thanks a lot for your comment! Have fun playing! :-)

[@djackson920]

I can’t believe you played a full play through with a teaching segment in under 2 hours! This is game has been on my shelf of shame months because of the length. After watching this I think we will give it a go. It looks like a great game with mechanics very similar to other games my husband and I enjoy.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Dee! We are always delighted to see your comments! :-) Ark Nova can be pretty long for sure, but after a few games of it, you can definitely get the time down quite a bit. There are a lot of permutations though so it can be prone to AP which can certainly lengthen things. Still, I hope you and your husband do get a chance to play it. It is a beautiful game, with a wonderful theme and great mechanics. We are big fans. Take care Dee!

[@SuperFilip333]

This has to be my favorite Ark Nova gameplay ❤️

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thank you very much! Really glad you liked it!

[@peterpeter-kp4rl]

The first game that took several nights to learn it before teaching to my wife. Your video was the most helpfull out there with clear views. Thank you 🙏

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

That's great Peter. Really glad that our video helped you to understand the game. How did you and your wife find the game? Hope you had a good time with it! All the best!

[@Strangelove20]

I was considering getting this for a while but it looked too complicated for me. I think your video convinced me to go for it! Great playthrough and explanation. You're both very pleasant and thorough.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thank you very much for your kind comment. It is great to hear that our video helped you with the decision to get the game. The rulebook can look a bit daunting, but the gameplay is actually very smooth and when you start playing I think you will get it quickly. Have fun with it!

[@NealMikeMortnoy]

huuuge thank you for this and many other playthroughs on your channel! this was a really great playthrough of ark nova! there are so many bad ones out there where you can't follow the game because of bad cameras or "bad palyers" who did not think of the people watching but you did an outstanding job! you explained your moves and showed the cards in detail so the people watching could follow and understand realy good what you're doing i know that this is hard work - so thank you again! =)

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi there! Thank you very much for your lovely comment. It is wonderful to hear that you liked this and our other playthroughs. We do our best to make our videos clear for you guys, so it's very nice to get some feedback letting us know that it works for you. Thanks again, and we hope you keep finding videos on our channel that you like!

[@MisterG2323]

Thank you for this one. I've been foolishly playing this on BGA without reading rules, not a good idea. Your playthru has helped me grok the game much better.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Geoff. Hope all is well with you. Glad that the playthrough helped you understand the rules. We really like this one. There is a lot going on and it has a great theme and lots of fun to play.

[@reed4764]

This is the best playthrough channel I've seen. The camera work and angles/zooms make all the difference for someone who's trying to understand the game by following along. Highly appreciate the hard work that goes into this. Subbed.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Reed. Thank you very much for the compliment. It is very nice to hear that you like our channel so much. We do our best to make our videos clear so that you guys can follow what is going on in the game and we pop out the cards so that you can read them. It is great to hear that it works for you! Thanks also for the sub. Really glad to have you on board! Cheers!

[@mattalevyatgmail]

Another great video! I really appreciate all the things you do to make it easier to follow the game: the different camera angles, the enlarged cards, and you even play upside down so we can read the board! I know it must be a lot of extra work, but it shows so much care.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thank you Matt. We do our best to try to make it feel as if you guys are at the table with us to try to give you a better feeling of what the game is like to play. Hopefully it works for you! Cheers!

[@dennisklang]

Great video, very helpful! Keep it up U2!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thanks you Dennis! Really glad you liked it!

[@BmlCom]

Great quality playthrough. Keep up de good work. Just subscribed to you guys. Also found some extra errors for the Klingon - 32:32 card action, forgot break 2 - 1:19:42 Build action 2x same building of two. - 1:47:05 she can't have 1 reputation because she didn't upgrade her cards card? (1:37:37 was also a moment when she would have received 2 reputation)

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Really glad to hear that you liked the playthrough, Bram. Thanks also for the notes - I have updated the Klingon subtitles. And thank you for the subscription. We hope you can find lots of other videos on our channel that you like. Welcome aboard!

[@jankogo]

Yeah! My favorite!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hope you enjoyed the video! It is indeed a great game.

[@davidmcilmoyl4807]

1:46:55 - I think Glai missed taking a reputation point on her x-token upgraded animal card play. Apologies in advance if I am mistaken!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi David. You are absolutely correct. Thanks a lot for letting us know. I have made a note in the Klingon subtitles. Hope you enjoyed the video!

[@soren8994]

Thank you for the Video! 😊😊😊

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thanks you for the comment Soren. Hope you enjoyed the video!

[@stephanemaleau4138]

Other small mistakes: - 1:30:33, Pat did « swap » a card at his Cards action but it was in his reputation range so he sould have taken 3 more. - Not 100% on this one, but at 1:34:36 , when Glaï built her bird house, she could take the bird that she had played at the beginning of the game and put it in it so she could free a 4 space enclosure.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Thanks for this too Stéphane. You are correct about the card that I Snapped. However, Glai's Indian Peafowl does not have the Aviary icon on it so she can not put it in the Aviary. Thanks again for taking the time to let us know about the rules errors. I have added this one to the Klingon subtitles too to help people who are learning the game.

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

I want to try this game.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Efrain. You definitely should. It is a very deep and very enjoyable game to play.

[@stevegeorge7773]

I think pat did a illegal move, his first build should be on the outer boarder of the map. Unless I’m missing something with his power? 31:37 kiosks will only give you 2 coins not 3 as one of the kiosks needs to be next to different sized locations or enclosures. I knew that was going to happen when she first placed them in the zoo. 43:18 one forgets to increase your middle track by 2 for playing the card 5 icons for a conservation point. 1:02:07 can only build a total of 5 size for where your card action is. A 2 size and 4 size is 6. 1:33:30 not sure if she had a bird to move into the Avery. Couldn’t tell as that is a free option in building the enclosure. 1:34:00 she also had the bird card to get her money when playing a card with bird icons. There is a lot that goes on in this opus of a game. It meant getting to reuse a level 4 enclosure. Above time stamp, or so. She didn’t get the appeal for the second animal card. Only the first. Those coins are great! Where did you get them? This recording must have been a pill to manage! Greatgreat effort, really well done!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Steve! Thank you for those notes. My (Pat) first building placement was indeed illegal. Actually we had a note about that in the Klingon subtitles. We put corrections there after the video has been uploaded as it is no longer possible to edit the video itself after that. As for the Kiosks at 31:37, the size of the enclosures next to the Kiosks does not matter. The rules say that you take 1 money for each unique building, special enclosure, occupied standard enclosure, and pavilion adjacent to it. An empty standard enclosure does not provide income (but an empty special enclosure does), so in this case it is ok and provides 3 income. You are also correct that I should have increased my reputation by 2 for playing the Foreign Institute card. Once again, we had a note about this in the Klingon subtitles. You are absolutely right about Glai's 2 buildings being greater than 5. I have added a note to the Klingon subtitles about that. When Glai built the Aviary, the only bird that she had played was the Indian Peafowl, and this does not have an Aviary icon so she would not have been able to move it to the Aviary. Glai did not get the 3 coins from playing her Cinerous Vulture straight away, but she remembered it after she played her second card that turn so she did indeed end up getting them. However, you are correct that she did not get the appeal for the Common European Adder. I have made a note about this in the Klingon subtitles too. As for the coins, we picked them up on Etsy. They are really nice to play with and give more of a feeling of playing with money. We use them for a lot of games like Ark Nova, Brass Birmingham, Boon Lake, Terra Mystica and so on. We're very happy with them. Thanks a lot for watching and for your attention to the details. It did indeed take some management, but it was worth it in the end. There is a lot going on in this game, but that is what makes it great and we always enjoy playing it. Really glad to hear you liked the video! Cheers!

[@BmlCom]

A question, why do you guys play upside down? After editing you can rotate the video 180 degrees? It's easier to play and don't forget cards you played previously I think. It looks nice though.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi Bram. We play upside down to make it easier for you guys to see the game. The top camera could of course be rotated during editing, but the other front cameras don't look right when rotated post production. In our earlier videos we used to play with the board facing us but we weren't satisfied with the presentation and decided to play upside down and I think it worked out much better visually.

[@davidmcilmoyl4807]

1:49:00 I believe Pat missed turning over a level 1 enclosure to house his animal in that he just played. Again apologies if I am mistaken!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Correct again David! I have noted this one in the Klingon subtitles too. Thanks for telling us about it!

[@davidmcilmoyl4807]

@@AllAboardBoardgames Thank you as well. I really enjoy your two player play through video's, they make learning these bigger games a lot more fun and easy. Fantastic!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

@@davidmcilmoyl4807 That's great to hear David! Really glad that you enjoy the videos. We do our best to make them clear and easy to follow, so it's always nice to hear that we are helping you guys learn how to play these games! Cheers!

[@olesos]

1:20:25 - I don't think Glai can build 2 identical size enclosures.

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hello. Yes, you are correct here. We actually have a note in the Klingon subtitles about it. Sorry about the mistake. Hope you enjoyed the video anyway.

[@davidbecker3104]

Question: at the 38 min mark when Pat takes the Level II Build action; it specifically says DIFFERENT buildings...are kiosks exempt from that rule as they are not enclosures?

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi David. Well spotted. That was indeed an illegal action because as you say, the buildings should be different. Sorry about that and thank you for letting us know. I have made a note in the Klingon subtitles.

[@davidmcilmoyl4807]

Can I ask. Where did you get the coins you used for this game? Thanks!

[@AllAboardBoardgames]

Hi David. Yes, we picked them up on Etsy. They really do add to the game, and we get to use them in a number of different games too.