Ark Nova - Rules Teach

[@bigtimebam]

There are three things I want now; the full playthrough video, a copy of this game, and a copy of your T-shirt from the introduction.

[@JonGetsGames]

You can find a link to buy the t-shirt in the description of this video :)

[@dave0754]

I'm sad that I overlooked your videos for so long because they were a little bit longer than what I usually watch. You are one of my favourite game explainers and your playthroughs are insightful, giving basic strategies as you go.

[@amoghskulkarni]

Never knew TTS is such an amazing tool to teach boardgame rules. I'm amazed by how this has been overlooked by other KZbinrs!

[@ryankelly369]

Unfortunately, TTS is quite polarizing. I know of several of my fellow online tabletoppers who avoid using it on principle.

[@pixxelwizzard]

That's the first time I've seen someone use TTS to teach, and I think it was really slick! Your pacing was excellent and the information presented in a fantastic order that was logically developed. Great job and thank you!

[@ItsGamingCatsandDogs]

Can’t wait for the playthrough! Your tutorial moved Ark Nova from my “Another heavy game I need to research” list to the top of my “Wishlist”. Great job with the teach!

[@MrShizzr]

I played this game yesterday for the first time, it's really good! Mixes a lot of things from Terraforming Mars, Wingspan and somewhat Race for the Galaxy together and it works very well. Thanks for the great educational videos, Jon! 🙂

[@CouchTomato87]

I haven't played Race for the Galaxy, but the core mechanic of 5 actions and sliding them based on power is from Civilization: A New Dawn!

[@Adoptified]

By far the best teach of this game I've seen. The use of TTS was fantastic!

[@How_Lazar]

Absolutely brilliant, after watching 3 different tutorials, finally the one that I understand! Thank you so much!

[@teekumar5056]

You're still my most favourite board game tech person. Your playthroughs are brilliant. Do prefer the real board game playthrough - but looking forward to the TTS playthrough. This is a great rules teach! Thanks :)

[@S4MS]

Jon, the way you organize a teach is awesome and I love the way you broke it down in this video. Keep on keepin on!!

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you found this helpful :)

[@Chivvy695]

Seems like a solid teach. Looking forward to the playthrough. And bonus points to developers for what looks like a functional tts mod.

[@dirkhoffmann6827]

What a great job! I read the rules and wanted to refresh to bring a bit of structure into when I teach this to my significant other for our first game, and this was excellent! Thank you, Jon! Great speed and very pleasant voice 😊

[@JonGetsGames]

I'm glad you found this helpful :)

[@likemagickrestoration]

I'm playing this on BGA since I haven't gotten the game yet and I love your use of Tabletop Simulator for the game reference. I love your videos!

[@laverite1635]

It's not unusual to find the best teach on this channel.

[@quesoblanco444]

Anyone else always find the volume to low on these? On my tv or pc I need max volume to hear it well. A great teach, and as I'm learning to try it out on TTS this is perfect.

[@JonGetsGames]

I believe multiple people mentioned this around the time the video was put out and I subsequently slightly increased my volume in the settings template I use.

[@jonphang806]

Using the tabletop simulator was really a good tool, I couldn't imagine learning with it!

[@jeremynachtman4626]

Very well done, I was skeptical with table top simulator if id like the video or not because I refuse to play board games on there, as it defeats one of the purposes of playing board games (for me). I like to use videos as a prequel to reading the rulebook and this one worked perfectly for that.

[@freakfire74]

Thanks for the video. We bought the game today and our first game went smoothly thanks to your video!

[@JonGetsGames]

That's awesome to hear, I hope you enjoyed it!

[@freakfire74]

@@JonGetsGames We did! Its funny, because generally I do not enjoy eurogames but I like this one very much. :)

[@rafaturniak7068]

I've always loved your tutorials for a couple of reasons - the ability to explain even the most complex games in a way that made it easy to understand, the calm manner of your voice without suggesting emotions to the viewer, but also for the fact that your videos gave me a chance to "interact" with a game I am interested in enough to spend an hour with. Most of the characteristics I like are still here in this video, but to me, and maybe to me only, using tts gives the whole thing an artificial look - like I am not spending time with the game itself, but with some sort of a look-alike. Not having issues with IP side of that (if any), but it takes away from the experience. I've seen a tutorial/playthrough of Ark Nova done by a content creator completely anonymous to me, filmed with way worse quality setup and enjoyed it more, because it was the actual game.

[@JonGetsGames]

I can understand that some people will simply not enjoy seeing TTS versions of games like this. This does let us play and make videos for games we don't physically have copies of, this being one example of that.

[@MichaelDart]

Counterpoint: As someone who was about to play it on TTS anyway because I can't get my hands on a physical copy, the fact that this is taught in TTS is actually a positive! It also helps with clear zooming in on cards and areas of the board.

[@bart9522]

Very clear explanation. Hope to play this game tomorrow!

[@JonGetsGames]

I hope you have a great time :)

[@alexanderolferuk8496]

Wow, what a mix! Certainly TM, Rajas of the Ganges, Civ: New dawn, Unfair/Funfair did inspire this game :) Can't wait to see the playthrough! Good job, Jon!

[@a.wosaibi]

Unfair! That game needs a bit more love and recognition imo :)

[@pjpaella]

First time viewer here. Fantastic teach with a great pace. I often have to speed up playback, but not for your teach Very well done, it'll help tremendously when I read the manual.

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks for the kind worse, I'm glad you found this helpful :)

[@FamilyMcManus]

Nice teach. I would normally prefer to look at a physical version, but you did a really good job of focusing in on various things during the teach so I could really see what was going on rather than taking a lazy approach and showing everything from far away.

[@JonGetsGames]

I'm glad you enjoyed this. I won't have a physical version for many months, so leaning into this as an option meant I could cover it sooner. I've really tried to smooth out the TTS experience to get it as close to real components and cameras as possible.

[@FamilyMcManus]

@@JonGetsGames You succeeded. Your hard work is noticed and appreciated.

[@justinr1037]

Wow! You are a master at explaining complicated things simply. Nice job Jon

[@heijewubs988]

About to play my first game and this was a very useful aid! Thanks!

[@meeplechat5046]

Excellent and smooth teach. Nice idea of using TTS to do the teach! Thank u!!!

[@JonGetsGames]

At the time it was close to impossible to get a physical copy, so I didn't have a choice if I wanted to teach this before our playthrough on TTS :)

[@28Lost]

I had to check if the video speed was in 1.25x. No No. Jon just speaks super fast xD

[@CritsHappen]

As always, you do an amazing job my friend. I’m playing this tonight and this helped so much. Thanks!

[@JonGetsGames]

Awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

[@CritsHappen]

@@JonGetsGames Well, I played a 3 player game Friday and won, then played a 2 player game Saturday and won, and played 4 solo games Sunday (won one at the 20 appeal starting point, and lost 3 starting at the 10 appeal point) so it was an animal filled weekend that I kept referencing your video on, so I would say yes, loved it!

[@JonGetsGames]

Wow, sounds like a wonderful weekend. We keep playing it over here too, up to 5 2p games with my wife over the last few weeks :)

[@lockedlake]

Damn I love your videos. Your explanations are clear and easy to follow ! Now I have to watch your playthrough !

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks!

[@adamcarr9077]

Thank you so much for making this video. Extremely helpful.

[@shanefrancis34]

Another great video, I have this game arriving next week and can’t wait.

[@bill0804]

Thank you I just got this game can’t wait to get it to the table

[@baelrog]

Woooo finally. Thanks Jon :)

[@brazillb2]

Great teach! Quite a bit going on but like Concordia it can kinda just be boiled down to "play one card and do what it says." Excited for the playthrough, pretty on the fence after the teach

[@JonGetsGames]

I hope you enjoy it :)

[@BoardGamingCrew]

Awesome video. Playing this tonight finally!

[@MichaelDart]

One minor quibble. At 34:10 you mention it's possible that players have more than 1 final scoring card at end-game scoring, and say they should discard one. Note this is only the case if none of the players have reached 10 reputation (which triggers people to discard one). It's possible for players to gain additional final scoring cards by playing animals with the Resistance trait, such as the Asian Elephant (card 431). This could mean that players have more than one card to score at the end of the game. The Glossary describes that the action which takes place at Reputation 10 is effectively to discard 1 final scoring card, not discard _down_ to 1. I just want to say, I have watched this video multiple times now, and you do an excellent job. I watched it again tonight in preparation for teaching it myself, but I'm just going to stream this video before our TTS game instead because there's no way I'm going to be able to cover it this well in this amount of time. Thanks very much. I hadn't really watched this channel much before but I'm loving these recent post-game discussion and impressions videos.

[@JonGetsGames]

That is a good point, though certainly an edge case. I'm glad you've found this video useful for learning and teaching :)

[@zottleporcupine8722]

This is such a good explanation! Gold ⭐️

[@cgwest00]

Thanks for doing this. That is a lot of rules.

[@melblack7412]

Another great teaching video - thank you.

[@cecileestelle9448]

Excellent explainer thank you SO MUCH

[@EltWilder]

I might have to wait 5 years for Ark Nova Jr.

[@zinho73ninguemperguntou]

I am refreshing the page all the time to see if the playthrough is posted :D

[@JonGetsGames]

You'll have to wait a bit longer. We were going to have it released this week but due to logistical issues with the filming it's most likely going to release next week instead.

[@zinho73ninguemperguntou]

@@JonGetsGames No worries. When it is done, it´s done. Thank you for the heads up, though. Best!

[@JonGetsGames]

It's finally out! I published it yesterday :)

[@ClaudeAndTaylor]

Amazing job, Jon!!!

[@simonmcg23]

Great teach as usual

[@someyoutuber7096]

Thank you!

[@arielfoltyn6399]

I have a question. The situation is the following: Player A triggered the end of game by gaining appeal, which made his appeal counter go past his conservation counter. That means that players B and C each get one more turn. At this point, the Break Token was two spaces away from the last space on the Break Track. Now, what happens if, for example, player B triggered break? Because if the break triggers the Break income can actually change players points (which Player A may not have counted) with Conservation Points and also with the 2-tile enclosure that you can get as income to completely fill your Zoo and gain 7 appeal. And the second problem is that in this situation player C will receive a large amount of cash on his last turn (and the last turn of the whole game). In this arrangement, he will be able, for example, to play as the only one of all players, several animals for the zoo. The other players will be disadvantaged in this arrangement because they will not be able to use these money. So should we trigger a break when the endgame starts or not? Thank you in advance for your answer :)

[@JonGetsGames]

You would still trigger a break even if the endgame is triggered, and I agree that perhaps it's not the best idea!

[@danieltownley7436]

From your explanation it sounds like you're assuming that Player A has stopped playing the game after they finish their turn? They're still playing and would still be impacted by other effects (like the break), they just won't have another turn. It's not a problem at all for Player A to continue to receive additional appeal or conservation points after their final turn, and in fact most players will receive additional points after the game finishes anyway because of end-game points on cards.

[@KesSharann]

Thank you. Great teach. I hope shipping estimates are accurate on this.

[@kaikulimu]

Great tutorial!

[@kaikulimu]

Thanks!

[@n1kolakis28]

Great video! Thumbs up! 👏

[@eschermond]

Thank you for this tutorial. 🙂

[@Wolcik3000]

awesome tutorial I was getting into the game with all the crazy mechanics, but then the game scoring turned out to be too convoluted

[@dalecastellano7210]

This is really helpful!

[@DrewVogel069]

20:17 - slide cards to the RIGHT not LEFT.

[@PapercraftingAdventures]

EXCELLENT TUTORIAL! Thank you! Question! When placing a conservation card up top of the association board, do we also take the marker from the side of our game board and trigger a bonus? Or does that come from the supply? Thank you!

[@JonGetsGames]

You always remove a cube from your board when you complete any type of conservation. Glad you found this video useful :)

[@swordofrahl]

Doesn't affect gameplay, but hopefully the editor catches that the picture for the western green mamba is actually a green tree python.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

I think someone already mentioned it to them on BGG

[@baelrog]

waiting for the full game to show up on your channel :)

[@Wespsteek]

Thanks! Nice video!

[@harleygrattan2851]

Wow, looks like an amazing game

[@harleygrattan2851]

Well it’s 95% great game except for the take that cards. Do you like the pick cards or the other venomous cards powers? It’s just enough to spoil the game.

[@leasmo7263]

@@harleygrattan2851 wouldnt want to call it take that, since you do not chooce a Player. The game targets the player in front. But as John pointed out, if you really Do not like these few cards, you can just use the solo effects also written on them (or even sort them out)

[@rictushep]

Small error: at 20:20 should say “slide to the right” instead of “left”.

[@JonGetsGames]

Ah good catch, simple little slips are so easy to miss.

[@quadparty]

to add to the Klingon, maybe: at 10:40 - 11:35 you never actually took the money and card for covering up the building spots.

[@JonGetsGames]

Good catches. Since this is a teach and not a "tutorial" I think it's ok, I wasn't teaching that part of the mechanics at that point.

[@dansites4333]

I like the rules teach video! Now just need one for Imperial Steam as no one has made one yet... Womp womp womp. :)

[@JonGetsGames]

I actually just scheduled an Imperial Steam video from Capstone and the game is on the way to my place. Video likely won't be out for several weeks though, unfortunately.

[@dansites4333]

@@JonGetsGames Sounds great! Yeah I figure it would take a while to make that happen. Keep up the good content!

[@sherlockhomeless7138]

Sounds like an amazing game, but unfortunately I think it will take me at least three plays to understand everything. And I think this is the type of game that I may understand then, but will be too hard for me to consider all posibilities in my turn and make a somewhat tactical decision, 'cause there is just so much to consider. Also: It looks like the one who is at first position gets bonuses which will make it easier for them to stay in the lead.

[@codyperry4011]

Maybe I’m just dumb. But the scoring sounds like it rewards whoever is in last place no? Even tho red got the furthest and started the end game they scored less points than blue. And if there is someone way back on the scoring they score a lot more points.

[@MyKonaRC]

It's funny how the M's and N's are NOT written upside down like the physical copy.

[@jeremynachtman4626]

25:02 So is it only if you LAND on the spot that you get the bonus, like upgrading an action card at this timestamp. Or when you moved the 5 spaces a minute or so ago in your example would you have grabbed the 10 money AND upgraded a card?

[@JonGetsGames]

You don't have to stop on the bonus to get it. Passing it by still activates for you.

[@LEGnewTube]

I think this might be a game I have to try before I know if it’s for me. The rule overview isn’t doing it for me.

[@billmiller5722]

20:16 should be "slide to the right", not left. Thanks!

[@ultrawan88v2]

@JonGetGames 13:29 at the endgame scoring, if the placement bonus has been covered by any enclosure (or buidlings) can I still gain the unconnected placement bonus that have been covered?

[@JonGetsGames]

I don't believe so, I think they have to be uncovered.

[@Dehalove]

This feels like dinosaur world but good

[@danielschaublin]

It's nice to see a tutorial video up by itself as a standalone video on your channel again. I was starting to miss the standalone tutorial videos after you moved to playing with friends. Also, I have a question: does teaching the game digitally through Tabletop Simulator about the same or completely different than teaching it through the physical game. For digital, you don't have to waste time setting up physical compents, but you still manually have to move pieces using the mouse, and you're limited to the camera angles that Tabletop simular, while for the physical edition, you can manually move the pieces and touch them as well as get good zoomed-up shots (and also not have all of the menu cutter on the top of the video, like with Tabletop.) I wanted to ask, since you did this digital format of teaching for about 2 weeks already, and wanted to get your thoughts on teaching digital and physical tutorials after doing each of them for a while already (although you took physical tutorials a lot longer than digital, with digital still being a new thing on your channel.)

[@JonGetsGames]

Standalone tutorial playthroughs are still going to be around, I'm posting a new one tomorrow actually. There's just more variety up here these days :) Teaching feels pretty similar, I am very comfortable in TTS these days. I did spend quite a bit of time moving things around to get it ready for recording, probably more time than I needed to. I hope I show it off well enough like this, obviously the component quality of the TTS mod will vary depending on who made it, and will also vary with how accurate it is to the specific pieces in the physical game.

[@cleftturnip7774]

I cant figure out how to buy the petting zoo ,the reptile house or bird avery. Do you use the build action and pay 2 per hex like normal buildings

[@JonGetsGames]

Yeah, 2 coins per hex they cover. You can only build a reptile house or bird aviary if you have upgraded your build action.

[@johnyang1731]

So why it's not equal actions of a break action triggers end? Won't that give the last player a disadvantage for having one less turn? Or if first player triggers break they get one extra turn than everyone else.

[@JonGetsGames]

I'm not sure why the designer decided to do this, but I assume they found it to be the best solution to the game end vs the more standard "everyone has the same number of turns" approach for some reason.

[@gelui13]

Really good teaching, do you think i could get into the game with this explanation?

[@JonGetsGames]

I hope so, though this wasn't a 100% comprehensive teach so going over the rulebook is likely still a good idea. I believe I covered just about everything you'd need to know, minus some specifics of card effects and icons that are explained in the game's glossary and icon cheat sheet.

[@BallinEagles]

Do we use cubes from our supply or from the left side of our personal board when placing a cube on the special enclosers (petting zoo, aviary, reptile)

[@JonGetsGames]

Cubes for special enclosures come from your supply, not from the board. Same with the cubes used for the donation action on the Association board.

[@patrickvalo8822]

When you put a cube on a conservation tile. Can you only have one? Or if you get more "reptile tags" later you can fill the 5 spot too?

[@JonGetsGames]

Each player can only put one cube on each conservation card.

[@leavemydogalone]

Nice

[@CandyOnAChopstick]

I wanted to love this but the scoring completely turns me off to this game. Seems like your score is what you get on your final turn. Plus I heard the solo game has you score 0 so there wouldn’t be anything to work toward after you played one game.

[@harisiadis]

Great work! It is very helpful. However, would you mind speaking a bit slower if possible?

[@JonGetsGames]

Unfortunately, this is as slow as I can go realistically. I've been trying to slow down for 9 years on this channel, and do talk slower here than I do when not recording, and I just don't know how to get myself to go slower than this. Sorry it's caused a problem for you.

[@edwintabianto5824]

Doing x token action.. Can i choose a card from slot 1? In other words, I do not change my card position at all

[@JonGetsGames]

Yep! You would activate that card and then not need to slide it down since it'd already be on the far left.

[@Skycroft1000]

Ah, you've taken the tutorial out of your playthrough with friends videos and posted it separately? I guess that makes sense. I do have to say though that I feel videos like this dilute the strengths of your channel a bit. There are innumerable board game channels out there that make rules explanation videos just like this, and you don't hugely stand out from that pack. But while there are other channels that make playthrough videos almost none of them have near your level of polish and editing. It's with your playthrough videos where you really stand out, IMO, and what draws people (or at least me) to the channel. Since these videos are linked to the playthrough with friends videos I don't think it's a huge deal, but it's a thing to keep in mind I guess. On the other hand, the algorithm is a black box so who knows? As for the game itself, I'll comment on that in the actual playthrough video when I've seen it in play a bit more. I did see Michael Wißner's playthrough and while I am not a huge fan of the crossing scoretracks mechanic I did like most of the rest. We'll see if another playthrough changes that impression.

[@JonGetsGames]

Putting this out as a separate video was an idea I had after filming the instructional part, but before we filmed the playthrough. Logistics got in the way and we had to delay the filmed playthrough for a week and I thought it'd be interesting to see how well the teach-only video did on it's own. So far it's done quite well, so I am going to consider doing more of this in the future. As of right now I intend to always pair them up with a full playthrough with friends though. I know that this style isn't groundbreaking, but I hope the polish and the paired playthrough help them to stand out.

[@slydog75]

Way late here but I disagree entirely. Having a separate teach video is the way to go.

[@devil332patriot]

Is there going to be a physical play through with the actual game?

[@JonGetsGames]

That may happen when the expansion comes out, but very unlikely before that since I try not to make videos that are very similar to previous ones.

[@Alan-pn8nu]

Vital Lacerda's: Terraforming Dinosaur Island😀

[@terrytoriq]

:D You forgot Brass Londonshire

[@Feldingor]

Gosh! This makes The Weather Machine look like a light to medium game 😨

[@JonGetsGames]

After glancing at the Weather Machine board I suspect it's going to be a longer teach than Ark Nova, but I can't be sure without diving in and I haven't had the time yet :)

[@Feldingor]

@@JonGetsGames Actually Ark Nova is much more transparent. In TWM there are a couple of action you can’t even take until you have achieved something else before, so the complexity there comes from “cascading” mechanisms which a bit more opaque than in other Lacerda Games. Ark Nova has a sheer amount of cards with various effects, so its complexity comes from quantity of information you must process rather than in-game logics and linked actions.

[@JonGetsGames]

Gotcha. Fortunately the information load in Ark Nova is drip fed out to you since you only care about whats on the cards you have and for the most part the cards tell you what they do with text.

[@Feldingor]

@@JonGetsGames yeah exactly. The information is there. Maybe it’s a lot of information, but it’s clear and open. In TWM there’s a lot you need to plan ahead (I guess that why they needed to add the “Executive Exchanges” mechanic that let you spend vouchers to switch out a chemical or a machine part of you need a cooler you don’t have, so that you don’t get completely stuck because you couldn’t plan correctly). You need to do a few actions in a somewhat specific order if you want to be able to do other action later in the round, but you need to get “now” the part/chemical you would need in a few rounds. Seriously, this game is brain-melting just for talking about it

[@JonGetsGames]

Ha, yeah. I've been intrigued by Lacerta designs in the past but I don't find myself rushing towards them these days.

[@chadeddy8203]

I can't find Ark Nova on TTS - am I totally missing it somehow?

[@JonGetsGames]

I can see it by searching for "Ark Nova" in the TTS workshop. Here it is: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2630864749

[@kevinmontoya43]

Is their a hand limit?

[@JonGetsGames]

Not usually, but every coffee break does put in a 3 or 5 card hand limit at that moment.

[@TheMikeD]

How can I find this for tabletop simulator?

[@JonGetsGames]

If you search for Ark Nova in the "Workshop" of tabletop simulator it should show up.

[@TheMikeD]

@@JonGetsGames perfect. Thanks

[@JuraIbis]

This is completely batshit insane complexity level. You're bound to keep making errors, this is overdesign.

[@timdertim]

Appreciate the video, but you talk too fast here. :-)

[@bchccc]

Terraforming Zoo 😅

[@ziro6452]

Great tuto, this one and all I've seen in your chanell. But your voice is very weak... like wispering, I have to icrease volumen to the top and even then I have to rewind to listen what you said.

[@JonGetsGames]

Yeah, I've increased the volume in my audio template so hopefully this'll be better in my newer videos.