The 4 Squares Review - Ark Nova

[@eliumeldritch]

Three big things that push this over the top and I like way better than Terraforming mars. 1. Late game of TM has so many unwieldy card triggers that can be overwhelming and turns take a lot longer 2. The requirements on the majority of the cards are generally more easily obtainable than ones TM. (I don't have to wait forever for oceans or oxygen). And they're easier to get 3. The art Also- it's great solo!

[@kafka0622]

OK, I revisted this review after my 8th play of Ark Nova. We played this game with four players all who are experienced gamers but one had never played before. After a twenty minute teach for the new guy (and a refresh for another who had only played once) we played this game in almost exactly two hours. During this game the downtime between turns was virtually unnoticeable. Turns don't take long and you are constantly thinking of what you are going to do next. I guess my point is that experience does a lot to mitigate the game time. Plus, some games are long and they feel long. Some are long and they do not feel long and Ark Nova is one of these to me. I don't feel the length. I'm with Tom. This game is a 10 for me hands down.

[@jelledaems808]

This game should also get a bunch of expansions... beginning with a Prelude one making the game a bit shorter. They could name it: We bought a zoo.

[@eliumeldritch]

I'm holding out for the zoo miniatures to replace the tiles

[@FelipeRodrigues-vj1zb]

While I wouldn't because I enjoy the full experience, maybe just give everyone a couple of cages and ten more money or something 😅

[@RadishTheFool]

You really brought across why you like this game so much. And that gets me excited as well. It also helps that you showed the animal cards up close. The rest of the game looks kind of blah, but those colourful animals make me happy. Thank you, Dice Tower, for showing me that I want to play this game.

[@greglott4977]

What makes you think the "rest of it" looks blah? The rest of what? It's a euro. If you don't like euros, you wont like this one. The mechanics are solid, and the game is fun.

[@taserrr]

No offense but you sound like a 5 year old. "I like this because it looks colourful." Really?

[@EvanHalbertDC]

Wow, love that way of dealing with the pick 2, keep 1 end game goal card! Making uninformed choices is one of my pet peeves in games, and that totally works!

[@JakRoto]

I couldn't disagree with mike more on the game length issue. There is never a moment where I've felt that I've done my piece and now we can end it. Every time it's over, there is a table groan because everyone always wants another turn or two. I could always get just one more conservation effort, or fill up another enclosure.

[@Cemaran01]

Tom, I really wish you would do a BGB again where you went to the zoo like you used to. Those were some of my favorite BGBs, just sitting there and watching the animals.

[@lemiless]

My buddy owns, and loves, Terrafoming Mars. I do enjoy playing with him. But he enjoys it more than I do. And that's not a knock against TM. But he would definitely play it more than I would. I believe that this game may be leaps and bounds more enjoyable to me than TM. And I very much enjoy TM and absolutely know why it is rated so high on BGG. But like Tom, I love this theme. I do really enjoy sci-fi and space themes a ton. But, Ark Nova just looks like something I would enjoy more than TM. I saw this game on Amazon, and hadn't heard of it. I'm so happy with this review. And it will be added to my cart immediately! Thanks Tom, Zee, Mike, and Chris.

[@MarkBuschhaus]

would love to see a playthrough by Tom, Zee and Mike

[@EliteBeast]

mike is the man

[@jamescartwright1150]

Excellent stuff as always guys. Think this is the closest they will get to making Zoo Tycoon the board game and I'd really like to get it at some point 🙂

[@Barbabonbon]

Closest? from what I heard and saw, this IS it

[@Frostation]

I agree with Tom. This is a great game, it's my game of the year and may be my #1 game of the last five years. I have already played it about ten time on TTS, and 3 player games don't take us more than 90 minutes. The physical game will take more time, but once everyone has played a few time and realized that this is a race game, the game will take less time to play. The graphics work with the game's theme, just like Zhe mentioned, and the graphic design is great. Everything is clear. And I agree with Mike regarding the end game cards, and Chris with the mechanic of playing conservation cards during the game.

[@susannevanmierlo6341]

Just played this game last weekend and really enjoyed it. It was a long game but this was also because we played it for the first time.

[@mitsakosL]

Tom's absolutely right, this is the best game that came out this year.

[@johnnovotny5074]

Wow 2 point spread gives it 4 squares average of 8.5. Nice! Looking forward to trying it.

[@flawed1]

I played this game for the first time yesterday. I really liked it. It did take forever with four people learning it, but the time flew by. I will disagree with Tom on one thing. I get way too wrapped up in the mechanisms and scoring points to be like “OMG! I’m gonna put a panda and a walrus and a giraffe in my zoo because I think those animals are cool”

[@nickrichards5792]

Re Mike on the game being a tad too long I wonder if an expansion might eventually speed things up or at least shorten them? Going back to talking about Terraforming Mars, Prelude's engine-charging did a good job of shaving off game time. (Apologies if mentioned in the video and I missed it).

[@tomjandrews5334]

The only bit I use from the Venus next expansion I use, is the rule that at the end of every era players take a turn increasing a track or placing an ocean with no benefit to speed up the game.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

Getting better at the game would cut the length significantly.

[@borreholic]

@@J-Wheeler-G That's very true, but that answer also always comes up when someone mentions game length, and it's for example always the answer from the Terraforming Mars crowd who have played the game 20, 30, 40, 60 times. Of course game length cuts down when you know the cards in and out, but it might take a decent number of plays before you have seen most of the cards and are able to make such snappy decisions that the game doesn't feel "too long" anymore. The first or second play of a game is not representative of how long the average play takes, but so is not the 19th or 26th or 43rd play since it's in general super rare for people to end up playing a single game that many times.

[@J-Wheeler-G]

@@borreholic this one even more because the better you know the game the more efficient and faster you are going to get therefore the faster the end game will trigger. The first time we played Rajas it took us very long because we didn't know how to score all that well. Now it just feels it end too quickly.

[@uziekiele]

Obsession already has the mechanism of discarding the end game goal cards during stages of the game and not at the beginning.

[@paulfleming2485]

Nemesis has this as well with the objective cards.

[@revimfadli4666]

And Bag of Chips' gameplay revolves around exactly that

[@levoleynik4899]

Came here after Tom announced it was his number 1 on the top 100. Excited to try it out!

[@Blasoflang]

I can not wait for this to be released in the US!!!!!

[@Alluvian567]

Looks really fun. I am at the point in the hobby where I realize I don't need any new games, and if I do get a new game I should let another go. Not sure which game I would let go for this. I know a bunch I SHOULD let go because I never get to play them, but I love them too much to part with them, heh.

[@killastutz]

I'm with Tom (for once lol!), I can't get enough of this game. Everything about it just feels good and smooth...I just love it.

[@Berndr]

I am the opposite, I got a game based on hype and discovered it was a yawn fest... a mechanic that is just quite not there and fails to give that sense of achievement of completing collections ... even when I win I feel unfulfilled in this game ... you rarely manage to have any coherent strategy, and due to unbalanced deck you are more likely to be playing random animal cards because that's all you have available and the ones you want you never get or someone else grabs from the display... and when you are finally at the stage you can do these things such as complete collections and place a cube on conservation cards the game is over ...The strange thing is, on the paper I should absulutly love Ark Nova, it promises everything I want in the game but it totally fails to deliver...the main reason I think it fails is that instead of letting people have fun and complete their collections, the game is about who first gets to put a cube on the conservation achievement, the mechanic from the Terraforming Mars that just does not work for me in this game! the Green conservation collection of animal cards should have been made more accessible because these cards are where the fun is and the main driver of the strategy, plus these cards should have been designed as personal zoo goals/ strategy rather than silly competition that we rarely get to do due to limited options for that action!

[@hanseathl]

I pre-ordered the game a few weeks ago and there is a good chance I will receive my copy before Christmas 🇩🇪. Now, I am even more excited.

[@gamera2351]

Me halfway through the game overview: Ok I've seen enough this looks lame. I'll fast foward to the scores. Tom: 10 out of 10 I'll never play Terraforming Mars again. Me: Wait....What??? Ok I need to go back and watch this video.

[@Berndr]

I am the opposite, I got a game based on hype and discovered it was a yawn fest... a mechanic that is just quite not there and fails to give that sense of achievement of completing collections ... even when I win I feel unfulfilled in this game ... you rarely manage to have any coherent strategy, and due to unbalanced deck you are more likely to be playing random animal cards because that's all you have available and the ones you want you never get or someone else grabs from the display... and when you are finally at the stage you can do these things such as complete collections and place a cube on conservation cards the game is over ...The strange thing is, on the paper I should absulutly love Ark Nova, it promises everything I want in the game but it totally fails to deliver...the main reason I think it fails is that instead of letting people have fun and complete their collections, the game is about who first gets to put a cube on the conservation achievement, the mechanic from the Terraforming Mars that just does not work for me in this game! the Green conservation collection of animal cards should have been made more accessible because these cards are where the fun is and the main driver of the strategy, plus these cards should have been designed as personal zoo goals/ strategy rather than silly competition that we rarely get to do due to limited options for that action!

[@sadekhanna]

Wait what? Tom LOVES TM! Now I'm sure I need this game!

[@littlefarmlover]

This is a very informative and helpful review. Thanks guys!

[@johnnovotny5074]

If it had a dinosaur theme Tom might be forced to give it an 11.

[@KickstarterRadio1024]

Looks so great, gone straight to the top of my retail watch list!

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Woooooow I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tom rate something a 10, at least on the 4 squares

[@SoManyGames]

Not questioning Tom's love for the game but rating a game a 10 that you admit is not ideal at all player counts I find indeed questionable. What would it have been rated if found to play great at all player counts? 10 Plus ? 10 Plus Max?.. Maybe in the future.

[@thedicetower]

Le Havre is also a "10" for me, and I won't play it with 4 or more. I won't play Cosmic Encounter with 3 players.

[@SoManyGames]

I hear ya Tom. If you love something, you love it regardless... I've held off on adding Terraforming Mars to my collection for the longest, now I know why. I'm gonna definitely jump on that 2023 Ark Nova GN DOTD.

[@justinsmith5582]

@@SoManyGames It would still be a 10. 10 doesn't mean flawless.

[@zvonk2480]

@@SoManyGames Only if you manage to check GN in those critical 15 minutes that day...

[@antonieschwartz]

Of the games released (so far) in 2021, this one is top of my wishlist!

[@typerk2388]

It's up there for me too. What's second on your list?

[@pastabastard6696]

Same here! Alongside with Witchstone and Golem

[@antonieschwartz]

@@typerk2388 second for me would be between Vagrantsong, Bad Company and Bitoku. What's top of your list?

[@vaughnmiller4841]

I am SO looking forward to playing this! In comparing it to TM, you didn't mention that there's a hand size limitation, triggered during the break event. Seems like that would make decisions on those high-requirement cards even more difficult.

[@ormstunga7878]

There’s so little interaction. Yeah original whatever, I doubt this will be in Tom’s top50 next year. More like played and forgotten.

[@greglott4977]

@@ormstunga7878 Hater's gonna hate. Interaction isn't a requirement for fun. It has just as much interaction as any other worker placement or tableau builder. And there are a LOT of those with little to no player interaction that are still beloved. I think you're wrong. I'll look you up in a year.

[@ormstunga7878]

@@greglott4977 Who’s hating? There are worker placement and tableau builders with player interaction. You’re right though, it’s not a requirement for fun for many of course. I just think Ark Nova is overhyped and I cant really see the longevity without interaction.

[@mienzillaz]

He did mention hand size limit.

[@RulebooksForYou]

Looks amazing! I'll have to get a copy at PAX! 10/10!

[@Animal_board_gamer]

I’m really into zoo games, since I’m a zoo volunteer. I was definitely planning on getting this eventually. But after this review I’m moving ark nova to the top of my list. I bet that Tom vasel will be putting ark nova in his top 100. And dare I say top 50? I’m looking forward to seeing what number it makes.

[@5ammy13]

I also think New York Zoo is a great game if you want that Polyomino itch scratched :-) I think everyone aught to have a Polyomino game and NY Zoo is probably one of the best out there :-D

[@Animal_board_gamer]

@@5ammy13 yeah New York zoo is my second favorite game. 2 zoo games from capstone games what are the chances. It’s unfortunate that isle of cats stole a lot of New York zoo s thunder since it came out earlier in the year. Although I also really enjoy Barenpark it is also technically sort of a zoo game. And another polyomino game. I wasn’t a fan of isle of cats though, it was more cartoony than the other than Barenpark and New York zoo.

[@5ammy13]

@@Animal_board_gamer ohh I actually haven't played Isle of Cats or Barenpark. Will check out Barenpark. Calico is another sort of tile laying game about cats that's good. Except that the cat on the box isn't a Calico, the game is pretty great. Also Cascadia is great, though the animals theme doesn't come out that strongly. 😁

[@Greggiexplore]

Nicely explained. Easy to follow. Top job.

[@samus1421]

@9:39 you can play elephant w/o upgrading your animal card if you are using map= -1 requirement. @12:28 the blue line @ the bottom is dedicated for solo play. @20:15 T.M. warp drive requires 5 science tags; anti-gravity tech requires 7. the river-shift mechanic adds a new & 'complex' dynamic that T.M. has yet to incorporate.

[@andrewellis712]

The blue line is not dedicated for solo, though it is the only option if playing solo

[@olgadottir1528]

Looking at the box design....did anybody else think this was a new expansion for 2011's game Mondo? :-D

[@MrScrawnjuan]

Thanos sure is busy snapping these days. I wanna give this a try now.

[@stevensum2011]

Underwater cities have stage 1 and 2 etc. I Like that.

[@12345678abracadabra]

I don't think it works here because there are some "stage 3" cards that you can play in stage 1 if you want to. Won a few games that way too, even though it took set up.

[@Chivvy695]

Looks like my game of the year. I really hope you bring several copies to Dice Tower West.

[@gregkleinfall1901]

I often find myself disagreeing with Tom, but I have to side with him on this one. As much as I love Terraforming Mars, I would rather play Ark Nova. I think the thing that surprised me the most is how much I enjoy the theme. I feel really invested in the zoo's I build and the animals that are in it. It is also really cool that you can release your animals into the wild for conservation points. I am usually in lock step with Mike, but I don't have a problem with the length of the game. For me, as long as I am having fun, I don't care how long the game takes. As a matter of fact, many of my Terraforming Mars games with my friend(s) go long because we enjoy building our tableau/engines rather than terraforming the planet. Similar to TM, AN game length is primarily determined by the players. The game usually goes quicker as players get more knowledgeable on how to generate appeal and conservation points more easily.

[@benpuckett3806]

When Zee said "he was openly weeping" I was drinking water and almost spewed.

[@jdotco23]

Seems like a really good game. I'm very interested, but I will say, more and more I'm starting to hesitate with games that depend so much on one big conglomeration of a deck. Everdell, Terraforming Mars, this....I'm not a fan of just hoping you see the right cards at the right time so much. Hopefully this one gets around that.

[@12345678abracadabra]

This one not that big of an issue because combos don't win or lose your game, it's just satisfying if you do.

[@niarudle]

Spoiler alert: it doesn't. If you don't get the right animals, you'll soon end up wasting turns.

[@jamielehn6926]

Ooo easy there Tom. Civilization is very underrated- especially with the expansion

[@mariosoueidy4293]

I feel like Chris have forseen the future when he highlighted about the luck driven element that impact the game directly..Now after 2 years of this review,you noticed that every person who criticise this game,they exactly pinpoint this shortfall..You don't feel ur hardwork paid off,more like you pulled out the right card that made you jump from being last to become the winner. Well spot on Chris..👏

[@Shoitaan]

Surprisingly high score from Tom! Great review gang. I'm still thinking on whether this is right for my group given the length and lack of interaction but your reviews have been great food for thought!

[@Berndr]

I am the opposite, I got a game based on hype and discovered it was a yawn fest... a mechanic that is just quite not there and fails to give that sense of achievement of completing collections ... even when I win I feel unfulfilled in this game ... you rarely manage to have any coherent strategy, and due to unbalanced deck you are more likely to be playing random animal cards because that's all you have available and the ones you want you never get or someone else grabs from the display... and when you are finally at the stage you can do these things such as complete collections and place a cube on conservation cards the game is over ...The strange thing is, on the paper I should absulutly love Ark Nova, it promises everything I want in the game but it totally fails to deliver... the main reason I think it fails is that instead of letting people have fun and complete their collections the game is about who first gets to put a cube on the achievement the mechanic from the Terraforming Mars that just does not work for me in this game!

[@Flamingcloud083]

hopefully you got it.. It isn't really that low on interaction to be honest. You compete for cards You compete for universities and continent partnerships You compete over the tension of when to end the round You compete for taking spots in the conservation projects You compete for playing new conservation projects since there is limited space and finally you have the cards that hurt the leaders a little bit.. Its actually significantly more interactive than Terraforming Mars imo(though I don't think they are very similar to be honest)

[@Shoitaan]

@@Flamingcloud083 no we didn't. We tried it out on TTS and were VERY turned off. We're lovers of high interaction euros. Passive competition is nice but not for three hours. It was a huge miss for us.

[@Flamingcloud083]

@@Shoitaan fair enough.. definitely isn't as high interaction as something like Dune: Imperium.. but not too unsimilar from Brass Birmingham

[@Shoitaan]

@@Flamingcloud083 I'd have to disagree with you there. While the racing element is sort of there in Brass, Brass also has additional interaction with how you use each other's resources. You build in places to force others to use your stuff. You sell commodities a little bit faster than you should just to use up an opponents port (Lancashire). Interaction is more than a loose race making the decisions more interesting. My favourite euro is On Mars which has that in spades. Should I use my opponents tech giving him a bonus? Should I build this building giving my opponent more points for their contract? Richer decisions that involve the others at the table. That's what we like. The opposite of a multiplayer solitaire :)

[@squared82]

I don’t play a ton of long and heavy games much these days. But this seems like a really cool one.

[@Johnsemgawl]

Guess this goes on the list. Love Ares Expedition and zoos..

[@ntmetroid]

Getting a lot of Terraforming Mars vibes from this. Ill definitely be keeping an eye out for when this releases.

[@giannisc.5254]

This seems like a very good game but the irl photos on the cards bother me a lot. The only game i've ever liked with irl images was Battlestar Galactica because it was based on the series. This ? I'd rather have drawn art instead of photos.

[@elqord.1118]

Agreed. It looks so cheap.

[@ajramone4459]

@@elqord.1118 why cheap? Do you think the work of animal and wildlife photographers has no value?

[@elqord.1118]

@@ajramone4459 What? It looks like stock photography. It’s not unique to the game and the real life photos completely look out of place. Everything else looks rather basic. Art style was not the biggest concern that is clear. It’s functional but not attractive. Also, can’t believe you are SO ready to be offended. A bit pathetic.

[@TheGiraffehead]

I agree, I immediately wrote this game off based on the real life imagery.

[@HeliosGoN]

Couldn't have agreed more, it reminds me of some cheap old animal learning cards that I got as a kid which I used as throwing stars pretending I'm a ninja. Art really matters and real life photography rubbed me up the wrong way.

[@loicovis426]

Thank you a lot fot the video and great work! Loved this review and all your oppinions ate full of thoughts and good advices thank you! Lived this game and made my decision to get this fantastic game.

[@schamalama84]

So glad I preordered this last week.

[@Jeff321]

I'll have to try this at some point. I don't think it's a buy since my group has too many players (usually 4-5). Also Chris rained on Tom's parade a bit at the end there. Should have let him keep talking since 10s are so rare.

[@gbdomingo]

I realized tom would rate is so highly coz he did the rules explanation! :)

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

Sign me up. This one looks great.

[@Coffeemaker1978]

Rarely I agree 100% with Tom. I do here.

[@erichorner8336]

Tom, I want to play Ark Nova with you at DTCE! Sounds like a blast!

[@johnpanagos5835]

This game would be cool with theme dinosaur park and vincent dutrait as artist.

[@sab6261]

Sounds like Mike is definitely NOT "ambivalent" about the art - 16:13.

[@juvigoat2168]

19:35 MDL “no more Panda” 😂

[@wm1pyro604]

Had a lukewarm first-play; with the teach and 4 players I think it was around 3.5 hours. Definitely agree with Mike it feels a little long, but I'd probably have to play it again to give it a fair review. I will at the very least say, if anyone's considering getting Ark, know that will DEFINITELY require repeated plays to fully appreciate. If your group cycles through games often I would not recommend it.

[@cleftturnip7774]

Hi.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?

[@Ultra_Kuma]

CMIIW, you need to upgrade your “Build” action card to build those

[@cleftturnip7774]

@@Ultra_Kuma thanks

[@StereoMonkey0]

Great work, the outtake from Dinosaur World is no longer!

[@sebastienperreault5387]

Nice review folks Question: what is the brand of your boardgame table ?

[@ziomalZparafii]

You have the name in front of your eyes ;) just in the middle of the table: Rathskellers

[@stefansibbes2440]

Looks like the game took some notes from A New Dawn with that action selection row .

[@JohnQSpartan]

I don't think I've ever said the words "This game is too long". Many are too short though ...

[@danielgoicoechea3440]

Really?! There are so many games I’ve played that I’ve thought draged

[@fingolfinfinwe]

NO way replacing Terraforming Mars (especially since Ares is so meh). Graphic design is trash in Ares, and maybe worse even in Ark? But this does look fun and would love to try it.

[@Naeddyr]

Could someone tell me more about the track in Rajas on the Ganges? It just seems like it's an optical trick and that you could basically just have one point scoring token that races towards a goal at the end instead of two tokens that add together to meet in the middle.

[@mailaernesto]

You get bonuses when you reach certain threshold values for income and... fame (?) so you need to know how much you have of both.

[@DTChrisYi]

One of the VP tracks in Rajas (Fame) is like the Conservation track here where one step on that is worth more spaces than the money. Also, as said, there are bonuses, including an extra worker, on the Fame track. It earns its differentiation in my book.

[@12345678abracadabra]

A step on one track is more different things in 2. Also, one track tracks income while the other tracks bonuses. So the choice of which scoring does matter because one gives money the other gives upgrades

[@mattk6272]

I feel like this game would REALLY benefit from some nice card art. Photos feels so "educational" and takes away from the game immersion. That being said I'll probably get it at some point, still have three months to decide before it's out anyways...

[@ilqrd.6608]

couldn’t agree more. Looks extremely lame. Not even National Geographic style but actual schoolbook type of photography

[@KingOfNormans]

Noboy: Me: So, is this Civilization of the Ganges?

[@reed4764]

2 years later... Tom's the only one that got this right.

[@ThaineFurrows]

This is a game I really want to try out. I played Terraforming Mars once and found it a bit tedious due to the drafting. I personally think long drafting rounds are exhausting. This one seems to be a bit faster and I also love the theme. Unfortunately it's nowhere to get.

[@Koborover]

Then don't use drafting in TfM. Yes it's harder to strategize, but I actually prefer a healthy dose of random in my board games. Also the game moves faster.

[@ThaineFurrows]

@@Koborover I think my group wouldn't like that. Considering how long the game takes, especially in my group, the randomness would put people off. I'll play if someone suggests TfM but it's not a title I would put on the table.

[@Koborover]

@@ThaineFurrows I understand, randomness is a divisive thing. I've had disagreements about it in TfM and other games and of course I don't always get my way. But I really like TfM anyway so it doesn't put me off that much.

[@jakeland2274]

Much love!

[@soogymoogi]

Maybe I'm shallow but using photographs as card/component art kills a game for me, unless it's a game where the theme is photography. It just feels like a cost cutting measure to me, unless the photos are taken for the game and/or the photographer is credited like any other artist would be. Idk. It feels like the board game equivalent of a video game asset flip. Not to rain on other people's parades who are willing to look past this- I know I'm probably in the minority. But I feel like this game would be better if it did a Wingspan approach for example, and capture the animals and zoo environments in original art.

[@12345678abracadabra]

Hardcore games, I'm too busy staring at icons, numbers, and text effects to even pay attention to art 🤣 you can have stick figures on it for all I care. If this was a family game or a gateway I'm trying to get people into, that would be different.

[@xCriticalStrikex]

Mike pointed out exactly what I was thinking about the card stack, why isn't it in ages? Its the one reason why I hate terraforming mars and this has the same problem. Civ new dawn is better with the expansion.

[@12345678abracadabra]

Because it adds the choice of, do I wanna hold on to it? You'll get more cards than youll know what to do, so it doesn't matter. Not in this game

[@RvLeshrac]

@@12345678abracadabra I have spent hours drawing dozens of cards, never seeing any cards that were playable.

[@bryceboganwright7902]

This game looks like it would be fun, but I feel like it might be easier to actually buy a real zoo and run it.

[@JamesD2957]

what civilization game was Tom talking about that uses the "card river"?

[@thedicetower]

Civilization: A New Dawn boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233247/civilization-new-dawn

[@JamesD2957]

@@thedicetower thanks!

[@Domi_Asmo]

Another Terraforming Mars with the card action selection from New Dawn? Yeah, TAKE MY MONEY, I guess it is... :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

10/10 for me, this game is so amazing. Bye bye Terraforming Mars, this is how you should have done it. 🥰 you don’t have to like TM to like this as I don’t overly like TM because in that game I feel like it’s too long with downtime. This one I don’t feel that downtime, everything feels great and thematic........I cheered loudly when Tom gave his rating, NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY! I feel like he does, all the way.

[@joncockayne4625]

When's your review up Luke? Your reviews of late have really focused in on innovation and originality so looking forward to that discussion.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

@@joncockayne4625 Could be a while as I don't own the game so more plays will need to be TTS. Certainly this game isn't original in terms of mechanics but it can still be a great game if the mechanics are interesting. Also the theme I would say is a first, how many thematic zoo games exist after all? And as they say, two of the major mechanics in this game have been used ONCE before, not a hundred times.

[@joncockayne4625]

@@TheBrokenMeeple yeah that's fair, I guess you can also be greater than the sum of your parts in the way the package is combined and presented.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

@@joncockayne4625 Review went up in Dec if interested!

[@CK-mi3sd]

If I really hate down time when playing, is there any heavy games that allow simultaneous play? Areas expedition?

[@soogymoogi]

Spirit Island, if you like co-op. Might not be what you're looking for but it's the first one that comes to mind

[@CK-mi3sd]

@@soogymoogi Spirit Island was good, but it was just too brain-burning for me.

[@cursivecurses]

Not completely simultaneous but the agonizing AP part of Isle of Skye is simultaneous for everyone. And of course, Race for the Galaxy. Maybe not heavy enough but - It's a Wonderful World for a drafting game

[@revimfadli4666]

For Ark Nova's weight I'd rather play Race for the Galaxy, simultaneous play cuts down downtime greatly. Plus the role following makes for more interesting interaction

[@jp212ps3]

Great video!

[@jeremyseabrook4053]

Take 2 starting objective cards and keep them : Scythe

[@rawkyle9385]

Game of the Year??

[@dominicparker6124]

Using real pictures of animals sells the conservation angle better. 'these are real animals that exist that we need to look after in a global sense' They are not pokemon

[@johnnovotny5074]

Will it make Tom's top 100?

[@Flamingcloud083]

This game feels nothing like TM to me. The victory points in TM has very little to do with your engine or regular gameplay... The connection is very strong here, you can't get lost working on your engine and income. Also game of TM can be completely ruined with a small bump of your playerboard which sits at the edge of the table (probably by my idiot dog) and that would have minimal effect on Ark Nova (you could probably even recover it successfully from the whole board being dumped on its side)

[@alcovitch]

buy the dual layered boards. End of problem

[@Berndr]

After all this hype for this game, I finally manage to get my hand on an overpaid copy expecting to absulutly love it... WOW what a disappointment, it was, and a yawn fest... and the ending of the game is the most unsatisfactory ending I have ever experienced with any board game... there was zero sense of achievement, This game is supposed to touch that need we have for collecting things, but it just does not work and never ever does that! I don't know if it is because there are too many cards and as result, and we rarely manage to get the cards that we need, or the collecting engine is badly done! Examples of infamous bear cards: in order to play it you need another bear in your zoo, then when you finally get another bear, it also expects you to have a bear in-game in order to play lol... Collection satisfaction just never seems to happen in Ark Nova, it is always a struggle and rarely fun, I also feel green conservation animal cards that give you a task to score per collection should have been played mechanically in personal space in your zoo, whilst ecological ones should have been public, I understand why this happens they literally copied how Terraforming Mars deals with achievement and forces players competitively fight for that cube space, but Terraforming Mars was not a collection game in this sense and there it worked... in Terraforming Mars I felt all strategical goals were well fleshed out and worked with the engine coherently... but this is not the case with Ark Nova In my opinion Conservation cards should have been made easier to access and complete or even made to be part of a personal scoring mechanic, because that is where the real fun is, as well as the engine drive is, these cards are a true driving engine that makes you collect animals and do things... but due to a limited number of workers and limited access to that part of the board, you don't get to do these conservation cards as much as you want or should till much later ... and even when you do due to a badly designed / balanced deck, you will actually rarely get to complete many of these collections ... As result, you will mostly end up playing random animals without any sense of strategy, because these are cards that you have in your hand, and cards that could create a strategy never will come up and when they do, someone else will grab it! And then you wait for 5 turns to power up Card Action in order to draw 3 cards and discard one to find out you again drew 3 meh cards you do not need! The game should have been about allowing players to complete collections of animals, with various sections of species in the way Anno 1800 computer game does... instead of who first gets to put a cube on the conservation card achievement... ( they took from Terraforming Mars Mechanic)! Even Wingspan has a much more fleshed-out mechanic that works great with collections and types of different birds, eggs, and nests ... In my opinion, Ark Nova completely fails in this area! And the absulutly worst thing in Ark Nova is when you finally are at that stage of the game, you finally can play cards to complete your collections, and visit the association board.... the game will be over ... leaving you feeling empty and unsatisfied! as the result the whole game is all over the place strategically ... and that feels lame ... As if the game does not want you to have fun and it is designed to rob you of the feeling and the satisfaction of completing your collection, instead, it teases you and cheats you out of it leaving you always frustrated and unfulfilled! GAMES ARE MEANT TO BE FUN! In Ark Nova even when I win I feel empty and unsatisfied with no sense of any achievement! I find Ark Nova a miss of what it could have been ... and that is because rather than creating their own engine focused on what games tries to do they just directly used a mix of borrowed engines in a new mash-up that does not quite work! On the paper, I should have absolutely loved Ark Nova, it promises everything I want in the game, but sadly it does not deliver... DONT GET ME WRONG ... this is not a bad game ... just not nearly as good as hype wants you to believe ... I desperately wanted to love it but each time left me feeling meh! In my opinion, Ark Nova is a mediocre game that several board game influencers made into a sensation that never should have been!

[@augustinhamza303]

Thanks

[@Tr1pleOseveN]

When is this coming out?...🤔

[@JesusGonzalez-it2sv]

I played this tonight and I got to say... I don't like the scoring, nor the amount of luck you need to make things work, I had a hard time getting my way around all the card restrictions. And the amount of money I needed. None of my kards had any synergy with one another. I decided to upgrade the cards action first so I could have more options. That didn't work on the slightest. I will give it another go, I did had fun with the action mecanic, other than that. It's a TM with another theme.

[@Edwinschuur]

I wonder about Chris's concern about meeting demands. Lets say I want that Panda and need two bear types. What is the chance me working to it and not drawing enough bear cards and by the end of the game felling like a bad draw made me lose.

[@monkeyunit4533]

It happens, especially if other players might also be after bears because of a conservation project. But there are plenty of other things to do in the mean time and your entire strategy shouldn't depends on playing that one card.

[@12345678abracadabra]

You make the choice to keep the panda, it's part of the gameplay to hedge your bets and when to cut your losses. If I had the panda, I'd hold onto it and play other point generating actions and if there's a point where I'll give it up for something better I will. Being a good euro gamer is having multiple game plans

[@Edwinschuur]

@@12345678abracadabra I fully understand what you mean. But I'm talking about balance. If I want to fulfill demans for cards that are worth a lot of points I have two options. -Take a card early and build towards that card. -Try to maximise efficiency with the cards given and hope later in the game I can get a card that rewards that work with a lot of points. If I fail to get a card that either rewards my work or that syncs with the card I'm holding onto, won't I always lose to the person who's cards do come up? Assuming we both know what we are doing and are not beginners.

[@RvLeshrac]

You can literally draw out the entire rest of the deck on your turns, and never see a single other bear card that you can play, because other players have drawn them.

[@tristancaneris6270]

Tom just said Le Havre is “one” of my favourite games of all time- he is currently doing his top 100 of all time for Winter Spectacular… was this a clue that Le Havre is going to be dethroned? :p

[@DTChrisYi]

Top 100 won't be during the Winter Spectacular. It will likely be during January, as a heads up!

[@NormalTheBand]

Top games of all time are ALWAYS fluid. I would wager there isn't much difference between Tom's 5-1 and any of the top 5 could be his favorite at any given day or any given moment.

[@simland]

After playing once at BGG con. It's at the top of my list. I don't think I'll ever play Terraforming Mars again. There is still a place for Ares Expedition. My only open questions about Ark Nova is around upgrading the sponsorship card and if that is ever a good or feasible idea. I'd be a little disappointed if its a doa strategy.

[@ilqrd.6608]

So in short you must hate interaction then. To cull TM and keep Ares together with this, I assume you are into the card play solitaire multiplayer aspect more so than actually competing directly with anyone at the table? The lack of the board really pushes every player into their own corner

[@12345678abracadabra]

Surely race for the galaxy, the original, shouldnt be displaced by Ares 🤣

[@RazBaz07]

Well! During the explanation I was like: “Ok, I like it.” Sounds good” “Aha, interesting” And then during the breakdown of thoughts I was like: “I think I have to check it out” “Have too many games tho… need to wait until it goes down in prose and the hype is over.” Then after Toms grade I was like: “Noooooo!!! Now I must preorder it!!!” 🤣😂😂😂🤪

[@darinherrick9224]

Finally got around to watching this review. Looks over-hyped to me.

[@vendetta124292]

I really appreciate this review. When I first saw it, I thought of Terraforming Mars with a bit of Zooloretto. While the game looks like it would be fun, for someone like me who has played a lot of games, I'm not interested in more Terraforming Mars. I am very interested in new and original ideas. Thank you for the review!

[@MafiulRobin]

The guy at left most, aren't you from a popular Brass Birmingham video!

[@alicemoore2036]

Chris Yi does resemble Josh Lee Kwai of Magic the Gathering’s Command Zone on You Tube.🎉

[@Leiderg]

I should've pick it up at Essen but didn't like the card art, now I regret it, this is why these reviews would be helpful before the conventions not after.

[@ptbochiro]

Is this terraforming barenpark?

[@JoeyjojoShabadoo7]

I’m with Mike: I’m not crazy about the theme. I’ll definitely try it, but replace Terraforming Mars? I don’t think so.

[@koonfasa]

Nemesis has optional objectives to pick after a few rounds of play. Is that a hockey shirt on Chris? I haven’t followed hockey in years… Ovechkin is drawing me back in!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

Oh my, Zee...