Unboxing ``Zoo Tycoon'', a masterpiece zoo management sim turned super heavyweight board game & summary of play preparation for over 1 hour

The Japanese version of `` Zoo Tycoon '', a board game based on the zoo management simulation game of the same name released by Microsoft in 2001, was released on September 28, 2023. Arclight Games provided me with the real thing, so I decided to actually play it at GIGAZINE's editorial department, but first I checked the contents and prepared to play, but before I played it, I realized how much it weighed. I was reminded of the dignity of a class board game.

Zoo Tycoon - ArclightGames Official

A male editorial staff member held the package. The size is large for a board game box.

When I weighed it, it was 3.15 kg.

The play time is 120 to 180 minutes, the target age is 13 years or older, and the number of players is 1 to 4.

When you open the lid, it looks like this, it's packed with cards, bags, and boards.

The rule manual is B4 size and has 24 pages.

Exchange board and score board

Number sheet and zoo board for 4 people

There are 89 animal cards that are a quick reference table of information about animals, and 12 quick reference cards that can refer to game rules.

Cardboard tiles used during the game

The cardboard has slits so you can easily remove the tiles from the cardboard by hand without using a cutter or scissors.

linen cloth bag

Staff board for 4 people, collaborator cards, event cards, and cards for solo play. On the far right is a small box for storing pieces and tokens.

This is what it looks like when you assemble a small paper box. Easy to assemble by hand, no glue or scissors required.

And 8 brown envelopes.

There are animal pieces inside. The type and number of animal pieces are not stated in the manual, and

◆Dividing huge pieces and tokens into small boxes
There are a total of 236 animal pieces, and a large number of other play tokens are also prepared, and before the first play, it is necessary to assemble all the small boxes and sort and store the pieces and tokens. there is. The part that took the most time to prepare for this game was the sorting process, which took about 30 minutes even with two people. If you do this right before the first play, you will be robbed of valuable play time, so it is recommended that you do this in advance. The following is a summary of the types of animal pieces and tokens and the small boxes that should be stored, and those who want to play should refer to them. All animal pieces have males and females, with males on the left and females on the right.

Capuchin monkey and green macaw

black rhino and giraffe

lion

zebra and ostrich

raccoon and black bear

red ruffed lemur

chimpanzee

western gorilla

tiger and asian elephant

Arabian Oryx and Great Red Ibis

snow leopard and bearded eagle

Golden lion tamarin and Bornean orangutan

Red panda and giant panda. Giant pandas only have one male and one female, and are the only ones with color.

There are worker pieces, color cubes, and word-of-mouth discs for 4 players. The pieces used by players come in four colors: red, green, blue, and yellow, and are stored in small boxes with the logo of each zoo.

4 types of attention markers. From the left: popular attention markers, habitat markers, education attention markers, and protection attention markers.

There are 260 tiles in total. The following are coexisting animal tiles, and there are three types: savanna, rainforest, and mountain forest. 35 pieces in total.

There are 53 building tiles, from the left: an educational exhibition booth, a park, and an animal rescue center.

The most common tiles in the park are 172. There are no bags or small boxes included to store the garden tiles, so you will need to prepare your own storage bag.

Parent marker and forbidden token.

8 wooden dice and a contraceptive pill token. There are two wooden markers on the right, and when storing them, it's a good idea to store them in the small box of dice and contraceptive tokens.

If you pack the above small boxes and animal cards into a box as shown in the image below, they will fit perfectly, so if you prepare for play the first time, there is no need to separate them into smaller boxes.

◆Preparing to play Zoo Tycoon
First, place the numerical sheet and place the exchange board on top of it.

A scale is drawn on the numerical sheet and the exchange board. Place this so that it fits perfectly.

Then, numbers and symbols will be displayed in the holes where the animals are drawn on the exchange board.

Next, place the scoreboard upside down below the exchange board.

Distribute a zoo board to each player.

Distribute the quick reference cards on the left side of the zoo board, and the animal cards, worker pieces, color cubes, and review discs on the right side.

Place one color cube on the '10' square of the fund table on the zoo board.

Each player takes any 6 zoo tiles and places them on the bottom left of the zoo board.

Place one color cube at '0' on the scale in the two columns of the expense table.

Place 3 worker pieces under the expense table.

Arrange each player's colored cubes on the scoreboard as shown below.

Additionally, place a word of mouth disc right next to the color cube on the yellow popularity meter.

The light blue and pink descendant discs are stored in a cloth bag.

Place the cloth bags, dice, coexisting animal tiles, and animal pieces on the exchange board.

Shuffle the event cards and collaborator cards and place them on the top right of the scoreboard as shown below.

Turn over the top of the deck of collaborator cards and place them face up on top of the deck.

Each player places a prohibited token on the top eight squares on the zoo card.

Place the wooden token on the '1' of the round meter at the bottom of the scoreboard.

Once you have decided which player will be the parent, give them the parent marker.

Place the building tile, attention marker, prohibition token, contraceptive token, and park tile on top of the scoreboard.

On the seasonal meter on the right side of the scoreboard, place the wooden token on the second yellow 'Summer' from the top.

You are now ready. Placing all the boards, pieces, and tokens requires a fairly large desk, so when you actually play, you have to choose a location quite a bit.

It took about 40 minutes to complete the 'preparation for game preparation' after opening the box, and another 30 minutes to finish arranging the board and tokens and preparing for the game, so it took more than an hour in total to prepare for the first play. Ta. An editorial staff member who was working on the preparations commented, ``There aren't many games that take this long to prepare.You can already feel the weight of the game at this point.''

Next, I'm planning to play and summarize what kind of game Zoo Tycoon is, so please look forward to it.

The suggested retail price of Zoo Tycoon is 13,750 yen. It is also available on Amazon.co.jp and can be purchased for 10,500 yen at the time of article creation.

Amazon | Arclight Zoo Tycoon (1-4 players, 120-180 minutes, for ages 13 and up) Board Game | Board Game | Toys

You can also get Zoo Tycoon from the gift article below.

GIGAZINE Winter gift release project 'Please answer the questionnaire and bring them all!' - GIGAZINE