Skip to product information
1 of 7

Feuerland Spiele

Ark Nova Board Game

Ark Nova Board Game

Regular price $104.95 AUD
Regular price $139.00 AUD Sale price $104.95 AUD
Sale Sold out
Taxes included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Domestic Shipping Only with Australia Post

All Australian locations

Fee Summary

$10 flat fee - Australia
Calculated at checkout for International Orders.
Express post services by Enquiry.

Postage within Australia

Australia Post Shipping

We use Australia Post as our primary shipping services in Australia. We discount the shipping for you to provide a $10 flat fee to anywhere in Australia!

All shipments will be provided with a tracking number.

Local Pickup

We offer local pickup / curb side pickup via prior arrangement only - North Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Please chat to us for this option.

International Orders

All our upgrades ship Internationally to most locations (Europe, US, Canada, South America, Singapore, Oceania). We have shipped to over 28 countries. If your country is not listed as an available destination, or you are unable to check out, please reach out to us.

Due to high prices on shipping of board games we typically do not ship these internationally. We use Australia Post for our international postage which typically have a 9 to 26 day delivery timeframe. For international orders, shipping costs are calculated at checkout. All shipments will be provided with a tracking number and insured with the carrier up to $100

Unfortunately there are certain countries we cannot ship to due to customs regulations. If your country is not available at checkout, please contact us and we can confirm.

Taxes, Duties and Customs

Please note that customs tariffs, taxes or import duties on arrival at the destination country are the sole responsibility of the customer. All our products are zero-rated for tax for international orders. For those in the European union, and in Brazil you may be contacted by customs for processing of your item.

Processing Timeframes

All our items that state are in stock, are physically in stock in our warehouse in Brisbane. We do not drop ship, or indicate we have items that we don't have physical stock of.

Processing time frames are as follows:

  • Board Games and accessories are Next Business Day.
  • 3DLevelup branded items are typically posted 1-3 Business Days.

For 3DLevelup branded items, whilst we have the items in stock, we need to often assemble, sort, quality check and pack your items which can take time. Sometimes our quality check prior to shipment will require us to re-print a small part.

If you have purchased a Pre-Order item (stated in the item name), our processing time is typically 5-10 business days as we need to print your order.

Business Hours

Our business operates Monday to Friday but we try and answer questions from the online chat outside business hours if able to do so. We understand many of our customers are in a very different time zone to us. Shipping drop offs and pickups are also Monday to Friday. 

Delivery Timeframes

For domestic shipping Australia Post typically delivers within 5 business days. We often see deliveries in Brisbane locations take 2 business days.

For international orders it is typically 9-26 days but we have seen this extend out to 35 days to some countries.

Shipment Tracking

Shipment will always have a tracking number for you to be able to check status. You will receive an email with a link to our website where you can view tracking information once your order has been placed. We recommend you also provide your mobile for SMS or an reliable email account for shipping update notifications when you place your order.

If you lose your tracking number or do not see it, please contact us and we can provide. We are with you on the journey and more than happy to assist with shipping enquiries.

Shipping Insurance

All items are automatically insured up to $100 AUD on all orders. If you would like to increase this insurance let us know. We may at our own discretion increase this insurance cover without additional cost.

If you have an issue with shipment, or items damaged in transit, please reach out to us. 

3DLevelup upgrades available

We have a full 3D Tile set here: 3D Zoo Tiles
We have an organiser here: Full Organiser
For all our other upgrades go here: Our Upgrades

Playtime, player count and age

90 -150 MINUTES

1-4 PLAYERS

14+ AGE

Style:

puzzle
tile
strategy
deck builder

Rank

We rank this game: 8.0 / 10

Visit Board Game Geek Board Game Geek to see community rank

Reviews and How to Play

Sleeve Qty and Size Requirements

To sleeve your copy of Ark Nova you will need 255 sleeves to fit 63x88mm cards. We recommend Gamegenic Standard sleeves (colour code GREY).

Add sleeves to cart here: QTY 6 MATTE 63x88 STANDARD SLEEVES

Additional Product Details

Year Released: 2021
Publisher: Feuerland Spiele
Designer: Mathias Wigge

Barcode: 850000576407

In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal.

Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. These action cards are as follows:

  • Get cards: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards).
  • Build action card: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions.
  • Animals cards: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo.
  • Association cards: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks.
  • sponsor cards: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money.

Board game box contents:

  • 212 Zoo Cards
  • 11 Scoring Cards
  • 12 Base Conservation Project Cards
  • 20 Double sided Action cards (5 per player).
  • 1 Game board
  • 1 Association board
  • 8 player zoo mats
  • 90 Standard Enclosure tiles (cardboard)
  • 34 Kiosk / Pavilion tiles (cardboard)
  • 12 Special enclosure tiles (cardboard)
  • 15 Unique buildings tiles (cardboard)
  • 20 partner zoo tokens
  • 12 university tokens
  • 9 bonus tile tokens
  • 20 cross tokens
  • 8 multiplier tokens
  • 8 venom tokens
  • 8 constriction tokens
  • 1 tile for solo play
  • 70 money tokens (cardboard)
  • 1 coffee break token (timber)
  • Association workers (timber)
  • Player cubes (timber)
  • Score markers (timber)

Our review and recommendation:

Firstly I strongly recommend this game. 
We were late to try out Ark Nova because we played Terraforming Mars and enjoyed it so much and heard it was very similar. Whilst it has similarities to Terraforming Mars it plays completely different and we missed out on not getting into this game sooner. It has become one of our most favourite games. Be warned at 4 players it can take considerable time to play, but we have found all players have always thoroughly enjoyed it. Personally I enjoy this game the best at 2 players. It typically rates very high on board game geek and has loads of replay ability. When I teach this game I clearly indicate that sometimes you won't get the cards you want, this is part of the game, and part of the strategy that you should invest into deck hunting. It is a particular strategy that the game pushes and if you accept it you can be rewarded, even if you do manage to get a fairly good hand to begin with investing in deck hunting will likely improve you game score and enjoyment of finding those great combos.

I feel end game scoring is the most unique component to this game that I haven't seen done before. It does create a bit of a race to build that zoo the best you can when time is running out, and sometimes you feel like your zoo is 90 percent complete. This can generate a little frustration that you couldn't quite finish it due to other players triggering end game scoring sooner than you had wished. At end of game there always seems to be positive banter around the table how each could have progressed their goal which really adds to the enthusiasm and positive vibe to this game.

The unique scoring mechanism is something to boast about in this game. The end game round triggers when your zoo appeal counter (ticket price), passes over your conservation counter, but your zoo appeal counter starts at the opposite end of the track to your conservation counter with both counters progressing towards each other. You are continually watching other players progressing one of their counters, which makes you think am I getting left behind on my current strategy? Do I need to invest more in Conservation points or Zoo Appeal? i.e. If I get my Panda's I'll push up my conservation points, but they cost so much, instead should I build out my petting zoo to boost my zoo appeal or upgrade my cards to improve my engine?
We will never see this game leave our board game shelf and I'm always up for a game of Ark Nova if someone asks. For me I score this a 9 out of 10 and I still can't get my head wrapped around that scoring mechanic and how best maximise that achievable score with the actions that count!

 Upgrades available:

We have a full range of optional upgrades for Ark Nova. I've listed them below in the order I would purchase first to bring the most value to the game:

  1.  3D Tiles for enclosures, pavilions, kiosks and unique buildings to replace the cardboard
  2. Marine World Expansion which adds upgraded timber tokens, and additional cards that add considerable gameplay improvements and increase variability.
  3. 70 Metal coins to replace the cardboard coins.
  4. Organiser with card holder and discard tray
  5. Sleeves to protect your cards
  6. Additional Map packs
View full details

Note: Board Games do not ship internationally

Due to high postage costs we do not ship our board games internationally. Our upgrades do ship internationally to most countries. Check them out below.