I’ve been invited by Mazaza games to help them out this year at the UKGE 2026 which I am thrilled about as I love everything that this game stands for. However, that comes with an element of pressure to deliver so I am using this opportunity to create a blog with Zatu on how to play Kavango, to test my knowledge on the game. So here is how to play the game.
Victory condition
You as the player in the game are a conservation expert, tasked with making a healthy and thriving nature reserve. In this card drafting game the victory condition is simple, most points at the end of the game is the winner.
Set up
Players pick the colour they would like and with that take their chosen landscape and associated colour pieces for the game. They also need to take their protection board.
The score tracker is then placed in the middle of the table for all to easily reach. Then the decks are prepared and shuffled, this includes the species decks, event deck, the goal cards, conservation experts, research tasks and I think that is the lot. It is not as daunting as it reads.
The game is for 2 to 5 players which is what I will be focusing on here but there are some optional solo play rules. Prepare the player's hands by following the amount of events and specific cards required. 15 cards in a starting hand for 2 people and 12 cards in a starting hand for 3-5 players.
Players pick their starting conservation expert, select their goal cards (all at random). Then 2 starting C grade creatures from a pool in the middle (2 creatures in the pool for each player) to place in their sanctuary on the landscape board. Research level 1 cards are then laid in the middle of the score tracking board to work towards in the first round.
Determine player 1 and then where the starting hands go for the other players. If you want to start with some money (1 or 2 million), hand this out and you are now set to commence the game.
Card Decks - In depth
Species cards, A, B, C. These will score you points but are also your resources for future creature acquisition. Your A cards are almost your primary producers, but very much bottom of the food chain species cards. You have plants, trees, insects and fish. Certainly very few predators here (although some of the insects would leave a mark). Your B cards are very much smaller creatures of a value of 1-4 points within this section. These are generally smaller animals including reptiles/amphibians, small mammals, medium mammals and birds. The C deck is full of creatures from 4 up to 12 points in value and reaching up the food chain. So as well as the creature types mentioned already you also have predators, birds of prey and large mammals. For the people paying close attention you will have noted there are 11 species types in all.
Action card deck, With a purple back with a lightning bolt on. These cards can help significantly. Allowing for extra research cards, money cards, climate funds, relocation, rewilding cards. They all provide an advantage if you need something a little extra to get you back on track for acquiring assorted animals.
Conservation experts. Your character is unique in the set and they all have a different ability that they bring to the game to give you a little edge over the opponents.
Goal cards. A card you keep secret from all others where you try to target animals linked with this goal that could provide a huge haul of points at the end of the game. They are challenging to achieve but worth it if pulled off.
Research cards. The cards sat on the score tracking board. In levels of 1, 2 and 3 to give a chance for money and points each round for achieving key research. All players get a chance to complete all the research throughout the round, each time after completing playing a card. These cannot be ignored because money in particular is a critical element for progression. Although the amount of games that I have played that have come down to a point or 2 between winning and losing has also been a bit mad. Every card is also unique and you will see no repeats in subsequent rounds, the research is also more detailed and challenging as the rounds progress.
Board Decks
Nature reserve and sanctuary. This is your main board and where you gather all your animals. You will have 24 vacant spaces for animals in your nature reserve and 3 more spaces for sanctuary animals. Animals in the sanctuary cannot score for you at the end of the game but it’s a holding spot against others having them, or you may view it as critical to have them at the end of the game. Placement in the nature reserve isn’t critical, there is nothing to be gained in where you put animals. Players will develop their own ways of viewing the game and layout in how you see the game could be crucial in how you see your progression. This is all individual perception. If you don’t have the necessary resource for an animal, it is placed in the sanctuary over the nature reserve. As soon as you achieve the resource for the animal it automatically comes out the sanctuary and into the nature reserve.
Protection board. This small board is for illustrating how much habitat protection you have and how much poaching protection you have, each at 4 levels. You have to make money to be able to spend on each protection and many of the latter animals will require elements of this to be able to introduce the animal into your nature reserve. So it is all a part of the overall strategy. When you look at these elements of the game, it is important that some of the large animals, like rhinoceros, have significant resources invested to prevent poaching. It has been well thought out.
Score tracker. The crucial board and the only one. The 50 point tracker that if you are playing well will complete multiple laps of and gain the 50, 100, 150 or even 200 points taken when you get those laps in. This board is also used for laying the 4 research cards on each turn so it is clear for all players to see. When this research is completed, the tick tokens will be used to illustrate checked off research by a player. Choosing when to complete this research in a turn will be critical for your own individual strategy and what you are trying to achieve at any given moment.
3 turns
We are now ready to play. On any given turn their are 4 actions.
1. Draw a card.
2. Play a card.
3. Complete research and invest money.
4. Pass the hand on to the left. Go back to the first action and repeat.
Round 1 - The first round and 10 turns contained within it. As noted in a 2 player game the hands are made of 15 cards, 12 cards in a 3-5 player game following the hand preparation instructions. This is a primary production phase looking to get some early producers out and maybe a few small creatures.
Round 2 - Another 10 turns but with less producers and small creatures as a few larger creatures are introduced to this hand.
Round 3 - A handful of the C species creatures and it’s time to get those larger animals and maximise a score. (Not forgetting other objectives).
Every round has your action cards included within each deck, and they are played before species cards if a player picks one. If 2 or more players pick an event card then the player closest to player 1 plays their card first. So player 3 would play their event card before player 5.
Scoring
Usually at this point in a game, when turn 3 is complete, the scores will be low as it will have been primarily research completed and maybe a couple of other elements to score a few points. Then you look to score the animals and add in the score of each and every animal in your research. Check your bonuses for climate protection, diversity and Habitat & poaching protection. Each of these 3 items is worth 10 points, so a possible 30 points are available. Then you look at your secret goal card and add in this score as well? Where have you ended up against your opposition?
Detail
This is the broad overview on the rules without doing a deep dive into the unique detail on the cards. So the detail on the research cards, the goal cards, the character cards, the event cards and even on the animals themselves. I wouldn’t want to spoil this detail that really does make the game and influence the play. All this detail is contained within the rule book for reference.
There are a couple of minor rules within as well but this is how to play Kavango.
Final Thoughts
I’m buzzing to demo this one at the Expo this year in 2026. I love this game and really want as many gamers and non gamers to have the experiences we have had in our home as it is fantastic. It is a proper challenging game where every decision made in each and every turn has a true knock on effect, just as it would in the real world. This has been central in the reason for creating such a game in also creating very real environmental awareness which I feel they have been successful in achieving.
