Forget peaceful evenings watching the animals settle down. In Capstone Games' upcoming Night at the Zoo, the gates are open, the animals are on the loose, and it's your job to get them safely back home!
Designed by Tomáš Holek, Night at the Zoo is a tile-drafting and route-building board game for one to four players aged 10 and over. Games take around 30 minutes, making it a neat option for a quick family game night or a shorter session with your regular gaming group.
Animals on the run!
The premise is simple enough. After escaping from their enclosures during the night, the zoo's animals need some help finding their way back.
Players take on the job of guiding them home, but every animal has its own movement rules to consider. That means simply creating a path isn't enough. You'll need to think carefully about where each route leads and how the different animals can navigate the zoo.
Players draft tiles and use them to gradually explore and build out the zoo. As the paths take shape, you'll need to balance your immediate plans with opportunities to score more points.
Build the best route.
Route-building sits at the heart of Night at the Zoo. Each tile you add can change the options available to you, so planning is key.
Getting an animal back to its enclosure can also trigger special abilities, giving players another reason to think carefully about how they construct their routes. The right combination of tiles and abilities could help you pull ahead, while a poorly planned path might leave your animals wandering around the zoo all night!
Once all the scoring is complete, the player with the most points takes the win.
A quick night out!
With support for solo play as well as groups of up to four, Night at the Zoo looks set to offer plenty of flexibility. Its 30-minute playtime also keeps things moving, making it accessible for players who want something strategic without committing to a three-hour tabletop marathon.
The game is part of a busy August for Capstone Games, which is also bringing ANTS, Quebec and The Royal Society of Archaeology to retailers during the month.
Night at the Zoo arrives on August 28, giving players plenty of time to prepare for a very different kind of late-night zoo visit. Just remember, when the animals escape, don't expect them to organise their own way home!
