Sanctuary
Build a zoo one tile at a time in this standalone game from the designer of Ark Nova.
Sanctuary: An Ark Nova Game asks you to fit animals, buildings and projects onto a personal zoo map. Four action cards change strength as you use them, while five shared conservation objectives reward particular icons. It is a complete game: you do not need an Ark Nova box to play.
The publisher lists 135 unique zoo tiles. The interesting choice is rarely just the highest printed points. A tile has to enter through a legal action and a legal space, and its habitat, icons, adjacency and open-area needs can make it much better—or harder to use—than it first looks.
What makes it distinct
Every turn starts with a tile from a six-position display. Your Projects card controls how far along that display you may reach, even if you spend the turn using an animal action. The animal actions themselves grow stronger as they slide right. Taking a useful tile, making room for it and timing the matching action are linked decisions.
What happens on a turn?
First take one tile from the display within the reach shown by your Projects action card; this does not move that card. Then use one of your four action cards to gain tiles or play a matching animal or project. The used card moves to the leftmost slot, pushing intervening cards right. You may next play one eligible building, support one conservation objective, and take any earned action-card upgrades. Finally reduce your hand to six tiles, refill the display and check the end conditions.
This is a useful first-game sequence because buildings are an optional step after the action, not one of the four action-card types. The how-to-play page explains the legal placement rules, open areas and action strengths in order.
Game at a Glance
Draft a tile
Take from the display according to the Projects card’s current reach.
Use an action
Choose Projects, Forest, Rock or Water; strength controls which tiles can be placed.
Shape your zoo
Plan adjacency, printed open areas and placement bonuses on the map.
Score the whole plan
Combine tile points, conservation achievements and remaining markers.
The decision a new player often misses
Suppose a level-4 water animal appears in the display but your Water card is at strength 2. Taking it can still be sound if your Projects card reaches it and you expect the Water card to slide right before you need to place it. Yet a tile in hand uses one of your six end-of-turn hand spaces. Compare the promise of that animal with what you can actually fit beside existing tiles and open areas.
For an animal whose arrows point at open areas, you can use printed spaces, existing face-down open-area tiles or tiles from your hand placed face down into empty spaces. A large animal may therefore consume more than one tile and several map spaces. Its printed points should be judged against that cost.
How do you win?
Score the tiles in your zoo, your achievement markers on the conservation board, two points for each remaining conservation or pouch marker, and any end-of-game marker. Some tiles have fixed points; others depend on neighboring or connected icons, buildings or your remaining hand. Face-down open areas are worth one point each. A player who triggers the end by filling the map or supporting four objectives takes a 10-point marker; others may earn five points if they meet an equivalent trigger on their last turn. See scoring examples and common mistakes.
A practical first-game plan
Check the five revealed conservation objectives before committing to a habitat. Look for one early upgrade condition you can satisfy naturally—one supported objective, two projects, three connected tiles of one habitat or four different animal classes. Upgrade the action you will use repeatedly, then keep a path open for tiles that need specific neighbors. This is editorial advice based on the rules, not a promise that one build always wins.
The strategy guide works through action tempo, display reach, tile-space trade-offs and when to race the end trigger.
Ark Nova relationship, solo play and extras
Sanctuary uses a zoo theme and shifting action strengths related to Ark Nova, but its four-action tile system is its own game. Ark Nova’s Marine Worlds expansion and zoo map packs are for Ark Nova; they do not extend Sanctuary. As of this check, the publisher lists a separate Kiosk promo tile for Sanctuary and downloadable solo challenges. Read the promo and compatibility guide before confusing those with a full expansion.
Solo play uses numbered markers to remove a display tile each turn and set a turn limit. The standard pool is 18; 15 or 12 is harder. The solo guide covers the extra display step, win condition and official challenge sheets.
Publisher sources and scope
- Capstone: Sanctuary and official downloads
- Feuerland: player count and rules
- Publisher-verified interactive rules
Product details and rules checked October 3, 2026. Examples and strategy are our own analysis of those rules; tile-specific text takes precedence.