How to Play Ark Nova: Actions, Breaks, Conservation & Game End
Ark Nova is a zoo-building strategy game driven by five action cards. The farther right an action sits, the stronger it normally is. When you use it, move that card to strength 1 and slide the others right, so every turn changes the value of future actions.
Researched rules guide. Checked September 20, 2026 against Capstone Games’ current base-game product page and official Ark Nova rulebook. This guide covers the base game, not Marine Worlds. Editorial standards.
Set up your zoo and five action cards
Each player takes a zoo map, Appeal and Conservation markers, Association workers and the five base action cards: Cards, Build, Animals, Association and Sponsors. Arrange the action cards in the starting order shown by the rulebook, with strengths 1 through 5.
Prepare the shared zoo-card display, Conservation Projects, Association board, break track, money and enclosure pieces. Follow the player-count adjustments in the current rulebook, especially for Association spaces and break setup.
A turn normally uses one action card
Choose one of your five action cards and perform its action at the strength of its current slot. Afterward, move that action card to the leftmost strength-1 position and slide the cards that were to its left one step right.
X-tokens can increase the strength of an action when permitted. Upgraded action cards unlock stronger options, but an upgraded card still follows the same shifting-action system.
Cards: gain access to zoo cards
The Cards action lets you draw zoo cards, with stronger positions generally giving more access. Reputation affects how far into the public display you may reach. Cards can be Animals, Sponsors or Conservation-related effects and often require tags or reputation before they are useful.
Build: create the physical zoo
The Build action places enclosures and other structures on your zoo map. Enclosures must satisfy placement rules and cost money based on size. Animals generally need a suitable empty enclosure before they can be played.
Animals: play animals into suitable enclosures
Pay the card’s money cost, meet its prerequisites and place the animal in an appropriate enclosure. Animal cards commonly increase Appeal and can provide immediate or ongoing abilities. Some animals require special enclosures or additional conditions.
Association: universities, partner zoos and conservation
Use an available Association worker to take an eligible Association-board task. These tasks can establish university or partner-zoo relationships, increase reputation and support Conservation Projects. The action’s strength and the task determine what is available.
Supporting a Conservation Project normally requires matching icons or other conditions. Place one of your player tokens on the project and gain the listed conservation reward. Removing tokens from the left side of your zoo map also exposes useful bonuses.
Sponsors: play a Sponsor or take money
The Sponsors action can play an eligible Sponsor card at the available strength or convert the action into money according to the rules. Sponsors create discounts, tags, income, map bonuses and scoring opportunities.
Breaks interrupt the normal turn cycle
Certain actions advance the shared Break token. When it reaches the end of the break track, resolve the break procedure: enforce the hand-card limit, gain income from the sources specified by the rules, refresh the shared display as instructed and reset the Break token for the player count.
A break is not a round in the usual eurogame sense. Players can cause it at different moments based on their actions, so treat break timing as part of the game state.
Game end: make Appeal and Conservation meet
The end is triggered when, at the end of a turn or during a break, one player’s Appeal and Conservation counters reach the same scoring area or pass one another. If triggered at the end of your turn, every other player gets one more turn. If triggered during a break, every player gets one more turn.
Then resolve Final Scoring cards and other end-game effects. Find the target Appeal number associated with your final Conservation position and subtract that target from your actual Appeal. The result is your final victory-point score. Highest total wins; the official rulebook uses supported Conservation Projects as the first tiebreak.
Continue learning Ark Nova
Sources and scope
Checked September 20, 2026. Marine Worlds and map-pack additions introduce extra rules.