Pyramid Review
Zooloretto
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Michael Schacht
Full-color boxed set with five Zoo Boards, five Zoo Board Expansions, 30 wooden Silver Coins, 128 Square & Circular Tiles, five wooden Delivery Trucks, one wooden Red Disc, & 12-page rule booklet; $45
Zooloretto is the 2007 Spiel des Jahres winner, a bright breezy game in which the players compete to populate their zoos with the most popular animals. Designed for two to five players, the boardgame comes nicely appointed, has a family friendly theme, and can be played in less than an hour. As to the title -- which perplexed my playing group -- it is actually taken from an earlier game from the same designer. Despite being a card game, Coloretto uses a similar set collecting mechanic, but where the aim in Coloretto is to collect colors, the aim in Zooloretto is to collect animals.
Zooloretto is component heavy, starting with the five identical Zoo Boards, one per player. Each board is divided into four quadrants, each with of three enclosures and a barn. The enclosures have tile spaces for four, five, or six animals, while around the enclosures are space for four Vending Stalls. Each Zoo Board also has an Expansion Board that adds another five-space Enclosure and another Vending Stall space to a player's zoo.
The 112 tiles are divided into three types: 12 Vending Stalls, 12 Coin Tiles, and 88 Animal Tiles. The latter are divided into eight species: Camels, Chimpanzees, Elephants, Flamingos, Kangaroos, Leopards, . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 25, 2008
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