Ark Nova · Board game rules
What are the prerequisites for playing an animal card?
Quick answer
You must satisfy any listed conditions, pay the animal's money cost, and have an empty enclosure (standard or special) of sufficient size meeting its water/rock requirements.
Details
When playing an Animal card, you must go through several checks in order [p.11 — ANIMALS]:
- Check conditions – Any conditions shown on the left side of the card (such as needing a specific partner zoo, animal category, continent icons, or a 10 reputation icon) must be fulfilled before you can play the card [p.11 — ANIMALS].
- Pay the cost – Pay the money cost shown in the upper-left corner. If you have a partner zoo on the animal's continent, the cost is reduced by 3 money per continent icon on the card [p.11 — ANIMALS].
- Fill an empty enclosure – You need a free standard enclosure at least as large as the size required on the card, and if the card requires adjacency to water and/or rock spaces, the enclosure must meet that too. Petting Zoo animals can only go in the Petting Zoo special enclosure, while reptiles/certain birds may instead go into the Reptile House or Large Bird Aviary if you choose [p.11 — ANIMALS; p.12 — Special Enclosures].
After fulfilling these, you place the card next to your zoo map and resolve its effects (appeal, reputation, conservation points, and any card ability) [p.11 — ANIMALS].
Watch out: playing an animal directly from the display (rather than your hand) requires an upgraded Animals action card, the card must be within your reputation range, and you must pay an extra amount of money equal to the folder number it came from [p.13 — ANIMALS].