Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
This is part five in a series of reviews that I am writing about the games that my family plays, why we love them and what you should know before making a purchase. I have three unique daughters, ages 12, 10 and 7 who love to play games with me, and a wife who sometimes likes to join in. Finding games that we all enjoy can be a challenge, so I am constantly trying to introduce more games to the family to build a collection that we can all appreciate. About a two years ago I brought home: Zooloretto
Zooloretto is a game about set collection, based off the same mechanism used in the card game Coloretto. Players have three options on their turn:
1. Draw a tile from the bag and place it on one of the trucks (there's one truck for each person playing)
2. Perform a money action: Expand the zoo, buy an animal from another player, move animals around, move a vending stall, or remove an animal from the game.
3. Take a truck that contains at least one tile, then place the tile(s) from the truck into your zoo. The animals are moved into the enclosures (1 animal type per enclosure) or the barn. The market stalls are placed next to enclosures. The coin tiles may be spent on future turns, just like the wooden coins. Once a truck is taken by a player and unloaded, that player does not perform any further actions for the remainder of the round.
The object of the game is to gain points by filling your animal enclosures and obtaining different types of market stalls. Enclosures offer two sets of points. The greater number (the one listed on the left at the bottom of the enclosure) are the points the player gets for filling up the pen. The lower number (the one on the right) is the number of points the player receives for having one less than a full pen. Players receive no points for pens that are two or more animals short of being full unless there is a market stall next to the enclosure, then each animal is worth one point a piece. Market stalls are also worth two points for each type present in the park.
This all seems pretty straight forward, and it is, but there are three more aspects to this game that really give it it's flavor. Firstly, some of the animals are labeled with a male or female symbol, indicating that they can be part of a breeding pair. Put a male and a female into the same enclosure, and voila! you get a baby animal, but only one baby per breeding pair. There are two possible breeding pairs for each animal type, and thus two babies that are available of each animal type during the game. Having breeding pairs in your enclosures is a great way to fill them up quickly. Secondly, any animals that you cannot fit into your enclosures must be put in your barn. At the end of the game, you lose two points for each type of animal remaining in your barn. It therefore behooves you to solicit these animals to your neighbors or to "put them out to pasture" before the end of the game. Thirdly, enclosures also offer an immediate bonus of one or two coins when they are filled up. Coins aren't all that easy to come by in this game, but they are very useful for making the most of your enclosures and getting rid of unwanted animals toward the game end.
When the last fifteen tiles are added to the bag, it signifies the last round of the game. When the round is over, the players tally up their points and determine the winner.
So what's so great about this game?
 Animals! Who doesn't like a game about animals? Seriously, the theme of this game is very much what makes it so family friendly.
 Babies! Younger kids, particularly girls, love this feature of the game. My girls used to forsake a truck that fit their purposes better, just so they could get the one that completed a breeding pair in their enclosure and make a baby.
 Stealing animals out from under you opponents' noses. There are only so many types of animals available, so there will be some competition for each kind.
 Simple economics. All of the money actions require one, two or three coins. There's nothing very complex about that. Abby was able to play this when she was five!
 Simple, yet interesting decisions. There's only a few things you can do each turn, but each decision is meaningful to the outcome of the game.
 A sense of accomplishment. Building your zoo is fun, and having something to show for your efforts at the end is pretty cool.
 Expansions, lots of them! I don't personally own any of the expansions for this game, but if zoos and animals are your or your family's thing, then there's lots more fun to be had beyond the base game.
Fun for all. Kids of all ages enjoy this one. It's easy enough to teach an astute five-year-old and entertaining/simple enough to get grandmas and grandpas to play.
So what's not so great about this game?
 The cost. There are lots of games out there with more cardboard and better components that cost less than the $45 list price for this game. That number only goes up when you throw in the expansions. Fortunately, this game can be found online for about $28 plus shipping, but that still seems a little high to me for what you get. I'm kind of cheap, though, so there's that.
 The sum is less than its parts. The different mechanisms incorporated here are fairly novel and add value to the game, but for some reason they just don't mesh as well as they should in my mind. The game is interesting to be sure, but I think the time required to finish a game with 4-5 players makes me wish I was playing something else. Playing Coloretto scratches the same itch for me in half the time.
 It gets forgotten. We played this a fair amount before we got Coloretto, and now it gets played very infrequently in favor of its lighter, faster cousin.
Beka's (12) Opinion: This is a fun game once in a while, but I prefer Coloretto because we can get in two games of that for one game of Zooloretto. Beka's rating: 7
Lindsay's (10) Opinion: I really like this game, but only want to play it once in a while. I like getting the mom and dad animals and having babies. Being able to fill up the trucks deliver animals to my zoo is also fun. Lindsay's rating: 7
Abby's (7) Opinion: I love the baby animals! (They're so cute!) I don't like taking animals I can't use, so I'll grab a truck as soon as it has something I need and nothing that I don't! Abby's rating: 7
My Opinion: This game was a lot of fun when my collection was much smaller. It got played a lot and we had a great time with it. As my collection grew, I began honing it to the tastes of my family which considerably upped the caliber of the games we regularly play. As such, Zooloretto has lost a lot of traction in favor of other games that we prefer more. This is a very good game, and deserving of the SdJ award for it's simple but interesting game play. It's just become like that third cousin who's fun to see at Christmas and family reunions, but you wouldn't make a habit of hanging out with him. My rating: 6.5
Final opinion: As a family we rate this a 7. The game is fun, has interesting decisions, a little bit of screwage and lots and lots of animals. We do enjoy this game quite a bit, but there's just many more that we'd rather play. If you love animals, or don't have many games that fit this particular niche, then this is likely a good purchase for your family.
Well, there you have it. My first five reviews in five days. I'll try to keep them coming. In the mean time, please feel free to give me some feedback on how I can do this better and make it more meaningful for you.
Thanks!
-
Matthew Cordeiro
United States
Cumberland
Rhode Island
-
Thanks for the review. I especially like the one-liners from your daughters. It's good to get this perspective.
-
Jason Meyers
United States
Illinois
-
bmhoman1 wrote: Well, there you have it. My first five reviews in five days. I'll try to keep them coming. In the mean time, please feel free to give me some feedback on how I can do this better and make it more meaningful for you.
And nice reviews, they are! Don't burn yourself out, though!
I'm on the fence with this one. I came very close to buying it because my kids like the theme and I know they'll have no issues with game play. However, I fear a similar situation to yours in that it will be so simple - even for them (all ages 9+) - that it will not get played a lot. And it's a bit pricey for a game of that vein. Still, I have a 4 year old coming on strong, though, so may end up with this, yet...
-
Scipio O.
United States
Oakland
California
-
The game can be fun and your review nicely captures why. My daughter has played since she's six.
It doesn't sound like your kids end up bickering when more than one of them want to take the same truck? It's an essential element of the game, but one that has proven challenging in our household.
-
Davido
United States
Mather
California
-
As my daughter gets older (9yo now), she has more on her plate-school, homework, dance, friends, etc. So we usually play a game before beddy-bye. Mostly we have time for a card game. Zooloretto is great since it is a BOARDGAME that is quick to set up and play and feels like a 'real "Daddy" game' (her words).
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
Spielemitkinder wrote: I'm on the fence with this one. I came very close to buying it because my kids like the theme and I know they'll have no issues with game play. However, I fear a similar situation to yours in that it will be so simple - even for them (all ages 9+) - that it will not get played a lot. And it's a bit pricey for a game of that vein. Still, I have a 4 year old coming on strong, though, so may end up with this, yet...
I waited until I could get my copy for around $25. For that price, you're not risking too much. Also, you can still sell the game at auction for about $18-$20 if it doesn't work out for your family. It may be worth purchasing, if only for the four year old, but I'm betting Coloretto will work better for you and your family as a whole and it costs about $10. I plan on reviewing that one in the not too distant future, but I didn't want to do it right after Zooloretto.
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
Scipio Oaklandus wrote: The game can be fun and your review nicely captures why. My daughter has played since she's six.
It doesn't sound like your kids end up bickering when more than one of them want to take the same truck? It's an essential element of the game, but one that has proven challenging in our household.
We had some bickering early on with games like this, but I made it a point to teach my kids to deal with screwage in games. You're not always going to be able to do what you want, so you need to be able to adapt.
We had tears for a short period of time, but they got the hang of it. We're not malicious gamers, constantly out for blood, but if two or more people have plans for a spot on the board that can only fit one of you, then you're going to have to deal with that. Life's not fair, and board games are a great way to teach kids how to deal with that.
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
davido wrote: As my daughter gets older (9yo now), she has more on her plate-school, homework, dance, friends, etc. So we usually play a game before beddy-bye. Mostly we have time for a card game. Zooloretto is great since it is a BOARDGAME that is quick to set up and play and feels like a 'real "Daddy" game' (her words).
My kids like the daddy games as well, but sometimes we end up playing Memory, Clue Junior, or some other game like that. That's okay, though. I want my kids to understand that if you're going to ask someone to play your game, then you better be willing to play theirs as well. Life may not be fair, but it is good to make sure that everyone feels like part of the group.
-
Mark Thomason
United States
Washington
-
The nice thing is, if you do eventually put the money into the expansions, once you have a few expansions the game gets strategic and complex enough to keep you coming back for more. Plays best with 3-4 I think though.
I was always pretty meh on the game early on, but as I played it more and more as time passed, it's one of the few games that's actually grown on me. I suspect that's partly as I've added in expansions, so there's so much variety in successful strategy depending on which expansions you use.
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
Blackfaer wrote: The nice thing is, if you do eventually put the money into the expansions, once you have a few expansions the game gets strategic and complex enough to keep you coming back for more. Plays best with 3-4 I think though.
I was always pretty meh on the game early on, but as I played it more and more as time passed, it's one of the few games that's actually grown on me. I suspect that's partly as I've added in expansions, so there's so much variety in successful strategy depending on which expansions you use.
I'd probably agree with that assessment. I've played one of the expansions (using a friend's copy) before, and it did help add some flavor to the game. The question I would have to ask is: how many expansions does it take to make this game interesting enough that I would want to play it as much as some of my other favorites? If I need to shell out another $20-$30 to make this a lot more interesting, then I might be better off just buying another game that I enjoy more. If, however, you love Zooloretto and are looking for more of a challenge, then by all means do what it takes to make a good game great, as long as it's worth it to you.
I try to gauge the cost of a game vs. the number of plays a game gets. If I'm paying $1 or less per play for a family game, then I'm happy. If I'm paying $2 or less per play for one of my more strategic/thematic/full blown awesome games, then I'm very happy. Another way to look at it is that a night at the movies costs $45 (just for the movie tickets) plus refreshments. All that for 2-3 hours of enjoyment. Buying and playing a new game will give us the same level of enjoyment (for probably less money) and we get to enjoy it over and over again. As an investment, board games are a way better option than a trip to the show!
-
Andrew MacLeod
Canada
London
Ontario
-
I'm a fan of both Coloretto (which I played first), and Zooloretto; but I vastly prefer Zooloretto, especially with expansions. And, I prefer Aquaretto over all the Rettos.
Coloretto is a very nice little card game; but its utter lack of theme leaves me not wanting to play it all that often. I fail to find all that great a difference between the two games...except for the theme!
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
amacleod wrote: I'm a fan of both Coloretto (which I played first), and Zooloretto; but I vastly prefer Zooloretto, especially with expansions. And, I prefer Aquaretto over all the Rettos.
Coloretto is a very nice little card game; but its utter lack of theme leaves me not wanting to play it all that often. I fail to find all that great a difference between the two games...except for the theme!
It could well be that I just need more expansions to make this more interesting for me. The trouble I have with that is that by adding expansions I get to enjoy it more, but my seven-year-old will enjoy it less. Don't get me wrong, she's pretty astute, but adding complexity to a game she already loves will probably not go over well.
I ran into that same complexity problem when I first introduced Carcassonne to the family. We played without farmers initially, to help them get the general idea, then I tried introducing the farmers later. It did not go over well. To me, the farmers are a critical part of the game. To them, it just made it too difficult to grasp and less fun to play. My kids were 9,6 and 4 at the time, so it might have just been too much too soon on their little developing brains. I should probably get some more exposure to the expansions for Zooloretto to see if they looks like something my girls would be willing to try now. I did play Aquaretto a few years ago, but barely remember how it's different from Zooloretto. Maybe that needs another look as well.
As for theme, I totally understand where you're coming from. The theme of a game is way more important to me than it is to my kids. I love a well-themed game! My kids enjoy theme, but they also enjoy abstracts (I do too, but to a lesser degree). Coloretto is more fun for them than Zooloretto because it is fun AND quick. They like shorter games in general (they get that from their mother ) but my older girls will play some longer ones with me too.
EDIT: added content to reply
-
Brian Homan
United States
O'Fallon
Missouri
-
A geeklist has now been created for this series. You can find it here.
-
|
|
