quick ranking of the 30 tabletop games i played in-person in 2023

17. Ark Nova
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342942/ark-nova

2 plays with 3 players in 2023

In Ark Nova you run a zoo and attempt to get the best combination of appeal (via cool animals) and conservation (via conservation projects, animals, and random other bonuses). In order to play an animal card, you generally need an enclosure for it, cash on hand to purchase it, and sometimes other prerequisites for it. You take all these actions and more via the game's action selection mechanism - you choose one of five each time it's your turn, but the longer you don't choose one,

I learned Ark Nova in 2022 and found it interesting and thought my partner might enjoy it. It's an extraordinarily solitaire game with a cute theme, which feels right up her alley. (There is interaction available ). In the end, space and time considerations had me leaning against it, especially with its not being one of my absolute favorites. The game is a gigantic splurge of mechanics - it's got a giant deck and like three separate boards to pay attention to, but no centralized board where the action takes place. I'd say all of that works against it.

But my third play of it - my last play this year - has me wondering again about its potential, if you really do play very quickly. Once you've played a few times, you begin to develop more sensible short- and long-term goals. That's not to say that I have any good strategy, but at least I have like a three-turn plan now, and then pulling all those levers becomes more guided. It doesn't feel quite as sandbox-y as something like A Feast For Odin due to how tight money and the right cards can be, but at the same time there are lots of little rewards you keep hitting for going up the conservation track, or partnering with other zoos, that feel really satisfying to hit.

Ultimately this is never going to be a game that to me is as highly rated as BGG has it. But it's got a cool theme and some cool components and leads to some satisfaction, and that has me interested in giving it a few more gos, especially if I can find the right time to play with my partner. (That said, it feels pretty damn daunting on Board Game Arena...)