Zooloretto Review
With all the things going on in the App Store one thing I thought we were likely to never see is European Board Games. I mean, I’ve been crossing my fingers and hoping something would happen, but I just never thought it was going to happen.
But then along came SpinBottle Games and Chillingo to give us Zooloretto. Based on a board game that has won awards all over the world the last few years, Zooloretto is the start of an answer to one of my forgotten dreams.
Now let me get this out of the way right now. If you look at the pictures that accompany this game you are very likely to think you’ve got yourself a “Zoo Tycoon” type of game. Well, wipe that thought way… it’s nothing even remotely like this game. Sure you put cute animals into your zoo and hope that you get more patrons than the other players, but this game is all about strategy and that’s what makes it a lot more fun.
In Zooloretto each player has their own zoo that they need to fill. Players take turns flipping over cards from a deck and then placing that card into one of the waiting buses. The buses can hold three items (animals, vending stands, and coins) each. You can decide to take a bus before it’s completely full (if there is an animal you want badly) but your done with that round as soon as you do. Once all the buses are taken the round ends and a new one begins.
Once you have the bus you decide where to put the animals and vending stands. Or you can spend some of your money and expand the park or use it for other needs you might have.
The animals obviously play a very big part in the strategy of the game. There isn’t room for all the animals you might end up with, and there’s not even areas to put the many different types of animals you will collect. It’s all about knowing how to move things around and when to grab a bus that might not be around on your next turn. It’s also all about knowing when to use your money.
In short… there is a lot of strategy going on with this zoo.
Graphically this game has a nice cartoon look. This might make some think that the game isn’t a board game that adults would get into, but don’t let that stop you. The graphics could actually be good for getting younger people to take a step into a game that could really challenge them – even though the game play is really quite easy.
Control in the game should be pretty easy. You’re not doing much more than tapping on a few things and dragging a few other around, but this is a place where SpinBottle drops the ball a bit. After you turn a card over you need to get it to a bus, but the buses are too close together and it’s hard to make sure that you’re getting into the one you want. The game really needs to space these out a little better.
I’ve had the same sort of problem from time to time when I want to put an animal or vending station into a specific location. Again, there has to be an easy way to give this some attention and fix it.
But that’s just a little stumbling block in the game. Unfortunately it, and the idea that you never really know how much longer you have in the game while playing it, will lead some to give up on it too quickly. That’s a real shame and I’m hoping that doesn’t become the case.
I’ve seen this board game in stores for around $40. Getting it from the App Store isn’t only cheaper, it allows you to take it with you on the go – something that’s harder to do with the full board game.
If you’ve ever wondered what all the excitement was about concerning some of these European board games, Zooloretto is a great place to start. It’s not a perfect game, but at least it’s a start down a path I hope developers are planning to head down often.
The Good
Good Strategy Board Game Feel
Could Work For Both Kids And AdultsThe Bad
Might Take A While To “Get Into”
Some Control Issues
Game Time & Scoring Not Clear
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Category: Games
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Thank you!
Thanks for a great review. I saw this app and wasn’t at all interested. Now, I’m thinking about it…
sounds awesome…i also like the art style
Is there any sort of local multiplayer mode, or is it only against CPU players?
I’ve never played this, but it looks amazing. I was obsessed with Zoo Tycoon a few years and this is kind of similar. Awesome review!
I’ve heard some pretty good things about this game. Definitely sounds like a title I would enjoy.
Board game-style apps are not common enough. I’m ready for a Settlers of Catan clone on my phone.
I like that you mention how it compares to Zoo Tycoon as that was my first thought as well. From the screens it looks really similar. Intriguing game.
What a nice little app! I love the zoo! Who doesnt like animals?
Looks like a game that my kids would love.
wow this is an awesome.. i always play these on my nintendo ds.. and now they’re on the ipod touch and iPhone which is even better.. seems like a very fun app!!
cool! I so want to try this
I have looked forward to this since I saw the preview, and it seems to live up to my expectations
Good review!
I love foreign board games and card games. Thanks for introducing me to this one. I’ll be looking into this some more and maybe pick it up.
cool, its like a whole city, lots of content and very colorful for an iphone game!!1
This game really intrigues me.
I’ve never played the board game but something about this game seems very appealing.
I got to play this on a friends Ipod Touch. He was really excited to have this version of the game. He owns the actual boardgame and spent around 50 dollars for the game, the polar bear expansion (free update to the iphone version), and taxes.
The toughest part of the strategy is that the game could end when you least expect it. Gameplay continues until a wooden disc appears. But they don’t explain when that happens.
In the setup you shuffle and place 15 cards down then place the wooden disc on it. You place the remaining cards in three stacks to prevent cheating. Once they are gone you use the cards under the disc. In the iphone version I had no idea when it was coming so I counted cards. There are 8 animals with 11 cards for each one, and 12 stall cards making the total 100. For a three player game you remove 2 animal types so the new total is 78 cards. Minus 15 and you have 63 cards til the end game, thats about 7 rounds if every truck is filled every round.
Bob hit the nail on the head about the control as well. It feels like the hit box for the buttons is slightly lower that the box themselves. Hitting just under the box helped quite a bit.
Well, I’m on the fence about this one but I really hope this helps someone.
Cheers!
This helps out tremendously! I had never heard of this game so any information is great. This does seem like a bargain.
Zoo tycoon relived! Well not exactly but still.