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Game Info
Year
2016
Collection
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Description
The accessible and clever game Animals on Board features a two-tiered cardboard ark that will hold each player's animal tiles. At the start of the game, each player draws three animal tiles, chooses one of these tiles, and places it on a bracket of his ark without showing it to the other players.
The leftover animals that players initially drew begin forming what will become a single animal collective in the center of the table. The total number of animals in the collective is based on the number of players, but one animal in the collective will always be face-down. Each player also starts with one food crate and may never have more than five food crates at any time.
On each turn, a player has two options: (a) split a collective of animals into two groups and take a food crate, or (b) take one of the animal collectives into their ark by paying a food crate for each animal in that group. As players choose their group of animals, they drop out of the turn. The first player to drop out of a turn starts the next turn. The game ends when an ark has at least ten animals on board.
Before scoring, all animals in pairs are discarded because a guy called Noah claims all animal pairs for himself. Single animals score the points imprinted on the tile (from 1-5) and herds of animals automatically score five points each. Remaining food crates also score one point each.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video A0gfUv_kFd4
Getting Games Discussion at 18:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 92204 · mention_pk 247669
Click to watch at 18:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- adorable art
- easy to teach
- light and quick to play
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- set collection with animals
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- arc-based scoring — ending the game with two or more of the same animal loses that animal; balance to end with favorable arcs
- Set Collection — choose to buy a set of animals or split a group into two, then take a food from the bank
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a really great worker placement game that came out of the blue for me.
- I think it's a very goofy theme and it's a beautiful looking game.
- This is a neat little game where you have a bunch of simple decisions that have really complex results.
- There are a ton of neat stuff going on here and I've been impressed with the game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video fnL8H-qtUYM
Chairman of the Board Discussion at 7:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85888 · mention_pk 220989
Click to watch at 7:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- animals
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- I split, you choose — This is kind of an I split you choose game where you're dividing up these um rather nice animal tiles.
- Resource Management — You can either divide up into another group and get some currency or you can buy one of those groups.
- Set Collection — Basically a simple set collection where one animal will score you the the face value. Two animals will be worth nothing. But then if you get three or more of a certain type of animal, they're going to be worth five points each.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- So, Night Soul actually made my most anticipated list of games to be released in 2025.
- Love this idea of um kind of Victorian London, The Sewage System.
- And from the gist of what I've read, it sounds like a kind of contract fulfillment resource management game, but it does use dice placements.
- Now, I tend to like the kind of mix of a Euro game with dice placement.
- If you have enjoyed the video, please be sure to hit like and subscribe to the channel.
- Check out my other content, too.
- And for everybody else, I'll see you next time on Chairman of the Board.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hWWFNpPtc1w
Chairman of the Board Top List at 8:18 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85712 · mention_pk 220317
Click to watch at 8:18 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun and straightforward gameplay.
- Interesting tile division mechanism.
- Pleasant playtime (~20 minutes).
- Nice art style.
- Good for an inoffensive, family-friendly game.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Collecting animals
- Ark
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Scoring Sets — If you have a single animal, you'll score the points based on the number on that animal and they range from number one to number five. If you get a pair though, they are worth nothing. But if you get a trio, then each card in that set, or a trio or more, I should say, then each tile in that set is worth five points.
- Set Collection — familyfriendly set collection game. As you are collecting uh these animal tiles and putting them onto your ark.
- tile drafting — the way you take these tiles is really interesting, actually, because you're going to start with a bunch of tiles in the center of the table. on your turn, you can divide those tiles into another group or you can take a bunch of those tiles based on the number of tiles in that group.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Even for a short game, I did find it very boring. It's quite a difficult thing to achieve is to be short and boring.
- lovely artwork, really nicely produced, tiny little box, nice clean rules, good clever gameplay, but sadly a missed opportunity by not putting those keywords on the cards.
- I love the way that each of these kind of moving parts of the game interlock with each other and there's a crossover and synergy between what you're trying to do
- sadly massively hamstrung by the fact that there are some glaring production issues, especially if you are color blind.
- Gameplay alone thoroughly enjoyed it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video wCnbye_gv6g
Getting Games Review at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 63601 · mention_pk 157061
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Simple, balanced I split you choose mechanic that creates mind games
- Thematic arcs with attractive art and presentation
- Noah stealing pairs adds a twist to set collection
- Accessible and quick play with good table presence
Cons
- Memory can heavily influence play and counterdraft decisions
- Luck can significantly affect who wins
- Sometimes not all animal types come out, limiting choices
Thematic elements
- collecting animals to fill an ark; Noah steals all pairs at end
- an ark-building scenario with Noah and a flood
- story-driven by competing to assemble animals while Noah threatens to steal pairs
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- I Cut, You Choose — At the start of a round, a pile of animal tiles is split into two groups; players choose one group to take, while the remainder is kept; players may also split groups to gain a food or better options. Splitting yields food, which enables purchases later.
- I split you choose — At the start of a round, a pile of animal tiles is split into two groups; players choose one group to take, while the remainder is kept; players may also split groups to gain a food or better options. Splitting yields food, which enables purchases later.
- set collection with a twist (Noah steals pairs) — Players aim to collect sets of different animals; at scoring, Noah steals all pairs from a player's arc, affecting end-game scoring and strategy.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the great simple way that this game utilizes the I split you choose mechanism. You know, at its heart, this mechanism is a great balancing tool.
- Noah, who's going to be stealing all the pairs of animals that people have in their arc at the end of the game and how neat this little twist on set collection is for the gaming experience at the table.
- it's a really great tight small little economy where you need to split in order to have food in order to buy.
- In conclusion, I've had fun every time I've played Animals on Board.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video sTFDuSSXxf8
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Analysis at 1:23 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 8213 · mention_pk 24102
Click to watch at 1:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- customers don't purchase products they purchase a better version of themselves
- the outward presentation of our product sets expectations in the user
- it's central to the design
- it's an observation i can relate to
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video n9iPO2dbJtk
Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 32:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7422 · mention_pk 21949
Click to watch at 32:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging theme
- Accessible for families
Cons
- May overstay its welcome with large player counts
Thematic elements
- zoo-building and animal gathering
- Ark-building with animals
- light strategy with drafting flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Drafting — Draft animals to fill your ark.
- Resource Management — Bribing with food to entice animals onto your ark.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Be good humans and embrace difference.
- Let's embrace our cultures that are different from ours.
- There are certain words that have a history behind them and can cause negative feelings.
- Art matters; inclusivity should be a priority when publishing contracts.
- Black people deserve diverse representation in game art and characters.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video rOHUvC5SCmw
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Discussion at 4:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3341 · mention_pk 9869
Click to watch at 4:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- engaging split-you-choose mechanism
- accessible
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- set collection with split-you-choose mechanism
- lightweight, abstracted theme
Comparison games
- Zoo Loretto
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection with split-you-choose — players collect animals with a split-and-choose mechanic, likened to Zoo Loro/La str, etc.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I love the thirsty meatballs gaming library is wonderful to be able to go there and play all sorts of different games
- UK Games Expo I always think about the newcomer to the hobby what are they going to find when they go there
- the Kickstarter's up there people are pledging and now he starts to test and starts to design that game
- Evolution has really become my favorite game at this point
- Roll for the Galaxy is a fantastic euro game
- it's a speed game if you think of Jungle Speed
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7