I had a chance to play Zooloretto over the July 4th holiday with 3 other people and we enjoyed the game quite a bit. I have read the comparisons to Coloretto and having played Coloretto, I can see the similarities in basic gameplay (collect the stuff you want, avoid things you don't want).

But in this case, I believe theme makes all the difference. Theming around animals removes the abstract feeling that Coloretto had. Tweaking the game play around this theme makes a difference as well. Now you can have "baby" animals and your "zoo" can expand. This makes the experience much more family and party friendly with banter about unwanted animals, too many babies, etc.

In terms of mechanics, Zooloretto keeps it pretty simple. There are only 3 basic choices of what to do - flip a tile, take tile(s) or spend coins. This not Caylus! That said, our group tended to grab trucks with animals right away, which I suspect may have distorted our play experience (fewer unwanted animals means fewer coin plays). Even so, the net result was that we had fun and played several times.

Zooloretto is simple enough that kids should be able to play (particularly if players focus on their own zoos rather than messing up someone else's zoo). The theme works for kids and the game play is simple enough that most kids who've played boardgames before should have no problem with it.

Recommended.

I played Zooloretto this weekend and I must tell you: it was a big disappointment... It has a beautiful theme with an interesting concept: players compete to build the most attractive zoo in town. On your turn, you can either: flip an animal/money tile (making it available to other players), get a load of animals to your zoo or spend the money you have on: buying animals from other players, switching animals in your zoo's cages or building extensions in your zoo. The game sure have some pros, specially for those that love short-light-family-kinda-games:

1. The mechanics is really simple. You can teach new players in 5 minutes;
2. The components are cute, specially the animal tiles;
3. It's a short game. It can be easily played in 30-45 minutes.

However, I thought that the game has one insurmountable flaw: There's no real strategy or strategic thinking involved. Even when you play light & fast family games like Ticket to Ride, Elfenland or Carcassonne, you have many different strategic options to choose from that add some tension and a bit of excitement to the game. You don't have that in Zooloretto. It's just too simple. Whatever action you take on your play, you don't get the feeling that you're being either aggressive or conservative. It's just bland. I'm sure that this will be a fun game to play with my boys when they get a little older. But make no mistake about it: this is nothing but a kids game.

One final complaint: where's the lion?! What kind of zoo doesn't have a lion?!