I own the game. I have played with 2, 3, 4 and 5 players.

I have never played it with kids, only adults, and most of the time everybody on their turns is scratching his/her scalp or rubbing his/her chin. I have played with people that never grasped the strategy of the game and that blatantly pick tiles up, put them on whatever "truck", pick whatever "truck" and just put the tiles however they can in the zoo, earning almost no points in the end off course.

The game is simple, yes. But the sole decision of where on the 'trucks' to put the tiles you uncover is a hell of strategy. Maybe one of the trucks has the tile you need, but picking up just one tile is a poor way to finish your turns for the round. But if you wait, somebody could get your tile, or put garbage on your truck and gift you an animal that will cost you points in the end.

And just by picking up a tile, you give up the chance of getting that truck this turn; that could be gone before your next turn. Even if you are the last one taking turns, would it really be convenient to pick another tile and risk spoiling the truck with the 2 tiles you just need?

You find yourself struggling with what to do: Let the turn pass by making a money action, pick up the tile you need, or risk yourself to uncover a tile that could be useful to you or simply make the truck attractive to others? Would you put 2 coins in one truck to try to bribe your opponent out of the round, or if they refuse then bribe yourself and take the money truck?

Would you pick up a truck that is of no use for you, but has that fertile animal your opponent needs, thus forcing him to buy it from you and giving you money? Are you an aggressive player, who always try to put garbage on the trucks that your opponents need; and will always pick up, not the truck that most benefit you (with the animals you need) but instead picking up the truck that would benefit your opponent and so causing harm? Would you get to the point of aggressiveness as to buy that poor fertile animal from an opponent barn, only to sacrifice it in the next turn, so that other opponent will not be able purchase it from you?

Or are you a conservative player, that would pick up a truck with a single tile as long as it benefits you; And thus protecting yourself from harm but also renouncing to better chances of picking up better animals or more money? Are you able to decide when would be better to expand the zoo, instead of saving the money for moving your animals in a way that would produce even more money?

All the people I have played the game with, agree that there is a lot of strategy going on. Most of us think it would be a really frustrating experience for a kid to play against an adult with all the possible combinations and consequences triggered. OFF COURSE there are some pretty smart kids out there, as well as not so smart adults.

For us, the game is actually a very strategic game with an astonishing simple mechanics that is disguised as a "kids game". All the persons I have played with find themselves addicted... Indeed a feature expected of a 'game of the year'. And I have not even started speaking about the expansions for the game...

I already bought the Aquaretto sequel, but I have not played it yet. The mechanics are the same, but the game has some different rules that makes it truly be a sequel and not just and expansion. But if you happen to have both, there are rules to play them together as one big game.

Bottom line: Zooloreto is a game I highly recommend to anybody who enjoys playing boardgames. I don't know about playing it with kids, but it would probably be good also. Maybe I would have to refrain from being too aggressive in a game with kids...

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?!