A new board game is coming from Ark Nova creator Feuerland, and it looks to be a simplified version of the German studio’s much celebrated zoo management eurogame. Sanctuary is also about creating a zoo, just like Ark Nova, and according to its newly established BGG page it “modifies and simplifies many of the mechanisms of that game in an elegant and surprising manner”. It has the same designer as Ark Nova too: Mathias Wigge.
With nothing about Sanctuary appearing on Feuerland’s website or socials, right now that BGG page is all we have to go on but, while sparse, it does reveal a few clues. For instance, it looks like hex tiles are key here rather than cards, as “a supply of 135 unique zoo tiles will provide you with animals, buildings and projects”.
There’s also the same action system that works so well in Ark Nova, where you can do anything on your turn, but actions slide up a track and get more impactful if you wait for the right moment. However, Sanctuary has fewer actions to worry about overall: just four, and three of them are placing animals of a specific habitat (the fourth relates to playing projects).
Ark Nova is fantastic. It’s one of the best board games ever according to the highest authorities on the subject (us) . But it does suffer from a slight mismatch in that the theme of building a zoo appeals to a very broad audience, but the gameplay itself is complex and component heavy – far more niche.
Games like Brass Birmingham or John Company, about the Industrial Revolution and the East India Trading Company respectively, prepare you for some serious neuron-crunching with their box aesthetic and themes. But Ark Nova’s animal-studded box slightly belies the strategy board game within (though it’s quickly revealed with more than a cursory glance).
And that’s why, despite pressing my nose up against the glass like a Victorian orphan and gazing at it longingly every time I visit my local game store, I’ve never bought a copy. I know I’ll struggle to get it to the table, so instead have made do with the new and excellent Steam version ported by Dire Wolf Digital.
While the main selling point seems to be a simplification of Ark Nova, don’t expect Sanctuary to be Ark Nova: Children’s Edition. The box – only the German version has been revealed so far – has the black label logo which Feuerland says “stands for highly strategic or tactical games for advanced gamers”. We also note that the age rating has only been lowered two years, from 14+ to 12+. So we can expect Sanctuary to be a bit more approachable, but still not a kids board game.
We don’t have a clear release date yet, but the BGG page suggests it’ll be coming out in 2025.
For more information you should check out our Ark Nova review by Tim Linward who, as the long-term partner of a real life zoo manager, has plenty of expertise to back up his points. And for more tabletop reads check out the best couples board games and best gaming tables.