Capstone Games Arrive at Asmodee

As I am sure you are well aware, I love trying out new games from Asmodee. One could say I am on their site too often, but to that I say time is subjective… Anyway, a few weeks ago I was looking at the new release page and saw that there was a heap of Capstone Games coming to Asmodee’s webstore. Between my love of animal themed board games, and wanting to try out a few games from Capstone, an order was shortly on its way to my house containing Ark Nova (with the expansion) and Sanctuary, one of my most anticipated games of the year!

Ark Nova

First up is Ark Nova, a game that I have been wanting to get to my table since I tried it months ago on Board Game Arena! Now I will say that I am super late to the Ark Nova party, but WOW, this game is amazing!!! 

At first glance I was a bit overwhelmed by Ark Nova. The game has a ton of cards and the overall presence was a bit daunting. To my surprise, Ark Nova was actually really easy to learn and play, and has earned a spot on my “Grab and Play Shelf,” a 3×4 KALLAX consisting only of games that I would play at any time!

One of my favorite things about the game is how there are 5 action cards to choose from each turn, making the possible actions to take not feel too broad, while still requiring you to think ahead a few turns. I also loved the solo mode! It was really easy to run, and basically acted as a timer for the game. 

One of my favorite mechanics in a board game is tile laying, and Ark Nova takes this mechanic to a new level with the addition of tableau building. I also really enjoyed how you have to balance the space you buy and keep with the animal cards you plan on playing. 

Overall Ark Nova is an amazing game, and I can see why it is rated 2nd place on Board Game Geek! I am also very excited to break into the Marine Worlds Expansion, since I absolutely love aquariums, and I am stoked for them to be added into my next game of Ark Nova!

Sanctuary

As I said before, Sanctuary was one of my most anticipated games of the year, making it one the games I was most excited to get to the table when it arrived! 

The best way for me to describe Sanctuary is to say it is a streamlined version of Ark Nova. Rather than there being a mix between tile laying and card drafting, these tiles replace the cards, while keeping the tile laying part of the game I know and love! Another difference between the games is instead of having 5 action cards to choose from each turn, in Sanctuary you have 4 moving tiles that dictate the action you can take, mostly centered on the habitat of a given animal. 

Much like Ark Nova, the solo mode for Sanctuary is super easy to run, and is actually adjustable for a higher difficulty setting, which I love! 

I especially enjoy just how many tiles there are in Sanctuary, as well as the diversity between them! In the game you have to balance the animals tiles, building tiles, and project tiles in a way that helps optimize your score at the end of the game. While I am on the topic of score optimization, there are some really cool combos you can do in Sanctuary, especially with the project tiles and some animal tiles’ instant bonuses.

After getting both Ark Nova and Sanctuary to the table, I can see why these games are so highly rated. Ark Nova is one of the games I didn’t know I needed, but I now want to bring to the table whenever I can. I am so excited to do more zookeeping with these games, and to try them multiplayer soon!

Thank you to Asmodee for sending these awesome games over for review!