Game flow

On your turn, choose exactly one action:

• Study
• Research

Research Experience, or RE, is the resource used to research animals. Players can have at most 12 RE.

The public animal display has 3 rows. In games with 2-4 players, the display is 3x3. In games with 5-6 players, the display is 3x4.

Quest cards

At the beginning of the game, each player receives 2 quest cards, keeps 1, and discards the other.

Quest cards give VP during final scoring. Each quest card has two sides, but only one side of a quest card can be scored.

In standard scoring:

• You may keep any number of quest cards.
• You may score one side of up to 3 completed quest cards.
• Each animal card can be used for only one quest.
• Animals used for a quest can still be assigned to a continent for continent scoring.

You can gain additional quest cards by researching a duplicate animal. When you research an animal you have already researched before, discard the duplicate animal, draw 2 quest cards, keep 1, and discard the other.

Quest conditions may ask you to:

• Research a specific animal.
• Research a number of animals from a specific continent.
• Research a number of animals with a specific diet type.

During final scoring, BGA will ask you to choose which completed quests to score and which animal cards are used for each quest.

Study

Choose one card from the public display, discard it, and gain RE depending on its row:

You cannot have more than 12 RE. If you have 12 RE, you cannot Study and must Research if possible. If you have 11 RE, Study only gives 1 RE.

After a card is removed, cards above it slide down, then a new card is drawn into the empty top slot.

Research

Choose an animal card from the public display and pay RE depending on its row:

The researched animal is placed face up in your personal display.

On your first Research action, place your meeple on one continent shown on the animal. If the animal is All World, choose any continent.

After your first Research action, you may normally research only animals that live on your current continent. All World animals can always be researched from your current continent.

After the animal is removed, cards above it slide down, then a new card is drawn into the empty top slot.

Flight and Research

If the animal you want to research does not live on your current continent, you may travel as part of the Research action.

There are two ways to travel:

• Sponsored Flight: If there is a Sponsored Flight card in the same row as the animal, pay only the animal's normal RE cost. Take the Sponsored Flight card into your display. It is worth 1 VP.
• Paid Flight: Pay the animal's normal RE cost plus 9 RE.

After travelling, move your meeple to one continent shown on the researched animal.

Flight and Research cannot be used for All World animals or for animals that already match your current continent.

Whenever you move to a continent with Invitation Certificate cubes, collect all cubes there. Each certificate is worth 2 VP.

Duplicate research

If you research an animal you have already researched before, discard the duplicate animal instead of adding it to your display.

Then draw 2 quest cards, keep 1, and discard the other.

Research tracks

The blue track shows the highest number of researched animal cards held by any player.

The red track shows the highest number of researched endangered animal cards held by any player. An animal with at least one sad-face icon counts as endangered.

When a player exceeds the current highest value, the corresponding track advances.

Invitation certificates

In standard scoring, Invitation phases are triggered when the blue researched-animal track first reaches 5, 10, and 15.

The triggering player takes the certificate on that track space. Then one certificate is added to each continent that has no player meeple on it.

Game End

The game ends immediately when either condition is met:

• The blue researched-animal track reaches 16.
• Any player has researched 5 endangered animals.

Final scoring

Players score points from:

• Completed quest cards: score one side of up to 3 completed quest cards.
• Animal cards: score the VP printed on researched animal cards.
• Sponsored Flights: each Sponsored Flight card is worth 1 VP.
• Most Sponsored Flights: 5 VP, split and rounded up on ties.
• Most carnivorous animals: 5 VP, omnivores count for this category.
• Most herbivorous animals: 5 VP, omnivores count for this category.
• Most sad-face icons: 3 VP, split and rounded up on ties.
• Invitation Certificates: 2 VP each.
• Continent breadth bonus:
  • 7 continents with at least 2 assigned animals: 30 VP
  • 6 continents with at least 2 assigned animals: 20 VP
  • 5 continents with at least 2 assigned animals: 15 VP
• Continent majorities: for each continent, the player with the most assigned animals scores 5 VP. A player must assign at least 2 animals to that continent to qualify.

Assignment rules

During final scoring:

• Each animal can be used for only one quest.
• Each animal can be assigned to only one continent.
• Multi-continent animals must be assigned to one eligible continent.
• All World animals can be assigned only to a continent where you already have at least one non-All-World animal.

Tie breakers

If players are tied, break ties in this order:

1. Most VP.
2. Most remaining RE.
3. Most Invitation Certificates.
4. Most Sponsored Flight cards.
5. If still tied, tied players share victory.