Zuuli

Just returned from camping and have a good number of games to talk about in the coming days, including some outstanding ones (and some bad ones). So, let’s kick things off with something very good…

Game 35 of the “Bailey Family Summer 2023 Board Game Bonanza” is “Zuuli,” played by Jack (8.) and myself, while Toby played Patchwork against the computer on the iPad (a highly recommended conversion), and mummy enjoyed a well-deserved nap. Thank you to Anna Shirley for reminding me I bought it when she reviewed it a week to so ago (link to her review at the bottom).

“Zuuli” is a pick-and-pass card game that somewhat resembles a tile-laying game between rounds. It shares similarities with Sushi Go if you have played that but I think this is the better game. The main objective is to place animals into enclosures, accounting for enclosure size, animal space requirements, and ensuring that aggressive animals are kept separate to avoid conflict, while also making sure that everything is placed in the correct type of enclosure.

Different animal cards have a space value, a point value, and in certain cases, special rules. For instance, sloths score only when paired with another animal, lions have a reduced space value when paired with another lion, hippos become friendly when placed in a plains and water enclosure, and jellyfish double their points when surrounded by two other jellyfish.

Enclosure cards are another type of card, with both a space value and a multiplication value, allowing you to multiply the point value of animals in your enclosure when tallying up your score.

The game also includes effect cards, like being able to add a bio to an enclosure or allowing friendly and fierce animals to coexist, as well as granting extra space to an enclosure.

While we played a two-player game, I’ve also played this virtually with larger player counts, and it functions well across all player sizes, although strategy becomes somewhat less significant and luck plays a more substantial role in larger groups.

Each round begins by dealing 10 cards to each player. Each player selects a card they wish to keep and then passes the remaining cards to the other player. This process continues back and forth until all cards are drafted.

You then have time to lay out your cards face-up on the table, placing enclosure cards and animals into their respective enclosures while adhering to any special rules on the cards. Afterwards, you multiply the enclosure value by the point value of the animals and add it up to determine your score for that round.

This pattern continues for two more rounds, allowing you to move animals between enclosures as you see fit between rounds. The player with the highest score after these three rounds emerges as the winner.

There’s also a delightful unicorn promo card that instantly grants victory if you manage to place it in an enclosure alongside an elephant, a grizzly bear, and a jellyfish. While achieving this is incredibly challenging and would require a combination of several power and biome cards stacked in one location, it adds an intriguing extra win condition reminiscent of the “shooting the moon” concept in the popular pre-loaded Windows card game, “Hearts.”

From a production standpoint, the artwork is charming and delightful. The cards are of good quality, boasting a pleasant linen finish, and everything comes in a well-designed box. One minor annoyance is that the unicorn promo card has a slightly different card stock, causing it to stand out from the rest of the deck. While this isn’t a big concern in a two-player game where available cards are known, it could be more noticeable in larger groups. However, since it’s a card, this aspect doesn’t significantly impact the gameplay. Still, if you’re a collector, it might be worth seeking out.

It also comes with blank cards so you can make your own which is a fun addition.

Despite not usually being a huge fan of card games, I have grown to love “Zuuli.” It carries a “Kingdomino” “-like feel with its tile-laying element, demanding continuous thinking, card counting, and strategic planning.


You can also play this on Board Game Arena so I would 100% recommend that you give it a go.

This game holds a remarkable amount of depth while remaining simple enough for younger children to enjoy. I can’t emphasise enough how much I’m eagerly awaiting an expansion or sequel with new animals to enrich my zoo.

In conclusion “Zuuli” is brilliant.