Huge fan of these types of videos! Strategy deep dives are definitely hard to find on RUclips for board games so I really appreciate your efforts with this one!
Its so interesting how different play styles people can take with this game. I always upgrade cards, but almost always as the 3rd upgrade when my reputation gets closer to the hard stop at 9. I usually do Build or Animals first. There really are a lot of play styles, I think its just a testament to how good this game is
I should really make a new version of this video because I often do animals or cards first as well these days as my opinions of the game have morphed. But really, each has their own place and that's what is most important
I'm coming to this video late but how do you feel about the first reward on the Conservation track? Do you take the worker or the card upgrade? I always take the card upgrade but your video is making me reconsider that strategy.
Card upgrade is the default, but I think it's too often the default if that makes sense. I think if you don't have another good angle towards getting a worker then the worker is more important than the long term card flip. The other consideration is often "would I rather 5 dollars extra of income now but acknowledge I'll have one fewer card flip this game" - the answer is yes if I have the sense that the game is going to be short (folks have strong starts).
I'm about to go play this game with a bunch of people who have been playing it for a while and I never have, so I appreciate extra strategy, so I don't make all the wrong decisions. It's like being back at WBC :) Hope you are well! Thank you for the content!
Great Video and interesting thoughts. I found myself often flipping the build card first. But that’s mainly because I had a row of games where I went with the small critters strategy. You mentioned it many times: it depends. As this game plays so differently every time (and you can’t decide beforehand which strategy you’ll go) the value of cards and decisions can’t be compared from one game to another. Therefore, I wouldn’t feel able to rank the (upgraded) action cards. But it’s definitely worth thinking about the pros and cons of flipping each of the five cards, and I think you did a great job in explaining this.
Thank you! I'm not generally a fan of rankings and tier lists for exactly those reasons, so I'm glad to hear that the discussion is what you valued most.
Thanks for the great analysis. Great to hear your very interesting thoughts. I generally agree with your ranking of the cards. I tend to alternate between cards, animals and build as my first flip, often it’s animals so I can get the bonus rep as I like to head down the reputation track fairly quick for all the reasons you gave. I also love to play cards from reputation range as it saves an action (take cards etc). Having said all of that I will build out quick if the map I have has placement bonuses like gain a university or partner zoo as this again saves taking association, so early on with one worker it feels like you are taking two association actions. But I nearly always flip association or sponsors last. It’s such a great game, so many discussion points. Many thanks again.
Sounds like we play with similar approaches! The card flip decision is really interesting in that there seem to be some commonly better flips but your circumstances might change your approach!
I think your reasoning is spot on. Animals is a must upgrade that's often underappreciated. Build is a great first upgrade, but completely viable to not upgrade at all. Sponsors is last, but still great in a minority of games. In my 4 Ark Nova tier lists video, I name the same 2 sponsor cards (and the "H" map) as the biggest reason to upgrade it. My major disagreement is on Cards, which I think is often a necessary upgrade due to unlocking the 10+ reputation, but I upgrade it as late as possible. In addition to the downsides you mentioned, playing animals directly from the row makes it mostly redundant. I often have plenty of cards from animal abilities.
Cards isn't always an early flip but I can generally expect that is a card I am aiming to flip at some point in the game. It does make "ranking" it quite a weird task
That! Cards and animals synergize and also contradict. Its so strange! You go so fsr on reps and get the bonuses and.. Kind of stop drawing because you can just play from there.... What did i flip cards for again? Yeeeee
Thank you for sharing your strategy. I actually think they all very situational - there are so many cards that you need to be flexible in your decision making. I do always do the same first move - get the university with the 5 card hand limit. Usually second association move is a second uni for card upgrade options. I don't believe I flip in the same order ever. If I had to predefine an order I think it would be: 1. Association: get the 2/5 coin shields. So cheap for what they are and the second one unlocks next card upgrade or association worker on Con track. On m third round I can have 3 cards flipped (upgraded) or 2 and a second worker. 2. Cards: the extra draw is vital as you say - it's just not needed turn ASAP - it can wait a round. It is needed for hats track (eventually). I neglected to upgrade this card once and it hurt - so bad getting capped on that track. 3-4. (tough spot) This is where situation matters: Build - open up map spaces, extra builds, Avery or reptile house as may be needed, Animals - could have a level 2 worth playing or going down small animals route and want to put 2 out at a time from my third action (very handy to do) before the next break. Sponsors = maybe, only if i have a goal to play lots of sponsors, or need level 6 or off the top sponsors but this usually sits in last place for me now. It can be handy as a turn 1 upgrade and force lots of breaks for money - but that's a niche strategy prone to failing if poorly executed. Spot 3 and 4 should always remain flexible and dictated by the primary conservation project, your hand, your sponsors and your zoo goal and zoo map. If it stays fixed in your mind it can hurt what your trying to achieve. On a card flip (upgrade) rush early on it can be difficult to choose, so stay open to flipping the one you enjoy the most or think will give you the greatest benefit.
@@NazgulGamer1 thanks for sharing your thoughts! You're right that being flexible is pretty key - knowing what you need is most important! The cheap association bonuses are nice, but sometimes the 5$ can really hurt if you're tight on cash!
I agree that 3 card flips is the sweet spot, unless you can get your 2nd association worker from somewhere else first. My 3 are Animals, Build, and Cards. Association used to be one of the ones I flipped, but the tempo and reputation from Animals is far more relevant than occasionally getting to do an extra Association action (since at the point you're able to do 2 actions at once, you'd rather support conservation projects). Donating using the 0 action is fine, but as you said, becomes less worth it as more spots get taken.
1. Cards - easier snaps and rep draw and more cards are all important to assembling the engine behind everything else, 1st or 2nd flip 2. Association - only access to these actions and you will want them to bring the juice. After second worker you can tailor your bonuses to help whatever is unflipped (snap/build/money) 3. Sponsors - Unless the cards are very dry on sponsors I find this useful to play more cards, and it keeps tempo really well. 4. Build - I try to get buildings from any other source possible, but more often you will need to flip for a Aviary or positioning. Happy to be a fourth card (which for me is anytime before 4th break) 5. Animals - I don't have a problem playing 2 animals every 5 turns, thats about the time it takes to get resources ready. Bonus rep isn't vital, if I'm low on that my engine is already failing. Maybe if the niche animals show up, but I don't prioritise them above others (and I like anything that ignores requirements).
@@MuchachoC I mostly only commit from the start of the game with the Research Map cause you can ignore that requirement. But if I don't have a plan to play those animals by the 4th upgrade then (as long as I am making use of the other upgrade cards) I don't feel too bad.
Great video. I'd be interested in listening to your thoughts on the 3-card and even 2-card flip strategies. I always wince a little bit when I upgrade a card after my first two conservation points instead of taking that early association worker. But knowing that I'd be dooming myself to only flipping 3 cards always stops me...
I think two suggests you've had a very focused and therefore probably very strong and lucky game. 3 is totally reasonable. Either you got the association worker as you suggested, but I also don't always double uni or double partner zoo if the associations are working out!
Still learning the game here, from what i've seen by top players on BGA, they will almost always flip build first, than after that it’s really situational, and this makes sense, because it allows you to get huge efficiency out of your build action early, while the other upgraded cards can’t do nearly as much early game. Getting down a kiosk and building multiple enclosures on one turn is huge. Also it will help ensure you can fill your entire map for 7 appeal bonus.
Very good. My only gripe is underselling association. The extra donations can be a winning condition on their own, if one dips into them early enough. This makes it in many cases a very good flip for a lets say 2nd upgrade (even first in few cases, if the game plan is good). It has won me games. It can also allow for multiple associations later in the game, especially with an x-token engine. In my opinion the worst of the 5 cards is probably animals. Its still good, but its one I can usually skip more often than the others.
I stand by animals as important but I agree that association can be game winning, especially if you're first to grab it. That being said, I think association and animals conflict with each other (both ask for more money) so that likely explains our divergence in opinion
@@phoenicksgaming yeah makes sense actually. if you go for one of them early its hard to justify the other one being early too. I can see scenarios where animals can be good, especially to play one of the best ones that requires the upgrade, but apart from that case, I rarely prioritize it.
I used to think Animals was the worst upgrade, but playing the game more and more online I personally can see a lot of value in the upgrade specifically for the reputation boost. Animals and Build are the two most important first upgrades to me now, most of the time. It seems such a minor thing (getting 1 reputation) but it really helps you out as the game goes on. I guess you can see it as there are only two ways you can count on gaining reputation consistently: the 2 rep association action and upgraded Animals. Often its not worth spending your association workers on the 2 rep action, so by having Animals you have a consistent way to boost your rep stat for free.
Order that I usually flip my cards: 1st card: Almost always, “Sponsors”. This is great for early game income to play cards/enclosures at the start, and also because it gives you more playability with Sponsor cards. 2nd/3rd cards: “Cards” and “Association”: In either order, these two are the next on my flip agenda. For early-mid game play, these two are essential for maintaining momentum, from selecting cards into your hand, controlling the card display, playing more conservation projects, allowing your reputation to increase beyond lvl 9, etc. 4th/5th: “Build” and “Animals”. Both are situational, but I generally do “Build”. I usually only use it when I know I’m going to play a Bird Aviary or a Reptile House, or if those Lvl 2 Build spaces on my board need to be filled in. Otherwise, I go for Animals, as once you’ve got your engine going with the first 3 flipped cards, you want to be pumping out animals as quickly as possible to help close out the game.
Brave man with the early sponsors flip! From BGA data it is the least flipped card across all players. For me it can be amazing if you have the correct cards for it - I just played with a talented communicator and was happy with the opening sponsors flip!
Could you elaborate more on your opinions of being a "3 card flip kind of guy" ie. situations where you find 3 card flips is totally fine and situations where you may opt to have 4 cards flipped? Playing Ark more and more, i initially was in the "why would you ever NOT want to get 4 cards upgraded/flipped? Thats crucial to winning" to now seeing more advanced players/experienced players opting to choosing the Bonus worker on the 2 Conservation Bonus more often OR opting to not pick the "Extra Worker bonus" when you claim a conservation project
I mean, 4 flips is better than 3, of course. But it's not crucial to winning. A question worth asking is what can you do without? It depends on your strategy, but in some games you have plenty of card options (sprint, board structure, etc) and you don't have the reputation so why flip cards anyway? Then the second question is what do you get for not flipping. As you cited, maybe an essential worker at 2cp. But I find more often it's because I don't need a second partner zoo or university- particularly if I have lots of ways to score different conservation projects (even at just 2 cp)
@@phoenicksgaming Thanks!! I really like this kind of info and seeing other ways to win. I think after winning with 4 cards flipped is so commonplace to me that i get worried to try something new especially if its a lengthy game like Ark nova where your time is well invested! Haha
in games with 3-4 ppl, if you took too long to upgrade Association, the cheaper donations are probably already taken, so if you opt to then not upgrade Association, it will be more difficult to get the 4th upgrade from partnerships/universities, since you be striving to always support a conservation project when Association gets to 5. In those games you`ll probably end up with only 3 upgraded cards
Thanks for doing this. I'm still a new player but I use Association as either first or second. That extra conservation point from every break by supporting a project is just too good to pass up. As you say though, it does depend on the situation of the game and your hand, etc.
I don't know if you understood this, but you don't have to flip association in order to make the conservation project, you can also do it if association is still level one. Not sure if you know this or not, but reading the messagge it's what I get. Hopefully this will help you. In case you already know it, enjoy the game:)
Animal is most of the time the action card I dont flip at all cause it is very situational. you can get reputation up without animals easily, the only thing is the option to play them out of the river.
@@mitchw4374 sure but there are ways to play them without flipping animals. Also they don't always show up, or are the right animals to play. I have flipped the animals cards sometimes. But it is most of the times the one card I leave at level 1 as it is the weakest in my opinion and more situational
@@Naomania it’s true that it’s not as useful, but the reputation point is nice where as sponsor is even more situational and I will usually flip animals before sponors
@@mitchw4374 sure the reputation point is nice, but there are so many ways to get reputation up on other ways as well. Having the possibility to play more than one sponsor card with one action and therefore have a lot of option for end game scoring is more useful in the long run, in my opinion. I don't want to make it sound like your play style is bad though :)
I'm more open to it than other players. It comes at the cost of never being able to flip a 4th card (and depending on how your game goes maybe only flipping 2 cards), so you give up a little action economy in favor of getting the association worker NOW. I think if you have no other vehicle to get a 2nd worker (rep, conservation action, full throat) then going for the worker at 2 CP is legit!
@Revi M Fadli is the synergy that you have more association actions so you're more likely to get more partner zoos? If that's what you mean I'm not sure that I'm willing to give up one of my 3 flips for association but it depends on how good partner zoos are on that board (2 cp or diverse habitats maybe)
Great video. Funnily enough I've had a similar journey where I leaned heavily on association at first, to looking at the flips more nuanced and not nescessarily pushing to do all 4. With the first flip I tend to look at the cause of the flip to see of it can help the tempo. If it's the conservation flip, I may go animals to get more rep for the second flip, if it's from rep I may go association to help with the conservation flip and so on.
Since the video does not provide any evidance or statistical data: "My preferred card flipping order" would be a better title, also Upgrading Cards by itself is not a strategy but inevitable embedded part of gameplay, when talking about certain cards changing the prefered order of flipping, that is commonly referred to as tactics, not strategy. Opportunity cost is a missing concept, to get any idea, why flipping certain cards before other is good or not (e.g whats is the average cost in actions and money to play out an animal vs just buying conservation points from the upgraded asociation card?). There should be enough empirical data, what cards highest ranked players flip first on boardgamearena to get a better picture of what works best and it would say a lot more, since the numer of games one can play is quite limited in comparision to that.
@dieterh23 when I made this video i don't think ark nova had been on BGA for very long at all, so empirical evidence was hard to come by. I've also changed my opinions a bit since then but keep this video up as it still generates a good dialogue for folks. Thanks for watching!
@@phoenicksgaming Actually your rankings seem fit quite well to to bga stats of top 20 players presented in another video meanwhile ;-) As Matthias Wigge said, Ark Nova is an efficiency puzzle. That goes very well with what I saw in the data of BGA top players, not reveiling too much predominant strategies.
Not Sure If You've Seen The New Info For The Expansion For Ark Nova But Among The Different Videos Posted They Show Quite A Few Of The New Cards & I Would Love To See Your View On Them.
I mostly disagree with all of your ranks. I value much more than you the animals card, which flipped early helps in reaching faster the reputation rank to unlock an associative worker. This is a huge goal early on in the game. That's why I usually upgrade first the Animals card. Then Association should be rank 2 because being able to donate before the other players and more often than them plays a huge part in winning this game. I usually flip it second to have the time to earn enough money for such donations. Build is usually a bad card to flip, unless you must fill in your zoo for final bonuses. At the end of most of my games, it is Sponsors or Build that remains at level 1. My rank of Upgrading action cards is : 1. Animals, 2. Association, 3. Cards, 4. Build, 5. Sponsors.
It seems like we mostly disagree about association and that just bumps things down a bit. Do you not see opponents flipping association first? Second to the party is pretty unfortunate.
That’s what I love about this game: you can find as many videos suggesting card importance, as there are people making them! I’ve heard solid reasoning for just about every card, but the most important advice in all the videos is “things may change based on available cards and the board state”. I can guarantee no one card is THE card to flip, in every game. Flip the Animals card first? In my last game I seemed to always draw sponsors. Animals wouldn’t have done much as I wasn’t really focused on the map/animals. My game ended up being science tags. The more of those I played, the more appeal and reputation I was getting as rewards (I can find the exact cards, if requested). I won that game handily. The other thing is that none of these videos I’ve seen have taken into account the expansion which now allows you to play with a couple of more powerful versions of the existing action cards. I had picked the upgraded Association card that allowed me to take universities/partner zoos from the supply instead of the board, which meant I never had to worry about losing out on any of the un/available choices. Absolutely excellent game.
since my rank from last year, I value much more upgrading the build action first and I don't care so much about donation. Of course, the upgrade order on a specific game depends on the cards you have but on average I think I would rank the upgrades as follows: 1. Build, 2. Animal, 3. Cards, 4. Association, 5. Sponsors.
Huge fan of these types of videos! Strategy deep dives are definitely hard to find on RUclips for board games so I really appreciate your efforts with this one!
Hey, thanks for that! Really appreciate it - these are a lot of fun to do
Its so interesting how different play styles people can take with this game. I always upgrade cards, but almost always as the 3rd upgrade when my reputation gets closer to the hard stop at 9. I usually do Build or Animals first. There really are a lot of play styles, I think its just a testament to how good this game is
I should really make a new version of this video because I often do animals or cards first as well these days as my opinions of the game have morphed. But really, each has their own place and that's what is most important
Oh, that's interesting! Well it will be interesting to see how the expansion changes things with that included.
I'm coming to this video late but how do you feel about the first reward on the Conservation track? Do you take the worker or the card upgrade? I always take the card upgrade but your video is making me reconsider that strategy.
Card upgrade is the default, but I think it's too often the default if that makes sense. I think if you don't have another good angle towards getting a worker then the worker is more important than the long term card flip. The other consideration is often "would I rather 5 dollars extra of income now but acknowledge I'll have one fewer card flip this game" - the answer is yes if I have the sense that the game is going to be short (folks have strong starts).
I'm about to go play this game with a bunch of people who have been playing it for a while and I never have, so I appreciate extra strategy, so I don't make all the wrong decisions. It's like being back at WBC :) Hope you are well! Thank you for the content!
I hope this guides you! Play for an early conservation and you'll be in good shape
Great Video and interesting thoughts.
I found myself often flipping the build card first. But that’s mainly because I had a row of games where I went with the small critters strategy.
You mentioned it many times: it depends. As this game plays so differently every time (and you can’t decide beforehand which strategy you’ll go) the value of cards and decisions can’t be compared from one game to another. Therefore, I wouldn’t feel able to rank the (upgraded) action cards. But it’s definitely worth thinking about the pros and cons of flipping each of the five cards, and I think you did a great job in explaining this.
Thank you! I'm not generally a fan of rankings and tier lists for exactly those reasons, so I'm glad to hear that the discussion is what you valued most.
Thanks for the great analysis. Great to hear your very interesting thoughts. I generally agree with your ranking of the cards.
I tend to alternate between cards, animals and build as my first flip, often it’s animals so I can get the bonus rep as I like to head down the reputation track fairly quick for all the reasons you gave. I also love to play cards from reputation range as it saves an action (take cards etc). Having said all of that I will build out quick if the map I have has placement bonuses like gain a university or partner zoo as this again saves taking association, so early on with one worker it feels like you are taking two association actions. But I nearly always flip association or sponsors last. It’s such a great game, so many discussion points. Many thanks again.
Sounds like we play with similar approaches! The card flip decision is really interesting in that there seem to be some commonly better flips but your circumstances might change your approach!
I think your reasoning is spot on. Animals is a must upgrade that's often underappreciated. Build is a great first upgrade, but completely viable to not upgrade at all. Sponsors is last, but still great in a minority of games. In my 4 Ark Nova tier lists video, I name the same 2 sponsor cards (and the "H" map) as the biggest reason to upgrade it.
My major disagreement is on Cards, which I think is often a necessary upgrade due to unlocking the 10+ reputation, but I upgrade it as late as possible. In addition to the downsides you mentioned, playing animals directly from the row makes it mostly redundant. I often have plenty of cards from animal abilities.
Cards isn't always an early flip but I can generally expect that is a card I am aiming to flip at some point in the game. It does make "ranking" it quite a weird task
That! Cards and animals synergize and also contradict. Its so strange! You go so fsr on reps and get the bonuses and.. Kind of stop drawing because you can just play from there.... What did i flip cards for again? Yeeeee
Thank you for sharing your strategy.
I actually think they all very situational - there are so many cards that you need to be flexible in your decision making. I do always do the same first move - get the university with the 5 card hand limit. Usually second association move is a second uni for card upgrade options.
I don't believe I flip in the same order ever.
If I had to predefine an order I think it would be:
1. Association: get the 2/5 coin shields. So cheap for what they are and the second one unlocks next card upgrade or association worker on Con track. On m third round I can have 3 cards flipped (upgraded) or 2 and a second worker.
2. Cards: the extra draw is vital as you say - it's just not needed turn ASAP - it can wait a round. It is needed for hats track (eventually). I neglected to upgrade this card once and it hurt - so bad getting capped on that track.
3-4. (tough spot) This is where situation matters: Build - open up map spaces, extra builds, Avery or reptile house as may be needed, Animals - could have a level 2 worth playing or going down small animals route and want to put 2 out at a time from my third action (very handy to do) before the next break. Sponsors = maybe, only if i have a goal to play lots of sponsors, or need level 6 or off the top sponsors but this usually sits in last place for me now. It can be handy as a turn 1 upgrade and force lots of breaks for money - but that's a niche strategy prone to failing if poorly executed.
Spot 3 and 4 should always remain flexible and dictated by the primary conservation project, your hand, your sponsors and your zoo goal and zoo map. If it stays fixed in your mind it can hurt what your trying to achieve. On a card flip (upgrade) rush early on it can be difficult to choose, so stay open to flipping the one you enjoy the most or think will give you the greatest benefit.
@@NazgulGamer1 thanks for sharing your thoughts! You're right that being flexible is pretty key - knowing what you need is most important! The cheap association bonuses are nice, but sometimes the 5$ can really hurt if you're tight on cash!
Excellent video. Thank you.
@@evechase7129 thanks for watching!
Great video! Love it! ❤
Just had a game - my 2nd ever, and so excited to hear about your thoughts
Wow. So interesting. Your first 2 are usually 3/4th or not even there for me and my friends
I'm guessing with time and experience I'll move to your preferred set
I agree that 3 card flips is the sweet spot, unless you can get your 2nd association worker from somewhere else first. My 3 are Animals, Build, and Cards. Association used to be one of the ones I flipped, but the tempo and reputation from Animals is far more relevant than occasionally getting to do an extra Association action (since at the point you're able to do 2 actions at once, you'd rather support conservation projects). Donating using the 0 action is fine, but as you said, becomes less worth it as more spots get taken.
May I ask that by stating you endorse 3 card flips means you choose the "Extra worker" for your 2 Conservation Bonus?
With how many players? As of now i have only played 2-player games and we both tend to flip 4 most of the time
1. Cards - easier snaps and rep draw and more cards are all important to assembling the engine behind everything else, 1st or 2nd flip
2. Association - only access to these actions and you will want them to bring the juice. After second worker you can tailor your bonuses to help whatever is unflipped (snap/build/money)
3. Sponsors - Unless the cards are very dry on sponsors I find this useful to play more cards, and it keeps tempo really well.
4. Build - I try to get buildings from any other source possible, but more often you will need to flip for a Aviary or positioning. Happy to be a fourth card (which for me is anytime before 4th break)
5. Animals - I don't have a problem playing 2 animals every 5 turns, thats about the time it takes to get resources ready. Bonus rep isn't vital, if I'm low on that my engine is already failing. Maybe if the niche animals show up, but I don't prioritise them above others (and I like anything that ignores requirements).
One thing I like about this game is that all the card flips are good. Certain boards and board states benefit more from one flip over another
it hurts so much when you commit to not upgrade animals and mid to late game you draw one of the eagles, or the rhyno :(
@@MuchachoC I mostly only commit from the start of the game with the Research Map cause you can ignore that requirement. But if I don't have a plan to play those animals by the 4th upgrade then (as long as I am making use of the other upgrade cards) I don't feel too bad.
Great video. I'd be interested in listening to your thoughts on the 3-card and even 2-card flip strategies. I always wince a little bit when I upgrade a card after my first two conservation points instead of taking that early association worker. But knowing that I'd be dooming myself to only flipping 3 cards always stops me...
I think two suggests you've had a very focused and therefore probably very strong and lucky game. 3 is totally reasonable. Either you got the association worker as you suggested, but I also don't always double uni or double partner zoo if the associations are working out!
2 cards I think means you have a pretty sweet draw
Still learning the game here, from what i've seen by top players on BGA, they will almost always flip build first, than after that it’s really situational, and this makes sense, because it allows you to get huge efficiency out of your build action early, while the other upgraded cards can’t do nearly as much early game. Getting down a kiosk and building multiple enclosures on one turn is huge. Also it will help ensure you can fill your entire map for 7 appeal bonus.
The 7 appeal bonus is often unlikely without appropriate sponsor support. But the build action efficiency for pavilions and kiosks is undeniable
Card flip, I usually go for cards (because I'm a shitty draw person), association, construction, then at the end animal to allow for bigger boys
Very good. My only gripe is underselling association. The extra donations can be a winning condition on their own, if one dips into them early enough. This makes it in many cases a very good flip for a lets say 2nd upgrade (even first in few cases, if the game plan is good). It has won me games. It can also allow for multiple associations later in the game, especially with an x-token engine. In my opinion the worst of the 5 cards is probably animals. Its still good, but its one I can usually skip more often than the others.
I stand by animals as important but I agree that association can be game winning, especially if you're first to grab it. That being said, I think association and animals conflict with each other (both ask for more money) so that likely explains our divergence in opinion
@@phoenicksgaming yeah makes sense actually. if you go for one of them early its hard to justify the other one being early too. I can see scenarios where animals can be good, especially to play one of the best ones that requires the upgrade, but apart from that case, I rarely prioritize it.
I used to think Animals was the worst upgrade, but playing the game more and more online I personally can see a lot of value in the upgrade specifically for the reputation boost. Animals and Build are the two most important first upgrades to me now, most of the time.
It seems such a minor thing (getting 1 reputation) but it really helps you out as the game goes on. I guess you can see it as there are only two ways you can count on gaining reputation consistently: the 2 rep association action and upgraded Animals. Often its not worth spending your association workers on the 2 rep action, so by having Animals you have a consistent way to boost your rep stat for free.
In my last game I had the card that reduces the cost of donations by 1 for each science tag you have.
That was insane. 😁
Order that I usually flip my cards:
1st card: Almost always, “Sponsors”. This is great for early game income to play cards/enclosures at the start, and also because it gives you more playability with Sponsor cards.
2nd/3rd cards: “Cards” and “Association”: In either order, these two are the next on my flip agenda. For early-mid game play, these two are essential for maintaining momentum, from selecting cards into your hand, controlling the card display, playing more conservation projects, allowing your reputation to increase beyond lvl 9, etc.
4th/5th: “Build” and “Animals”. Both are situational, but I generally do “Build”. I usually only use it when I know I’m going to play a Bird Aviary or a Reptile House, or if those Lvl 2 Build spaces on my board need to be filled in.
Otherwise, I go for Animals, as once you’ve got your engine going with the first 3 flipped cards, you want to be pumping out animals as quickly as possible to help close out the game.
Brave man with the early sponsors flip! From BGA data it is the least flipped card across all players. For me it can be amazing if you have the correct cards for it - I just played with a talented communicator and was happy with the opening sponsors flip!
Pretty much this card is never flipped unless you are holding a level 2 powerful sponsor card that can really help you.
Excellent video. Will really us help prepare for the World Series of Board Gaming
That was the secret idea! Although I should consider keeping my secrets to myself...
@@phoenicksgaming Board Gamers are just too nice like that.
Could you elaborate more on your opinions of being a "3 card flip kind of guy" ie. situations where you find 3 card flips is totally fine and situations where you may opt to have 4 cards flipped?
Playing Ark more and more, i initially was in the "why would you ever NOT want to get 4 cards upgraded/flipped? Thats crucial to winning" to now seeing more advanced players/experienced players opting to choosing the Bonus worker on the 2 Conservation Bonus more often OR opting to not pick the "Extra Worker bonus" when you claim a conservation project
I mean, 4 flips is better than 3, of course. But it's not crucial to winning. A question worth asking is what can you do without? It depends on your strategy, but in some games you have plenty of card options (sprint, board structure, etc) and you don't have the reputation so why flip cards anyway? Then the second question is what do you get for not flipping. As you cited, maybe an essential worker at 2cp. But I find more often it's because I don't need a second partner zoo or university- particularly if I have lots of ways to score different conservation projects (even at just 2 cp)
@@phoenicksgaming Thanks!! I really like this kind of info and seeing other ways to win. I think after winning with 4 cards flipped is so commonplace to me that i get worried to try something new especially if its a lengthy game like Ark nova where your time is well invested! Haha
in games with 3-4 ppl, if you took too long to upgrade Association, the cheaper donations are probably already taken, so if you opt to then not upgrade Association, it will be more difficult to get the 4th upgrade from partnerships/universities, since you be striving to always support a conservation project when Association gets to 5. In those games you`ll probably end up with only 3 upgraded cards
Future video idea: I remember you mentioning playing Automobile at WBC, I'd be curious to hear strategy/tactics thoughts on that one!
Oh I love automobile, quite the niche game tho - what makes you curious about it?
Oh I saw it on the WBC schedule and remembered you saying it was interesting, but didn't see much content on it online.
Thanks for doing this. I'm still a new player but I use Association as either first or second. That extra conservation point from every break by supporting a project is just too good to pass up. As you say though, it does depend on the situation of the game and your hand, etc.
The points are always appealing!
I don't know if you understood this, but you don't have to flip association in order to make the conservation project, you can also do it if association is still level one. Not sure if you know this or not, but reading the messagge it's what I get. Hopefully this will help you. In case you already know it, enjoy the game:)
Animal is most of the time the action card I dont flip at all cause it is very situational. you can get reputation up without animals easily, the only thing is the option to play them out of the river.
Some of the most powerful cards in the game require animals at level 2
@@mitchw4374 sure but there are ways to play them without flipping animals. Also they don't always show up, or are the right animals to play.
I have flipped the animals cards sometimes. But it is most of the times the one card I leave at level 1 as it is the weakest in my opinion and more situational
@@Naomania it’s true that it’s not as useful, but the reputation point is nice where as sponsor is even more situational and I will usually flip animals before sponors
@@mitchw4374 sure the reputation point is nice, but there are so many ways to get reputation up on other ways as well. Having the possibility to play more than one sponsor card with one action and therefore have a lot of option for end game scoring is more useful in the long run, in my opinion.
I don't want to make it sound like your play style is bad though :)
Is choosing a second worker at 2 Conservation just a suboptimal play most of the time?
I'm more open to it than other players. It comes at the cost of never being able to flip a 4th card (and depending on how your game goes maybe only flipping 2 cards), so you give up a little action economy in favor of getting the association worker NOW. I think if you have no other vehicle to get a 2nd worker (rep, conservation action, full throat) then going for the worker at 2 CP is legit!
@@phoenicksgaming would flipping Association be needed if you pick that option? Considering the synergy
@Revi M Fadli is the synergy that you have more association actions so you're more likely to get more partner zoos? If that's what you mean I'm not sure that I'm willing to give up one of my 3 flips for association but it depends on how good partner zoos are on that board (2 cp or diverse habitats maybe)
Great video. Funnily enough I've had a similar journey where I leaned heavily on association at first, to looking at the flips more nuanced and not nescessarily pushing to do all 4. With the first flip I tend to look at the cause of the flip to see of it can help the tempo. If it's the conservation flip, I may go animals to get more rep for the second flip, if it's from rep I may go association to help with the conservation flip and so on.
Oooo very good point that I didn't touch on. Clever!
Since the video does not provide any evidance or statistical data: "My preferred card flipping order" would be a better title, also Upgrading Cards by itself is not a strategy but inevitable embedded part of gameplay, when talking about certain cards changing the prefered order of flipping, that is commonly referred to as tactics, not strategy. Opportunity cost is a missing concept, to get any idea, why flipping certain cards before other is good or not (e.g whats is the average cost in actions and money to play out an animal vs just buying conservation points from the upgraded asociation card?). There should be enough empirical data, what cards highest ranked players flip first on boardgamearena to get a better picture of what works best and it would say a lot more, since the numer of games one can play is quite limited in comparision to that.
@dieterh23 when I made this video i don't think ark nova had been on BGA for very long at all, so empirical evidence was hard to come by. I've also changed my opinions a bit since then but keep this video up as it still generates a good dialogue for folks. Thanks for watching!
@@phoenicksgaming Actually your rankings seem fit quite well to to bga stats of top 20 players presented in another video meanwhile ;-) As Matthias Wigge said, Ark Nova is an efficiency puzzle. That goes very well with what I saw in the data of BGA top players, not reveiling too much predominant strategies.
Not Sure If You've Seen The New Info For The Expansion For Ark Nova But Among The Different Videos Posted They Show Quite A Few Of The New Cards & I Would Love To See Your View On Them.
I'm Nick over at Friendly Ties, so you probably have already heard a bunch of my takes :)
@@phoenicksgaming lol thanks Nick
Only Played Two Solo Games So Far Never Flipped Sponsors In Both & In The Last Game Only Ended Flipping The Cards Card.
I do think solo valuations are a bit different because you aren't competing with other players for cards in the same way
Look at this cross promotion with Friendly Ties ;)
Gotta lean into my strengths!
what is a sunbather?
An animal that lets you discard cards for $
@@phoenicksgaming thanks. I tried your first three cards in a solo game and won.
@@susanoerter1419 how exciting! Well done
I mostly disagree with all of your ranks. I value much more than you the animals card, which flipped early helps in reaching faster the reputation rank to unlock an associative worker. This is a huge goal early on in the game. That's why I usually upgrade first the Animals card. Then Association should be rank 2 because being able to donate before the other players and more often than them plays a huge part in winning this game. I usually flip it second to have the time to earn enough money for such donations. Build is usually a bad card to flip, unless you must fill in your zoo for final bonuses. At the end of most of my games, it is Sponsors or Build that remains at level 1. My rank of Upgrading action cards is : 1. Animals, 2. Association, 3. Cards, 4. Build, 5. Sponsors.
It seems like we mostly disagree about association and that just bumps things down a bit. Do you not see opponents flipping association first? Second to the party is pretty unfortunate.
If I get association first It's great. 2nd in a 3 player game is OK too.
That’s what I love about this game: you can find as many videos suggesting card importance, as there are people making them!
I’ve heard solid reasoning for just about every card, but the most important advice in all the videos is “things may change based on available cards and the board state”.
I can guarantee no one card is THE card to flip, in every game.
Flip the Animals card first? In my last game I seemed to always draw sponsors. Animals wouldn’t have done much as I wasn’t really focused on the map/animals. My game ended up being science tags. The more of those I played, the more appeal and reputation I was getting as rewards (I can find the exact cards, if requested).
I won that game handily.
The other thing is that none of these videos I’ve seen have taken into account the expansion which now allows you to play with a couple of more powerful versions of the existing action cards.
I had picked the upgraded Association card that allowed me to take universities/partner zoos from the supply instead of the board, which meant I never had to worry about losing out on any of the un/available choices.
Absolutely excellent game.
since my rank from last year, I value much more upgrading the build action first and I don't care so much about donation. Of course, the upgrade order on a specific game depends on the cards you have but on average I think I would rank the upgrades as follows: 1. Build, 2. Animal, 3. Cards, 4. Association, 5. Sponsors.