Conservation Crisis is a fun new board game from Tunza Games which Combines real-life conservation issues with the feel of a traditional board game. This game is suitable for children of age 7 years old and up, and I tried it out with two of my boys who are 9 and 10 years old.
My boys are both interested in animals and conservation, so they engaged really well with the theme of this game and they also enjoyed the strategic element of the game a lot. Conservation Crisis is pretty quick to set up and to understand, but each game can last quite a while so I found that over the course of the game the kids started to think about adapting their strategies and playing very tactically as the game progressed further.
The aim of the game is to protect as many of your chosen animal as possible, and each player works within a funding budget to buy resources to help them with this aim. It’s quite different to other games that we have played, and the concept is very well thought out with lots of detail.
The board has various paths to follow, which will lead you to squares where you can choose to invest your money, depending on your aim and strategy in the game – such as buying hotels for increased tourist revenue, or buying rangers and vets to help with your animal preservation.
You also need to beware of the poachers checkpoint, where choosing to pay a bribe to pass through quicker can have negative consequences further on in the game.
Each player has a card depicting the animal that they are working to save during the game, and you use these cards to mark and keep track of your progress throughout the game. There are quite a few different things to keep track of but it all becomes clear while playing. The artwork on the cards and board are all very colourful and appealing.
The game ends when this crisis averted card is drawn from the events deck, and at that point whoever has rescued the most animals is the winner.
We had lots of fun playing this game, and the boys really enjoyed the concept. I found that it was quite educational too, because it makes them think about real world issues and consider different strategies – but in a very fun way.
£2 of every sale goes towards funding conservation projects run by four key partner charities to help protect wildlife around the world. By playing Conservation Crisis, players are saving wildlife in the game and in real life too!
Conservation Crisis is available from both www.tunzagames.com and Amazon
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
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