Ark Nova Action Cards: Rotation, Strength, and Upgrades

New players look at the five action cards and ask, “What do I want to do?” Strong players add a second question: “What will my row look like after I do it?” The cards never leave your zoo map. They only shuffle along the bottom, and that shuffle decides how strong your next few turns will be.

This lesson takes the row apart: how it moves, what each slot buys, how X-tokens bend it, and which cards to flip to side II.

How does the row move?

The rule: the card you use goes to slot 1, and the cards that were to its left each slide one slot right. Cards to its right do not move.

That gives three useful facts:

• Using the card in slot 5 pushes all four other cards up a step. It is the biggest turn and the biggest setup.
• Using a middle card leaves the cards above it where they are. Your slot 5 card stays loaded for next turn.
• Using the card in slot 1 moves nothing else. It freezes your row, which is sometimes exactly what you want.

Say your row is Animals, Cards, Build, Association, Sponsors from slot 1 to 5. You use Build at strength 3. Now it reads Build, Animals, Cards, Association, Sponsors. Association and Sponsors held their spots, and Animals climbed to 2, where it can finally play an animal.

What does each slot buy on side I?

The table hides some quiet lessons:

• Animals at 2, 3, and 4 are the same. One animal is one animal. If you only need one, use Animals at 2 and let other cards climb past it.
• Cards at 2 and 3 both grow your hand by one. Cards at 4 grows it by two with no discard, the same net gain as strength 5. Strength 5 adds choice, or the snap.
• Build size is about the animal you plan to play. Building a 2-space enclosure at strength 5 wastes three steps of strength.
• On side I, Association needs strength 5 to support a project. That threshold shapes your whole row.

When are X-tokens worth spending?

Each X-token adds 1 strength. You set the strength before acting, so tokens you gain mid-action cannot help that same action. You can hold at most 5.

You get them for triggering a break, from the X-token action, and from bonuses on your map, on projects, and on cards. They are scarce, so spend them on thresholds:

• Animals from 4 to 5, for a second animal.
• Association from 4 to 5, for a project level someone else is about to take.
• Cards from 4 to 5, to snap the one card that fits your plan.
• Sponsors up to the level of a strong sponsor.

Spending one to build a slightly bigger enclosure you did not need is usually a waste.

Which card should you upgrade first?

You get four chances to flip a card to side II: reaching 2 on the Conservation track, a bonus on the Reputation track, your second partner zoo, and your second university. At 2 conservation you may take an extra association worker instead. So you can never flip all five. Choose.

What each upgrade adds:

• Animals II: play animals from the display within your reputation range, gain 1 reputation at strength 5, and play animals that require the upgrade. It also plays an animal from slot 1.
• Cards II: draw from the display within your reputation range, snap from strength 3, and push reputation to 10 and beyond.
• Build II: several different buildings in one action, the Reptile House and Large Bird Aviary, and the spaces marked for upgraded builders.
• Association II: several different tasks in one action up to the strength, one donation for conservation, and a third and fourth partner zoo.
• Sponsors II: several sponsors whose levels add up to no more than the strength plus 1, sponsors from the display, double money when you take cash, and sponsors that require the upgrade.

The community tips page on Board Game Arena calls Animals and Sponsors the safe first picks and Association the least favored. Treat that as a default, not a law. An upgrade only works from your next action, not the one that earned it.

Plan two turns ahead

Most strong turns come in pairs:

• Build, then Animals. The enclosure has to exist first.
• Association for a partner zoo, then Animals. The partner zoo cuts the cost by 3 money per matching continent icon.
• Sponsors for cash, then the break. When you are broke, taking money also pushes the Break token closer, and the break pays income.

Before you act, picture the row after this turn and after the next one. If the second picture has your key card at strength 5 right when you need it, you have a plan. If you find yourself frozen by choices, our piece on analysis paralysis has kind ways to keep the table moving, and planning on other players’ turns is the best one.

Cards that move your row

A few animal abilities rearrange the row. Clever lets you put any action card on slot 1 after your action. Boost puts a named card on slot 1 or 5. Multiplier tokens let you do an action twice. Rival animals can hit your row too: Constriction puts tokens on your highest slots that cut those actions by 2 strength, and Venom puts tokens on your lowest slots and charges you 2 money at the end of any turn where you did not clear one. The competitive play lesson covers how to play around them.