Kung-Fu Zoo is an arena combat, dexterity game.
Title: Kung-Fu Zoo
Year Published: 2016
Designer: Charlie Price
Publisher: WizKids
Players: 2-4
Game Time: ~ 10 Mins
Set-up Time: ~1 Minute
Ages: 10+
Theme: Anthropomorphic Fighting Animals
Mechanisms: Dexterity
How to win: Either eliminate the competition or hit the points goal first.
Game Description
If you hung around your local zoo after it closed for the night, you’d see the nighttime rituals of the exotic animals you visited during the day. You’d see cages being cleaned and souvenir stands being restocked. If you were lucky, you might catch an impromptu seal show or moonlight nightingale concert.
And if you stayed late enough, long after the last employee had left for the night, you just might see the greatest, and most secret, of all zoo attractions—the late-night Kung Fu fights!
How to Play Kung-Fu Zoo
Round-Up
So I saw this at either Origins or Gencon a few years ago and immediately added it to my wishlist.
But, it was wood, raised off the floor like Santorini and looked expensive. It would probably cost in the £40+ price range along with games like Klask. That would have put me off.
But this slim-boxed plastic arena version does the same thing and works great.
The game looked like a great idea. Using dice to flick into an arena and depending on how they land will depend on how you can interact with it in the fight. Thematically it makes sense right? If an animal jumps into an arena and lands on its feet they’re ready to go again. If they land on their head, feet up, they made need a minute.
This is like the exploding dice thing in combat games like Arcadia Quest. You get a decent hit in and you’re in the flow so your body is positioned correctly to attack again… At least that’s how I see it 🙂
Having a choice of 2 games is good too. One is more brutal than the other. I mean, if you eliminate the competition, good for you, but it’s harsh when you lose that way. You are well and truly beaten.
But you can get outscored by A LOT in a points game and that feels bad, really really bad.
But it doesn’t matter. You probably have fun on the way to your defeat and it’s a 10-minute game so… want to play again?
Kung-Fu Zoo Rating
I good fun ‘filler’ game in a decent-sized box.
I give it 7/10
Kung-Fu Zoo First Impressions April 2018
Dice weren’t meant for rolling, they were made for flicking in vicious arena combat!
This is the story of the Zebra, Cheetah, Elephant and Gorilla that just don’t get on…
My first impressions of Kung-Fu Zoo including a brief overview of gameplay followed by my final summary.
Jesta ThaRogue