Zoomates Game - Board Game - Parents Guide

Zoomates Review

Zoomates (2022) is a woodblock puzzle game where you work to keep Tetris-shaped animals happy in particular scenarios. You play by picking a puzzle card then arranging the related animal shapes so they meet all their needs like touching water or not touching each other. It stands out for its character-requirement puzzles that are solved geographically.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Zoomates a year ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 8 months ago.

Play Overview

Zoomates is a woodblock puzzle game where you work to keep Tetris-shaped animals happy in particular scenarios. You play by picking a puzzle card then arranging the related animal shapes so they meet all their needs like touching water or not touching each other. It stands out for its character-requirement puzzles that are solved geographically.

It's a tangrams-style puzzle which means arranging shapes so they touch or don't touch in certain ways. The twist here are the rules for each of the animal shapes. You not only need to fit them into the grid shape on the card but make sure they are only overlap regions they are happy with. The Elephant shape can be placed over water, but the Tiger can't. The Elephant can be next to the Tiger, but the Penguin can't be. The Penguin has to be touching some water.

As you work through the puzzles things get increasingly complex. But also, you get to know the different wants and needs of each animal shape. The result is a cleverly balanced game that engages the fingers as well as stretching the brain.

Benefits

This game is good if you want to:

Play Style

This is a Brain Game and Sequencing game with Strategy elements. This is a single-player game.

Duration

Learn to Play: This takes 20 minutes to learn. There are some simple rules to learn but this doesn't take long. Before you play the first game it's worth going over:

What each animal's requirements are.
How neighbouring requirements work - who can be next to who.
How habitat requirements work - who needs a certain habitat.

Play Time: It takes between 5 minutes and 15 minutes to play a round of this game.

Age Ratings

Skill Level

6+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Younger players need to be able to understand the different constraints to placement. Although this is a little complex, the story about the animals being afraid of other creatures or needing certain habitats makes this more approachable for youngsters.

Content Rating

We rate this suitable for 3+ years-olds.

Costs

There are no additional in-game purchases, loot boxes, adverts or subscription costs.

You can download, print and fold a print-and-play PDF version for around $5.

The game is currently available to purchase via the creators Kickstarter.

Game Details

Release Date: 20/09/2022

Skill Rating: 6+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Brain Game, Sequencing and Strategy

Accessibility: 27 features

Components: Cards and Placeables

Developer: Brintown (@Brintown)

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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.