ARK: The Great Race

ARK the Great Race is a Family Board game that can be played from 2 to 6 players. The age group that we have suggested is 8 years and up, however younger children as young as 6 still can grasp the concept of the game. The game consist of 6 Noah figures, large playing board, 336 playing cards, 6 Ark pieces with card holders, 2 card trays and dice.

The object of the game is to collect as many animal pair cards from as many coloured regions in the time allocated. To start the game each player positions his Noah piece and Ark to correspond with the coloured starting icon on the board. Each player then rolls the dice; the highest roll starts s first. As you move around the game board you will come across 3 different icons; 1. Coloured Region spots, 2. Rainbow spots and 3. Question mark spots.

Landing on any 1 of 7 coloured region spots will entitle you to receive a corresponding coloured animal card. These animal cards consist of male, female and paired animals. Each colourfully illustrated animal card is unique to its region and comes with 3 descriptive facts and animal sound. When you pick up an animal card you must inform the rest of the players what the animal is without revealing its sex. These cards must be collected in pairs and placed in your Ark to be protected. Unpaired cards are placed face down in front of each player until such time the corresponding male or female card is collected.

Rainbow spots are randomly placed around the playing board. Landing upon one of these icons allows the player to receive a Rainbow card. These cards can alter the course of the game in a very exciting way. This card set consists of good cards and not so good cards. The good cards can offer the player protection, extra animal cards and the chance to disadvantage your opponents. The not so good cards can damage your Ark and allow other players a chance to take your animal pairs which are no longer protected by a completed, undamaged Ark. Rainbow cards can dramatically change the outcome of any game in the dying minutes.

Question mark spots allow the player to win other players animal cards by correctly guessing not only the animal card but the correct sex. Guessing correctly also entitles you to another turn. When you land on a question mark spot you can ask any other player 1 question. If you are having difficulty remembering who has what animal card you may chose to ask that player to read any 1 of 3 animal card facts on that card. Remembering other player’s animal cards will definitely give you an advantage in game play.