Zoo Vadis

To set up Zoo Vadis, place the main game board in the center of the table with the appropriate player count side face up. Sort the laurel tokens by value and place them nearby in a supply bag. Give each player their set of asymmetrical animal figures (such as armadillos, rhinos, or tigers), their starting laurel tokens behind a player screen, and any associated player aids. Place the zookeeper and peacock figures in their designated starting positions on the board.

The main goal of Zoo Vadis is to maneuver your animal figures from the starting exhibits at the bottom of the board all the way up into the star exhibit at the top. Since moving requires the majority support of other players or heavy negotiation, you must use verbal deals, bribes, and your animal's unique asymmetric powers to convince opponents to vote for your advancement.

Players take turns clockwise around the table, performing exactly one action per turn until the game ends. The four available actions are: adding a new animal figure to one of the four starting exhibits at the bottom of the board, advancing one of your animal figures to an adjacent connected exhibit, advancing a peacock figure up the path, or moving the zookeeper to any path to block or open up new negotiation routes. Advancing usually requires a majority of pieces in the current exhibit space, which you achieve by getting votes from other players in exchange for laurel tokens.

Scoring in Zoo Vadis is entirely based on accumulating laurel tokens behind your screen throughout the game. Players earn tokens by making deals, granting votes to others, successfully advancing their animals, and cashing in bonuses. At the end of the game, all laurel tokens are tallied, and the player with the highest total wins.

The game ends instantly the moment the star exhibit at the top of the board is completely filled with animal pieces. At this point, any player who successfully placed at least one animal piece into the star exhibit reveals their accumulated laurel tokens behind their screens. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner, with tie-breakers decided by arrival order.