New York Bans The Retail Sale of Dogs and Cats

Brain-busting Zoo Board Game Ark Nova Is Getting A Simpler Sequel

A new board game is coming from Ark Nova creator Feuerland, and it looks to be a simplified version of the German studio's much celebrated zoo management eurogame. Sanctuary is also about creating a zoo, just like Ark Nova, and according to its newly established BGG page it "modifies and simplifies many of the mechanisms of that game in an elegant and surprising manner". It has the same designer as Ark Nova too: Mathias Wigge.

With nothing about Sanctuary appearing on Feuerland's website or socials, right now that BGG page is all we have to go on but, while sparse, it does reveal a few clues. For instance, it looks like hex tiles are key here rather than cards, as "a supply of 135 unique zoo tiles will provide you with animals, buildings and projects".

There's also the same action system that works so well in Ark Nova, where you can do anything on your turn, but actions slide up a track and get more impactful if you wait for the right moment. However, Sanctuary has fewer actions to worry about overall: just four, and three of them are placing animals of a specific habitat (the fourth relates to playing projects).

Ark Nova is fantastic. It's one of the best board games ever according to the highest authorities on the subject (us) . But it does suffer from a slight mismatch in that the theme of building a zoo appeals to a very broad audience, but the gameplay itself is complex and component heavy – far more niche.

Games like Brass Birmingham or John Company, about the Industrial Revolution and the East India Trading Company respectively, prepare you for some serious neuron-crunching with their box aesthetic and themes. But Ark Nova's animal-studded box slightly belies the strategy board game within (though it's quickly revealed with more than a cursory glance).

And that's why, despite pressing my nose up against the glass like a Victorian orphan and gazing at it longingly every time I visit my local game store, I've never bought a copy. I know I'll struggle to get it to the table, so instead have made do with the new and excellent Steam version ported by Dire Wolf Digital.

While the main selling point seems to be a simplification of Ark Nova, don't expect Sanctuary to be Ark Nova: Children's Edition. The box – only the German version has been revealed so far – has the black label logo which Feuerland says "stands for highly strategic or tactical games for advanced gamers". We also note that the age rating has only been lowered two years, from 14+ to 12+. So we can expect Sanctuary to be a bit more approachable, but still not a kids board game.

We don't have a clear release date yet, but the BGG page suggests it'll be coming out in 2025.

For more information you should check out our Ark Nova review by Tim Linward who, as the long-term partner of a real life zoo manager, has plenty of expertise to back up his points. And for more tabletop reads check out the best couples board games and best gaming tables.

Scientists Believe Groundbreaking 5,000-year-old Discovery Could Be The Real Noah's Ark

Scientists in Turkey have made a groundbreaking discovery which they believe provides significant evidence for the existence of Noah's Ark.

If you grew up in a British primary school, then you've probably sung the Noah's Ark nursery rhyme, but if somehow you're not familiar with one of the oldest tales on Earth, then to sum it up, God instructed Noah to build an ark big enough to save his family, as well as two of every species of animal, as he planned to flood the Earth.

For some time now, scientists have been trying to prove that the Durupinar formation, a 538-foot geological structure in eastern Turkey, is proof that the religious tale actually happened. The site is close to the Turkey-Iran border and supposedly fits the dimensions of the ark from the Bible.

Late last year, researchers were finally able to decipher an ancient Babylonian artifact kept at the British Museum, which they believe serves as a map. The clay tablet lays out how Christians believe the world was created, and features an ancient Mesopotamian poem which says a man (potentially Noah) and his family landed an ark intended to preserve life.

This latest discovery only serves as further proof, as after collecting rock and soil samples from the site and sending them off for examination in Istanbul, it was revealed that they contained traces of clay-like materials, marine deposits, and seafood remnants, including molluscs.

And if Noah truly did manage to round up two of every single animal, then the tiny molluscs would also have had a ticket for the boat. Although they were probably so small that they could have just snuck on without paying.

Noah's Ark painted in a Milan church (Getty Images/Robtoz)

Experts were also able to put a rough date on this latest discovery, and suggest that the findings could be between 3500 and 5000 years old, which coincidentally is in what is known as the Chalcolithic period. Genesis says that the flood happened around 3300 BC, so the dates line up.

Lead researcher Dr. Faruk Kaya said: "According to the initial results, it's believed there were human activities in this region since the Chalcolithic period.

"An essential outcome of the symposium is the decision to conduct more research in Cudi and Ararat, known as the Mesopotamian region."

The researchers added: "Our studies show that this region harboured life in that period and that, at some point, it was covered by water, which reinforces the possibility that a catastrophic event of great magnitude occurred.

"The evidence suggests that the story might have a basis in reality."

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