Zooloretto: Octopus

Zooloretto: Octopus arrives as a generous freebie from Abacus at Essen 2010, aimed at players already fond of Zooloretto or Aquaretto. The concept is straightforward: keep the base‑game rules, but watch the sixth space of your enclosure or the sixth tile in your basin. The first player to fill it claims the Octopus enclosure, which stays beside your zoo (or aquarium) board until the end of the game. The bonus grants four coins taken from the bank, but with a strategic twist – you must predict who will have the most points at game end. If you’re right, nothing happens; if you’re wrong, you return two coins and, for each coin you can’t repay, you lose one point. The Octopus enclosure cannot receive any more tiles, acting as a “coin vault” for extra points. When combined with other expansions like Grizzly or Polar Bear, the order of selecting the 6‑space enclosures can be chosen freely, opening further tactical options. In Aquaretto mode, besides the four coins you also receive the usual extra coin the base game provides. Component‑wise, the expansion adds only the small Octopus board and the extra coins, leaving the original box untouched. Its low weight (1.57/5) and the unchanged 45‑minute playtime keep the game flowing. In short, Octopus is a bite‑size module that adds a prediction‑and‑risk layer without disrupting zoo management, perfect for anyone wanting to spice up an already familiar session.