Earth: Animal Kingdom

2026 · Card Game

Earth: Animal Kingdom

Introduce animals to an existing ecosystem and adapt to their unique abilities. Players add animal cards with asymmetrical powers to their tableau; each animal activates whenever a leaf is used, producing resources, triggering effects, or opening new scoring paths. A shared global animal ability also triggers at the end of each round, affecting all players and encouraging forward planning. Each animal interacts differently with terrain and tiles, prompting players to shape their ecosystems to exploit specific synergies and scoring opportunities.

Players
1–6 best 6
Playing time
45–90 min
Age
14+
Complexity
3 / 5
3.9 on Ludoyafrom $29.59Expansion for Base-gameAnimalsHand ManagementTile PlacementPattern Building

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
3
Plays logged
6
Players
1h 29m
Average play
9
In collections
2
On wishlists
5
Pre-ordered

3.9/10

from 2 Ludoya reviews

  • Fiore2.0

    In a game where nothing happens (or anything happens...POVs) here we go with another whole bunch of nothingness (or anythingness....or whateverness...).

    No plays logged

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

When can I activate my Animal’s ability?

Immediately after you use a Leaf—by placing it on the Fauna Board or discarding it—you may activate your Animal abilities. Activation is optional, and you must be able to meet an ability’s requirements in full (pp. 4, 12).

Where do I put my Animeeple the first time I activate an Animal?

Place it on a card in your tableau, following any placement condition and movement requirements on its card; if neither restricts placement, any card is allowed. This initial placement counts as one movement (p. 5).

Can I stop early when an Animal says “move exactly,” or move back over a card?

“Move exactly” requires the full number of moves—partial movement isn’t allowed. During one activation, an Animeeple can’t backtrack, pass through, or end on a card it occupied earlier in that activation, including its starting card (pp. 6, 8).

When does the Global Ability happen, and do I have to use it?

It activates for all players when the active-player token passes from the last player in turn order to the starting player. Each player resolves it independently and may forgo the effect if they lack the requirements or choose not to use it (p. 9).

Can I take resources back out of an Animal’s storage area or off my Island card?

No. Resources placed in an Animal’s storage area or on your Island stay there permanently and can’t be spent, converted, or moved back to your tableau (p. 9).

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.