Wildife Rescue | Dice Maestro

How many endangered animals can you save?

Wildlife Rescue is a game of chance and judgement. And survival. Even though the game is highly entertaining and fun to to play even for younger children it also imparts a serious message. The eight animal species featured in the game are all critically endangered. Many of them may be extinct if we do not act now. Tomorrow will be too late.

In Wildlife Rescue players take the role of conservation officers and aim to save as many endangered species for their zoos as possible. The objective of the game is to collect the highest scoring hand of wildlife cards, which are obtained by rolling six wildlife dice.

Each die has animal symbols, representing the eight critically endangered species featured on the wildlife cards. The eight species featured are: dama gazelle, Ceylon rose butterfly, harlequin mantella frog, Rodrigues fruit bat, mountain gorilla, California condor, Amur leopard and Javan rhinoceros. On a turn, a player aims to obtain at least three symbols of the same species on the wildlife dice - if this is achieved within three throws then the player takes the appropriate wildlife card, each having a different points value depending on the relative difficulty of obtaining that species in the game. Players score a bonus if they collect the three species wanted by their zoo and can also take a wildlife card from an opponent using a zoo transer card. The game is simple to learn - the six rules fit onto a playing card. Yet despite its elegant simplicity there is a surprising tactical depth to Wildlife Rescue.

Tactics revolve around understanding that not all the species have the same odds of being collected in the game. A Javan rhinoceros is much less likely to be collected on a turn than a Ceylon rose butterfly, for example. Details on the game tactics can be found in our Playing To Win guide. However, a child of four can enjoy rolling the unique dice simply trying to obtain a favourite animal.

Educational and Topical

Each card contains interesting information on an endangered spieces. A good rule variation is for a player to read out a category of information each time a wildlife card is collected. There are different variations to the game play. In the standard game a player wins by collecting the most points by the end of the game; in the Safari version the winner is the first player race to reach an agreed total of points.

A game of Wildlife Rescue comprises the following:

1 dice arena (box bottom)

1 info book

6 multi-coloured wildlife dice

18 wildlife cards

1 x Javan rhino
2 x Amur Leopard
2 x California Condor
3 x Mountain Gorilla
2 x Rodrigues Fruit Bat
3 x Harlequin frog
2 x Ceylon Rose
3 x Dama Gazelle

6 zoo transfer cards

6 zoo collection cards

1 score card

1 rules card

Tomorrow's Too Late: A message from ARKive

When you purchase Wildlife Rescue ARKive receives a donation of ten percent of the game's profits, which helps support the ongoing development of the ARKive project - the leading visual reference for the rapidly growing number of species that are now threatened with extinction.

ARKive's mission is to raise awareness of the scale of the problem facing the world's wildlife today. Without awareness, there can be no action. Without action, we will almost certainly lose many beautiful and unique species forever.

By buying this game you help in other ways too. You are helping to raise awareness of ARKive and of the eight critically endangered species that are the focus of this game.

If we care about the world's wildlife we must do something now. For many endangered species the extinction clock is nearly at midnight.

Tomorrow's too late.

Players: 2 - 6

Ages: 7 - adult

Children as young as 4 years can play the basic game with an adult.

Duration: 30 mins

Price: £9.95 Purchase

Views and Reviews

"We use this game in the board games clubs we run for schools. It is really liked by children and adults. A great family game with educational value."

Imagination Gaming

"More to think about than its rambunctious little brother, Jurassic Wars. I like working the odds on the dice."

Board Game Geek comment

"It is very entertaining, comes in a compact package, and ten percent of profits go to charity, so you're supporting a good cause too."

Which Motorcaravan Magazine

"The great thing about the game is it's easy to pick up and is played in its box so it can be played anywhere."

Camping and Caravanning Magazine

Resources

Game and Rule Variations (PDF)

Includes Safari version

Playing To Win Guide (PDF)

For experienced gamers interested in the odds

Wildlife Rescue - The Endangered Animals Game

How many endangered animals can you save?

Educational and Topical

Contents

Tomorrow's Too Late: A message from ARKive

Views and Reviews

Resources