New York Zoo

I didn't know this was an Uwe Rosenberg game until halfway through the game. It being a polyomino game should have tipped me off. The polyominoes in this game are animal enclosures in a zoo. Everyone starts the game with an empty zoo. You collect enclosure tiles to place in your zoo. You also collect animals to place in these enclosures. Animals will breed. Whenever an enclosure is fully occupied with animals, you get to claim a bonus tile. Your goal is to be first to completely fill your zoo with tiles. 

The main game board is that long piece at the top. It is a long circular path with many stops. On your turn you move the common pawn (the elephant) along this path, taking up to 4 steps at a time. Depending on where you stop, you claim either an enclosure tile or two animals. You then place them on your player board. 

The orange spots on the main board are not stops, they are breeding points. You can't stop there, but whenever you pass a breeding point, that particular animal type breeds. In any enclosure with at least two animals, you get one new animal. Yes, just like in Agricola. 

You have three temporary storage cages for animals on your player board. 

These along the bottom are special tiles you can claim whenever you fill an enclosure with animals. Quantities are limited except for those tiny single square tiles. Everyone will be fighting for the large ones. These help you fill your zoo faster. 

The game offers a pleasant play experience. It is light so I'd group this under the family game category. There are several tactics you can employ. There is some strategy to consider. The enclosures are of different sizes. One consideration is the balance between bigger enclosures helping you fill your board faster, and smaller enclosures getting filled with animals faster so that you can claim the bonus tiles. You will be watching out for claiming pairs of animals so that you can make use of every breeding opportunity. There are ways to hinder your opponents. You can grab what you think they want. You can quickly go past the breeding points before they get a pair of animals. 

Mid game

Late game

Planet Unknown

Planet Unknown is a game about exploring a newly discovered planet to see whether it is going to be habitable by humans. This is a polyomino game in which you try to fill your own player board. Polyomino tiles are laid out on a Lazy Susan which is rotated every turn. You always have two pieces before you, and you must pick one to place on your planet. The game ends when one player is unable to place either of his options. 

A tile you pick always has two colours. These colours let you advance on the corresponding technology tracks. There are five such technology tracks. When you reach certain positions, you get some benefit. Benefits include victory points, special abilities, free advancements on another track, and so on. If there are specific tracks you want to focus on, you will tend to choose tiles with those colours. 

The different tile colours have different characteristics. Red tiles often let you move your rovers. Rovers are used to get rid of meteors. Some tiles come with meteors, and if they are not removed, they make their spaces unusable. Removed meteors give points. Blue tiles are quick in giving you points, but only if they are placed on water terrain. When advancing on the green track, one benefit you can gain is single square tiles which help tremendously in filling your planet without leaving gaps. 

At the end of the game, complete rows and columns score points. Meteors and barrels collected score points. Advancements on technology tracks as well. Although the game is mostly solitaire, there is one aspect where you will compete with other players. There are several bonus scoring criteria. If you fulfil the conditions better than your opponents, you will score bonus points. This influences how you plan in filling up your planet. You will probably choose to fulfil some and concede on others. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Those icons along the top refer to the bonus scoring criteria.

One-time benefits when you reach certain points on the black track.

I really enjoyed the experience of playing Planet ‎Unknown. I find it soothing and satisfying. You can plan a few turns ahead which tiles to take and how to fill your board leaving as few gaps as possible. What tiles and colours become available to you is subject to luck. You don’t always get what you want. However, you can still make the most out of what you are dealt. It is mostly a solitaire game, and usually I prefer games with more player interaction. Yet I find this game a joy to play. It is a rewarding experience to see all the pieces fall in place.