What is 'Zoo Tycoon'?

Zoo Tycoon is an addictive PC game, where you design zoos, building each animal exhibit individually and adding shops, paths and stalls.

How much does it cost?

It can be bought for about £30 (also there are now add on packs available - Marine Mania and Dinosaur Digs which can be bought for about £15).

Who is the game suitable for/who would be most likely to enjoy it?

This game is suitable for anyone, but if you have played Rollercoaster Tycoon (and similar strategy games such as Simcity) it will probably be easier (and therefore more entertaining as you will understand the basic way to build and basic concepts of the game better) because the ground is set out into grids and the squares of path lie on the squares of the grid, and you build the shops so that they have an entrance onto the path, as in Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Some basic information about the game

There are over 40 different animals you can buy, which are divided into groups such as savannah (lions, elephants, giraffes, zebra etc)and desert (camel). There are several different types of fence, some stronger and therefore more expensive than others. You pick the type of fence according to the animals relative strength. Then you click and drag to create a line of fence. Once you have made an enclosed shape of lines, the program creates a gate to the exhibit automatically. You then have the opportunity to name the exhibit, by default it is called Exhibit _ (number depending on how many you have made).

Then, using the terrain available, the floor of the exhibit can be built square by square with materials such as grey stone, savannah terrain, grass terrain, deciduous forest, fresh water etc. Each species likes a different mix of terrain. If you click on the animal a box comes up, then by clicking on the zookeeper logo it then tells you what is wrong with the exhibit, e.g. There is too much savannah terrain in this exhibit. Giraffe 1 would like more foliage in its exhibit. After adding the terrain you can then add a shelter, rocks, foliage (which comes in the same groups as the animals - savannah etc.) and toys. Each animal has a rating of suitability for its exhibit, that can be accessed by clicking on it. Other things that can be accessed by clicking on it is its hunger, happiness, and health ratings.

Staff need to be hired to look after the Zoo. Zookeepers ($800 a month to hire) and Maintainance Workers ($300 a month) are essential- these muck out the animals, feed the animals with their special foods and heal sick animals; and mend the fences when they break or get damaged and empty bins. Tour guides can also be hired at $500 a month, these are not essential but increase your guest's happiness and perform guided tours of the Zoo.

Cheats for this game

Name a guest Bill Gates, and it increases donations to the park.

Hold down Shift and the number 3 on the top of the keyboard, you will gain $10,000 dollars by doing this and you can do it multiple times, BUT every time you do it a random piece of fence in your park becomes weakened, which can allow the animals to escape so be warned!

Name an exhibit Xanadu, and unlock the Unicorn.
Name an exhibit Cretaceous Corral, and unlock the Triceratops.
Name an exhibit Microsoft, and double all the donations to the exhibits.
Name an exhibit Wonderland, and increase guests to your park.

And thats about all - this game is so detailed that it would be possible to write several pages about it, so if you would like to know any specific information about this game or Rollercoaster Tycoon, leave a message here.