Zoo Keeper

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This article is about the online/console puzzle game. For the 1982 arcade game, see Zoo Keeper (arcade game). For the profession of working in a zoo, see Zookeeper.

Zoo Keeper is an online puzzle game developed by Robot Communications that was later ported to the Nintendo DS by Japanese video game publisher Success. The game was then brought to American and European shores by Ignition Entertainment.

In Japan, before the release for Nintendo DS, Success released this game for Game Boy Advance and PlayStation 2 with alternative name "Zooo".

Contents

1 Rules and tactics
2 Game modes

2.1 Zoo Keeper
2.2 Tokoton
2.3 Quest
2.4 Time Attack
2.5 Very Hard Mode

3 External links

Rules and tactics

The rules in Zoo Keeper are simple: your objective is to erase the animal symbols that fill up the screen by aligning them three in a row, while trying for a high score by erasing them in a combo. The Level ends when each different animal symbol has been erased, this leads to the player trying to make sure that he/she leaves one set of animals untouched in order to amass the highest possible score.

Symbols are aligned by swapping one tile with one next to it. If this makes a line of three with either of the swapped tiles, the tiles stay in this position and the line of three disappears. If no line of three is formed, then the tiles swap back to their original position.

When tiles disappear, any tiles above them on the screen fall down to fill the space. If this results in a further line of three, this line also disappears. This is called a 'chain'.

The game is similar in concept to Bejeweled, a game developed for PCs and later ported to other platforms. However, there are some crucial differences. The aim of Bejeweled is not to run out of moves, whereas if this happens in Zoo Keeper the screen is cleared and you earn bonus points. Furthermore, Zoo Keeper has a number of addition modes, such as Quest and Time Attack, which expand the game considerably.

One very important aspect that sets Zoo Keeper apart from Bejeweled and its many clones is the ability to switch tiles while another move is still 'in progress'. This allows the player to set up chains, or to 'fake' chains by creating multiple rows of three in quick succession.

One well known challenge when playing Zoo Keeper is the inability to find a chain, which often seems to become more common after a long period of gaming. This problem is known in the industry as "Zoo Keeper's Block". The principle has now spread through the puzzle world, sweeping players as an answer to their problematic symptoms after a long session of gaming.

Game modes

Zoo Keeper

The "main" game mode sets you a quota of animals to catch in order to advance a level. This quota starts at three animals. Once you have erased at least three of every symbol, the screen clears and you advance to level two, where at least four of each animal must be caught. Each time the level advances, the number of animals required increases, but the score from catching each animal also increases. In addition, at higher levels the timer decreases more rapidly.

Tokoton

Tokoton is similar to the main mode, but the quota is set at 100 animals. In addition, the player is not required to catch 100 of every animal, but instead 100 of just one type. When 100 elephants, for example, are captured, the screen clears and the points awarded for each cleared tile are increased. The counter for elephants is reset to zero, but the counters for all other animals remain as they are. Therefore, it is common to increase by a few levels in a short period of time.

Quest

This mode consists of ten stages, where the Curator of the zoo sets certain challenges. These challenges are: - capture 20 lions (while capturing as few other animals as possible) - capture 15 more giraffes than pandas (or 15 more pandas than giraffes) - create thirty chains - capture each animal only once - pick a flashing tile - move a flashing tile to the bottom of the screen - capture seven times without chaining - capture a group of four or more animals five times - capture ten vertical lines (while capturing as few horizontal lines as possible) - fill the timer

This mode has attracted much criticism, as the randomness of the challenges and reward system mean that progressing is as much a matter of luck as it is of skill. Stuart Campbell wrote in his extensive [review] that the game doesn't take into account that the random new items filling the places of the captured animals can inadvertently generate new captures, making your challenge impossible.

Time Attack

This game is the same as the main game, but with an absolute time limit of six minutes for gameplay. The quotas needed for each level are reduced.

Very Hard Mode

This is unlocked by placing top in each of the previous modes' high score tables.

External links

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