Do you like building decks with big numbers in the pursuit of higher and higher scores? Are you a fan of animals and bright colors? If your answer to both of those questions is a resounding yes, then you’ll very likely find yourself enjoying Zoominoes, a new roguelike deckbuilder that our review found hits the mark far more often than not.
The premise behind Zoominoes is a simple one: Put together a menagerie of animals that can score highly enough to pass through each round until hitting the end of a successful run. It’s a formula that has been proven time and again in recent years, with Balatro being the most prominent example but far from the only game to make use of this formula.
The spin Zoominoes puts on that formula is one of matching various animal-themed tiles across a set grid. Placements on said grid are determined by matching animal types and colors. It’s a simple starting point, but as runs grow in length, play becomes more complicated and more interesting.
The Good:
- Deckbuilding gameplay makes sense and feels good
- Difficulty ramps up nicely, both in individual runs and between difficulty levels
- Cute and welcoming presentation features all kinds of animals, real and imaginary
The Bad:
- The game doesn’t iterate much beyond its core play loop
Review Details:
- What Platform Did the Reviewer Play On?: PC
- Platforms Available: PC
- Official Release Date: July 30, 2026
Zookeeping meets deckbuilding, with explosive results
We laid out the core experience of Zoominoes while giving our early impressions of the game, but we’ll do so again here to anchor this review. Each Zoominoes run opens up with relative simplicity, as players have a small deck of basic animals that can be used in filling out a grid. Each animal scores a set number of points, and each round has a score requirement that must be met in order to advance to the next.
Of course, it isn’t just as simple as laying animals down wherever you like. Animals must connect to their nearest tile through either color or type. The resulting chaining together of like animals across a grid forms the foundation of Zoominoes.
As one might expect, things only grow more complicated there. Rarer animal tiles not only have bigger score numbers, they also come with a variety of special abilities. One animal may automatically play all other animals in the player’s hand, while another may cover each grid space around it with an additional scoring piece. Yet another may permanently raise the scoring potential of each animal still waiting in your deck.
It’s the combination of these varied abilities that can really create some interesting scenarios in Zoominoes. Effects may quickly become multiplicative, and within the space of just a few rounds, players may find themselves scoring in the thousands (or even higher) after having previously scraped by in the low hundreds.
When a deck really begins to sing, the effect is intoxicating. It’s great fun to see a series of mythical creatures link together to obliterate a scoring target.
On the flipside, it can be a little frustrating when a run just won’t come together. But that variance is an expected aspect of most roguelike deckbuilders, and Zoominoes is no exception to it.
There are still further complexities to consider. The grid itself can play host to a variety of modifiers, most of which are scoring-based. The player also chooses a zookeeper at the start of each round, and while the starting zookeepers have straightforward abilities and starting decks, later zookeeper unlocks feature more varied abilities and more esoteric starter creatures.
An escalating challenge, but not a dramatically different one
In our review of Zoominoes, we did find that the game’s challenge escalated nicely over time. Each run tends to be a good example of that, as the game appropriately bridges players from scoring small numbers with simple decks to hunting much bigger targets as major scoring opportunities begin to present themselves.
There are also varied difficulty settings that open up as the player scores highly enough and wins a few runs. These settings incur varied penalties and limitations in addition to the game’s base challenge, from restricting the number of turns per round to ramping up the scoring requirements.
The difficulty settings do work in forcing tighter strategies, but they tend not to fundamentally change the nature of the game. That’s actually one criticism we did come away with: for all of its varied tactical considerations that can emerge within each run, Zoominoes never strays far from its basic gameplay loop.
For players who really enjoy Zoominoes, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But those hoping to see more significant variance in play over time may be a little disappointed after clearing the game’s baseline hurdles.
That being said, Zoominoes retails at $14.99 USD and should deliver good value at that price range for most players interested in its deckbuilding roguelike concept.
What also helps is Zoominoes’ welcoming presentation. The art style here is bright and cheery, with tactile buttons and animals that manage to be expressive despite being restricted to static tile art and some accompanying sound effects. The game certainly presents itself as a fun and relaxing distraction, and its gameplay backs that presentation up.
The Bottom Line: Zoominoes is a fun roguelike deckbuilder with a solid challenge ramp and a pleasant theme.
Score: 8.0/10
