Bärenpark is a charming tile‑placement board game where players compete to build the best bear park. Each player starts with a small 4×4 “park area” board and, over the course of the game, expands it by placing polyomino‑shaped tiles representing bear enclosures, green areas (like playgrounds, rivers, food streets), and animal houses (for polar bears, pandas, koalas, and Gobi bears)
When you place a tile, you might cover special icons on your board — these icons let you take new tiles from the shared supply:
A wheelbarrow gives you green-area tiles.
A cement mixer lets you pick a bear-house tile.
An excavator grants you an enclosure tile.
A construction crew icon lets you take an extra park-area board (up to four total), expanding your buildable space.
If you manage to fill nearly an entire 4×4 park area (leaving only a “pit” space), you place a bear statue there — these statues score points, with higher‑value ones going to players who complete areas earlier.
There’s also an optional “expert” mode with Achievement tiles: these give bonus points for meeting specific goals — for example, placing a certain number of enclosure tiles, creating rivers of a certain length, or building multiple houses of the same kind.
The game ends when someone has built all four of their park areas (or no more moves are possible). Then, players score their park by adding up the values of their animal houses, enclosures, and bear statues — plus any achieved bonus tiles if you played with them.
Why it’s appealing
Combines the satisfying puzzle feel of polyomino placement with strategic decision-making.
The icon‑coverage mechanic creates a fun “engine-building” feel, because where you place a tile determines what you draw next.
Charming theme — building a bear park with different species and habitat features makes it cute and thematic.
Replayability is strong, especially with achievement variants.
