Score: 0
Funds: 260
Day 1
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About Sanctuary Tycoon

Build enclosures, pair founders by genetic distance and rewild endangered species in this free online conservation biology game.

Sanctuary Tycoon is an animal conservation game that models how real zoos and wildlife reserves rescue endangered species, run captive breeding programs and release animals back into restored habitat. You inherit a rundown reserve with two rescued founders and must grow it into a thriving assurance colony by fencing habitat-matched enclosures, managing welfare and planning pairings like a real studbook keeper.

The heart of the game is population genetics. Every animal carries two alleles at a viability locus, and offspring inherit one allele from each parent exactly as a Punnett square predicts. Mating close relatives raises the chance that harmful recessive alleles become homozygous, producing sickly inbred offspring through inbreeding depression. Importing unrelated wild founders injects fresh genetic diversity into the line, mirroring the genetic rescue used to save Florida panthers and Arabian oryx. Group size rules model social needs and territoriality: tamarins pine alone, while solitary snow leopards fight when crowded.

Carrying capacity caps how many animals each enclosure can support before stress and infertility set in, echoing the ecological limits wild populations face. Poaching, disease outbreaks and habitat fires are the real threats conservationists battle, and rewilding releases celebrate landmark successes like the return of Przewalski's horse to Mongolia and golden lion tamarins to Brazil.

Key Science Concepts

What You'll Learn

Grade Level: Middle School, High School

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How to play

  1. Fence Enclosures Select the Fence tool and tap a habitat patch to fence it (150 Funds). Each patch has a habitat type: forest, wetland, savanna or alpine.
  2. Rescue & Founders Use Rescue (120 Funds) to add a bottlenecked animal to a fenced pen. Import Founders (260 Funds) carry fresh wild genes. Match species to the right habitat or they stress!
  3. Pair by Genetics Tap an enclosure with Pair to bond a male and female. Check genotype rings: pair distant lines for healthy cubs. Inbred pairs risk sickly aa offspring shown by red rings!
  4. Rewild Releases A bonded healthy pair can be released into the wild with Rewild for +600 prestige and a grant payout. Rewilding is the ultimate conservation victory!
  5. Defend the Reserve Tap poachers to scare them off, treat disease clouds with the Vet tool and tap wildfires 3 times to douse them before they reach your pens.
  6. Funds & Welfare Visitors pay Funds each day based on happy animals and species diversity. Keep Sanctuary Health high or tap the health bar for an Emergency Care boost.
  7. Explore the Reserve Drag the map to pan and pinch or scroll to zoom across the whole reserve. The minimap in the corner jumps you anywhere. Hire a Keeper to boost pen welfare and a Ranger to chase poachers.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sanctuary Tycoon free to play?
Yes. Sanctuary Tycoon is completely free to play in your browser. There is no download, install or account needed.
What grade level is Sanctuary Tycoon for?
Sanctuary Tycoon is designed for Middle School, High School students and works well as a classroom activity or homework.
Does Sanctuary Tycoon work on phones and tablets?
Yes. Sanctuary Tycoon runs in any modern browser on desktop computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones in landscape mode.

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