Child playing the Conservation Crisis board game during family game night, learning about endangered species and wildlife conservation through play.

Editor's Note (2026): This review is based on our family's experience playing Conservation Crisis in 2014. I've updated the article to improve readability and SEO while keeping my original opinions and experience.

I'm always on the lookout for board games that do more than simply entertain.

Don't get me wrong, we love a good family games night, but if a game can also teach children something along the way without them even realising they're learning, then that's a real bonus.

Conservation Crisis is one of those games.

Rather than focusing on collecting the most money or reaching the finish first, this strategy board game introduces players to the real challenges faced by wildlife conservationists as they work to protect endangered species and manage wildlife reserves.

It's educational, thought-provoking and surprisingly good fun.

What Is Conservation Crisis?

Conservation Crisis is a family strategy board game designed for 2 to 4 players, recommended for children aged 7 years and over.

The aim of the game is to build and manage your own wildlife reserve while protecting endangered animals.

Players receive donor funding at the beginning of the game and must carefully decide how to spend it, balancing conservation projects, staffing and unexpected events that threaten their reserve.

It's a clever concept that encourages children to think ahead, plan their spending and understand that conservation isn't always straightforward.

How Do You Play?

Each player starts with $100,000 in donor funding to begin building their wildlife reserve.

As you move around the board, you'll make decisions about:

Which conservation projects to invest in.
Which members of staff to employ.
How to manage your available funding.
How to deal with unexpected wildlife emergencies.

Along the way you'll encounter situations inspired by real conservation challenges.

One of the more memorable parts of the game is the Emergency Crisis Fund, which can only be used if you draw the appropriate card. It adds an extra level of strategy because you never quite know when you'll need it.

Players can also come across a checkpoint run by poachers, where they must either miss two turns or pay a bribe to continue. Although it's only a game mechanic, it introduces younger players to some of the difficult realities faced by conservation projects around the world.

It's these little touches that make the game feel different from many traditional family board games.

Our Thoughts

I'll be honest, when we first opened the box the instructions looked quite daunting.

They're very detailed, and at first I wondered whether the game might be a little too complicated.

Thankfully, once we'd played a couple of turns everything started to make sense.

After that, the game flowed really well.

The strategy element keeps adults interested, while the wildlife theme helps keep children engaged throughout the game.

What I liked most was that it naturally encouraged conversations about endangered animals, conservation and why protecting wildlife is so important.

Rather than feeling like a lesson, the learning happened naturally as we played.

Is Conservation Crisis Suitable for Children?

I think the recommended age of 7+ is about right.

Younger children may need a little help understanding some of the strategy during the first game, but once they've got the hang of it, it's surprisingly easy to pick up.

It's also one of those games that adults can genuinely enjoy too, making it ideal for family games evenings.

Would I Recommend Conservation Crisis?

Yes.

If you're looking for an educational board game that offers something a little different from the usual family favourites, I think Conservation Crisis is well worth considering.

It combines strategy, teamwork, budgeting and problem solving while introducing children to important topics such as endangered species and wildlife conservation.

It's a game that entertains while quietly teaching valuable lessons along the way.

Another lovely touch is that, at the time of our review, £2 from every game sold went towards charities supporting conservation projects around the world, making the purchase support a worthwhile cause as well.

For our family, it was a refreshing change from the more traditional board games we already owned, and one that sparked plenty of interesting conversations long after we'd packed the pieces away.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary copy of Conservation Crisis for the purpose of this review in 2014. As always, all opinions are entirely my own and reflect my family's genuine experience at the time. This article has been updated for readability and SEO while preserving my original review.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Conservation Crisis is a family strategy board game where players build and manage wildlife reserves while learning about endangered species and wildlife conservation.
The game is recommended for children aged 7 years and over and can be played by 2 to 4 players.
Yes. While it's designed to be fun, the game also introduces children to wildlife conservation, budgeting, strategic thinking and some of the real-life challenges conservationists face.
The instruction booklet is quite detailed, but once you've played a few turns the gameplay becomes much easier to understand and flows well.