You are running a zoo. You are running a cult. Ideally, nobody important notices the second part.
This is not a normal zoo.
In Monster Zoo Tycoon, you build and manage a zoo filled with creatures like zombies, vampires, werewolves and all manner of ghoulish attractions. Behind the scenes, your operation is run by a not very smart cult devoted to the Dark Lord.
Visitors come for a day, but some of them end up staying a little longer than planned.
Your cult is responsible for keeping the zoo running. Place traps disguised as harmless park props to capture unwary souls. Once they are in your hands, you decide what happens next:
Feed them to your monsters!
Brainwash them into new cultists!
Sacrifice them to gain Faith!
Brainwashing is a very sophisticated art and your only way to grow your workforce, so every visitor matters. You can even take advantage of break outs – who does not want two zombies for the price of one?
Juggle park design, creature care, media relations, and mandatory blood rituals to appease the CEO (Creator of Eternal Obscurity). Build exhibits, connect them with paths, and place the facilities your visitors expect.
At the same time, you are managing a second layer of the zoo that most people never see. A well-designed park brings in more visitors. More visitors means more opportunities, if you know what I mean.
Your exhibits are filled with monsters, not animals. Each creature has its own requirements:
Diets such as brains, blood, meat, or souls
Conditions that improve their exhibit
Behaviors that can become a problem if ignored
Some monsters can convert visitors when they attack, others can summon additional threats. If something escapes, it will create total, unhinged chaos.
Problems will happen.
Monsters can escape and spread chaos through your zoo. Dealing with nosey reporters, PR disasters, panicked parkgoers, and crazy saboteurs is just one more Tuesday. Keeping everything contained is just as important as growing your zoo.
Progress comes from expanding both your zoo and your cult. Generate Faith to unlock the Dark Lord’s Favors and gain access to new buildings and systems. Send cultists on expeditions to unlock new monsters and continue expanding your collection.
Build, summon, manage, and unlock. Then deal with whatever goes wrong.