The premise of the game is that you are the manager of a zoo and the challenge is to expand it by building interesting attractions to wow the public and encourage them to donate. Additional income can be gained through the tactical positioning of food stalls and entertainment areas. Whilst balancing expansion against income, you also need to keep your animals fed, watered and happy.

The game presents a very thorough tutorial that will guide you through the basics. This includes how to pan and zoom through the 3D world of your zoo. You can even zoom right down to the level of a guest and walk around seeing what they would see.

Construction is very simple to do and in the first instance is about building a suitable enclosure (only cages are available) in which to keep your animals. You can then select from various menu features such as scenery items, shelters, water effects, feeders and animal toys to make the animals' stay a happy one. You quickly learn that you need to give them lots of space and an environment that reflects what they are used to in the wild.

To ensure the animals remain healthy you also need to employ park staff. These include maintenance people, zoo keepers and educators (people who teach the visitors about particular animals). If you don't have a big enough team your animals can fall sick from the accumulation of dirt in their cages. If this happens you can zoom down to first person view and take on the role of a zoo keeper and scoop the poop yourself. This was slightly amusing the first time but shovelling the stuff as a long term game element quickly loses its appeal.