
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,650
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Thunderbirds
- 1–4 players
- 45–60 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2015

2025
Rules assistance for Animal Rescue Team
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Animal Rescue Team is a board game released in 2025 for 1–4 players, 45–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Matt Leacock and Lisa Towell and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling.
Calling all animal rescuers! When disaster strikes, animals will need your help to escape floods, fires, and earthquakes. Do you have what it takes to succeed in Animal Rescue Team? Test your skills against the worst disasters that nature has to offer. Can you free a cat trapped in a collapsed building, rescue a goat from a rushing river, or save a pair of dogs caught behind a fire line? In this fully cooperative game, you'll work with a team of expert specialists to safely evacuate animals to shelters, before time runs out and a second team must arrive to save the day! Animal Rescue Team is the first title in the "Shut Up & Sit Down Presents" game line.
Animal Rescue Team supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Animal Rescue Team is 45–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Animal Rescue Team for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Animal Rescue Team has a complexity rating of 2.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Animal Rescue Team belongs to these categories: Animals. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Area Movement, and Dice Rolling. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Animal Rescue Team are: Matt Leacock and Lisa Towell. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Animal Rescue Team as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.