Sandbox mode gives you every animal and as much money as you want. It's the mode most showcase zoos are built in, but it's also the best place to test ideas before you risk real money in Franchise mode.
Setting up a sandbox zoo
When you start a sandbox zoo you can choose a map (each one has its own climate and terrain: tropical, Asian grassland, Asian desert, North American taiga, mountain maps and more) and adjust the settings.
Things worth knowing about the settings:
- Money: you can leave it unlimited. Prices are still shown, so you can see roughly what a build would cost in Franchise.
- Guest limit: you can cap the number of guests. The lowest option is 500, which can still feel crowded in a small indoor aquarium.
- Simulation switches: you can turn individual systems on or off, including animal welfare, water cleanliness, temperature needs and protesters.
Turning systems off while you build
If you're building something big, like a huge rock canyon or a full indoor tropical house, constant alerts get annoying. Turn the simulation switches off while you're sculpting, then turn them back on before you decide the habitat is finished. That way you find out whether it actually works.
Using sandbox as a test lab
This is the workflow I use before building anything expensive in Franchise:
- Rebuild the footprint of the habitat in a sandbox zoo on a similar map.
- Pin the species and check the space numbers.
- For water habitats, fill the water and look at filtration: how much supply you need for the water area.
- Add the animals and open the traversable area heat map to look for escape routes.
- Note what plant cover, shelter size and ground mix gets the animals to 100%.
- Save the habitat as a blueprint, then place that blueprint in your Franchise zoo.
The blueprint still costs money in Franchise, but you won't be paying for three rebuilds.
Great sandbox build ideas
These all use features that are new or much better in Planet Zoo 2:
- A zoo where guests never touch the ground: raised wooden walkways weaving between habitats, circular platforms around big trees, and red pandas climbing on bridges right over guests' heads.
- A walk-through vulture canyon: a deep canyon carved with the terrain tools, aviary netting over the top, and glass aquarium tunnels used as bridges so guests can cross right through the birds' space.
- An indoor tropical house: otters, manatees, monkeys and fish under one roof, with waterfalls and underwater viewing.
- A recreation of a classic tycoon-game building: exhibit boxes turned into fish tanks inside a colourful round building.
- A koi pond made from exhibits: round exhibit tanks sunk into a path.
- An open-ocean mega tank: floor-to-ceiling glass with sharks and rays.
The Build Ideas page explains how each one is built.
Things sandbox can't do (yet)
- You can't freeze the season. Spring and summer go by fast, while autumn and winter last much longer. On some maps, like the North American taiga, the light is dim even at noon in winter. If you're taking screenshots, save when the light is good.
- Some building bugs still apply: null barriers sometimes refuse to place, and very deep aviary netting can misbehave. See Patch Changes and Known Bugs.
Sandbox vs the other modes
| Sandbox | Franchise | Career | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money | Unlimited (optional) | Real budget, loans | Set by the mission |
| Animals | All unlocked | Unlocked through accreditation | Set by the mission |
| Best for | Building and testing | Long-term challenge | Learning the systems |
If you love building but also want goals, a nice middle ground is to give yourself a challenge: spin a wheel to pick each next animal, build only with Frontier blueprints, or only allow animals from one continent.