Bear #1
Available as soon as the zoo opens. Cost 500 diamonds · 50 diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.15 per level.
Animal Guide
Meet the ZooBlocks Animals
ZooBlocks runs on six readable puzzle animals, then expands into a full 12-animal zoo roster. Early animals teach you to read the board; later animals drive the diamond economy that powers long-term progression.
How the Roster Works
The first six animals — bear, fox, frog, bunny, cat, and owl — are the six colors used in puzzle play, so their faces are your board language. Every cell on the puzzle board shows one of these animals, and same-animal touching groups of three or more are what pop. Learning to see groups quickly is the fastest way to cleaner boards.
The remaining six — penguin, lion, turtle, monkey, elephant, and dragon — are zoo-only tiers. They never appear on the puzzle board; they exist to scale your diamond income and to give the zoo long-term depth.
The Full Roster, With Real Numbers
Each animal lists the level where the zoo unlocks it, its purchase cost, and its diamond income per second at level 1. Each later tier costs about ten times more but produces about ten times more, so every unlock is a real step change rather than a cosmetic one.
Fox #2
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 3. Cost 2,000 diamonds · 500 diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.20 per level.
Frog #3
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 5. Cost 20K diamonds · 5,000 diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.28 per level.
Bunny #4
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 7. Cost 200K diamonds · 50K diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.35 per level.
Cat #5
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 10. Cost 2M diamonds · 500K diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.42 per level.
Owl #6
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 14. Cost 20M diamonds · 5M diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.50 per level.
Penguin #7
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 19. Cost 200M diamonds · 50M diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.58 per level.
Lion #8
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 25. Cost 2B diamonds · 500M diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.66 per level.
Turtle #9
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 31. Cost 20B diamonds · 5B diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.75 per level.
Monkey #10
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 39. Cost 200B diamonds · 50B diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.84 per level.
Elephant #11
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 47. Cost 2T diamonds · 500B diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×1.94 per level.
Dragon #12
Unlocks in the zoo at Level 56. Cost 20T diamonds · 5T diamonds/sec at Lv.1 · upgrade growth ×2.05 per level.
Upgrade Economics
Buying an animal starts it at level 1. Raising one level costs about (10 + level) × current income diamonds, and income itself grows by the percentage shown on each card — from a gentle ×1.15 for the bear up to a steep ×2.05 per level for the dragon.
Because growth percentages differ, your newest unlock usually beats your oldest one on value per diamond. The bear at level 22 costs 30K diamonds for its next upgrade; by that point in a run, a newer animal of the same total investment would earn far more per second. That is why the standard advice is: unlock the newest animal you can afford, then feed it, and only revisit old favorites when they are nearly free to upgrade.
Why Animal Design Matters
In puzzle mode, animals are functional. Strong silhouettes and hard color separation help players spot valid groups quickly and avoid missed pops while planning around the tray.
In zoo mode, the roster becomes the backbone of the whole progression. Each animal is both a collectible milestone and a production tier that turns future puzzle runs into bigger diamond rewards, which keeps the two halves of ZooBlocks connected.
A Realistic Starter Zoo Route
Here is how the first hours usually go, using the real numbers above. Your first clear requires only one row — a typical early turn (the fox-overlap example in the scoring guide) already pays 8,400 diamonds, since zoo income starts at zero and the conversion is ×1.
- Bank 500 immediately and buy the bear: the first income tick is 50 diamonds per second while you play.
- Upgrade in bursts, not dribs. Bear levels cost about (10 + level) × current income, so the first upgrades are a few hundred diamonds each and compound your rate quickly.
- Unlock the fox the moment level 3 arrives (2,000 diamonds): 500 diamonds per second is ten times the base bear.
- Frog at level 5 costs 20K — reachable within the first session if you keep turning level scores into upgrades quickly early on.
- From the bunny at level 7 up, keep the newest animal as the spending priority and let older animals coast until they become cheap to upgrade again.
The zoo view shows every candidate's cost, income, and unlock gating up front, so you can plan a route instead of discovering the ladder blindly.
Learn the Roster, Then Grow It
Knowing the early animals helps you read the board faster. Knowing the late animals helps you spend diamonds much more efficiently.