Zoo Mafia The Great End-of-Year Cleanse
Not a celebration—an enforced purge, reset, or ritual cleansing.
In the human world, the end of the year is about reflection, resolutions, and fresh starts.
In Zoo Mafia, it’s something far more dangerous.
It’s the Cleanse.
No champagne. No countdown. Just hoses, bleach, locked gates, and nervous crews scrambling in the dark.
When the keepers decide it’s time to “deep clean,” the underworld holds its breath.
What the Cleanse Really Means
Officially, it’s routine maintenance.
Unofficially, it’s chaos.
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Pens are emptied or rearranged
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Storage areas are searched and scrubbed
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Feeding schedules shift without warning
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Old structures are dismantled
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Temporary barriers go up where tunnels once ran
To the humans, it’s hygiene.
To the animals, it’s a forced reset of the map.
Every stash hidden under straw, behind rocks, or beneath concrete is suddenly at risk. Every secret passage might be sealed. Every deal that relied on “no one ever goes back there” is now exposed.
The zoo doesn’t just get cleaned—it gets reshuffled.
Why the Cleanse Is a Perfect Crime Catalyst
The Great End-of-Year Cleanse is one of the best story engines in Zoo Mafia because it disrupts everyone at once.
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Bosses lose control when their territory becomes inaccessible
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Underlings panic as contraband disappears overnight
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Rival crews exploit the confusion to move in
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Old grudges resurface when long-buried evidence turns up
This isn’t a job the players choose—it’s an event that happens to them.
And that makes it dangerous.
Sabotage Under the Cover of Soap and Water
The Cleanse creates rare opportunities for sabotage that would be impossible on a normal night.
Examples include:
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Redirecting cleaning crews to “accidentally” flood a rival’s stash
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Planting contraband in areas scheduled for inspection
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Using temporary relocation to frame another family
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Destroying tunnels or shortcuts and blaming the keepers
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Swapping labels, tags, or enclosure markers to disrupt territory claims
Because everything is already in motion, no one notices the extra push.
If a pen collapses or a supply van vanishes, it’s easy to shrug and say:
“That’s just how bad the Cleanse always is.”
Forced Movement, Forced Choices
One of the most powerful effects of the Cleanse is how it forces crews out of their comfort zones.
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Safehouses become unusable
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Meeting spots are exposed
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Neutral ground disappears
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Allies are suddenly neighbors
Players may have to:
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Negotiate temporary truces
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Hide with former enemies
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Choose what to save and what to abandon
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Decide whether a stash—or a crew member—is more important
These moments test loyalty far more than any shootout.
Ritual, Superstition, and Fear
Not every family treats the Cleanse as purely practical.
Some see it as:
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A bad omen
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A necessary sacrifice
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A chance to burn old debts—literally
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A time when the zoo itself “judges” who deserves to stay
Bosses may demand symbolic acts:
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Destroying a prized item to prove loyalty
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Cutting loose a liability before the year turns
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Leaving offerings in abandoned enclosures
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Executing a traitor while the noise of cleaning hides the sound
The Cleanse becomes a ritual purge, not just a logistical nightmare.
For the Zookeeper (GM): Turning Cleaning Into Tension
To run the Great End-of-Year Cleanse effectively:
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Treat it as a countdown, not a single scene
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Announce schedules in advance—and change them suddenly
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Show the consequences of delay immediately
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Let players hear hoses, engines, and footsteps nearby
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Make every decision feel like a gamble against time
The Cleanse shouldn’t feel fair.
It should feel inevitable.
For Players: Surviving the Reset
Smart crews don’t try to stop the Cleanse—they ride it.
Ask yourselves:
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What can we destroy and blame on the chaos?
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What secrets do we want uncovered?
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Who benefits if the map changes?
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What do we carry forward—and what do we let burn?
The end of the year isn’t about starting clean.
It’s about deciding what survives the purge.
Closing the Year in Zoo Mafia
When the hoses shut off and the keepers go home, the zoo looks pristine. If you are a fan of Zoo Mafia and want to be notified when we go live on Kickstarter make sure you head over to the follow page to get notified. If you want to be on the newsletter to get all the details as we release them you can sign up here.
But underneath the fresh straw and painted walls:
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Old powers are broken
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New alliances have formed
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And someone didn’t make it to the new year
The Great End-of-Year Cleanse doesn’t wipe the slate clean.
It chooses who gets to write on it next.
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