by Achire
I play this game a few times a year, but not because it gets 'samey'. Actually, it never feels samey at all, because the buyers change, the exhibitions change, different pets come out, different cages, different upgrades, artifacts, etc.The reason I play it rarely is because teaching the rules to this one is such a beast and because the fun way to play it (telling stories about the pet) also makes the game really too long. Also, it can become quite brain-burning... especially with the dark alleys expansion, but even without it.
I still love the game and if I haven't played it in long enough, I miss it and play it again, but because I don't play with the same people all the time, I couldn't imagine teaching it often enough for it to potentially get samey from replays. I do think if you're a person who might get dozens of plays of this game within the same year, you might need to get the expansion to keep it variable enough.