There is one more aspect; When, for various reasons, it is impossible to go out into the world, all that’s left is home frying during frequent hot weather. Then you have to find various forms of compensation, watch programs on TV, read a book about your dream destination or play something interesting. The latest offer of the Nasza Księgarnia publishing house fits perfectly into the last point. The jungle takes players to the world of exotic fauna, which often pleases the eye, but can also be dangerous.
They owe it
Two gentlemen sat at the controls of the edition. The idea and design came from Günter Burkhardt, a German game designer who used to be a geography and mathematics teacher. The visual side was taken care of by Marcin Minor, a native artist who has created many graphics for games, books and magazines. This combination resulted in a game firecracker with interesting content.
A measure that captivates
The box of the right size contains a rigid unfolding board, four pieces and tiles for laying: forty with animals, five special ones, three clean ones and instructions. After opening the eye, you will see a sticker to sign for the owner of the property – a very interesting element, especially for the youngest. Now that you’ve got everything out, it’s time to get ready. The boards are placed on a flat surface so that everyone has equal access. It is in green, purple and blue tones and represents the night jungle and its inhabitants. There are forty fields in total, and there is a path for pawns around, which has lianas in three places. Each player takes his marker and places it on the leaf with the dragonfly. The tiles are placed face down under the board so that no one knows what is hidden there.
Let’s play
The rules are not very complicated – the goal is to arrange all the animals from bottom to top, and when a person completes the entire animal, he scores as many points as there are squares. It must be remembered, however, that the growth method has one catch. Once a fragment appears in the bottom row, you can lecture above it as well, if you have something that fits. After preparation, the order of the participants is chosen and each one discovers one tile in their time allocation. If a player has a tile to place on the board, he does so and then turns over the next one. The mismatched item lands face down above the board, and the queue continues. Each special tile has its own description of how it works, for example, you lose the queue with “Spider’s Web”, and with “Skid!” withdraws a pawn. It performs an action on it, and then it acts as with others.
There are a few extra hints that give the game a new meaning. A participant may only flip one tile, but may use those above and below the board. We are dealing here with an interesting memory-style function, where remembering previously discovered elements can be a win. If you unhappily discover a square above the board that does not fit, you have to put it back in the same place, and the special variant lands in a different location. The player completing the creature moves the pawn as many spots as it consists of, and the turn ends. The figure rules are also an interesting aspect. When there is someone on the field that we want to visit, we jump to the top of the pyramid. If a player below us has to move, he takes us with him, unless we come across a liana, then we stay in the field in front of it and the companion continues.
Let’s change the rules of the game …
The game allows for some kind of freedom of action, i.e. you can adjust it according to your preferences, e.g. adjusting to the age or number of players. At the start, you can either fill the left column or put one tile from each animal on the board. An option is also to eliminate special tiles. These are propositions from the creator, but the possibilities are endless.
Fun for everyone
The jungle is for four players because there are so many pieces. The age is conventional, but it’s best to start from the age of five; younger ones may get lost in the rules. The average game time is about twenty minutes, but making your adjustments will extend or shorten this time. The whole thing is really well made. The rigid box has room for all parts inside, and the zipper bags can be grouped. The board has interesting facts about the animals from the front on the back, so we not only have fun, but also learn. More home version as it takes up some space.
When you play with your eyes!
I am in love with the graphics and works of Marcin Minor. The animals are made in a characteristic way, a bit fairy-tale, a bit caricatured, with huge eyes. They will appeal to younger players who are more likely to sit down at the board when the visualization catches their eye. Thanks to the great design, you want to play and complete pets, even those that are slightly scary on a daily basis, such as spiders or centipedes. The colors have been selected in such a way that there are no glaring and mismatched elements. Pawns also look interesting; their cap-shaped form stands out from the rest. Big applause for the use of the memory treatment, which develops imagination and memory, and for the youngest it is a good exercise through play.
I played a dozen or so skirmishes with a different composition and I must admit that the age of the players does not affect the reception. I had as much fun with the kids as with the adults. The joy was the same, and interesting and often unusual individuals evoked surprise and curiosity. The latter made many people then look for information about a specific species. This is my favorite type of game that not only entertains but also develops.
I recommend it because there is a lot of configuration and the title does not get boring quickly. The design and design are gold on the publishing market. The price may scare you a bit, because PLN 75 is quite a lot, but if you like this type of game, you will not regret it.
