Bongo!
Bongo! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Rules
For the basic game, you need the five white animal dice and the two yellow film dice. The two red poacher dice and the green national park guard die are used only with the advanced rules.
The seven dice are shuffled, and rolled simultaneously on the table.
First Step: How Many?
The two yellow dice have only sides with 1, 2, and 3. They give the number of identical animals that players have to look for. If the two yellow dice show the same number, this number will be used. If they show two different numbers, then the third number (the other one) will be used.
Examples:
- Yellow dice show 1 and 1: this means that players have to look for an animal that appears only once on the dice.
- Yellow dice show 1 and 3: since the numbers differ, the third number (2) is used. This means that players have to look for an animal that appears twice on the dice.
Second Step: What Animal?
Now, players must look for the animal which appears on the white dice in exactly the number given by the yellow dice.
Example:
Yellow dice show 3 and 3, so the number to look for is 3. The five white dice show: rhino, bongo, gnu, gnu, gnu. The round winner is the first player who calls "gnu". Players look for an animal shown three times on the dice, and there is one: the gnu.
Too easy? OK, there are a few twists to make the game more tricky.
Special Situation #1
Yellow dice show 1 and 3 (different numbers, so the third number, 2, is used). The five white dice show: rhino, rhino, gnu, gnu, bongo.
Players look for an animal shown two times on the dice. There are two rhinos, but also two gnus. Better not call too fast "gnu" or "rhino", since the right answer here is... bongo. The round winner is the first player who calls "bongo!".
When there are two animals that are shown the requested number of times on the white dice, the answer is the third animal (the other one).
Special Situation #2
The five white dice show: rhino, rhino, rhino, bongo, gnu. Players look for an animal shown two times.
It may happen that no animal is shown on the dice exactly the number of times requested. Here, players look for an animal shown two times, while there are three rhinos, one bongo, and one gnu. The answer is "nothing", and the first player who calls "nothing!" wins.
Reward
The round winner is the first player who calls the right answer. He takes one trophy of the corresponding animal. When the answer is "nothing", the winner takes the trophy he wants.
If there are no more trophies of the requested animal, the winner can take one from the player who has the most in this color. If there is a tie, he chooses.
The winner takes the dice and rolls them again.
Errors
If a player calls a wrong answer, he loses all of his trophies of the corresponding animal. A player calling "bongo" when the answer is gnu, for example, loses all his bongo trophies.
A player who calls "nothing" when there is an animal loses ALL his trophies.
The round nevertheless goes on until someone calls the right answer.
Winning the Game
The first player with two trophies of each color, or with all trophies of one color, wins.
Advanced Rules: Poachers
If it's too easy for you, you can make the game even more tricky by adding the two red poacher dice, who try to kill an animal.
If the two red dice show the same animal, one white die with this animal is cancelled. If the two red dice show different animals, one white die with the third animal (the other one) is cancelled.
Example:
Yellow dice show 1 and 3, so the number to look for is 2. The five white dice show: rhino, rhino, rhino, bongo, bongo. The two red poacher dice both show rhino.
Players are looking for an animal shown two times. There are three rhinos and two bongos, but the poachers kill one rhino. There are then two rhinos and two bongos left, and in such a case players must call the third animal. The answer is "gnu".
Even More Advanced Rules: National Park Guard
The green die figures the national park guard, who protects the wild animals.
The green die is rolled with the other dice.
- If the animal on the green die is the same animal that ought to be cancelled by the two poacher dice, the animal has been saved by the park guard. The poacher dice are cancelled and all white dice are valid.
- If the animal on the green die is not the one given by the two poacher dice, the poacher dice are valid.
Example:
Yellow dice show 1 and 3, so the number to look for is 2. The five white dice show: rhino, rhino, rhino, bongo, bongo. The two red poacher dice both show rhino, and the green die also shows rhino.
Players are looking for an animal shown two times. There are three rhinos and two bongos. The poachers attack a rhino, but it is protected by the national park guard, so it isn't killed and the answer is "bongo". If there were no green die, the answer would have been gnu.
The bongo is a large African antelope.