Monkey Palace
Monkey Palace Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Aim of Monkey Palace
In the game Monkey Palace, you compete to build the best staircases for the Monkey Palace. The aim of the game is to score as many Banana Points as possible.
The higher the staircase you build and the more arches you use in your staircase, the more building bricks and most importantly the more Banana Points you will get.
The game ends when there are no more building bricks.
The winner is the player with the most Banana Points!
Content List
Building Bricks
- 80 arches
- 80 bricks
- 16 columns
Decoration Bricks
- 32 bamboo leaves & 16 golden bricks
Animals
- 1 monkey
- 1 butterfly
- 1 frog
Other Bricks
- 4 corner bricks
- 1 base plate
Cards
- 67 Monkey Cards
- 14 Bonus Cards
- 3 Trophy Cards
Other Components
- 4 Player Boards
- 1 Brick Tray
- 2 sheets with 4 Ground Maps (1-4)
Scan the QR code on the box to watch the video rules and to find rules in other languages: dottedgames.com/monkeypalace
How to Set Up the Game
- Place the building bricks in the corresponding compartments of the Brick Tray.
- Place the four corner bricks on the base plate as shown.
- Choose one of the Ground Maps and place it on the base plate. For your first game, we recommend playing with Ground Map 1 (see the number in the corner).
- Place one brick and two arches of any color in the white marked area on top of the Ground Map. You have now built a starting staircase. Place a golden Decoration Brick at the end of the staircase.
- Place the Decoration Bricks on the table or have fun building a cool jungle with them around the Ground Map, until the Decoration Bricks are needed for play.
- Place the yellow Bonus Cards in one pile.
- Place the Monkey on the Monkey Trophy Card.
- The Butterfly and the Frog are micro expansions that add even more fun and variety. We suggest that you play a couple of games before you include them in the game. If you choose to play with one or both of them, place the Butterfly on the Butterfly Trophy Card and the Frog on the Frog Trophy Card.
- In the upper left corner of the Monkey Cards you can see their value (Monkey Credits). Sort the Monkey Cards by value and color as shown on the photo in the rules. Place the multicolored Monkey Cards worth 1 and 2 Monkey Credits in two separate piles. Place the Monkey Cards worth 3, 4 and 5 Monkey Credits in nine separate piles divided by color (light green, dark green, and gold). Place the multicolored Monkey Cards worth 6 Monkey Credits in one separate pile.
- The player who last ate a banana takes Player Board 1 along with the building bricks shown on the back of the Player Board. You can choose building bricks of different colors or the same color. Flip the player board to the front and place it in front of you. Going clockwise, the next player takes Player Board 2 and the building bricks shown on the back and flips their Player Board, and Player 3 and Player 4 do the same.
You are now done with the setup!
Overview of a Turn
The game is played in rounds, and in each round every player has a turn. On your turn, you must follow the steps below. Each step is explained in detail on the following pages.
- Build one staircase. Use your building bricks to build one staircase for the Monkey Palace. Note the ground color of the starting point of your staircase.
- Decorate your staircase. At the end of your staircase, place a Decoration Brick corresponding to the starting point color.
- Count Monkey Credits. Count the number of arches that you have placed in your staircase. You get as many Monkey Credits as arches. Add one Monkey Credit if the Decoration Brick in your staircase is the highest of that color.
- Take Monkey Cards. Spend your Monkey Credits to take Monkey Cards of the same color as your Decoration Brick. The Monkey Cards give you building bricks and Banana Points.
- Take one-time delivery. Take the One-time Delivery of building bricks.
- Take recurring delivery. Flip the Monkey Cards to the Monkey Side and place them on your Player Board. Take the Recurring Delivery of building bricks.
- Take a Bonus Card. If a part of your built staircase has a height of at least five bricks, take a Bonus Card.
- Take Trophy Cards. If you have triggered any Trophy Cards on your turn, take the Trophy Card(s).
Your turn is over. The player to your left takes their turn.
1. Build One Staircase
A staircase consists of one or more arches and in many cases also of supporting bricks and columns. The arches make up the steps in the ascending staircase. A staircase must make a direct path from the Ground Map, so a staircase has a starting point and an end.
In the staircase you build, each arch you place must be higher than the previous one and make a direct path to the top with ascending steps.
Staircase with ascending steps — a valid staircase. Not a staircase - steps not ascending — an invalid staircase, since the steps do not ascend.
Bricks and columns can be used to support or extend the staircase.
You may use any number of your building bricks to build a staircase. The color of the building bricks does not matter. Any building bricks you do not use on this turn can be saved for future turns.
Example: On Player 1's first turn, they can build a staircase with their two arches.
Example: On Player 2's first turn, they can build a staircase with their two arches and one brick.
Building Rules
A. Starting Point — A staircase must start from an open knob on the Ground Map.
B. Starting Brick — A staircase may start with any building brick.
C. End Brick — A staircase must end with an arch.
D. Build on Any Bricks — You may build on any bricks that have an open knob, including Decoration Bricks. But you may not build on the two center knobs of the arches.
E. Attach the Staircase — A staircase must attach to at least one of the bricks already on the Ground Map. Very rarely, a player is not able to attach their staircase to the existing build on the Ground Map. In such cases the player takes their Recurring Delivery of building bricks and waits until the next round.
F. Support the Staircase — Each building brick in your staircase must be fully supported.
G. Arch on Arch Is Not Allowed — You may not place an arch directly on top of another arch.
H. Directions — A staircase may turn 90 degrees.
I. Use Arches Only as Direct Steps — A staircase must make a direct path from the Ground Map to the Decoration Brick. Every arch you place must be a direct step up toward the end of your staircase. Therefore a player cannot place arches as supporting bricks branching off from the direct path.
TIP: You may turn the game board to view from different angles, and you may start over if you realize while building that there is a better place to build elsewhere on the Ground Map.
2. Decorate Your Staircase
Once you have built your staircase, you must add the Decoration Brick corresponding to the color of the starting point of your staircase.
Place the Decoration Brick at the end of your staircase.
3. Count Monkey Credits
Count the number of arches in your staircase. You get 1 Monkey Credit for each arch that you have placed in the staircase you have just built. If the Decoration Brick in the staircase you just built is currently the highest of that color, you get 1 extra Monkey Credit.
Example: Player 1 has built a staircase with 3 arches (3 Monkey Credits) and has placed the highest light-green Decoration Brick (1 Monkey Credit). Player 1 therefore gets a total of 4 Monkey Credits.
4. Take Monkey Cards
Spend your Monkey Credits to take Monkey Card(s). The Monkey Cards that you take must match the color of the Decoration Brick at the end of the staircase that you just built.
However, you can take the multicolored cards no matter what color the Decoration Brick on your staircase is.
At the start of your turn pay attention to the color of the starting point of your staircase. It determines which Monkey Cards you can take.
You may take one or more Monkey Cards for your Monkey Credits, but you may only take the top card from each pile on each turn. Card piles can run out of cards.
You don't have to use all your Monkey Credits, but you cannot save Monkey Credits for your next turn.
The Monkey Cards have a Credit Side and a Monkey Side. The Credit Side shows the Banana Points, the Monkey Credits, the One-time Delivery, and the Recurring Delivery. The Monkey Side shows the Recurring Delivery.
Example: From a dark green starting point, Player 2 has built a staircase with 6 arches and has placed a dark-green Decoration Brick which is not the highest dark-green. Therefore, they have 6 Monkey Credits to spend and can choose to take one Monkey Card worth 6, or two Monkey Cards worth 5 and 1, or two Monkey Cards worth 4 and 2, or three Monkey Cards worth 3, 2 and 1.
If you take several Monkey Cards in one turn and your Player Board is full, you may place these new Monkey Cards on top of each other on the Player Board.
5. Take One-Time Delivery
Take the One-time Delivery shown on the Credit Side of the Monkey Card(s) you took on this turn.
- = Take a brick OR an arch
- = Take a column
Example: As their One-time Delivery, Player 1 may take 2 building bricks (free choice of arches and bricks) as well as 1 column.
6. Take Recurring Delivery
Flip the Monkey Card(s) to the Monkey Side and place it/them on the empty spaces on your Player Board.
There is room for four visible Monkey Cards on your Player Board. When you have more than four Monkey Cards, you must place the new Monkey Card(s) on top of the existing Monkey Cards on your Player Board.
Take your Recurring Delivery, as shown to the left on your Player Board AND on all the top Monkey Cards on your Player Board.
Example: As their Recurring Delivery, Player 1 may take 5 arches and 4 bricks.
7. Take Bonus Cards
On your turn, if part of your staircase is the height of at least five bricks, you may take a Bonus Card. Note that a column counts as three bricks AND that arches cannot be included in the count.
The Bonus Card gives you 4 Banana Points. You may only take 1 Bonus Card per turn. Place your Bonus Card next to your Player Board so all players can see it.
8. Take Trophy Cards
The Trophy Cards and the Monkey, the Butterfly, and the Frog are elements linked to different player actions. The Trophy Cards can move from player to player during the game, and the player who has the specific Trophy Card at the end of the game either gets or loses Banana Points.
The Butterfly and the Frog are optional, and we recommend playing a couple of games before introducing them.
The Monkey
If you have placed a golden Decoration Brick on your turn, you must place the Monkey on an open end knob of an arch in any staircase to block your opponents from building there. Take the Monkey Trophy Card worth 2 Banana Points from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it. Place the card next to your Player Board.
The Butterfly (optional)
If you have placed the tallest Decoration Brick of any color (no ties), you must place the Butterfly on top of that Decoration Brick. Take the Butterfly Trophy Card worth 2 Banana Points from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it. Place the card next to your Player Board.
The Frog (optional)
During your turn, you may take the Frog Trophy Card that allows you to immediately take an extra column from the Brick Tray. Only when you take the Frog Trophy Card from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it, can you take the extra column. The Frog Trophy Card is worth -3 Banana Points.
Take the Frog Trophy Card, place it next to your Player Board and place the Frog on the lowest open end knob in the staircase you just built.
How the Game Ends
The endgame is triggered when there are not enough building bricks of one kind for a player to take at the end of their turn. However, play continues for the remainder of the round, so all players have an equal number of turns.
Once the final round is completed, each player turns over all the Monkey Cards on their Player Board and counts their Banana Points on the Monkey Cards as well as on the Bonus Cards and the Trophy Cards (Monkey, Butterfly, Frog).
The winner is the player with the most Banana Points!
In case of a tie, the winner is the player with the Monkey Trophy Card. If none of the tied players have the Monkey Trophy Card, the tied players will share the victory.
HAVE FUN PLAYING!
Credits
Game concept by: David Gordon & TAM
Illustrations by: AMEET and Matthieu MARTIN
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2024 The LEGO Group.