Can your acrobatic kangaroos and juggling sheep keep the Penguins entertained? A challenging, amusing card game.
As court jesters, the players are trying to entertain the penguins - at the behest of their Emperor. The Penguin Ultimatum is about matching the type of entertainment and the entertainer with the audience's preferences. But the audience is fickle and quickly moves on to other entertainment.
The Penguin Ultimatum is a thought-provoking game underneath the whimsical surface. Players are jockeying to get the best scoring positions round an Entertainer and to make sure it isn't scored until they're ready. This means keeping an eye on what the other players are doing as well as taking advantage of your own opportunities. Challenging stuff indeed!
Game Overview
This is a card-laying game (like a tile-laying game, but with cards) where the players are throwing a party for penguins. Cards are placed out on the table to form a large grid.
Cards are either Penguin Guests or the Entertainers. The party starts with a few Entertainers on the table. Each turn, a player must add one Penguin to the party and may also claim any penguin as his own. As Entertainer Cards become surrounded, the Entertainers perform, and there is a scoring round.
Players who own penguins that enjoyed the performance get points. Penguins might enjoy the animal doing the performance (sheep, kangaroo, bear, or seal) or the type of performance (juggling, acrobatics, music, dancing).
Importantly, the player who scored -- but scored the fewest points -- gets to keep the Entertainer Card. This card can be turned in to break a Penguin placement rule during the game, or saved for potential bonus points at the end.
The game ends when the Entertainers run out, which takes about 25-40 minutes. It is designed to work equally well for 2, 3, or 4 players.
|
