Review: Jungle Speed

As part of the Blogger Board Game Club, we were recently sent Jungle Speed by Asmodee and Esdevium games to test out.

What’s in the Box?

• 80 cards
• 1 cloth bag
• 1 Totem
• Rules

The Legend of the Game!

Jungle Speed was invented approximately 3000 years ago in subtropical Spidopotamia by the Abouloubou tribe. The Abouloubou chose their chiefs using a traditional game played with eucalyptus leaves. This game was passed on secretly from generation to generation, until Tom and Yako, the last descendants of the Abouloubou, decided to reveal it to the world.

How to Play?

The aim of the game is to get rid of all your cards. All the players are dealt a hand of cards and the totem is placed in the middle of the table. Players have to turn over and reveal a card each at the same time. If 2 of the cards are identical then the players with the identical cards have to quickly try to grab the totem. The winner of the round then gives all their cards (from the reveal pile) to the loser.

Our Thoughts

The game is fast paced and felt similar to a game of ‘snap’ but with more complicated rules. Some of the cards are similar….almost identical….which can make players go for the totem which then has consequences; all the players give give their discarded cards to the player who made the mistake! And some cards have special instructions such as all players have to go for the totem and other rules…so you really do have to keep your wits about you!

We did have to get our head round the different rules and different cards to make sure we were playing the game correctly but once we understood some of the complicated rules the game was fun and the eldest enjoyed it. The game is recommended for ages 7+ but we also attempted to play with Bee who just turned 5. Although she eventually understood what she had to do, her reactions were not quick enough to get hold of the totem before anyone else so she got a bit frustrated!

What is also useful is that you get a cloth carry bag in which you can place the cards, totem and rules to store them safely. So you can easily take the game with you to friends to play.

A fun game that really gets the excitement level up as you wait in anticipation for matching cards to be revealed  so you can grab the totem.

Disclosure: We were sent Jungle Speed free for the purposes of review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.