Ubongo
| Ubongo | |
|---|---|
| Game data | |
| author | Grzegorz Rejchtman |
| graphic |
Sandra Johansson (Kärnan), M. Weinert , N. Neubauer , Sensit (Kosmos) |
| publishing company |
Kärnan (2003), Kosmos (2005), University Games , Z-Man Games , Marektoy , etc. |
| Publishing year | 2003, 2005 |
| Art | Board game |
| Teammates | 2-4 |
| Duration | 20-30 minutes |
| Age | from 8 years
|
| Awards | |
|
Årets spel 2003 |
|
Ubongo is a placement game by the Polish-born game designer Grzegorz Rejchtman . It was published in 2003 by the Swedish game publisher Kärnan as Pyramidens Portar and received the Swedish game award Årets spel 2003. The game was published in Germany by Kosmos as Ubongo in 2005 and reached 4th place in the German Games Award in 2005 and was among the finalists of the International Gamers Award .
The game for 1–4 players, ages 8 and up, lasts around 20–30 minutes and is a pentamino variant that is reminiscent of a combination of Tangram and Tetris . The tiles are so-called polyominos , i.e. areas that consist of several connected squares. For children and beginners there is an easier version with fewer parts. The name comes from Swahili and means "brain" or "intelligence".
In the following years several modifications and variants of the game such as the Ubongo Bringing Game, the game Ubongo extreme , Ubongo - the duel as a two-player variant, Ubongo 3-D and Ubongo - the card game appeared . The versions are all based on the basic principle of the Ubongo game.
Theme and equipment
The laying parts, laying boards with the laying surfaces and the round strip with the gemstones are kept in strong earth colors on a black or red background, the clear motifs are reminiscent of African art, according to the name . The gemstones used as prizes are made of colored plastic.
Example placement board
Laying parts
Gemstones
Game flow
The game contains 4 × 12 different tiles and 36 tiles, one side of which is used to play the normal version with a large area and four tiles. The simpler version for only three parts is printed on the back. Each player receives a board, and a die is used to determine which of the six placement options can be found on this board. The player must now look for the color-coded parts from his supply and use them to fill the irregular shape he is looking for on the card. An hourglass limits the time to think and try.
Everyone who finishes in time will receive a gem from the bag. The two fastest players even get an additional gem from the round track. For the next round, new tiles are given out and the dice are rolled again.
The winner is whoever has the most valuable gems at the end of the game.
variants
Ubongo bring along game
In February 2007 Kosmos released the Ubongo bring-along game .
Ubongo extreme
A new variant called Ubongo has been on the market since autumn 2007 .
In contrast to the normal Ubongo, the placement board and the placement parts are not composed of squares, but of hexagons. The rest of the game principle is the same: the players draw a colored tile from a bag; each player takes three or four tiles that match the color and are marked on the tile and must completely cover the honeycomb on the tile. There is also a small change in the point system: nine blue (3 points) and nine brown (1 point) gems are laid out face-up. The player who finished first takes a blue gem that is openly displayed and a random one from the bag (green: 3 points - red: 4 points) and adds to his supply. The second player, who finishes within the hourglass, receives the open brown gem and also randomly draws it from the bag. The third and fourth player who finishes only pulls out of the bag. If only one or none makes it within the time (or the second hourglass), the remaining open gemstones go into the bag. This means that there are always the same number of blue and brown stones left after each game round, which also indicate the remaining game rounds. A travel version for Ubongo extreme has also been released under the name Ubongo extreme bring along game .
Ubongo - The Duel
In February 2008 the two-person game Ubongo - The Duel appeared in the Kosmos series for two players . As in the original game, the players have to lay out the given areas with the selected tiles. Each of the two players receives a complete set of 21 tiles of different shapes as well as task sheets that are newly printed on both sides. In addition, everyone gets a pawn that shows the current profit status on a scoring board.
In each round the players choose a task sheet that is identical for both players. A 20-sided die is used to determine one of 20 possible sets of tiles that are available to the players. After rolling the dice, both players try to distribute the pieces on the task sheet so that the white surface is completely covered. Whoever finishes first, calls “Ubongo” and can then move forward one space on the scoring board. The player who first wins five rounds is the winner of the overall game.
Ubongo 3-D
A variant of the game in three dimensions appeared in October 2009 under the name Ubongo 3-D .
Ubongo Junior
In 2012 a version for children appeared under the name Ubongo Junior with easier tasks.
Ubongo The card game
In the card game version Ubongo - The Card Game you have to place Ubongo cards together according to certain rules, similar to dominoes.
Ubongo Trigo
In the Ubongo Trigo published in 2012, the tiles are made up of triangles instead of squares.
Trademark license versions
To celebrate the release of Star Wars Part VII - Star Wars: The Awakening of power in 2015 appeared a theme variant Ubongo Star Wars , the graphic design is adapted to the Star Wars universe.
Ubongo digital
Ubongo is also available as an app for iOS and Android, as well as a Switch game.
target group
Tactics and deliberation are irrelevant, practice makes it easier to find combinations. The game principle can be learned quickly or is already known from tangram and the like. Ubongo is to be seen as a family game and is suitable for short game rounds.
Web links
- Brief information about Ubongo from Kosmos-Verlag
- Rules of the game (PDF) at Kosmos (1.24 MB)
- Ubongo in the Luding games database
- Ubongo in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- Review at poeppelkiste.de
- ubongo.de: Ubongo Star Wars
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Game sub-box from Pyramidens Portar in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- ↑ a b Rules of the game ( memento of the original from October 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.0 MB) at Kosmos
- ↑ Winner ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Swedish game award Årets Spel
- ↑ Ubongo-Mini in the Luding games database
- ↑ Ubongo extreme in the Luding games database
- ↑ Review by Dirk Trefzger on spielmonster.de, accessed November 13, 2007
- ↑ Ubongo - The duel in the Luding games database
- ↑ a b Game Instructions Ubongo - The Duel
- ↑ Ubongo Junior in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- ↑ Ubongo Trigo in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- ↑ ubongo.de: Ubongo Star Wars
