Jungle Speed Rules
For those who enjoy fast-paced, reflex-challenging dynamics, there’s a great game: Jungle Speed. Knowing what it is about takes only a few minutes and can become the favorite alternative for those moments in which living together and having fun are the objectives.
If you have ever heard people talk about the totem pole game , but you did not know what they were referring to, we reveal that it is Jungle Speed, the game that challenges the speed of your reflexes, in order to win each of the games until run out of cards
One of the best news, when this game first comes into our hands, is to find that Jungle Speed’s instruction manual is quite short (the original booklet explains them on just one small sheet, with legible letters). In fact, the game adds some hints so you don’t get tired of playing just the classic version. You will be able to read these instructions in a few minutes and, what is even more important, you will master them quickly, to move on to what is most interesting: having fun.
We are going to explain, in a simple way, what the cards are about in Jungle Speed, which are the main instrument, how they affect the mechanics of the game and how to win.
Jungle Speed Classic
Number of players: 2 to 10 people
Age group: 7 years and older
Description
The object of the Jungle Speed game is to run out of cards. To achieve this, you must be attentive to observe the cards that are revealed, to identify if you can participate in a duel that helps you pass them to another player.
The game begins when the cards are shuffled, face down, and distributed equally among the participating players. Each player must keep his group of cards face down throughout the game. Another important thing: the totem must be in the center of the players at all times.
In turn, each player will reveal a card, which will be placed in front of himself (each player will form a set of cards in front of him) and he will have to observe the ones shown by his companions. As soon as two visible Jungle Speed cards have the same figure, regardless of color, a duel will begin. This means that those who have dropped these cards will compete to get the center totem. Whoever loses must keep the winner’s cards and place them under the winner’s deck.
One thing to keep in mind is that mistakes also lead players to keep the cards in the center. For example, if someone takes the totem, but is not a participant in the duel (because he did not drop the matching card) he must keep all the cards that have been revealed so far.
special letters
3 special cards are included in this version of the game. We explain what they are and how they affect the game.
- Out Arrows: When this card appears, no matter who dropped it, all players must put down a card at the same time.
- Inward arrows: When it appears, all the players in the game will participate in the duel to obtain the totem. Whoever obtains it will be able to leave their cards in what is called a “pot”. This means that he will put them in the center, under the totem pole . The next player to lose a duel will keep these cards.
- Colored Arrows: When this card appears, it changes the mechanics of the game. Now, duels will be established between those who reveal cards of the same color, regardless of the shape.
Notes: Special cards lose their effect when they are hidden under other cards. That is, when they are no longer visible.
End of the game
The game ends when someone manages to get rid of all their cards. However, there can be 3 variants, depending on what your last card is.
- Inward arrows: If the last card shown by the player is this, but he loses the duel, he will keep the cards and must continue playing.
- Colored Arrows: Unfortunately, if the player draws this card, they must keep all the exposed cards at that time.
- Out Arrows: When this is the final card, you automatically win the game.
variants
Due to the rapid success of Jungle Speed, it didn’t take long for some variations to appear, such as Jungle Speed Beach , whose rules are basically the same, but the set is much more resistant. In this game, the cards are laminated, thus preventing deterioration problems and resisting exposure to water. Similarly, the bag that contains the elements of the game is made of mesh. Among the design changes, there are also cards that have figures, such as octopuses, shells and others. Also, the special card with white arrows appears, which has the effect of the colored arrows of the classic version.
Also, there is a version focused on children: Jungle Speed Kids . It includes some deeper changes, but it’s still a lot of fun. The game is based on the concept of memorization, rather than the identification of shapes and colors. Here, the cards are placed on the table and, in turns, they are revealed. Whoever recognizes where the pair of the revealed card is, must take the totem and place it on the tile that they think is the pair. If he guesses right, he will keep both tokens. As expected, this is about accumulating, not running out of chips.
Now, if the cards of the classic version are insufficient to play, there is the Jungle Speed Expansion version. This adds more cards, so that more people can play in the game or, simply, to lengthen the game.
The Jungle Speed rules, as you may have noticed, are very simple. So much so that even some children under 7 years of age could assimilate them without much problem.
Now you know how Jungle Speed is played, and you can even surprise your friends by applying some changes to the game dynamics to make it more fun. To finish, we leave you some data regarding the skills and benefits that you can obtain when playing Jungle Speed.
game benefits
Because the Jungle Speed game challenges participants’ reflexes, it helps develop attention. Similarly, as it is necessary to react quickly, the skills related to eye-hand coordination are encouraged.
Another aspect that is important to mention is that it also favors reasoning and mental agility.
Having said all this, if you still don’t know which educational games (check out some options by clicking on this link) to buy, but you’re inclined to choose a quick card game, we recommend you give this proposal from Asmodee a try.
