King of the Jungle

King of the Jungle is a hidden identity/bluffing game by John Mueller and Patrick Ohm, funded on Kickstarter in 2016. John has been making his way around the country getting the game out there, including at the game store I frequent, which is where I found out about the game. I've introduced it to several play groups with good results - let's take a quick look at how it plays.

Every player is dealt one animal card, face down, and the goal of each player is to be the last surviving animal. There are 21 different animals, including "Man," and they range from the lowly mosquito to the mighty Lion.

The game is played in days and each day, players take turns either asking another player a "yes" or "no" question (in a quest to learn the identity of that player's animal) or attacking another player's animal (if they believe their animal is stronger that day). When an attack occurs, the player with the more powerful animal ON THAT DAY wins the attack and stays in the game. The losing animal is revealed to all and the player with that animal is out of the game. The game continues until. only one player/animal remains and is declared King of the Jungle.

While each animal has a usual strength (i.e., the Frog (3), the Crocodile (12), the Lion (20)), each day comes with a different condition (i.e., flood, monsoon, drought, Beautiful Day). The condition of a day can change the strength of some of the animals. For example, while the Lion (20) on most days is more powerful than most animals when the jungle is flooded, the strength of the Crocodile rises to 21 and on this day can defeat the Lion. Learning which player has which animal, how to keep the identity of your animal a secret,and when to attack another player's animal are all key components to becoming King.

King of the Jungle is a fun, light and casual game of deduction and trickery. It can be played by young and old, and can be learned in just a couple minutes. For a greater strategic element, you can add in the included "Advantage" cards, which you can then play at an opportune moment.

I hope you will take a look at this game and support independent game designers and publishers! You can learn more at http://www.kingofthejunglegame.com/

Animal cards -  these define your secret identity and the times your strength increases or decreases:



Event cards - these provide the gameplay variables that make animals weaker or stronger:

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