Did you know that the specific term for a group of penguins found on water is a “raft” but when they are on land, they are called a “waddle”? In this game, players receive points for their groups of adjacent penguins on land (waddles) and for having the most penguins surrounding fishing pools that have fish in them. The goal is to strategically place as many large groups as possible of penguins (waddles) and have the most penguins surrounding the highest valued fishing pools.
Setting up:
- Map Tiles: Included in the game are 20 numbered Map Tiles, each of which has three or four hexagon shaped areas within it. Depending on player count, a specific number of these tiles are used to form the Penguin environment. On the edge of each tile, there is a fishing pool and some of them contain fish with different point values. Because tiles are randomized, the arrangements of these pool areas vary each game. Some fishing pools may contain one fishing pool hexagon area, while others contain combined pools to form a larger connected water area.
- Up to 5 players choose their color and take the penguin tokens and marble to match.
- To track turns and rounds, there is a turn track that each player’s marbles move down, so players should randomly place those to start.
Game Play: Players take turns placing their penguins on the ice areas next to the fishing pool hexagon that is active. These pools are numbered, with one per tile, and depending on player count, there could be anywhere from 13 to 20 of them. The game starts with number 1 being active and as each fishing pool is surrounded by penguins, play moves to the next numbered pool. Once all fishing pools are surrounded, the game is scored and the player with the most points wins!
I was surprised at how such a small box could contain such a unique game that is easy to learn and plays quickly at 15 minutes but holds enough strategy to be an effective planning and learning experience. ~ Marsha