Some games are all about strategy, planning and clever thinking. Others are about cunning, patience or storytelling. Some games, however, are about none of these things. Some are simply about observation and fast reflexes – and Jungle Speed is one of those games.
The basic rules of Jungle Speed are almost as simple as they come. Players take it in turns to turn over the top card of their deck. If their card design matches one already on show then a duel is triggered and those players grab for the wooden totem placed in the center of the table. The player who grabs it first gets rid of their discard pile (where cards from your deck are placed if nothing matched before play returns to you) to the loser/s. The winner is the first player to get rid of all their cards.
Of course, there is a little more to it than that. Some cards look identical at first glance but are subtly different – make a grab for the totem incorrectly and you’ll be penalized with extra cards from the pot. Other cards (arrow cards) come out and change the rules: some turn the game from shape-matching to color-matching, some force all players into a duel together, and some trigger all players to reveal a new card.
Jungle Speed has been described as "the game most likely to cause physical harm" and it’s easy to see why, as when cards are turned over the players instinctively grab for the totem without making any kind of judgment about the relative positions of other players’ limbs. This is especially true when playing with young children or inebriated adults. If two or more players grab the totem at the same time then the winner is determined either by how many fingers a player has in contact with it – or, if this also matches, then by the player with their hand positioned lowest. Despite this rule I can imagine that in many households a totem-grabbing tie would easily result in some form of physical combat and as such I would suggest parental supervision at all times.
One of the great things about Jungle Speed is its portability. When we visit relatives these days we have to allow space in the car for a stack of board games, but Jungle Speed comes with a good quality printed canvas bag that can store all the game elements in a fraction of the space taken up by the box. The pieces are good quality too. The totem is nicely solid and made of wood with the game logo embossed on its top, and the cards are a good size – big enough for everyone to clearly see the pattern, but small enough so as not to be cumbersome. Even the rule book has some nice detail with a short section on the game’s "history" as a traditional game played by the Abouloubou tribe to choose their next chief.
I’ll be honest and say I didn’t really enjoy playing Jungle Speed as an adults game, although this has a lot more to do with the fact that my reflexes are slower than downloading a movie on a 56k modem than with bad game design. I don’t really stand a chance! My husband and I played together for this review and by the time my brain had cottoned on to the fact that my card was identical to his, he was already sitting across the table, one hand holding the totem and the other pushing a large stack of discards my way. Another strike against it for us was that both myself and my husband are quiet people with a tendency to slowly think things through; anything that involves rapid decision making and action is unlikely to be a hit with us.
All that being said, I did enjoy a version of the game that I adapted for my three-year-old, who spotted the brightly colored box and wanted to join in. The suggested age for Jungle Speed is seven plus, but by removing the arrow cards, revealing cards simultaneously on each turn and making the game purely about matching the colors, he was able to play a broadly similar version perfectly well. In fact he enjoyed the game so much he insisted on taking it to a friend’s house during a playdate. Naturally, depending on your child you might need to slow down your own reaction times a little in order to give them a chance at grabbing the totem, but my son was able to win some rounds without me even trying to help, which again might say more about my slow reflexes than anything else.
Jungle Speed will definitely work best as a party game and possibly in more extroverted households. With a little work it’s fun for little kids up to adult, but from what I’ve heard about flying totems I’d suggest removing anything fragile from the surrounding area and hiding the box if people have been drinking. Otherwise it makes a great, light-hearted addition to your games night – brilliant for when you’re taking a break from complex strategizing and role-playing.
A copy of Jungle Speed was provided free for this review.
