Cards portal Matching Fishing Rummy Shedding Accumulating Trick-taking Other card games

Jungle Speed

Publication date since 1991
Players 2 or more
Age range 6+
Skill(s) required Patience, speed, judgement, reflexes

Jungle Speed is a card game created by Thomas Vuarchex and Pierric Yakovenko in 1991. First self-published and now published by Asmodee Editions, it is played with non-standard playing cards. An expansion and all-in set have been published, making the game even more challenging.

Rules

Various Jungle Speed Totems

Jungle Speed game

The game revolves around matching cards with identical symbols, and it has some similarities to the game Snap. The similarities between some of the symbols, as well as some of the extra rules, make the game rather challenging.

Cards are shuffled and dealt to each player face down, ensuring that all players have an equal number of cards in their stacks. A wooden cylinder called a Totem is placed in the center of the table, equidistant from all players. Any remaining cards that cannot be distributed equitably are placed under the totem in an area known as the Pot. Players take turns playing the top card from their stacks in a clockwise rotation. Each player does this by flipping their card over in the direction of their opponents, so that their opponents get the first glance at their card to avoid unfair advantage. The card is then quickly placed in front of the player's pile. Thus players form discard piles in front of their piles of cards as the game progresses. When a player plays a card that matches the symbol of another player's top card, the two players must duel to grab the totem in the center as quickly as possible. The loser of the duel takes both players' played cards (their discard pile plus the card currently in play), as well as any cards in the pot, and places them at the bottom of his deck. The loser of the round plays the next card.

There are also three special effect cards that come into play.

If a player commits one of the following errors, or Fouls, he/she must take all the cards currently in play (the discard piles of all the other players plus all the cards in the pot) and place them at the bottom of their deck.

The winner is the first player to get rid of all their cards and have them passed onto other players or the pot.

Alternate versions

Jungle Speed Flower Power Jungle Speed Luxe

Prawo Dżungli a unauthorized Polish version of the game.

New Edition

Asmodee released a new edition in 2011 with an updated design for the cards and, in some markets, a plastic totem for added safety. The expansions are made to be used with this edition of the game.

Expanded Version

The expanded version adds several new symbol variations, as well as new effect cards:

The Lapins Cretins version

A special version of the game released in France, based on Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids (The Lapin Cretins) series of video games. The game features designs based on the game and comes in a Rabbid shaped sack, which also includes a bonus figurine that is implemented into the game. The key difference is that, after the totem has been grabbed, any player may then grab the Rabbid and give one of the cards in their discard pile to the other player.

Wii version

Jungle Speed

Platform(s) Wii (WiiWare)
Release date(s)
  • NA January 12, 2009
  • PAL March 13, 2009
Genre(s) Card games
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer

A Jungle Speed video game developed by Playful Entertainment and Next Level Games was released on Nintendo Wii's WiiWare service in North America on January 12, 2009 and in the PAL regions on March 13, 2009. The game is playable with up to 8 players, with two players able to share a Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo. The game adds several new elements, such as optional effects that makes it difficult for players to see the cards.

Reception

The Wii version of the game has received fairly positive reviews, garnering a Metacritic score of 76/100. IGN gave it an 8.0, citing it as a truly addictive multiplayer title, but not worth getting for single player. GamesRadar gave the game 6/10, saying it is not much fun alone. Wiiloveit.com awarded it with a 26/30, claiming it was a "strong multiplayer title for the system" with "very few flaws to speak of".

COMMENTS