Awimbawé

About this board game

Awimbawé is a two-player trick-taking game about a 30-minute duel for the throne of the animal kingdom. Using the animals of the savannah, players compete to collect more crowns than their rival while avoiding the hyenas.

The 28-card deck contains 24 animal cards numbered 1–6 in four suits, plus four eagle cards in a fifth suit. Each player receives four face-down cards, with four face-up cards placed on top to form four shared? individual piles of two cards for each player, then six cards for their hand.

On your turn as lead player, choose any available card from your hand or one of your face-up table cards. Your opponent must follow suit if possible. If they cannot, they must play an eagle when able; if no eagle is available, they may play any card.

When cards share a suit, the higher card wins the trick. Eagles create a distinctive tactical choice: the player who played one can make it flee, placing it in their own scoring pile while giving up the trick, or make it fight and win the trick. If an off-suit card is played instead, the lead player wins and leads the next trick.

After each trick, reveal any face-down card that has become uncovered, making it available for later play. This changing supply means your table cards matter just as much as the cards in your hand.

• Collect crowns to build your score.
• Avoid collecting your fourth hyena, which immediately loses the round.
• Win two rounds to become the new king or queen of the savannah.

If all cards are played without a player collecting a fourth hyena, compare the crowns on the collected cards. With its mix of suit following, hidden availability, and eagle decisions, Awimbawé rewards careful timing throughout every trick.