Bandu

About this board game

Bandu is a tense wooden-block construction game for 2–8 players that takes about 45 minutes to play. Each player builds a personal tower from unusual pieces while trying to keep their structure stable and their supply of beans under control.

Players begin with a base block and a number of beans. On a turn, a wooden piece is selected from the common supply and becomes the focus of a choice involving the other players. Depending on the auction, players may compete for the right to use the piece or pay beans to refuse it and pass the challenge onward.

The blocks come in a wide variety of shapes, including pieces such as an ashlar, an egg, a ring, and a fir tree. Their different forms create almost endless building possibilities, turning every placement into a test of balance, steady hands, and construction skill.

• Build: Add challenging wooden pieces to your tower.
• Bid or refuse: Use beans carefully when an awkward block appears.
• Stay upright: If your structure falls, you are out of the game.
• Outlast the table: The last player with a standing tower wins.

Bandu combines physical dexterity with auction decisions, gambling, and bluffing. Spending beans can save you from a difficult element, but conserving them may be just as important when later turns bring even more precarious pieces.

Based on Bausack, Bandu delivers suspense through every placement. Whether you are carefully judging statics or trying to make another player accept an especially troublesome block, the game keeps the table watching until the final tower stands.