Kalimambo

About this board game

Kalimambo is a 3–7-player board game with a 30-minute play time, in which amateur explorers cross the African savannah while trying to avoid dung heaps, a playful new species named Kali, and Kali’s rhinoceros friend Mambo.

Players begin in a line on a track, with Mambo at the back and Kali at the front. Dung heaps are placed along the route, and each player receives a set of movement cards matching their explorer’s color. The aim is to finish with the fewest penalty points.

Each round, players secretly choose a movement card and reveal their choices simultaneously. A card from Kali’s deck is revealed as well. Movement then takes place in descending card order: the explorer with the highest number moves first to the first unoccupied space ahead, followed by the next highest and so on. Ties favor the explorer farthest back in the group.

• Play a zero, or be at the front when it is your turn to move, and your explorer stays put.
• Landing on a dung heap gives an explorer three penalty points.
• If Kali lands in dung, the player or players who played the lowest number take the penalty instead.
• When the space immediately in front of Mambo becomes vacant, the rhino charges forward.

Mambo continues until he rams the token at the back of the line, awarding that player penalty points equal to the number of spaces he traveled. If he hits Kali, the lowest card or cards played that round absorb the penalty instead.

Played movement cards are removed from the game, making every choice matter. After twelve rounds, the final scores are compared. In Kalimambo, careful timing, clever card selection, and a little luck can keep your explorer ahead of both the dung and the charging rhino.