Kiwara

About this board game

Kiwara is a two-player territory-control game that plays in about 30 minutes, with rival animal groups competing for dominance across the savanna.

The board contains six territories, divided by rivers, with spaces arranged in groups of three, five, and seven. Each player has fifteen animal tokens. A totem determines where players may act: on each turn, place an animal in an empty space in the adjacent row or column, then move the totem one to three spaces clockwise.

Animal abilities make every placement matter. A lion placed orthogonally next to zebras or gazelles turns the zebras face down and sends the gazelles back to their owners. Zebras and gazelles placed next to a lion are also placed face down. A crocodile positioned across a river from a gazelle can exchange places with it, and crocodiles may make this attack repeatedly during the game.

When the first savanna is filled, its completing player claims the Okapi card, worth five points at the end. Once every space is occupied, players determine who has the most tokens in each territory. Face-down tokens still count toward majority, while only face-up animals contribute their printed values:

• Zebras: 6 points
• Gazelles: 2 points
• Elephants: 5 points
• Lions: 1 point
• Crocodiles: 0 points

The winner is the player with the most points from the territories, along with any applicable bonus. Kiwara also includes a double-sided board. Its free-play side uses river sticks to create fresh layouts with territories of three, five, seven, or nine spaces.

For added variety, the Okapi can be replaced by a shuffled ten-card reinforcement deck. The player who completes the first savanna receives a random card and may use its bonus action at any point. Players with different skill levels can also give the less experienced player one or two random cards to help balance the game.