The Penguin Ultimatum

About this board game

The Penguin Ultimatum is a card-laying game for 2–4 players, with sessions lasting about 45 minutes. Players create a party grid for penguin guests while entertainers wait to perform.

Cards come in two types: Penguin Guests and Entertainers. On every turn, a player must add one penguin to the party grid and may also claim any penguin as their own. This creates a shared layout in which penguin placement and ownership both matter.

As entertainer cards become sufficiently surrounded, they perform and start a scoring round. Players score points for the penguins they own that enjoyed the performance. The game’s distinctive twist comes after scoring: the player who scored points but scored the fewest gets to keep the entertainer card.

• Add one penguin to the party grid each turn.
• Claim penguins and score when they enjoy an entertainer’s performance.
• Keep entertainer cards after being the lowest-scoring player who scored.
• Use or save entertainer cards for later benefits.

A kept entertainer is more than a record of the scoring round. It can be turned in to break a Penguin Placement rule during the game, or saved for potential bonus points at the end. As a result, scoring the fewest points in a round can provide a valuable future option.

The Penguin Ultimatum ends when the entertainer cards run out. Designed to work equally well with two, three, or four players, it combines a playful penguin party theme with card placement, ownership, performances, and an unusual reward for the lowest scoring result. Released in 2003, it offers a complete game in around 45 minutes.