Ubongo: Duel
Ubongo: Duel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Game Contains
- 1 x scoring board
- 2 x playing figures (pawns)
- 2 x 21 puzzle tiles
- 2 x 9 puzzle sheets (on each side of a puzzle sheet are 20 different puzzles)
- 1 x 20-sided die
Basic Idea of the Game
Each player receives 21 puzzle tiles and a stack of puzzle sheets. Both players lay the puzzle tiles down in front of them. Rolling the die determines which of the tiles are actually used. The players then try to solve every puzzle sheet as quickly as possible by laying the appropriate tiles on it. The faster player to do this yells "Ubongo!". He moves his pawn one step forward on the scoring track. The first player to win five Ubongo duels wins the game.
Game Preparations
Before the first game, carefully push the puzzle tiles out of their frames.
Each player now takes a complete set of puzzle sheets and sorts them by side (O or B).
On each side of a puzzle sheet are 20 tasks. The pages with the numbers from O1 to O9 are the easy side with four tiles per puzzle. B1 to B9 are the difficult puzzles with 5 tiles per puzzle. The players decide which side they want to play with. Stack the puzzle sheets with the side up that is NOT played, and sort the sheets according to the numbers, from 1 to 9.
Each player receives a complete set of the 21 different shaped tiles and a pawn.
Place the scoring board in the middle of the table with the simple side up (without the orange background on fields 3 and 4). The players put their pawns on the starting space (numbered "0").
The die is placed ready.
Gameplay
Each player flips the first puzzle sheet to the side to be played (O1 or B1).
One player rolls the die. The number on the die determines which set of tiles the players have to fit on the puzzle sheet. Different from the original Ubongo game, both players play with the same puzzle and the same tiles!
Now, the players try to solve the puzzle as quickly as possible. Only one of the two players can win the duel!
Some tips: The tiles may be flipped on either of their sides. Some tiles in a puzzle only fit on certain positions on the sheet. It may be worthwhile to place these tiles first and then go through the rest of the possibilities. Solutions to all the puzzles can be found at: www.kosmos.de
Players try to completely cover the puzzle with their tiles. When a player manages to do this he yells: "Ubongo!"
He now moves his pawn forward one space on the scoring board. The other player has lost the duel and receives no points.
The players then turn over the next puzzle sheet (O2 and B2) and the next round duel begins with a die roll.
End of the Game
The game ends when a player reaches the end of the scoring field with his pawn, that is, after winning five duels. He is the supreme Ubongo warrior and has won the game!
Other Rules
If neither player manages to solve the puzzle, the players can agree to roll the die again and try a different set of tiles.
If both players finished at exactly the same time neither may move their pawn. The die is rolled and the same puzzle sheet is played again.
Variations
If the difference in skill between the players seems high, you can also play with the following variant: The other side of the scoring board will be used (the one with some orange spaces and pictures of dice): Scoring is played the same, with the following exception: when fields 3 and 4 are reached on the scoring table, the die is rolled twice. The first roll only applies to the leading player. He takes the appropriate tiles. The second die roll applies to both players. The leading player may already have some of the pieces. The leading player must now begin by solving the puzzle with his first set of tiles, while the player behind begins solving the second puzzle rolled. If the leading player solves the first task, he doesn't yet score a point! He now quickly takes the tiles of the second die roll and tries to solve it too, before his opponent manages to do so. The first player to finish the second puzzle first wins the duel. He now moves his pawn forward on the scoring board. The next puzzle sheet will then be played, and again if the leading player is on an orange field on the scoring board, he must solve two puzzles in the same manner. The player to first reach the end of the scoring field wins.