Hungry Monkey Game Review

The Basics:

• For ages 8 and up
• For 2 to 6 players
• Approximately 20 minutes to complete

Geek Skills:

• Counting & Math
• Logical & Critical Decision Making
• Strategy & Tactics
• Hand/Resource Management

Learning Curve:

• Child – Easy
• Adult – Easy

Theme & Narrative:

• Discard your cards as fast as you can, but don’t ever stop thinking it through

Endorsements:

• Child Geek approved!
• Parent Geek approved!
• Gamger Geek rejected!

Overview

Once upon a time, a hungry monkey lost some of his food. Rather than call it quits and get on with his day, he decided to ask for help by manipulating other animals in the jungle, tricking them into assisting the monkey in finding its missing breakfast. Or so the story goes. In this game, you’ll be looking to get rid of your cards as fast as possible, leaving nothing on your plate. Do so, and you win. But victory will not be yours if you still have a card in hand or in front of you. Are you hungry to earn a place in the winner’s circle, or will you let someone else steal your tasty success?

Hungry Monkey, designed by Erik Andersson Sundén and published by HeidelBÄR Games, consists of 95 cards. The cards are as thick and durable as standard playing cards. Artist Sushrita Bhattacharjee’s illustrations on the cards are bright and colorful, giving the game visual appeal.

Getting Ready for Breakfast

To set up the game, complete the following steps.

First, separate the cards into three groups: Animal, Bad Kitty, and Bean cards.

Second, shuffle the Animal cards and deal each player their starting hand. Players should look at the cards but keep them hidden from their opponents.

Third, deal four Animal cards to each player in a row, face-down. Players should not look at these cards at this time.

Fourth, place the remaining Animal cards face-down and the Bad Kitty card beside them. Using the lines on the Bad Kitty card based on the number of players in the game, place the Bad Kitty card into the Animal deck of cards. Place the Animal deck in the middle of the playing area and within easy reach of all the players. This is the draw deck for the duration of the game. Next to the draw deck should be room for two discard piles: an Animal discard pile and a Card discard pile.

Fifth, place the Bean cards off to the side to help keep track of game scores if using the optional bean scoring rules. If not, set the Bean cards back in the game box.

That’s it for game setup. Determine who will go first and begin.

Hungry Hungry Monkeys

Hungry Monkey is played in turns with no set number of turns per game. A player’s turn is summarized here.

Step One: Play Cards

The player can play one or more cards to the Animal discard pile. There are several ways to play cards.

• Play any number of identical valid Animal cards from their hand
• Draw the top-most card from the Animal draw deck and place it on the Animal discard pile
• Play one card from their row of Animal cards

“Valid” means the number on the Animal card played must be equal to or higher than the topmost card on the Animal discard pile. If the card played is “invalid,” the player takes the card played and all the cards currently in the Animal dicard pile into their hand.

Animal cards have values of one through eleven. The “Hungry Monkey” Animal card has no value and is therefore always valid (as in the “Ant” Animal card due to its value being a one).

Step Two: Trigger Animal Effect and Resolving Gangs of Four

If the player can play a valid Animal card to the Animal discard pile, and that card has a special icon in its corner, the Animal card is immediately resolved. Effects include the following:

• Take all Animal cards except the last card played
• Swap cards
• Peek at cards
• Take an extra turn
• Adjust the rules for a valid card play
• Dicard cards
• Copying the effect of other Animal cards

If, during step one, the player adds a fourth or more Animal cards of the same type as the previous three Animal cards in the Animal discard pile, all of the cards in the Animal discard pile are picked up and placed in the Card discard pile without triggering animal effects. The player then draws back up the three cards and takes another turn, starting with step one.

Step Three: Draw Cards

The player now draws back up to three cards into their hand. They do not draw any additional cards if they already have three cards.

During gameplay, the Bad Kitty card will be revealed. Leave the Bad Kitty card on top of the draw deck. No more cards can be drawn for the duration of the game.

Leaving the Table

The game continues until one player can successfully play all the cards in their hand and row. This player is the winner.

Game Vairant

Hungry Monkey comes with a game scoring variant using Bean cards. This allows the players to play several different games and keep track of the winners of each. Once a player has collected 10 or more Bean cards, the game ends, and the player with the most Bean cards wins.

To learn more about Hungry Monkey, visit the game’s web page.

Final Word

The Child Geeks enjoyed the game, finding it easy to learn and fun to resolve the Animal effects. We made an extra copy of the Animal special abilities to assist players in playing the game quickly without waiting for the game rules to be passed around. Highly recommend this, as the icons on the Animal cards don’t make a lot of sense until you’ve played the game a few times. One Child Geek said, “I liked the game a lot and really had a good time with my family and friends. The game isn’t hard, and it is sometimes a very good thing to get more Animal cards so you can play better and more cards.” Another Child Geek reported, “I also liked the game, and I think I liked best the different animal powers you use on your turn. If you play the right one at the right time, you can mess up the other players and get those beans!” When the last animal was safely chased away, the Child Geeks took a vote, and all agreed that Hungry Monkey was exceptionally satisfying.

The Parent Geeks also enjoyed the game, finding it an entertaining challenge to be the first to get rid of all their cards. They enjoyed the game even more when the Bean cards were introduced, allowing players to engage in a longer game with more options to recover from bad hands and unlucky card draws. According to one Parent Geek, “An enjoyable game with fun effects and casual decisions that feel important in the moment.” Another Parent Geek said, “I enjoyed the game with my family, but it was with my adult friends with a glass of wine that I enjoyed the game the most. Each game was filled with fun and laughter. It could have been the wine, but we enjoyed that crazy monkey all the same!” When the last bean was collected, the Parent Geeks took a vote, and all agreed that Hungry Monkey was a true delight.

The Gamer Geeks thought the game was entertaining but not a game that was for them. While they found the decision-making meaningful, the game was seen as too casual to genuinely interest these elitist gamers. As one Gamer Geek said, “A great game for the family and casual players. I want more out of my card games. I like adding the Bean cards to allow for longer games, but it’s just more of the same game, not any more difficult or in-depth.” Another Gamer Geek stated, “A solid game for the family. I’m curious how long I could play it without getting bored, but after only a few plays I know this is a game I’d be happy to play but not one I’d ask for or bring with to a friend’s home unless I knew they were all non-gamers who liked to play the occasional game.” When the Gamer Geeks took a vote, the results revealed that Hungry Monkey was not for the elite crowd.

I enjoyed Hungry Monkey and very much agree with all of our groups across the board. This is an entertaining card game for kids and families. I enjoyed it most with my casual players, and I think this is where the game hits all the right notes. With my Gamer Geek buds, the game didn’t fall flat by any means, nor did it cause anyone to drop out of their chair from pure excitement. This leads me to believe Hungry Monkey is a good casual card game for a broad audience. I know I’d play it again and would happily play it and even recommend it with the right crowd. But as the Gamer Geeks noted, I don’t think this card game would last long with gaming elitists.

Of great importance is the animal powers. Use them. This is where the game went from your standard ladder-climbing card game to something requiring more thoughtful consideration regarding hand management. Not a lot, mind you, but enough where all the players appreciated that the animal powers could be a game-changer if played right. I know I tried to maximize the effects, and it was clear others did as well. If your timing is off, you still get to play a card. But if your timing is on point, a simple card play has a more positive impact.

Well, positive for you. Your opponents won’t like it one bit.

Do try Hungry Monkey when your time permits. It’s fast and fun, easily taught, and not a game you can sleep through. Thoughtful plays and quick returns make for an enjoyable time at the game table. Give it a go and see if this monkey leaves you satisfied or hungry for more.

This game was given to Father Geek as a review copy. Father Geek was not paid, bribed, wined, dined, or threatened in vain hopes of influencing this review. Such is the statuesque and legendary integrity of Father Geek.