Jeremy’s Gaming Gratons: MONKEY PALACE

Finally got in a game of Monkey Palace with the family!

I let my family learn and teach the game to me, despite there being a Rodney video. It worked out famously. They were able to teach me quickly and I had relatively few questions.

I love the game that has been created using little Lego bricks. You’ve got to build up this structure with archways, 1×1 bricks, and 1×3 tower bricks; however, you can only build upward each turn. For each archway in your build, you get an equal number of monkey points to spend on cards based on the starting terrain type of your first brick placed.

Sometimes, if you’ve built the highest from a particular terrain type, you will build a decoration, either a light/dark green bamboo plant or golden treasure adornment. These give bonus monkey points to be spent on the available market of cards. The cards sometimes have instant brick bonuses, and other times recurring bonuses.

After you’ve spent your allocation, you then place the cards into one of the four spaces on your player board covering any previously placed one, thus removing their recurring bonuses from your income, which you then collect all remaining visible bricks, and play passed to the next person. Go round and round until one brick type has been deleted. Finish the round and tally banana points on all your cards, including the covered ones, and whoever has the most, wins!

Monkey Palace is an excellent 3d spatial puzzle, but I love working out how I’m going to build my little section up on my turn, sometimes pre-building it in my hand in the shape I need while I wait. Definitely uses the Lego brick building aspect that I enjoy so much to an excellent effect. I’m very hopeful for more games in this line.

Just a little something to chew on — Jeremy

Jeremy is an omni-gamer from Lafayette, Louisiana, who games at home with his wife and young son, but also can be frequently hosting or visiting game nights with friends all over Acadiana. Jeremy loves games about nature, IP games involving turtles and batmen, and games appropriate to play with his young son, but expect lots of different games discussed here each time.