Introduction to Monkey and Banana (Like Ludo)
You know that feeling when someone pulls out a board game and suddenly everyone’s eyeing that pile of tokens like it’s the last slice of pizza? Monkey and Banana sort of taps into that same energy, only you’re racing around a jungle-themed track to snatch up as many banana tokens as you can before your pals do. Each player picks a set of four colorful monkey pawns that start in your “treehouse” corner. A neat stack of banana tokens——picture bright yellow discs or little cardboard bananas——sits dead center, waiting to be claimed.
On your turn you roll one die and move one of your monkeys forward along a winding path of leafy green spaces, hopping past palm fronds and vines. If you land exactly on a banana space, you grab a token and tuck it under your monkey’s paw. From there you’ve got to shepherd that hungry primate back into your treehouse to lock in your booty. But just like in Ludo, if another player’s monkey lands on your space, yours goes back to the start and you have to go chase it all over again.
There are a few spicy twists to keep things lively: some spaces are “safe spots” where no bumping can happen, and a couple of shortcut routes through the river or over a rickety bridge can really shake up the standings. After you’re back in your treehouse with your banana, you roll again—so a big swing on that die can mean stealing bananas back-to-back or getting knocked off the course just when you thought you’d secured victory.
All told, Monkey and Banana strikes a playful balance between sneaky strategy and pure luck. You’ll find yourself celebrating a sweet roll or groaning when your best-laid plan unravels with a single six. It’s the kind of game that’ll have everyone leaning in, plotting who to bump next, and laughing every time someone’s monkey goes flying back to the start—all in good fun as you hunt for that final banana victory.