UBONGO
Designed by: Grzegorz Rejchtman
Published by: Kosmos
For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up
Playing time: 20 to 30 minutes
Note: This is not a translation. It was created the rules from explanations made by others and from
information on the Kosmos web site.
Contents
72 Gems (12 each red, green, brown, violet, yellow, and blue)
Scoring Board in two parts
36 double-sided Puzzle Boards
4 sets of 12 Puzzle Pieces
4 player Pawns
Sand Timer
Game Die
Object of the Game
Solve the puzzles and acquire the largest collection of a gem color.
Preparation
Assemble the scoring board and randomly place the gems in the holes.
Each player chooses a pawn and places it on one of the six red spaces at the bottom of the board.
Count out nine Puzzle Boards for each player, and make a stack of the ones being used where everyone
can reach them. Put the remaining Puzzle Boards back in the box. With four players you will use all the
boards.
Give each player a set of Puzzle Pieces.
Decide which side of the Puzzle Boards to play. One side uses three pieces per puzzle the other uses four.
Playing the Game
There are nine timed turns. During a turn the die is rolled, each player picks the pieces corresponding to
the die roll and tries to fit them into the puzzle area on their puzzle board, move their pawn, and collect
gems – all before the timer runs out!
Each player takes a Puzzle Board from the stack and puts it in front of them.
For the first turn select a player to roll the die. In following turns, the first player to solve the puzzle the
previous turn rolls the die.
Turn the sand timer over and simultaneously roll the die. The die indicates which puzzle pieces will be
used to solve the puzzle.
There are six symbols on the die: a shield over crossed spears, a hand, an antelope, a snake, a
hut, and a mask. The same symbols are on the left hand side of each Puzzle Board, and next to
the symbols are three or four puzzle pieces (depending on the puzzles being solved).
When the die is rolled the players each choose the pieces which are pictured to the right of the symbol
rolled.
When a player completes the puzzle they yell “Ubongo!” then move their pawn and collect the two gems
from the end of the column where their pawn finishes. The first player to finish their puzzle may move
their pawn up to three spaces before collecting gems, the second player completing their puzzle may
move up to two spaces, the third player may move up to one space before collecting their gems, and the
fourth player may not move before collecting gems.
All the actions must be completed before the timer runs out. It is possible that a player will complete
their puzzle but won’t collect any gems because the timer runs out before they can complete the action. A
player which doesn’t solve their puzzle before the timer runs out will also not collect any gems.
Every part of a turn must be completed before the timer runs out. This includes choosing the
appropriate pieces to use for the puzzle, solving the puzzle, then moving the pawn, and selecting
the gems. The players must stop what they are doing when the timer runs out.
If no one solves their puzzle before the timer runs out, turn the timer over a second time and continue the
turn.
Later Turns
After a turn the players put their Puzzle Boards in the box and take a new one from the stack. The player
who first completed their puzzle rolls the die and the players race to solve their new puzzles.
Game End
The game ends after nine turns.
Winning the Game
The player with the most gems of any one color is the winner. In case of a tie, then those tied compare
their second highest total to determine who won.
