Jujuman: Buzz Review
Information:
Mechanics: Roll and Write, Print and Play, Set collection, Sudoku
Player Age: 8+Player Count: 1 - 99 PlayersTime to Play: 30 - 60 Minutes
Player Age: 8+
Basics:
In Jujuman, players aim to collect ingredients in order to brew potions. There are five potion rows; two red, two black, and one green. On a turn, three dice will be rolled (one red, one green, and one black), which everyone will simultaneously choose how to use. Players can choose to use one die, or any mix out of two and three, either adding or subtracting. This value will then be placed in the far left row matching the colour of one of the dice used. For example, a black four, green five and red one is rolled. You could use a five in the green row, have five deduct four and use that 1 in the black or green row, or have five deduct (four plus one) and place a zero in any row.
After the potion is filled (dice allocation explained above) you will use one of the unused die for movement. If there are no unused die it will be only one movement. This movement corresponds to a grid in which you will move in a straight line equal to the value of the die. Any ingredients you pass through will be gained, unlocking bonus abilities and a scoring multiplier based on how many full columns you complete.
Scoring:
The game will end when a player has marked all voodoo dolls (to be marked when a player cannot fill in a potion on their turn) or one row of each colour is filled.
When the game ends, players will score the multiple sections highlighted below:
- For each complete row, the last value filled will be that rows score.
- For each incomplete column, the player will gain one point for each common blue bottle filled.
- The points gained above will now be multiplied by the Jujuman value. This is gained through having certain columns complete in the players ingredient table.
- if you have completed all three potions of a colour you will gain the sum of these values in points. This is done for each potion colour ( except common blue).
- The leftmost unmarked voodoo dolls will be scored.
- Lastly, if you have filled five potions with 9 (one per row) you will gain a bonus of 45 points.
Uniqueness:
There are a few rules that make the potion brewing very interesting. Firstly, each row has to go in ascending order so that no number is repeated within a row or column (sudoku rule). An exception to this rule is zero, even though the zero will score nothing it can go anywhere and doesn't follow the sudoku rule. This means the player can aim to fill their common potions with 0 while scoring big numbers for the last potion in a row, and for the coloured potions. The highest number that can be placed in a row is 18.
Zig-Zag:
This game is all about balance. In the potion portion players have the coloured potions spread across three rows, not filling all three potions with something will make them worthless at the end of the game.
In the ingredient section, balance is necessary to fit the completed columns. As you complete columns you will gain one-off bonus dice manipulations, as well as score multipliers. To get this balance you must sacrifice and not use high dice in potion brewing to save it for movement, therefore gaining a nice spread of ingredients. These ingredients can be crossed through again, as long as the subsequent movement is via another pathway. Every energy symbol you cross through during your trek across the ingredient board will also fill one spot for your least filled row.
Zone:
- Crucial determination in when to use zero vs. actual values.
- Balance throughout the game is key.
- Sudoku rule, combined with the coloured potions, dice placement and the 9-scoring rule, led to a lot of challenging placement.
Jujuman is an easy decision to back for me. The mechanisms of the game aren't challenging to understand but lead to many smart plays as you successfully pull off something that gains high points.
What I like about Jujuman is that the decisions felt very crunchy in how to best complete the puzzle, similar to Chiefdom, which is another roll and write designed by the same company. However, Jujuman, is an extremely easy game to learn and play. If you enjoy the mid-weight roll and writes that give the right level of brain burning puzzles, then I think this is perfect for you to check out on kickstarter.
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