Meeple on Board Rating
Be the first to review this product.Board Game Geek Reviews
Be the first to review “Bumúntú”
You must be logged in to post a review.
Bumúntú
Bumúntú is a lightweight strategy game based on the culture and folklore of the Bakongo tribes. Descendants of the Kingdom of Kongo, the Bakongo people are the largest group of tribespeople in central Africa.
A common theme in African folklore is that animals are wise creatures who teach humans to do good and moral things. As a tribal leader, you will follow the guidance of the animals, journeying through the jungle in hopes of winning their favor.
Players start on a board full of African animals, each with their own movement abilities. Each player can either move as normal or follow the wisdom of the animals, earning that animal’s favor in the process and collecting its chip. Some animals will make movement easier, while others can affect how opponents move, giving a lot of depth to this deceivingly simple strategy game. As the game progresses, fewer and fewer animals remain, making choices that much more important.
Once all the Advancement chips have been collected, each animal will offer a different amount of favor based on how far up they are on the Favor Leaderboard, something that players can affect throughout the game. Bonus points will be given for collecting Nkisi (small statues) and Yowa (spiritual symbols). At the end of the game, the leader who has accumulated the most favor wins!
| Ages | 8+ |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players, 5 Players |
| Play Time | 20m – 40m |
| Designer | Tim Blank |
| Mechanics | Action Queue |
| Theme | Abstract Strategy, Animals, Educational |
| Publisher | WizKids, Broadway Toys LTD, Pegasus Spiele |
Dowbyhuz
Deceptively deep puzzle game. I'd rate it a little higher than "light strategy". Wonderful components and production too. Great fun and game length just as advertized.
JoSch
I'm torn on Bumuntu. The components are great and make me want to play it. The basic idea of a no-luck abstract movement game with majority scoring and manipulating the values of the majorities is appealing. At the same time, it has blunt take-that interaction which is difficult to defend against and with more players it gets chaotic quickly. It sits in an odd space being too simple and uncontrollable for gamers and too subtle to play the value manipulation well for families.
Blott
I am interested in a good multiplayer abstract strategy game. This one offers some decent decision-points and a nice variety as well because of the different animals available in the box. Add in the fact that you do a random setup of tiles and that means you could get almost unlimited unique games out of this one. I don't know if it offers enough fun for that many plays, though. There's definitely some strategy to the way you plan out your moves in order to corner your opponents or to collect the proper number of points. You definitely have to look ahead a turn or two. However, I really hate how little movement there is on the scoring track, and the fact that there are so many animals makes it tough to move and shake things too much. It would probably make more sense to put all the best scoring spaces in the middle of the track so that every animal is close to being a winner, but so be it. Still, it's a decent design and great components, so I'd play it again.