Space Monkeys

Under development

---

This game is currently under development, in the Nearly Complete stage. Feedback is strongly encouraged! Feel free to give comments on game design or structure on the talk page.

Space Monkeys
Chris Goodwin
Space monkeys have come to Earth and are trying to get home!
:Players	Players:	2 - 2
:Time	Length:	Fast
:Complexity	Complexity:	Simple
Trios per color:		5
Number of colors:		1 per player
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:		1 per player
Five-color sets:		5
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
Chessboard
Setup time:		2 minutes
Playing time:		10 Min - 20 Min
Strategy depth:		Low
Random chance:		None
Game mechanics:
Theme:		space, monkeys
BGG Link:
Status: Hidden (v0.9), Year released: 2002
Curabitur a spatio

A game for two players. Inspired by a pair of pajamas worn by my (then-)almost ten month old son, Andrew.

Various factions of space monkeys have come to Earth to perform experiments on humans. The space monkeys have been discovered, and must get to their ships and leave as soon as possible; one brave monkey from a team will be left behind to be captured, because a ship cannot be launched without both a pilot and ground crew.

Players are encouraged to make monkey jokes throughout the game.

Materials required

• Five small and four large stackable Looney Pyramids of one color for each player. Small pieces are monkeys, and large pieces are ships.

• A chessboard.

Space Monkeys can be played with only a Black Ice set.

Object

To launch your four ships.

Setting up

::SPU		::SPU
::LPU	::SPU	::LPU	::SPU	::LPU	::SPU	::LPU
::SPU	::LPU		::LPU	::SPU	::LPU		::LPU
			::SPU		::SPU		::SPU

Example setup

• The white spaces in your first two rows are the cages where your monkeys are kept (inexplicably left unlocked; maybe the space monkeys have secret mind powers?). Place your monkeys among these spaces however you wish.
• The black spaces in your second row are where your opponent's ships are stored; your ships are in your opponent's second row. Place each player's ships in the appropriate spaces. (The government is aware of the factionalism among the space monkeys, and has placed the monkeys as far away from their ships as possible.)

[Note: Soon there will be a picture illustrating placement of the pieces.]

Playing the game

The youngest player goes first, unless that player has won more than 2/3 of the games of Space Monkeys they've played.

Players take turns; each player moves one piece on his or her turn.

Movement, general

Monkeys and occupied ships move diagonally one space forward or backward, and may jump over pieces belonging to the opponent; monkeys can jump over other monkeys, and ships (with monkeys on board) can jump over other ships (with or without monkeys), but monkeys by themselves can't jump over ships and vice versa. Note that the monkeys are placed on the white spaces and the ships on the black spaces, so they generally won't interact (but see below). (Jump means the same as it does in checkers, though double or multiple jumps are not allowed.)

Monkey Movement

A monkey may

• move one space
• jump over another monkey
• board a ship
• dismount from a ship

Moving one space

Monkeys can move once space diagonally, forward or backward. The space they move enter must be empty.

Jumping

Monkeys can jump over other monkeys diagonally, landing directly on the other side as in checkers. There are no double- or triple-jumps. The jumped monkey is returned to one of the empty cages on its owner's side of the board. (The player who jumped the monkey gets to decide which cage.) If all of the white spaces in the first two rows of the player's board are occupied, then there are no cages available to contain the monkey and it gets to stay where it is after being jumped. The monkey may move out of the cage on its owner's next turn as normal.

Boarding a Ship

A monkey may board a ship if:

• the ship is orthogonally adjacent, and
• the ship matches the monkey's color, and
• the ship is empty

Simply place the monkey on top of the ship. The monkey is now piloting it.

Dismounting from a Ship

A monkey may dismount from a ship by hopping down to an orthogonally-adjacent space. The ship stays where it is; it can't move from there unless it has a monkey from its own faction on board.

::S ::S	::L ::L	::SL ::SL
monkeys	ships	monkeys piloting ships

Ship Movement

Occupied ships may move in the following ways:

• Move one space diagonally, forward or backward
• Jump over another ship
• Launch from Earth

A ship can't move unless it has a monkey on board of its own color.

Launching a Ship

A player may launch one of his or her ships as a move. (Rocket sounds and motion are optional but recommended.) In order for a ship to launch, it must have:

• one monkey of its color on board (the pilot), and
• one monkey of its color in a space orthogonally adjacent to it, serving as the ground crew.

A ship that is launched is removed from the game.

Winning the game

When one player has launched his or her four ships, that player wins; this means that there will be one lone monkey left on Earth to face the wrath of the Earth military. . . .