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by Rudiger Dorn
Rating: 6/10 after 5+ plays
by Rudiger Dorn
art ?
published 2004 by Kosmos / Rio Grande
players: 2
duration: 30-40 mins.
type: light card game
PACE: MEDIUM. Players play "Ware" cards to buy or sell sets of goods, and players also play action cards that drive the interaction in the game. Players often have to juggle a lot of cards in their hands and try and maximize their effectiveness, which would be the only factor that extends a player's turn somewhat.
COMPLEXITY: LIGHT. The buying and selling of goods, though awkward, is relatively simple. All the action cards are fairly straightforward and easy to implement. Once you know all the cards and how they work, you just sit down and play, hope you get cards that will be useful, and work on helpful combinations of cards to make money.
LUCK: HIGH. On one hand, it is a card game with the normal amount of draw luck, and there are a good amount of "take that" action cards that can wreak havoc with your holdings (eg. "Elephant", Parrot", etc.) so your careful planning can be reduced to smithereens if your opponent chooses to use meddlesome action cards. Also, acquiring the exact Ware card that one needs, versus getting useless ones, or none at all, can make or break you. Timing of the cards can change their effect, which can vary from annoying to nearly devastating. On the other hand, good combos can be planned for (if your opponent doesn't interfere with your hand first), so strategy is present to a degree. It is quite chaotic for a German game, but relatively tame compared to American-style "take-that" cards games.
TENSION: LOW. Because of the unknown content of you opponent's hand and what he may use against you, there is no real way to anticipate your opponent's plans -- or to anticipate potential "bombs" (extreme events that drasticly affect the course of one's planning). On your turn you try to make the most of your hand by messing with your opponent and making some money for yourself.
CONFRONTATION: HIGH. Several of the cards affect your opponent somehow, and their effect is disproportionately high to their numbers -- in particular, certain cards at certain times in the game can be devastating (and very frustrating for the opponent.) If you want to win, you'll have tobe "mean"
to your opponent to keep them in check and get the things you need.
INTERACTION: HIGH. Though not strictly a trading game, there is still a lot of things going on between the players, as dictated by the action cards. Stealing, forced swaps, redrafting hands, etc. All of the cards are well-balanced most of the time, and (in my opinion) bring about a good style of interaction, but sometimes cards become very powerful and the fall-out can be frustrating to the other player.
VISUALS: EXCELLENT. Absolutely gorgeous visuals: the backgrounds of the cards depict lush jungles and dusty savannahs, the animals are beautifully colored, the villagers have deep dark skin tones and a rich array of garments. Detailed illutrations all centered around the African village theme.
THEME: HIGH. The action cards are all well chosen in the sense that the function of the card is reasonably close to what the card depicts, and in that respect this game deserves a lot of credit. I'm not sure how it really captures the feel of being a market trader in a far-off African land, but from a generic standpoint, I think it does well. The only awkward part is the buying and selling of goods which feels quite awkwward to me.
PLAYER SCALING: 2 PLAYER ONLY.
GAMER APPEAL: MAYBE. It seems that there are no real decisions to make that have any real consequence beyond what the text says (ie. no long term planning). The frustration of not being able to find a key Ware or action card that is useful while your opponent pulls every card they need to pile up the gold and reduce you to smithereens can be very frustrating. The main "German" mechanic is the economic one -- the buying and selling of goods using cards in the deck -- which feels a bit awkward at first and is also substantially affected by luck of the draw.
CASUAL GAMER APPEAL: MAYBE. If you are playing with someone who enjoys Steve Jackson-type take-that action card games, then this is a big step in the "right" direction for quality game play. And the graphics will appeal to nearly everyone. But this game has a lot of text, is quite confrontational, runs a bit long for what it is, and can be very frustrating at times.
REPLAY: FAIR. After 1 play, I felt like I had already experienced all that the game had to offer, and that wasn't much. After several more playings, my opinion is rising slightly. The cards themselves for the most part are well thought out, and not too powerful. Yet situation arise where cards go from annoying to devastating, and luck of the draw can determine whether you are able to keep your opponent in check, or whether he can devastate your holdings. The artwork certainly draws me back to it, and there is enough good game in here to warrant several playings to see if it is your type of game.
RATING: 6/10 after 5+ PLAYS
- Settle down in an African village and establish yourself as the most cunning marketseller in the region. Players will use everything at their disposal to try and make more gold than their opponent. Each "goods" card allow player to buy 3 items for a low price, or sell them for higher price. Different combinations of goods and prices are available on the various good cards. There are also lots of different action cards in the game -- indeed, action cards are the driving force of the game -- which will allow players to use parrots to spy, alligators to smash, guards to defend, and a whole host of other richly illustrated cards that allow players to be cleverly meddlesome.
My 2 cents: Jambo has some of the best graphics I have ever seen in a game, period; but at it's core, Jambo is a "take that" card game that uses an awkward economic mechanic that is further hurt by the luck of the draw. My opinion of the game has improved over time, nevertheless, very often big gains or losses will depend entirely on which cards the players were able to draw from the stack. Even the economic mechanic can swing heavily in one player's favor if he draws the exact cards he needs. The game is not poor, but takes a bit of getting used to and may not be for everyone's tastes. But may I also say that graphics this lush and gorgeous should not be wasted. Worth several playing to see if it might be for you.