Lego Monkey Palace game setup
Setting it up is quite easy, here are the different components you will find in the box.
Lego Monkey Palace boards
Place the board in the middle. There are four variants of boards to put on, so choose one and secure it with the four green corner bricks.
Monkey Palace Lego decoration blocks
Most of the setup can be done by a single player, while others may build an ornamentation around the edge with the Decoration Blocks. These decoration blocks can be placed anywhere outside the actual playing field.
Monkey palace game cards & starting pieces
Each player receives a player board and takes his or her starting pieces from the supply as shown on the back of the board. Cards are organised by colour and by Monkey Credit cost.
Monkey Palace starting temple
A starting temple is built with two arches, a block, and a gold Decoration Block.
Playing Monkey Palace Lego game
The player with "1" on their board goes first.
On your turn, you have to create a set of blocks in such a way that it is attached to the already existing staircase to the Monkey Palace using a set of ascending blocks, columns, and arches.
You always have to start from the bottom. It is possible to build on top of existing structures, but there should be no gaps vertically. If your staircase reaches five or more height blocks (not including arches) you will receive a bonus card.
After you have built your staircase, place a Decoration Block matching the colour of the space where your staircase started and then count the number of arches you have created. If the Decoration Block is the highest of its kind, you score an extra point.
The Monkey Credits for that turn are obtained this way and can be spent on cards from the market. You may purchase any cards whose total cost is less than or equal to your Monkey Credits and immediately use any cards that have immediate effects.
Next, you gain your income for the turn; if you can't then the game ends after the round, and you won't get another turn.
Monkey Palace trophy cards
At the end of your turn, you might also collect Trophy Cards:
Monkey trophy card in Monkey Palace
If you placed a Gold Decoration Block, move the Monkey to the end knob of an arch to take the Monkey Trophy Card, which counts as 2 Banana Points at the end of the game.
Butterfly trophy card in Monkey Palace
If you set the highest decoration block of any type, take the Butterfly Trophy Card that counts as 2 Banana Points.
Frog trophy card in Monkey Palace
Take the Frog Trophy Card and get a free column piece, but subtract 3 Banana Points at the end of your game.
How do you know who wins Monkey Palace?
The game is over when all the blocks are gone. Now, add up your Banana Points, and whoever has the most wins!
Monkey Palace Lego game strategy
The key to Monkey Palace is income. You want a good, steady flow of pieces, but you also need to balance that with what you can use. Having ten arches is nice, but if you don't have any blocks, those arches aren't going to do much. You want to aim for a nice, steady stream of pieces that you can use each turn.
You can buy high-value cards, but they frequently don't yield much income, so be careful with the use of your Monkey Credits. As an example, if you buy a card with 6 values with 9 of your Monkey Credits, you get a bonus of 10 Banana Points, but not having enough income pieces may be a poor value of the credits.
Sometimes it's better to skip a mediocre turn to bank pieces for a superior one. You may only end up with 2 or 3 Monkey Credits, but that extra income or arch may be just what you need to score big on a future turn.
This might be especially useful to gain Column tokens, which are very good for earning Bonus Cards. Keeping that in mind, try to grab a Bonus Card every turn if you can-it's worth 4 points!
The Frog can be useful if it helps you snag your first Bonus Card, as the points you lose from the Frog's penalty might be offset by the 4 Banana Points from the Bonus Card. Just be aware that your opponents might take the Frog from you later on, and that could cost you.
