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The first of the popular DreamWorks Madagascar collection of movies was released in 2005. The film was simply called Madagascar and followed four animals who had escaped from the Central Park Zoo. The 2005 board game of Madagascar takes these adventures to the game table.
This initial Madagascar film was followed by Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008 and by Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted in 2012. Although another was to be released in 2018, it has been delayed.
The game begins with the four main characters stranded on the island of Madagascar. The only way for them to escape the island is to get on board the Penguin’s rescue boat. This boat is all the way across the game board, and there are many obstacles along the way! Will you be the one to help get your animal on board that ship before it’s too late?
The four animals featured in the game are the main characters from the movie. A player can choose to be Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, or Gloria the hippo. Taking on one these characters brings out the fun of the game.
Setup is simple.
Players place their chosen character at the start position of the board. The object of the game is to strategically move their pieces across the board and be the first player to reach the Penguin’s rescue boat on the other end.
A deck of 54 cards is shuffled and 4 cards are dealt out to each player (face down). These cards can be played during a player’s turn to help achieve the game’s goal.
Fossas, the dangerous, wild, and power hungry weasel like felines on the island, are placed on the board at their starting positions. These are used by players to slow down their opponents.
On a player’s turn, there are two steps.
1)A player rolls the Fossa die, and moves a Fossa accordingly, and in a way which might hinder or block an opponent.
2)Then a player does ONE of the following:
-Move his character one space
-Play one of his cards (and replace at end of turn)
-Trade in up to 3 cards for new ones.
Whenever a player’s character shares a space with a Fossa, it can’t be moved until a player escapes from it. There are two ways to escape:
1)Roll the Fossa die, and if the roll is the color of the Fossa on the shared space (green or red), a player can move.
2)Play an Escape card from your deck.
The game is for 2-4 players, ages 6 and up!
Enjoy! And play a game, any game, today!
