Under The Mango Tree
Background:
Full of energy, you stand in front of the small patch of Australian nature that has been entrusted to you: mountains of rubbish need to be cleared away. The once proud mango tree should bear fruit again. Animals should once again roam in its shade. To achieve this, you draft cards in competition with the others. This means that you each select one card from your own hand at the same time and then pass the remaining cards to the next person.
The special thing: Each of your chosen cards has two halves. You let one of them disappear under your game board, while the other remains visible and is supposed to bring points. This gives the game a new, exciting dimension because you can always take into account which halves you want to use yourself and which you want to keep from your fellow players. As soon as all the cards have been played, the winner is the one who has been able to fill the nature around their own mango tree with new life and score the most points.
The minds behind it:
The author of Under the Mango Tree is Karl Lange, a board game designer from Melbourne, Australia, who has already won several awards, such as the Cardboard Edison Award. The prototype was very close to the final game, so we were able to adopt the theme. A game with Australian wildlife by an Australian author seemed like a great idea. The artwork is by Dennis Lohausen, and this time it's unusually cute! Dennis had a lot of fun developing it, as he has a few birds at home and was able to let off steam with the lorikeets in the game. Everything was edited by Viktor Kobilke, who, among other things, developed the double layer boards, which ensure that nothing gets snagged or jammed.
What makes the game special?
Under the Mango Tree is a relaxed family game that can be played several rounds in a row.
The simple drafting domino mechanism is a lot of fun without reinventing the wheel. It never stays at just one game and the simple rules make it a great gateway game, even for those who don't play much.
Thematically, you not only collect animals, but also clean up rubbish – with a great visual reward at the end.
The facts:
Author: Karl Lange
Illustration: Dennis Lohausen
Editor: Viktor Kobilke
2-4 native
from 7 years
15-20 minutes of playing time
