Pyramid Review
Penguin
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Designed by Reiner Knizia
Penguin artwork by David Clegg
Development & graphic design by Brian Schomburg & Christian T. Petersen
Full-color boxed game containing cloth bag, 36 penguin models in four colors, 39 penalty point chips, six player screens, & rule sheet; $14.95
For anyone who thinks global warming won't affect them, they haven't considered the plight of Fantasy Flight's Penguin. In spite of the singular form in the game's title, there are several of the little birds in peril here. They've all managed to get trapped on a small ice floe, and they're now jockeying for position, trying to get atop one another lest they fall over the side.
The object of the game is to end the game with the fewest penalty points.
Each player receives a small screen for privacy, and behind it places penguins he has blindly drawn from the selection in the bag. Every round a different player starts the action, placing one of his birds on the table. The penguins come in four colors. The next player may place one figure of any color on either side of the first. If someone tries to stack them, however, that penguin must sit atop two others in a pyramid formation, and it must match one of the two colors under it. Fumbling with the pieces carries a penalty; if the stack falls over, the player responsible is immediately fined for all his remaining figures and the round begins all over again.
The pyramid has a maximum base of eight penguins before it reaches . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: October 5, 2007
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