Jumanji Board Game: family board game
Jumanji The Board Game: a look at the 2017 Cardinal reissue
Jumanji The Board Game from Cardinal Games (2017) updates the 1995 Milton Bradley game with colorized artwork and some new riddle messages. Race to the board’s center while rescuing other players from jungle dangers.
- 2017
- 2-4 players
- Ages 8+
- family board game
- Cardinal Games
Same jungle, brighter colors. Read a card, flip the timer, and rescue your friend.
A quick look at one round of Jumanji: The Game
Move along your path on your turn. Land on a blank space and you draw a Danger card.
Read each Danger card message aloud. Its symbol and number determine your rescue.
- Step 1:
Setup: Shuffle the Danger cards face down on the DRAW space. Put each pawn on its START space, set the rhino on its home base, and give each player one rescue die.
- Step 2:
Roll the number die on your turn, then move that many spaces along your color path toward the center.
- Step 3:
Land on a blank space to draw a Danger card. Slide it under the decoder and read the message aloud to reveal a secret symbol and number.
- Step 4:
Call “Ready, Set, Go” and turn the timer. Everyone else rolls rescue dice at once, trying to match the card’s symbol or the wild hourglass in about 8 seconds.
- Step 5:
If every other player succeeds, you stay put and each moves ahead the card’s number. If anyone fails, you move back that number and the card goes on the Doomsday Grid.
- Step 6:
A jungle space puts everyone in danger, so all players roll to rescue one another. On a wait space, you slide back one space per turn until a player rolls 5 or 8.
- 7Step 7:
On a rhino space, you can put the rhino directly in front of another pawn. That pawn is blocked until its player rolls an even number or the rhino moves.
- 8Step 8:
Reach the center with an exact count from a die roll or card number, then yell JUMANJI to win. If the Doomsday Grid fills first, everyone loses.
The 2017 box updates the 1995 game, so this walkthrough follows the 1995 Milton Bradley rulebook. Spin Master’s Jumanji decoder game descriptions match it. The Jumanji 1995 game page covers every space in full.
The hourglass counts as wild on the rescue dice, except in a two-player game.
How the Jumanji decoder game works
Setup
Shuffle the Danger cards and put them face down in a draw pile on the board’s DRAW space.
Each player picks a pawn and puts it on the matching color’s START space. Leave unused pawns out of play.
Put the rhino figure on its home base.
Each player takes one rescue die. Leave any extra rescue dice out of play.
The player who suggested the game goes first, then play passes clockwise. The player taking a turn holds the timer and number die.
Turn by turn
Move
Roll the number die and move your pawn that many spaces along your color path toward the center. Follow the space’s directions, but only on your own turn. Then pass the timer and number die to the player on your left.
Blank space: decode the danger
Jungle dangers are on the loose. Draw a Danger card, slide it face up under the decoder, and read the message aloud. The decoder reveals a secret symbol (rope, saber, die, axe, racquet, open door or raft) and a number.
Blank space: rescue your fellow players
You’re the timekeeper, so turn the timer. The other players roll their rescue dice together until they show the card’s symbol or the wild hourglass. If everyone does so in time, you stay put and they move ahead the card’s number. Otherwise, you move back that number and the card goes on the Doomsday Grid.
Jungle, wait and rhino spaces
On a jungle space, everyone, including you, rolls to rescue the group, and extra cards may go on the grid. On a wait space, the player to your left rolls the number die. A 5 or 8 frees you; any other result sends you back one space, and the next player rolls. A rhino space lets you block another pawn.
End of the game and scoring
There’s no scoring. Reach the center by exact count and call out JUMANJI to win. You can get there on your turn with the number die, or on someone else’s turn by moving ahead with a Danger card. If two players arrive at once, the first to yell JUMANJI wins. If the Doomsday Grid fills first, everyone loses.
Key rules
Exact count
If the die or card shows a number greater than the distance to the center, your pawn stays put. A smaller number moves you the full amount.
Hourglass is wild
The hourglass on a rescue die matches any card symbol. In a two-player game, it isn’t wild.
Challenge game
For a tougher game, add 1 to 6 random Danger cards to the Doomsday Grid before you start.
Tips for your first game
- Read each message aloud. Its symbol and number determine the rescue.
- Before the first card, agree on who flips the timer. The player whose turn it is serves as timekeeper.
- Keep rolling the rescue dice until the right symbol or the hourglass appears. Stop early and the rescue fails.
- Count the spaces to the center before moving. If your roll or card is greater than the distance, stay put.
Roll too high near the center? Your pawn stays put. You need an exact count.
The box year can be confusing: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened on December 20, 2017. This reissue updates the 1995 game, which comes from the 1995 original film. The Jumanji board game from the movie overview matches each version to its film.
Background: the 2017 reissue of the 1995 game
If the Doomsday Grid fills before anyone reaches the center, every player loses.
The game
Design and release
Cardinal Games published Jumanji: The Game in 2017, updating the 1995 Milton Bradley game. Wikipedia says the update added colorized artwork and changed some of the riddle messages on the Danger cards.
Editions and reprints
Spin Master lists the classic game under its Spin Master Games label and describes the same core pieces: an eight-sided number die, Danger cards, a decoder and four rescue dice. The Deluxe electronic edition has a different design.
The film or series it covers
The 1995 film Jumanji. The box updates the 1995 game and came out in 2017, the year Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened.
In the 1995 film, a crystal ball at the board’s center shows a cryptic message after each roll. The game’s decoder serves a similar purpose, revealing a message, symbol and number for each Danger card.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
The decoder window stands in for the film’s crystal ball, revealing a message whenever a Danger card slides in.
- 2
The wait space nods to the film’s verse about waiting until the dice read five or eight. A roll of 5 or 8 frees the player.
- 3
The Doomsday Grid and shared loss echo the film’s idea that the game’s effects stop only when someone finishes it.
What’s in a Spin Master decoder game box
- Gameboard and center space
- Pawns
- Rhino figure
- Timer
- Eight-sided number die
- 4 rescue dice
- 30 Danger cards
- Card decoder
- Label sheet
- Instructions
How the 2017 reissue differs from the 1995 game
Milton Bradley original 1995
The first release, with the decoder, Danger cards and rescue dice. See its own page for the full rulebook.
Cardinal Games reissue 2017
New colorized artwork, with some Danger-card riddle messages changed.
Spin Master Games Jumanji: The Game
Spin Master's own listing of the decoder game, with 30 Danger cards and 4 rescue dice. Its 30th Anniversary Edition lists plastic movers and mover stands.
Questions about the 2017 Jumanji board game
What is Jumanji: The Game from Cardinal Games?
The Cardinal Games reissue is a 2017 update of the 1995 Milton Bradley original, with colorized artwork and some changed riddle messages on its Danger cards.
Is the 2017 Jumanji board game based on Welcome to the Jungle?
No. It updates the 1995 board game, based on the 1995 film. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened on December 20, 2017, but the board game does not adapt its story.
How do you win the Jumanji decoder game?
Reach the center first with an exact count and yell JUMANJI. You can arrive on your turn or another player’s turn by moving ahead on a Danger card.
What happens when the Doomsday Grid fills up?
The jungle overwhelms the group, and every player loses. Everyone plays again until someone reaches the center first.
How many players can play Jumanji: The Game?
Spin Master lists its Jumanji decoder game for 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. In a two-player game, the hourglass is not wild on the rescue dice.
Read each Danger card message aloud. Its symbol and number determine your rescue.
The hourglass counts as wild on the rescue dice, except in a two-player game.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Jumanji (film), Games section on the 1995 and 2017 board game en.wikipedia.org
- Milton Bradley Jumanji game manual (1995), Internet Archive archive.org
- Spin Master Games: Jumanji Retro (decoder game), archived product page web.archive.org
- Spin Master: Jumanji 30th Anniversary Edition product page spinmaster.com
- Wikiquote: Jumanji (1995 film) en.wikiquote.org