| Recommended Age: | 7+ |
| BBG Rating: | 6.9 |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Play Time: | 15 minutes |
| Artist: | Gediminas Akelaitis |
| Our Recommended Age: | 5 or 6 with a little help. |
| Designer: | Günter Burkhardt, Dennis Kirps |
| Company Site: | www.publishing.brain-games.com |
| Contents: | 4 Frogs (1 each in Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green 1 Crown 20 Mosquito cards 12 Water Lily tiles in Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green 3 Special Tiles - 2 wild lily tiles and 1 empty ripple tile. |
In the great Frog race, the winner will be crowned King! Play a card in order to move around the pond but try not to run out before the other Frogs do or you’ll be out! Its last frog in the race wins in King Frog!
King Frog is an adorable game that has you playing a frog in a race to see who is the next King. Use mosquito cards on your turn to determine your movement but keep in mind that if you run out of these cards you are out of the game! The game doesn’t have a lot of pieces but those pieces are very good quality. The game comes in a lift-top box with great art on it and an insert to keep pieces in one spot. The box is a tad larger than necessary but I am hoping for expansions. The Frogs are wooden as is the crown and the board pieces are good quality chipboard. Cards are pretty standard and are not extra firm or coated or anything, however, the mosquitoes are a perfect fit for the game.
It says it is recommended for ages 7+ but with a little help, children as young as 5 or 6 could play easily enough, especially if they are seasoned gamers. The game is also fun for kids up to around age 12 or 13 but probably not too much past that. Adults will enjoy playing with kids which makes this a fun family game that you won’t mind playing over and over. Now let’s focus on the mechanics of the game!
Objective:
Be the last Frog in the game.
Setup:
You have 3 sets of water lily tiles in Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. You will be making a circle using these and the special tiles. Start by placing one of each color lily pad in a row then put a special tile, then another set of one of each color lily pad, then a special tile and the last set of each color and the last special tile. The colors can be in any order so maybe do those randomly but the special tiles are sort of a barrier so that each section has one of each color lily pad. See the instructions for a visual on how to do this. It also changes when playing a 2-3 or 4 players game. I’ll set it up for a 4 player game. Now each player chooses a color and gets that frog and all the mosquito cards that go with it.
The youngest player doesn’t necessarily go first but they do start off frog placement. They choose where they want to put their frog and then the next player going clockwise has to put their frog either right in front of or behind the first frog. Other players also have to place their frog either right in front of or behind the frogs already in line. The frog who is in the front of the line gets the crown and gets to go first.
Play:
Everyone plays at the same time so in the first round, everyone will choose a mosquito card and put it face down in front of them. The number determines how far you “hop” this round. Once everyone has chosen a card everyone flips them over face up. The lowest number moves first no matter where it is in the line. Then the next lowest and so on. If two or more players chose the same card then the person last in the line goes first. When hopping you can only have one frog on a tile at a time so you skip that space and do not count it. Only available spaces are counted. Once everyone has gone crown the frog who is farthest in line.
Your mosquito card stays down in front of you, for now. If you land on a water lily of your own color then you get your card back! The wild tile also counts. However, if you land on a tile that is NOT your color or the water ripple tile then your card goes away for the game…not good. This all happens in one round so at the end of round one you will either have your mosquito card back or it will be gone for the game.
Winning:
Gameplay continues until there is one frog left in the game, OR if the frog who is in front, with the crown, laps the last frog in line. The game ends immediately in either situation. The winner in the first instance is the last frog standing, and the winner in the second is the one who lapped the rest. One other way the game can end is if the last two players leave at the same time then the one who has the crown wins.
King Frog is a really cute and easy to learn game. It is great for a kids game night, family game night, and perfect for ages 4 – 7 although older kids might get a kick out of it as well. All hail King Frog!! In this game it was Grandma who won!
Show us your crown! @MyGeeklings #KingFrog #HailToTheKingBaby @Braingames_int
