Ugah! Ugah!

Ugah Ugah!

A prehistoric type dice game for 2-4 hunter-gatherers from 5 to 99 years old.

Author: Benjamin Schwer
Illustrator: Marek Blaha
Length of game: approx. 15 minutes


Can you hear the growling stomachs of the two Stone Age hunters Bone Breaker and Mammoth Masher? They‘re off to roam the wilderness in search of food. They split up so they can maximize their efforts. On their way they find all kinds of nutritious things to eat: juicy mammoths and dangerous dinosaurs, thick lizards, but also useless bones. Help the two Stone Age hunters to earn the spoils. Whoever has the most munch points, when Bone Breaker and Mammoth Masher meet up again, will have won the hunt.

Contents

Bone Breaker (large wooden figure) and Mammoth Masher (small wooden figure), 31 path chips with munch points, 5 dice, 3 spoils cards (dinosaur, mammoth, prehistoric bird), 1 set of instructions

Preparation

Shuffle the 31 path chips face down and place them in a large circle in the middle of the table. Leave a large gap between two chips at one point in the circle. Then turn all of the path chips over, so that you can see the munch points. Place the 3 spoils cards face up in the middle of the circle. Place Mammoth Masher and Bone Breaker in the large gap between the two path chips.

Mammoth Masher (small wooden figure) always runs in a clockwise direction along the path chips, whereas Bone Breaker (big wooden figure) runs counterclock-wise. Get the dice ready.

How to play

Play in a clockwise direction. The hairiest player starts. Roll all 5 dice and look at the result.
Which symbols are shown on the dice?

• Bone:
If the die shows a bone, you have to put it to one side immediately.

• Dinosaur, mammoth, prehistoric bird, Mammoth Masher, Bone Breaker: - After each throw, you choose at least one of the five symbols, but you can choose more. Now place all of the dice with the selected symbol(s) in the middle of the table.
- Roll the remaining dice again.

- Then choose again at least one symbol and place the corresponding dice in the middle of the table. This can also be a symbol that you have previously chosen.
- Repeat this until all of the dice have been set aside. Look at the dice
After you have laid out all the dice, take a look at them:
• Bone: Dice showing a bone are worthless.
• Mammoth, prehistoric dinosaurs and birds:
If at least 3 of the dice show the same symbol, take the corresponding spoils cards and place it in front of you. If a player has this card already, you may take it from them. Warning: You earn three extra munch cards for each spoils card in front of you, but only at the end of the game.

• Bone Breaker and Mammoth Masher:
- For each die that shows Bone Breaker or Mammoth Masher, you have to move the corresponding figure forward onto the next path chip. Gaps between the chips do not count as a running spaces.

- If you are only allowed to move one of the two wooden figures, you need to take the path chips on which the figure is standing at the end of your turn, and place it face down in front of you. Place the wooden figure back on the empty space where you removed the path chip.

- If you move both wooden figures, you need to take both path chips on which the figures are standing. You can keep one of the path chips and place it face down in front of you. Give the other one face down to a player of your choice.
Important: In this case, you have to decide which figure to move first.

- If none of the dice shows one of the Stone Age hunters, then you cannot move the wooden figures.

Then the next player takes their turn.

End of the game

The game ends immediately after the turn in which Bone Breaker and Mammoth Masher meet up again, or pass by each other. The wooden figures then move forward the remaining number of path points on the remaining chips

Who will win the spoils?

At the end, each player counts up the munch points on the path chips they managed to collect. Each chip with a smelly caterpillar counts for 1 munch point. Count up the number of munch points on all of the other path chips. You earn 3 extra munch points for each spoils card you have in front of you at the end of the game. The player with the most munch points wins the game.

Variation: Uncertain hunting

The game is played according to the rules of the basic game with the following difference in the preparation.
Shuffle the 31 path chips face down and place them in a large circle in the middle of the table. Leave a large gap between two chips at one point in the circle. Then turn just four path chips over, so that you can see the munch points.

Now it isn‘t as easy to see which path chips are the most valuable.