Lots of kids want a pet and they all PROMISE they’ll be the one to look after it. Before taking the plunge, maybe try out this game where players MUST care for Honga, a very needy saber-toothed tiger. Maybe the experience of making sure he’s attended to will make kids think twice about wanting a pet, ESPECIALLY if what they wanted was a nice fluffy tiger…
In addition to practicing pet ownership, this game has some great thematic elements from that exciting and intriguing time in human history known as the Stone Age. Here’s how to play HONGA!
Set up the board so the two action disc decks (gray and red) make two face down stacks next to the board. Place the barter cards on the board and give each player a tray and markers for keeping track of their resource levels. Place the various other pieces around the board as indicated in the rule book, last but not least of which is to place HONGA in the center of the board where he will run the show!
Turns include several steps:
Play an action disc, each of which is divided into quarters with a random number of hand distributed in each of the sections.
Mind Honga! At least one hand on the action disc needs to point to Honga or else that player must take Honga and feed him a resource from his supply every turn. Get rid of Honga only by drawing a special barter card or passing it on to the next player who doesn’t mind Honga.
Carry out actions indicated by the hands on the action disc. Perform the action that the hands point to once per hand.
Discs can be placed in a variety of areas around the board to gain resources (mushrooms, berries, fish, or water), draw bonus cards, draw barter cards, or attract mammoths for the honor of possessing the prestigious mammoth tooth. The player with the mammoth tooth gets to draw from the stack of red action discs which have more total hands than the gray cards. You can also choose to climb your caveman up the mountain for points when he reaches the top.
Play a maximum of two bonus cards each turn for extra resources or abilities.
Lastly, draw a new action disc, red if you possess the mammoth tooth, gray if you do not.
Continue until a player reaches the winning number of points, which depends on how many total players are in the game.
Honga is a fun way to introduce or supplement a study of ancient/primitive peoples and their lifestyles, habits, diets, and more. It creates real life connections to and interest in agriculture, exploration, and economics (different systems including a bartering system). It also utilizes visual/spatial skills, cost/benefit analysis, problem solving, arithmetic, and is a a great choice for gameschooling math skills!
Thanks to Haba for sharing with us!
