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Gamehelptembo
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The Goal
TEMBO is a cooperative game where you win or lose as a team. Together, you lead a herd of elephants safely across the savanna to the destination. You must manage the triple threats of food (Energy), time (cards), and Lions.
Setup
- Each player chooses a player board and receives elephants (3 "active" on the board, the rest as "tired" elephants in the reserve).
- Arrange 6 Savanna boards between the Start and Destination boards according to the Journey tile.
- The Matriarch starts on the Start board; place 2 Lions and 4 Trees as indicated.
- Shuffle the three Savanna decks (I, II, III) with Matriarch and Lion cards. Each player starts with 3 cards.
Game Flow
The game is played clockwise. On your turn, choose one of two actions. Drawing or playing event cards (Matriarch/Lion) triggers immediate sequences.
Turn Sequence
A) Build Savanna
Place a card on an empty slot of a Savanna board.
- Water: Refill your supplies (+3 active elephants).
- Trees: Completing a Tree area grants the team +2 Energy.
B) Place Elephants
Discard a card to place elephants in the depicted footprint pattern.
- Placement must always be adjacent to the Matriarch or the existing herd.
- Difficult Terrain: Without a special symbol, only a maximum of one elephant can be placed per space.
Special Sequences
Matriarch Sequence (triggered by Matriarch card):
- Move Matriarch: The figure moves forward.
- Gather Herd: All active elephants on player boards become tired elephants again.
- Lose Energy: The team loses -2 Energy.
- Refresh Trees: All used Trees are stood up again.
- Note: A "Double Matriarch" (holding two cards) costs -5 Energy immediately.
Lion Sequence (triggered by Lion card):
- Lions move via the shortest path toward the nearest elephants.
- Any elephants reached are permanently removed from the game.
- If a Lion is in the same area as the Matriarch, all players must discard additional elephants.
End of Game
- Victory: Once all 6 Landmarks have been visited and the herd reaches the Destination board.
- Defeat: Energy drops to 0, the draw pile is empty, or a player loses their last available elephant.