Jumanji has changed its rules a number of times over the years. This post is for the 2021 version of the game which makes some pretty significant changes from the original game. If you are looking for the rules for the original version of Jumanji, check out our Jumanji Rules post.
Looking for a specific Jumanji rule? | Setup | Playing the Game | Challenges | End of Game | FAQ | Components |
Objective
The objective of Jumanji is to make it to the center space and yell out Jumanji without any of the players running out of life tokens.
Setup
- Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.
- All of the players choose a mover and place it on one of the four corner spaces on the board.
- Shuffle all of the cards and place them next to the board with the green dome side visible.
- Place the green dome in the middle of the gameboard.
- Place the timer and dice near the cards.
- Each player takes three life tokens. If there are only two players, each player takes four life tokens.
How to Play Jumanji 2021
You will begin each of your turns rolling the two regular dice (the dice with dots on them). The total you roll on the two dice determines how many spaces you will move your pawn. You will move your pawn the corresponding number of spaces along the track. You must stay on your own path even though the paths will cross each other.
After you have moved your pawn, you will draw one of the cards and place it into the green dome. You cannot look at the other side of the card when you are placing the card into the dome. Each card has a riddle on it. Each riddle can be answered with one of 20 possible answers:
- Safari
- River Rapids
- Preparation
- Monsoon
- Monkeys
- Darkness
- Bugs
- Adventure
- Zoology
- Van Pelt
- Trapped
- The Chasm
- Stampede
- Slither & Growl
- Silence
- Treasure Map
- Marauders
- Jungle
- Hunger
- Dreams
After you have provided an answer to the riddle, you will flip over the card to see if you were right. If you provided the correct answer, you get to move forward one additional space. Should you answer incorrectly, nothing happens.
Next read the rest of the text on the card. This will present a challenge that you need to overcome. See the challenges section below for more details.
If you ever roll doubles, you will get to take another turn.
Challenges
After you have finished dealing with the riddle, you will handle the challenge from the card you drew. Read the card out loud to the rest of the players. Most challenges involve some or all of the other players. You must follow the instruction on the card and complete the challenge in order to avoid losing a life.
Some of the challenges require players roll a specific symbol on the challenge dice. In these challenges all of the players will roll the special dice until they roll the required symbol.
There are a couple unique symbols that can be on the Challenge Cards. These symbols apply specific rules to the challenge.
Danger challenges only put the current player in danger unless the card says otherwise. Should any of the players fail the challenge, the current player loses one of their Life Tokens.
For these challenges you will flip over the sand timer before the players start the challenge. The challenge ends immediately once the timer runs out.
For these challenges you will be asked to act out a scene or tell a story to the group.
End of Game
The 2021 version of Jumanji can end in a couple different ways.
Each player receives three or four Life Tokens at the start of the game (depends on the number of players). You can lose Life Tokens throughout the game if you fail challenges. The game is played cooperatively. Should any player ever lose their last Life Token, all of the players lose the game. To prevent this, at any time in the game you can gift one of your Life Tokens to another player.
As long as no one loses their last Life Token, the players are racing to reach the center space. The first player to reach the center space and yell out “Jumanji” wins the game for the whole group.
Jumanji FAQ
If you have any questions about how to play the game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.
Components
- Gameboard
- Green Dome
- 100 Challenge Cards
- 4 Rhino Movers
- 12 Life Tokens
- 2 Regular Dice
- 4 Challenge Dice
- 45-Second Timer
- Instructions
Year: 2021 | Publisher: Spin Master | Artist: Mat Edwards
Genres: Action, Dexterity, Family, Roll and Move
Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 20-60 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate-High
For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.