What’s Monkey Palace about?
An abandoned palace has stood desolate in the jungle for many years. Now it’s up to all of you to rebuild the Monkey Palace! In a game of Monkey Palace, the goal is to score as many Banana Points as possible. Players compete to build the best staircases for the Monkey Palace and score Banana Points by building tall staircases with lots of arches.
The winner is the player with the most Banana Points!
How do I set up the game?
Learn more about setting up the game here.
What is the difference between the four Ground Maps?
Each of the four ground maps has a different layout, providing variety in building experiences. Additionally, Ground Maps 3 & 4 offer more of a challenge, with some areas blocked from building.
Do I have to place the Decoration Elements on the base plate?
No, you can either leave them on the table next to the game or build a cool jungle with them around the Ground Map.
Do I have to play with the Butterfly and the Frog?
No, the Butterfly and the Frog are micro-expansions that you can add for even more fun and variety. You can choose to play with either, both or neither of them, but we suggest that you play a few games without them before including them in the game.
How do I set up the Monkey Cards?
The Monkey Cards are placed on the table next to the game like this:
Shuffle the Monkey Cards worth 1 Monkey Credit, then place them in a pile on the table. Do the same for Monkey Cards that are worth 2 and 6 Monkey Credits, creating separate piles for each.
Separate the Monkey Cards worth 3, 4, and 5 Monkey Credits into nine piles, split by their value and color. Shuffle each pile and place the nine piles on the table.
SIMPLE BUILD
ADVANCED BUILD
GENERAL BUILDING RULES
A. STARTING POINT
A staircase must start from an open knob on the Ground Map.
B. STARTING ELEMENT
A staircase may start with any building brick.
C. END ELEMENT
A staircase must end with an arch.
D. BUILD ON ANY ELEMENTS
You may build on any building elements that have an open knob, including Decoration Elements.
But you may not build on the two center knobs of the arches.
E. ATTACH THE STAIRCASE
A new staircase must attach to at least one open knob of the palace on the Ground Map.
Very rarely, a player is not able to attach their staircase to the existing build on the Ground Map. In such cases the player takes their Recurring Supply of building elements and waits until the next round.
F. SUPPORT THE STAIRCASE
Each building element in your staircase must be fully supported.
G. ARCH ON ARCH IS NOT ALLOWED
You may not place an arch directly on top of another arch.
H. DIRECTIONS
A staircase may turn 90 degrees.
I. USE ARCHES ONLY AS DIRECT STEPS
A staircase must make a direct path from the Ground Map to the Decoration Element. Every arch you place must be a direct step up toward the end of your staircase.
Therefore a player cannot place arches as supporting elements branching off from the direct path.
A staircase must not loop back on itself.
How do I decorate my staircase?
At the end of your staircase, place a Decoration Element that corresponds to the color of the starting point of your staircase.
Do I have to decorate my staircase?
Yes. Once you’ve built your staircase, you must always add a Decoration Element.
What if I run out of Decoration Elements?
You won’t run out of Decoration Elements.
However, if you lose pieces, you can reorder from The LEGO Group website, here. You can find the product code of the Decoration Elements on Page 2 of the paper rules.
How do I count my Monkey Credits?
Count the number of arches you placed in the staircase you just built. You get 1 Monkey Credit for each arch you placed.
If the Decoration Element on the staircase you built is the highest of that color, you get 1 extra Monkey Credit.
Player 1 has built a staircase with 3 arches (3 Monkey Credits) and has placed the highest light-green Decoration Element (1 Monkey Credit).
Player 1 therefore gets a total of 4 Monkey Credits.
What if my Decoration Element is at the same height as another Decoration Element on the Monkey Palace?
You only get 1 extra Monkey Credit if the Decoration Element you just placed on your staircase is the highest of that color.
For example, if you placed a light-green Decoration Element on your staircase and there is another Decoration Element at the same height on the Monkey Palace, you don’t get an extra Monkey Credit.
What do I get from the Monkey Cards?
Monkey Cards give you building elements to use on your staircases on your next turn(s). You may get both an Instant supply and a Recurring supply of Building Elements.
The Monkey Cards ALSO give you Banana Points. The higher the value of the Monkey Card, the more Banana Points you get.
Which Monkey Cards can I take?
Spend your Monkey Credits to take Monkey Cards. For example, if you have 5 Monkey Credits, you can take a Monkey Card worth 5 Monkey Credits.
The color of the Decoration Element in the staircase you just built determines which Monkey Cards (worth 3, 4, or 5 Monkey Credits) you can take:
You can always take multicolored Monkey Cards worth 1, 2, or 6 Monkey Credits.
Can I take several Monkey Cards?
Yes, you can take one or more Monkey Cards for your Monkey Credits, but you can only take the top card from each pile on each turn.
Do I have to use all my Monkey Credits?
No, you don’t have to use all your Monkey Credits, but unused credits do not roll over to your next turn.
What do we do if one of the card piles runs out of Monkey Cards?
If one of the card piles runs out of Monkey Cards, you will need to pay even more attention to the color of the starting point of your staircase. The color determines which Monkey Cards you can take, so if there are no light-green Monkey Cards left, you may not want to build from a light-green starting point—unless you want multicolored cards.
Is the supply of building elements the same on all Monkey Cards?
No, the supply of building elements varies from Monkey Card to Monkey Card.
How do I take an Instant supply
After taking one or several Monkey Cards, you can take the building elements shown next to the lightning image on the Monkey Card(s) that you took on your turn.
As their Instant supply, Player 1 may take 2 building elements (free choice of arches and 1×1 bricks) as well as 1 column.
Is it better to take an arch or a 1×1 brick as the Instant supply?
In many cases, you can choose between an arch and a 1×1 brick as your Instant supply of building elements. In some cases, it may be good to take an arch because this will allow you to get more Monkey Credits on your next turn. And, in some cases, it may be good to take a 1×1 brick because this will allow you to support your staircase and build higher.
What do I do if there are no more building elements of one kind in the element tray?
When a player takes the last of one type of building element, the endgame is triggered. Play continues for the remainder of the round, so all players have an equal number of turns.
How do I take a Recurring supply?
Once you have taken your Instant supply, flip the Monkey Card(s) over, and place them on an empty space/empty spaces on your Player Board. Then, take all the building elements shown next to the circle icons – those on the left side of your Player Board AND those on the top Monkey Cards on your Player Board
As their Recurring supply, Player 1 may take five arches and four 1×1 bricks.
What do I do if there are no more empty spaces on my Player Board?
If there are no more empty spaces on your Player Board, you must place the new Monkey Card on top of the existing cards on the Player Board.
If you take several Monkey Cards in one turn and your Player Board is full, you may place these new Monkey Cards on top of each other on the Player Board.
It is a good idea to place your new Monkey Card(s) on top of an existing Monkey Card with no (or only a small) Recurring supply of building elements.
What do I do if there are no more building elements of one kind in the element tray?
When a player takes the last of one type of building element, the endgame is triggered. Play continues for the remainder of the round, so all players have an equal number of turns.
How do I get a Bonus Card?
The yellow Bonus Card gives you 4 Banana Points.
If part of your staircase is the height of at least five 1×1 bricks, you may take a Bonus Card on your turn.
Note: A column counts as three 1×1 bricks AND arches cannot be included in the count.
Examples
How many Bonus Cards can I take in one turn?
You can only take one Bonus Card per turn — no matter how many parts of your staircase are the height of at least five 1×1 bricks.
Where do I place the Bonus Card?
Place the Bonus Card next to your Player Board so all players can see it.
The Monkey and the Monkey Trophy Card
If you have placed a golden Decoration Element on your turn (no matter how high you placed it), you can take the Monkey and place it on an open end knob of an arch in any staircase to block your opponents from building there. You don’t have to take the Monkey and place it somewhere—you can also leave it where it is.
Note: You cannot build on top of the Monkey.
Possible placement of Monkey
Take the Monkey Trophy Card from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it. Place the card next to your Player Board.
The Monkey Trophy Card can move from player to player during the game. The player who has the Monkey Trophy Card at the end of the game gets 2 Banana Points.
The Butterfly and the Butterfly Trophy Card (Optional)
If you have placed the tallest Decoration Element of any color (no ties), you must place the Butterfly on top of that Decoration Element:
Take the Butterfly Trophy Card worth 2 Banana Points from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it. Place the card next to your Player Board.
The Butterfly Trophy Card can move from player to player during the game. The player who has the Butterfly Trophy Card at the end of the game gets 2 Banana Points.
The Frog and the Frog Trophy Card (Optional)
During your turn, you may take the Frog Trophy Card, which allows you to immediately take an extra column from the Element Tray. You can only take the extra column when you take the Frog Trophy Card from the middle of the table or from the player currently holding it.
Take the Frog Trophy Card, place it next to your Player Board, and place the Frog on the lowest open end knob in the staircase you just built:
The Frog Trophy Card can move from player to player during the game. The player who has the Frog Trophy Card at the end of the game gets -3 Banana Points.
When does the game end?
The endgame is triggered when there are not enough building elements of one kind for a player to take at the end of their turn. However, play continues for the remainder of the round, so all players have an equal number of turns.
How do we count Banana Points?
Each player turns over all the Monkey Cards on their Player Board and counts the Banana Points on the Monkey Cards, as well as any Banana Points on Bonus Cards and Trophy Cards (Monkey, Butterfly, and Frog).
The winner is the player who has the most Banana Points!
What do we do in the event of a tie?
In the event of a tie, the winner is the player with the Monkey Trophy Card.
If none of the tied players has the Monkey Trophy Card, the tied players share the victory.
What do I do if I lose some of the LEGO® building elements?
New building elements can be ordered from the LEGO Group website here.
You can find the product codes on Page 2 of the paper rules or here:
I still have some questions — who can I contact?
Send an email to info@dottedgames.com and we will be happy to assist you.