{"id":629,"date":"2012-05-01T09:58:56","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T09:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/?p=629"},"modified":"2021-09-29T21:20:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T21:20:39","slug":"la-vallee-des-mammouths-valley-of-the-mammoths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/blog\/2012\/05\/01\/la-vallee-des-mammouths-valley-of-the-mammoths\/","title":{"rendered":"La Vall\u00e9e des Mammouths
Valley of the Mammoths<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bienvenue dans la vall\u00e9e des mammouths, et bonne chance ! Vous en aurez besoin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Vall\u00e9e des mammouths est un bon gros jeu de soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 la fois tactique et impr\u00e9visible, quelque part entre Risk et Civilisation, saupoudr\u00e9 d’un peu de chaos. A l’aube de l’humanit\u00e9, chaque joueur contr\u00f4le une tribu d’hommes pr\u00e9historiques qui se livrent une lutte sans piti\u00e9 et pleine d’humour pour la nourriture, le feu et les femmes.
Votre tribu parviendra-t-elle \u00e0 vaincre ses rivales, \u00e0 prosp\u00e9rer et se multiplier, \u00e0 s’emparer d’un vaste territoire? Pour cela elle devra combattre les tribus adverses, mais aussi affronter les f\u00e9roces animaux sauvages et se procurer, par la chasse, la cueillette et l’agriculture, la nourriture n\u00e9cessaire \u00e0 sa survie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D’abord paru au tout d\u00e9but des ann\u00e9es quatre-vingt-dix, chez mes amis de Ludod\u00e9lire, La Vall\u00e9e des Mammouths fut l’un des jeux embl\u00e9matiques de cette \u00e9poque. Apr\u00e8s la disparition de Ludod\u00e9lire, il fut repris par Jeux Descartes, mais est aujourd’hui \u00e9puis\u00e9. En 20 ans, le jeu de soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 chang\u00e9, colons et magiciens sont pass\u00e9s par l\u00e0. On ne pourrait plus, aujourd’hui, publier un jeu de 3 ou 4 heures, hasardeux et chaotique, o\u00f9 les combats se r\u00e8glent \u00e0 coups de d\u00e9s et o\u00f9 l’on vole les femmes des adversaires.
Bref, c’est un jeu dont, comme beaucoup de joueurs, je me souviens avec \u00e9motion mais dont on se rendrait peut-\u00eatre compte, s’il ressortait aujourd’hui, qu’il a pas mal vieilli. C’est various de beau coup des jeux de la fin des ann\u00e8es quatre-vingt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Vall\u00e9e des Mammouths ne s’inspire pas de la pr\u00e9histoire telle que la connaissent aujourd’hui les savants, mais d’une pr\u00e9histoire fantasm\u00e9e, celle de Rahan, celle aussi des nombreux romans pr\u00e9historiques, tr\u00e8s en vogue dans les ann\u00e9es vingt. Le plus connu est sans doute La Guerre du Feu de J.H. Rosny-A\u00een\u00e9, qui en \u00e9crivit aussi bien d’autres, du lyrique F\u00e9lin G\u00e9ant \u00e0 l’un peu leste Noma\u00ef, Amours lacustres. Ceux que la gen\u00e8se de cet imaginaire int\u00e9resse pourront lire avec profit les ouvrages de mon amie Claudine Cohen, Le Destin du Mammouth et La Femme des Origines, des ouvrages plein de charme et d’\u00e9rudition, \u00e0 l’image de leur auteur. Je leur conseille \u00e9galement la d\u00e9licieuse, la succulente nouvelle de Roy Lewis, Pourquoi j’ai mang\u00e9 mon p\u00e8re.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left ro right, a prototype, the Ludodelire edition and the Descartes edition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pour la premi\u00e8re \u00e9dition de La Vall\u00e9e des Mammouths, Ludod\u00e9lire avait fait appel \u00e0 plusieurs illustrateurs. L’un avait fait la boite, tr\u00e8s ann\u00e9es 60, un autre le plateau, tr\u00e8s r\u00e9aliste, un troisi\u00e8me les pions, r\u00e9solument BD. Ce troisi\u00e8me, bien s\u00fbr, \u00e9tait mon ami G\u00e9rard Mathieu, l’un des piliers de Ludod\u00e9lire, auteur de Super Gang et Full Metal Planet, tr\u00e8s bon joueur d’Axes et Alli\u00e9s et tr\u00e8s mauvais joueur de poker. Pour la deuxi\u00e8me version, il a r\u00e9alis\u00e9 toutes les illustrations, qu’il s’agisse des pions, des cartes, du plateau de jeu ou de la boite – et croyez moi, il s’est l\u00e2ch\u00e9! Sans compter que, depuis l’\u00e9poque de Ludod\u00e9lire, il a d\u00e9laiss\u00e9 le noir et blanc et pris go\u00fbt aux couleurs vives…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Vall\u00e9e des Mammouths<\/strong><\/span>
Un jeu de Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
Illustr\u00e9 par G\u00e9rard Mathieu, Copik Buntz et Bernard Bitler<\/span>
3 \u00e0 6 joueurs \u2013 180 minutes<\/span>
Publi\u00e9 par Ludod\u00e9lire (1991), Jeux Descartes (2001)<\/span>
Tric Trac<\/a>    Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Welcome to the Valley of the Mammoth\u2026 and good luck! You’ll need it.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Valley of the Mammoths is a slightly tactical old-style boardgame, somewhere between Risk and Civilization, with a little (well, a big little) fun and chaos added. Your prehistoric tribe takes part in the big struggle for land, food, fire and women.<\/em>
Will your tribe be the first to vanquish its enemies? Can it prosper, multiply and seize vast territory? Are you ready to battle rival tribes and confront ferocious beasts? To hunt, fish, forage and farm in order to provide the necessary food for the survival of your tribe?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valley of the Mammoths was first published in the early nineties by my friends of Ludod\u00e9lire, then by Jeux Descartes when Ludod\u00e9lire went out of business, and is now out of print. In 20 years, boardgames have changed a lot, mostly thanks to Settlers and Magic. I don’t think such a 3 or 4 hours long and chaotic luckfest could be published today – at least not in Europe, since this kind of game still seems to sell a bit in the US.<\/em>
In the end, it’s a game I remember fondly, like many older gamers, but I’m afraid that, if it were reprinted now, we would find out that it didn’t age that well. That’s true of several emblematic games from the late eighties.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Valley of the Mammoth is inspired not by the pre-history which is known by modern scholars, but by a pre-historic fantasy world, like the one in the famous French comic series “Rahan”, or the worlds of the numerous pre-historic pulp novels that were extremely in vogue in the 1920’s. The most well known is without doubt “La Guerre du feu” by J.H. Rosney-A\u00een\u00e9, but he wrote many, many others, from the lyrical “F\u00e9lin g\u00e9ant” to the slightly risqu\u00e9 “Noma\u00ef, amours lacustres”.<\/em>
Those who are interested in the genesis of this imaginary world would do well to read “La femme des Origines” and “The Fate of the Mammoth” by my friend Claudine Cohen. Like their authors, these two books are erudite, charming and entertaining. I equally recommend the delicious and succulent novel “The Evolution Man, or, How I Ate My Father” by Roy Lewis.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left ro right, a prototype, the Ludodelire edition and the Descartes edition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The very first edition of The Valley of the Mammoths, made by Ludod\u00e9lire, was illustrated by three different graphists. One made the box, in a sixties cinema-poster style, another one the board, in a highly realistic style, a third one the pawns, in a fun cartoony style. This third one, of course, was my friend G\u00e9rard Mathieu, one of the three founder members of Ludod\u00e9lire, author of Super Gang and Full Metal Planet, very good Axies and Allies player, and very bad poker player. G\u00e9rard has made all the graphics for the second edition, pawns, cards, board and box cover, and he took great pleasure in it. Furthermore, since the old times of Ludod\u00e9lire, he has given up black and white, and discovered vivid colours.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valley of the Mammoths<\/strong>
A game by Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
Art by G\u00e9rard Mathieu, Copik Buntz & Bernard Bitler<\/span>
3 to 6 players – 180 minutes<\/span>
Published by Ludod\u00e9lire (1991), Jeux Descartes (2001)<\/span>
Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n