{"id":8277,"date":"2017-07-30T21:08:27","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T21:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/?p=8277"},"modified":"2018-02-10T17:08:21","modified_gmt":"2018-02-10T17:08:21","slug":"junggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/blog\/2017\/07\/30\/junggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Junggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Le Dou Shou Qi, ou \u00e9checs des animaux, est le plus souvent connu en occident sous le nom de jeu de la jungle. Ce jeu de strat\u00e9gie chinois, traditionnel quoique pas tr\u00e8s ancien, remonte sans doute au XIX\u00e8me si\u00e8cle. Ses pions repr\u00e9sentant des animaux font qu\u2019il est parfois consid\u00e9r\u00e9 \u00e0 tort comme un jeu pour enfants.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>Un jeu de Dou Shou Qi comme je peux en acheter dans les boutiques chinoises de Belleville.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Le Dou Shou Qi ne doit pas \u00eatre confondu avec le jeu japonais des \u00e9checs des animaux, le doubutsu shogi, qui est une version simplifi\u00e9e et tr\u00e8s r\u00e9cente du shogi. Le jeu de la jungle est un jeu original, sans lien avec les \u00e9checs chinois, ou xiangqi.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>Les deux jeux d’\u00e9checs des animaux, chinois \u00e0 gauche et japonais \u00e0 droite.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Le th\u00e8me et la m\u00e9canique du jeu de la jungle s\u2019inspirent d\u2019une tradition plus ancienne, pr\u00e9sente en orient comme en occident (on trouve le r\u00e9cit dans l\u2019histoire naturelle de Peine l\u2019ancien), qui voudrait que le plus grand et le plus puissant des animaux de la jungle, l\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9phant, ait une peur panique de l\u2019un des plus petits, la souris. Au Dou Shou Qi, l\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9phant est le roi de la jungle, qui peut capturer toutes les pi\u00e8ces adverses. Suivent le lion, le tigre, le leopard, le loup, le chien, le chat et le rat, ce dernier \u00e9tant seul \u00e0 pouvoir capturer l\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9phant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>Images du premier prototype<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

C\u2019est moi qui, de passage chez Anja \u00e0 Berlin, lui ai racont\u00e9 cette histoire il y a quelques ann\u00e9e, et ai sugg\u00e9r\u00e9 d\u2019en faire le point de d\u00e9part d\u2019un jeu totalement diff\u00e9rent du Dou Shou Qi, un jeu qui ne soit ni de pions, ni de strat\u00e9gie, ni de damier.
\nAnja dessinant fort bien, j\u2019ai re\u00e7u quelques jours plus tard six mignonnes repr\u00e9sentations d\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9phant, de lion, de tigre, de chien, de chat et de souris – tant pis pour le l\u00e9opard et le loup, six animaux nous semblaient suffisants. Chacun d\u2019entre nous a imprim\u00e9 quelques cartes, et nous avons commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir \u00e0 plusieurs pistes diff\u00e9rentes – un jeu de m\u00e9moire, un jeu de rapidit\u00e9, un jeu de bluff\u2026.. Notre premier prototype avais \u00e0 la fois des cartes et des figurines repr\u00e9sentant les animaux, mais il \u00e9tait un peu tarabiscot\u00e9. Six mois plus tard, nous avions un jeu dont nous \u00e9tions vraiment satisfaits, juste avec des cartes, Le Roi de la Jungle<\/em> – il porte toujours ce nom dans la boite de Junggle. Des cartes sont \u00e9tal\u00e9es, face cach\u00e9es, au centre de la table, et les joueurs le consultent simultan\u00e9ment avant de les replacer, cherchant le plus gros animal qui n’a peur de rien. Nus commen\u00e7\u00e2mes \u00e0 montrer ce jeu aux \u00e9diteurs, tout en gardant en t\u00eate nos autres id\u00e9es de jeu, et en en essayant parfois de nouvelles.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>Je ne me souvenais m\u00eame plus qu’il y avait eu une version avec une panth\u00e8re noire.<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Nous pensions avoir trouv\u00e9 un \u00e9diteur, avec lequel avions m\u00eame commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 travailler sur le th\u00e8me du cirque, mais le projet a finalement \u00e9t\u00e9 abandonn\u00e9. Quelques semaines plus tard, de passage \u00e0 Minneapolis chez mes amis de Fantasy Flight Games, je sortais quelques prototypes de mon sac et, \u00e0 ma grande surprise, c\u2019est ce petit jeu un peu enfantin, tr\u00e8s europ\u00e9en, pas vraiment dans le style habituel de la maison, qui suscita le plus d\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat. La raison en \u00e9tait que Steve Kimball venait d’accepter de prendre les r\u00eanes de Windrider Games et cherchait des jeux familiaux pour son nouveau catalogue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nUne partie test au kiosque \u00e0 jeu de la place de R\u00e9publique.
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Le travail avec l\u2019\u00e9quipe de Z-Man a \u00e9t\u00e9 comme toujours (c’est \u00e0 dire comme quand ils s’appelaient Windrider pour Citadelles<\/em>, ou quand ils s’appelaient FFG pour Mission Plan\u00e8te Rouge<\/em>) un v\u00e9ritable plaisir. Ils ont amen\u00e9 de nouvelles id\u00e9es de jeux sur lesquelles nous avons rebondi, et au bout du compte nous avions, je crois, huit ou neuf r\u00e8gles. Nous en avons s\u00e9lectionn\u00e9 cinq, tous simples et rapides, permettant de jouer de 2 \u00e0 10 joueurs. Mon pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9, Perdu dans la Jungle, est un jeu de m\u00e9moire et de prise de risque, mais d\u2019autres font appel au bluff, au sens tactique, ou \u00e0 la rapidit\u00e9<\/p>\n

Le choix a \u00e9t\u00e9 fait d\u2019une jungle r\u00e9solument africaine, et plus du tout chinoise. Exit donc le tigre. Exeunt aussi le chien et le chat qui ne sont pas, dans l\u2019imaginaire occidental, des animaux sauvages. La jungle, ou peut-\u00eatre la savane, abrite d\u00e9sormais sept esp\u00e8ces, \u00e9l\u00e9phant, rhinoceros, lion, crocodile, hy\u00e8ne, serpent et, bien s\u00fbr, la petite souris.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

J’esp\u00e8rais que l\u2019\u00e9diteur demanderait \u00e0 Anja de r\u00e9aliser les illustrations finales, mais il a jug\u00e9 ses dessins un peu trop enfantins, trop cartoon, et a opt\u00e9 pour un style plus r\u00e9aliste. J\u2019\u00e9tais sceptique au d\u00e9but, mais finalement cela rend plut\u00f4t bien, et\u00a0 j’aime vraiment beaucoup la forme de la boite. \u00c7a doit s\u00fbrement avoir un nom.
\nNotre premier brouillon s’appelait Le Roi de la Jungle<\/em>, mais c’\u00e9tait un nom un peu long pour un petit jeu dans une petite boite. Il fallait un seul mot, et si possible quelque chose d’international pour faciliter les localisations. Jungle Party ne convenait pas parce que tous les jeux n’\u00e9taient pas des “party games”. Nous avons donc pris le plus petit d\u00e9nominateur commun de toutes les propositions (Jungle), et j’ai sugg\u00e9r\u00e9 que nous y ajoutions un second g, r\u00e9f\u00e9rence \u00e0 Dobble<\/em>, un jeu que j’aime bien, et qui propose \u00e9galement plusieurs r\u00e8gles pour jouer avec les m\u00eames cartes. J’esp\u00e8re que Junggle<\/em> aura autant de succ\u00e8s que Dobble<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Il y aura quelques boites de Junggle \u00e0 la Gen Con, au mois d’ao\u00fbt, mais le jeu sortira pour de bon quelques mois plus tard, en anglais d’abord mais j’esp\u00e8re bient\u00f4t dans plein d’autres langues.<\/p>\n

Junggle<\/strong><\/span>
\n Un jeu de Anja Wrede et Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
\n Illustrations de Sam Shimota<\/span>
\n 2 \u00e0 10 joueurs – <\/span>15 minutes<\/span>
\n Publi\u00e9 par Z-Man Games
\nPr\u00e9sentation chez l’\u00e9diteur
\n<\/a><\/span>Boardgamegeek<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dou Shou Qi<\/span>, also known as <\/span><\/em>Jungle Chess<\/span> or simply <\/span><\/em>Jungle<\/span>, is a traditional Chinese strategy game, though not a very old one, since it appeared only in the late XIXth century. Due to its animal pieces, it is often (and incorrectly) deemed a children\u2019s game.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>An old Dou Shou Qi game<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The Chinese <\/em>Dou Shou Qi is an original game unrelated to <\/em>Xiangqi (or <\/em>Chinese Chess). It should also not be confused with the other version of \u201cAnimals Chess,\u201d the Japanese <\/em>Doubutsu Shogi (or Let\u2019s Catch the Lion!), which is a simplified version of <\/em>Shogi.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>The two animals ches games, Chinese (left) and Japanese (right).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The theme and mechanics of the <\/em>Jungle game come from an older tradition which appears both in the eastern and the western world, where its oldest known occurrence is in Pliny the Elder\u2019s <\/em>Natural History. The story says that the biggest and most powerful animal in the jungle, the elephant, is absolutely afraid of one of the smallest ones, the tiny mouse. In the Chinese abstract game, the elephant is the king of the jungle and can capture any opponent\u2019s piece. Then, in order of rank, come the lion, tiger, leopard, wolf, dog, cat and rat. Only the latter, of course, can capture the mighty elephant.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\nArt from our first prototype<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

If I remember well, I told this story to Anja a few years ago when visiting her in Berlin, and I suggested we make a jungle-themed game out of it\u2014but a completely different one, no checkered board, no deep strategy.<\/em>
\nAnja is a talented artist, and a few days after flying back home, I got in my email six cute animal drawings: elephant, lion, tiger, dog, cat and mouse\u2014never mind the leopard and wolf, six animals sounded like enough. We both printed a few cards and started to think in several directions \u2013 a memory game, a fast reaction game, a bluffing game\u2026. \u00a0Our first game used both cards and animals figures, but it felt a bit convoluted. Six months later, we had one game we were really satisfied with, a pure card game we called King of the Jungle (still the name of this mini-game). In it, cards are places face down in the center of the table, and players simultaneously look at them and place them back, trying to find the King of the Jungle, the biggest animal who\u2019s not afraid. We started showing it to publishers, while keeping those other game ideas in mind and sometimes trying new ideas.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/a>I didn’t even remember we had a version with a black panther !
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

We thought we had a publisher, and we had even started thinking of a different theme\u2014the circus\u2014but the project was finally cancelled. A few weeks later I was in Minneapolis visiting my friends from Fantasy Flight Games. I showed the few prototypes I had in my bag. Much to my surprise, this small family card game, very European, definitely not in FFG\u2019s usual style, raised the most interest. Steve Kimball, FFG\u2019s Board Game Manager at the time, had already accepted his new position as Head of Windrider Games and was looking to pick up some family games that would complement its budding catalog, something I didn’t have anticipated.
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>The two designers playtesting the final version. I’m on the left, Anja on the right.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since my visit, Asmodee acquired the Z-Man brand, and since Windrider was making games similar to Z-Man, the two entities merged, with Steve now heading up Z-Man. To learn more about Steve\u2019s plans for Z-Man, see the recent interview he did on Z-Man\u2019s new website.
\nWorking with the Z-Man team was, as usual, smooth and easy – as usual meaning as before when they were\u00a0 Windrider for Citadels, or even earlier when they were still FFG for Mission:Red Planet). They brought a few new game ideas, which we developed together, and we ended with six or seven mini-games. We chose five very different ones, all fast paced, accommodating small and large groups. My favorite one, Lost in the Jungle, is a memory and risk-taking game, but there are also games about bluffing, tactics, and speed.
\nThe publisher moved the jungle from China to Africa. Exit the tiger. The dog and cat are not, in the western tradition, wild jungle animals, so they were replaced. In the end, the Jungle, or maybe the Savannah, now accommodates seven species: Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Crocodile, Hyena, Snake and, of course, the tiny Mouse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I had hoped that the publisher would ask Anja to make the final graphics, and she probably would have liked it, but they thought her style was a bit too cartoony, more appropriate for children\u2019s books, and wanted to go for something more realistic. I was skeptical at first, but in the end I think it looks really great. The strangely shaped box \u2014 I have no idea if there\u2019s a name for that shape \u2014 is cute.
\n<\/span>Our prototype was called King of the Jungle, but this was too long a name for a small game in a tiny box. It had to be one single word, two at max, and more or less international to make localization easier. Jungle Party didn\u2019t work because some of the games in the box could not be considered party games. So we ended up with the smallest denominator (Jungle<\/em>), and I suggested we add a second \u201cg\u201d (Junggle)<\/em> as a reference to Dobble <\/em>(Spot It<\/em> in North America)\u2014because I like Dobble and because Junggle, like Dobble, has several sets of rules, and of course because I hope Junggle will be as successful as Dobble.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It will have early copies for sale at Gen Con, where I shall be to demo it as well as half a dozen other new games at various publishers, with Junggle\u2019s full release coming a few months later.<\/p>\n

Junggle<\/strong><\/span>
\n A game by Anja Wrede & Bruno Faidutti<\/span>
\n Art by Sam Shimota<\/span>
\n 2 to 10 players – 15 minutes<\/span>
\n Published par Z-Man Games
\nPublisher’s web page<\/a>
\nBoardgamegeek<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Le Dou Shou Qi, ou \u00e9checs des animaux, est le plus souvent connu en occident sous le nom de jeu de la jungle. Ce jeu de strat\u00e9gie chinois, traditionnel quoique pas tr\u00e8s ancien, remonte sans doute au XIX\u00e8me si\u00e8cle. Ses … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[427],"tags":[62,428,429],"class_list":["post-8277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-junggle","tag-anja-wrede","tag-junggle","tag-z-man-games"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s2HNOP-junggle","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8277"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8475,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8277\/revisions\/8475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faidutti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}