Bug Council of Backyardia
2022Patrick Engro, Kyle Hanley
- Videos
- 11
- Creators
- 9
Mostly reviews and how-to-play. Bug Council of Backyardia is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 5 reviews, 3 how-to-play guides, 1 recorded sessions, 1 unboxings, and 1 other video.
1 - 5 players
30 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting
From BoardGameGeek
In the vast realm of Backyardia, the Bug Council convenes to discuss important things like picnics, how to ruin picnics and, of course, income tax reform. The different factions of bugs - ants, flies, bees, mosquitos and cockroaches - find themselves in an ever-shifting balance of power and only those who ally themselves with the most powerful will seize the day. Bug Council of Backyardia is a trick-taking game that utilizes a mancala mechanism to dynamically shift which suits are powerful throughout the game, which is played over three rounds. Each round, players receive eleven cards to play ten tricks. During the tricks, the leader plays a suit and the rest of the players follow with a card of the same suit, if possible. Whoever plays the strongest card of the strongest suit wins the trick and collects it for scoring! Meanwhile, whoever plays the lowest on-suit card gets to visit the Bug Council; this player chooses a faction tile, collects its strength cubes, then distributes them in a clockwise fashion around the council, thus altering the strength of the suits. At the end of ten tricks, players use their remaining card to claim their allegiance to the faction matching its suit. If you play your cards right and manipulate the council to your favor, you can get a nice allegiance bonus to add to the tricks you've won. At the end of three rounds, whoever has the most points wins the game and will be forever remembered in the annals of Backyardia history!
Watch first
Which Bug Council of Backyardia video should I watch?
Bug Council of Backyardia has 11 videos from 9 creators: 5 reviews, 3 how-to-play guides, 1 playthrough, 1 unboxing and 1 other video. They date from 2021 to July 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "How to play Bug Council of Backyardia" by Taylor's Trick-Taking Table, which runs 8 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Bug Council of Backyardia ~ Taylor's Trick-Taking Table" by Taylor's Trick-Taking Table. 5 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Bug Council of Backyardia Live Play + Q&A" by Engro Games.
If you like it, try Imwah, also by Patrick Engro, or Night at the Zoo, For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game and Amritsar: The Golden Temple, which share several of its mechanics.
All videos
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About Bug Council of Backyardia
From BoardGameGeek:
In the vast realm of Backyardia, the Bug Council convenes to discuss important things like picnics, how to ruin picnics and, of course, income tax reform. The different factions of bugs - ants, flies, bees, mosquitos and cockroaches - find themselves in an ever-shifting balance of power and only those who ally themselves with the most powerful will seize the day. Bug Council of Backyardia is a trick-taking game that utilizes a mancala mechanism to dynamically shift which suits are powerful throughout the game, which is played over three rounds. Each round, players receive eleven cards to play ten tricks. During the tricks, the leader plays a suit and the rest of the players follow with a card of the same suit, if possible. Whoever plays the strongest card of the strongest suit wins the trick and collects it for scoring! Meanwhile, whoever plays the lowest on-suit card gets to visit the Bug Council; this player chooses a faction tile, collects its strength cubes, then distributes them in a clockwise fashion around the council, thus altering the strength of the suits. At the end of ten tricks, players use their remaining card to claim their allegiance to the faction matching its suit. If you play your cards right and manipulate the council to your favor, you can get a nice allegiance bonus to add to the tricks you've won. At the end of three rounds, whoever has the most points wins the game and will be forever remembered in the annals of Backyardia history!
Designers
Patrick Engro, Kyle Hanley
Artist
Masayoshi Ninomiya
Publisher
Engro Games
Categories
Mechanics