Bandu

Here is something original indeed. And 80's. And sadly out of print. My life quest is to find a second-hand copy.

It's an American game (apparently). You have to build a tower, and of course make it as structurally sound as possible. When your tower falls, your out. So the winner is the person whose tower has yet to topple. You have to build your tower on a block of wood about the same size as a Jenga piece. THe pieces with which to build the tower are odd shapes that ma be slanted or curved. Many of them are based on real-life objects, such as a cotton reel, egg, egg cup, small bowling pin, etc.

Here's where it gets good: everyone starts with 5 beans. On your turn you have 2 options. You pick a piece which you can either "bid to accept" or "bid to reject". If you "bid to accept" the person your left decides if they want it. If so, they bid 1 bean. then it goes round the circle while people either increase their bid or don' want to get involved in bidding. Remember you only have 5 beans for the entire game. If no one bids any beens, you get it for free!

If you decide instead to pick a piece and "bid to reject", the person to your left has 2 choices: either accept the piece and place it on/into their tower or pay one bean to reject it. If they pay the 1 bean, it goes to the next person who has the same options. If it comes all the way back round to you, the cost to reject goes up to 2 beans and so it continues.

Got it? Hope that's clear. My oh my, was there tension, laughter, sqwuarking and at times utter dispair. We had more people than could play (max players is 6), so 2 people just watched. And they had a great time too!

The oddly shaped pieces often fit surprisingly well together, but it is no way an easy game. The numerous pieces and the different ways they can be placed ensures longevity. I doubt 2 identicle towers have ever been built. Sometimes, people were overcome with the aesthetics of a tower.

I beg of you all to seek this game out and buy it. It's not available in UK on ebay. It is in USA, but P+P to UK is extortionate. Is it available in NZ or Australia.

Apparently there is a very similar game called Bausack. Bausack is also unavailable in the UK. Happy searching potential fellow Bandu-lovers!