Ludoj, Ludoj, Kaj Pli
Ludoj!
Saluton, Mondo!
Bonvenon al la Esperantlingva ludo-retpaĝo!
Note:
I established this webpage on 10/20/15. It is currently a work-in-progress
(sorry for the mess!). I have a long list of games to add to it when I
have extra time. I hope that eventually this webpage will serve as
a collection of Esperanto games. If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to contact me at jaclyn at pacejo dot net.
- Title
Pomoj
Kontraŭ Pomoj- English title
- Apples to Apples
- Game description
- The party game Apples
to Apples consists of two decks of cards: Things and Descriptions.
Each round, the active player draws a Description card (which features
an adjective like "Hairy" or "Silly") from the deck, then the other
players each secretly choose the Thing card in hand that best matches
that description and plays it face-down on the table. The active
player then reveals these cards and chooses the Thing card that, in
his opinion, best matches the Description card, which he awards to
whoever played that Thing card. This player becomes the new active
player for the next round. Once a player has won a
pre-determined number of Description cards, that player wins.
- Type of game
- Party game
- Number of players
- 4-10
- Length of game
- 30-45 minutes
- Suggested age
- 12+
- Where can I find it?
- Click the links to download the game for free. (Warning: large file
size) Red Apple Fronts.
Red Apple Backs.
Green Apple Fronts.
Green Apple
Backs.
- Notes
- This is Version 1 of
Pomoj Kontraŭ Pomoj. The game contains many of the cards from
the base edition of Apples to Apples, as well as a dozen or so
Esperanto-specific ones. This is a smaller deck than normal Apples to
Apples so you may need to shuffle the discard pile. There are
also some blank cards so you can write your own content.
Eventually this deck will be updated to include more cards. If
you find errors on the cards, please contact jaclyn at pacejo dot
net. A special thanks to players at ARE for play-testing and
correcting errors on the cards.
- Title
- Homlupo
- English title
- Werewolf
- Game description
- Homlupo takes place in
a small village which is haunted by werewolves. Each player is
secretly assigned a role - Werewolf, Villager, or a special Villager.
There is also a Moderator who controls the flow of the game. The
game alternates between night and day phases. At night, the Werewolves
secretly choose a Villager to kill. During the day, the Villager
who was killed is revealed and is out of the game. The remaining
Villagers then vote on the player they suspect is a Werewolf. That
player reveals his/her role and is out of the game. Werewolves
win when there are an equal number of Villagers and Werewolves.
Villagers win when they have killed all Werewolves. Homlupo is a
social game that requires no equipment to play, and can accommodate
almost any large group of players.
- Type of game
- Party game
- Number of players
- 8-18
- Length of game
- 60 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- Click the link
to download the rules. No other game materials are needed, although you
may want to print role cards for each person.
- Title
- Skrablo
- English title
- Scrabble
- Game description
- Players use their seven
drawn letter-tiles to form words on the gameboard. Each word laid out
earns points based on the commonality of the letters used, with
certain board spaces giving bonuses. But a word can only be played if
it uses at least one already-played tile or adds to an already-played
word. This leads to slightly tactical play, as potential words are
rejected because they would give an opponent too much access to the
better bonus spaces.
- Type of game
- Word game
- Number of players
- 2-4
- Length of game
- 90 minutes
- Suggested age
- 10+
- Where can I find it?
- Purchase a wooden tile
set online
OR find an old Scrabble board and print a page
of Esperanto Skrablo tiles to play.
- Notes
- It is best to have a dictionary
available.
- Title
- Iam Estis
- English title
- Once Upon a Time
- Game description
- Iam Estis is a game in
which the players create a story together, using cards that show
typical elements from fairy tales. One player is the Storyteller and
creates a story using the ingredients on her cards. She tries to guide
the plot towards her own ending. The other players try to use cards to
interrupt her and become the new Storyteller. The winner is the first
player to play out all her cards and end with her Happy Ever After
card.
- Type of game
- Story-telling game
- Number of players
- 2-6
- Length of game
- 30 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- While
the game itself is not in Esperanto, the rules were translated into
Esperanto by Christopher Chazarein and are available online.
You will need to buy the game to play it.
- Title
- Fluxx
- English title
- Fluxx
- Game description
- Fluxx is a card game in
which the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By
playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw
cards, how to play cards, and even how to win. At the start of
the game, each player holds three cards and on a turn a player draws
one card, then plays one card. By playing cards, you can put new rules
into play that change numerous aspects of the game: how many cards to
draw or play, how many cards you can hold in hand or keep on the table
in front of you, and (most importantly) how to win the game.
- Type of game
- Card game
- Number of players
- 2-6
- Length of game
- 5-30 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- Click on the link
to download the game. It is available as a PDF.
- Notes
- The
original game was designed by Andrew and Kristin Looney. This
game was translated into Esperanto by Thomas Preece and Neil Roberts,
who integrated Esperanto-specific cards.
- Title
- Monopolo
- English title
- Monopoly
- Game description
- Players take the part
of land owners, attempting to buy and then develop their land. Income
is gained by other players visiting their properties and money is
spent when they visit properties belonging to other players. When
times get tough, players may have to mortgage their properties to
raise cash for fines, taxes and other misfortunes.
- Type of game
- Board game
- Number of players
- 2-8
- Length of game
- 180 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- Esperanto
version online here
and here.
Here's another proposed version.
You will need to print the board, money, and find components.
- Notes
- See
picture at right for one Esperanto version of the game.
- Title
- Karkasuno
- English title
- Carcassonne
- Game description
- Carcassonne is a
tile-placement game in which the players draw and place a tile with a
piece of southern French landscape on it. The tile might feature a
city, a road, a cloister, grassland or some combination thereof, and
it must be placed adjacent to tiles that have already been played, in
such a way that cities are connected to cities, roads to roads, et
cetera. Having placed a tile, the player can then decide to place one
of his meeples on one of the areas on it: on the city as a knight, on
the road as a robber, on a cloister as a monk, or on the grass as a
farmer. When that area is complete, that meeple scores points for its
owner.
- Type of game
- Tile-laying board game
- Number of players
- 2-5
- Length of game
- 30-45 minutes
- Suggested age
- 10+
- Where can I find it?
- Rules in Esperanto are
available online.
You will need to purchase the game in order to play.
- English title
- Wizard Kings
- Game description
- Wizard Kings is a
fantasy battle game with armies of elves, dwarves, orcs, undead, and
three human armies (feudal, barbarian, amazon). Players customize
their armies and fight for control of strategic cities and terrain on
geomorphic maps.
- Type of game
- Fantasy / wargame
- Number of players
- 2-7
- Length of game
- 150 minutes
- Suggested age
- 12+
- Where can I find it?
- Rules in Esperanto are
available for download here.
You will need to purchase the game in order to play.
- Title
- Triba Vivo
- Game description
- From website: The wise
ones of a small tribal village have gathered everyone around the
campfire. "We are searching for the most able tribes person in
the village. They will be chosen as our tribal champion!" The
tribes people work hard to impress them. They recount stories they
were told as youngsters, hunt bison, gather berries and defend the
village against rival tribes. Soon they will find out which one of
them will achieve the most glory and earn the respect of the wise
ones.
- Type of game
- Card game
- Number of players
- 2-5
- Length of game
- 30-60 minutes
- Suggested age
- 12+
- Where can I find it?
- Click
on the link
to download the game for free online. Alternatively, you can
purchase the game from the Gamecrafter website for $24 USD.
- Notes
- This
game is natively in Esperanto.
- Title
- Ĝaberŭoko
- Game description
- From website: Ĝaberŭoko
estas la kartludo kiun Alico eble ludis malantaŭ la spegulo. Oni
diras ke la eta Alico, kiam ŝi estis trans la spegulo, lernis ludi ion
kartludon. Ankaŭ oni diras ke ŝi raportis la regulojn...
Bonŝance ŝi iam ludis kun iu el niaj amikoj, kal li helpis nin krei
tiun kartludon por ĉiuj, kiuj dezirus provi ĝin.
- Type of game
- Trick-taking card game
- Number of players
- 4-6
- Length of game
- 30-60 minutes
- Suggested age
- 12+
- Where can I find it?
- You
can purchase the game from the Gamecrafter
website for $15 USD.
- Notes
- This
game is natively in Esperanto. Designed by Sebĉjo Elprovenco.
- Title
- Frazludo
- Game description
- Comments from the
Designer: This is a customizable board game which can help you
and your students learn Esperanto. It’s also fun for those who know
the language well. To play this game the players need to know the
names of the colors on the board, the numbers 1 to 12 and at least the
basic grammar of Esperanto.
- Type of game
- Board game
- Number of players
- 2-6
- Length of game
- 45-60 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- You
can't buy this game. You can, however, make it yourself. See here
for details on how to make the game.
- Notes
- This
is a game
for students and teachers of Esperanto.
- English Title
- SET
- Game description
- In SET, each card
contains 1-3 objects, with all of the objects on a card having the
same color, shape and shading, e.g., two purple shaded ovals. Colors,
shapes, and shadings come in three different types: green, purple and
red; oval, diamond and squiggle; and solid, shaded and outlined.
All players compete simultaneously and try to claim sets of cards in a
single pass through the deck. A set consists of three cards that are
either all alike or all different in each attribute. To play, one
person takes the deck and lays out twelve cards face up. The first
person to spot a set collects those three cards; if the player was
mistaken, then this player cannot claim a set until after another
player has done so. After someone has claimed a set, the cardholder
lays out three more cards. (If all players agree that no sets can be
claimed, then the cardholder lays out three more cards. These cards
aren't replaced after someone claims a set.) Whoever claims the most
sets wins!
- Type of game
- Abstract set-collection game
- Number of players
- 1-20
- Length of game
- 30 minutes
- Suggested age
- 6+
- Where can I find it?
- This game is available at many
large retailers, including Amazon (currently $9 USD).
- Notes
- While this is not an
Esperanto game, there is no text on the cards and rules in Esperanto
are available online.
- English Title
- Quarto!
- Game description
- Quarto! has a 4×4 board
and 16 pieces. Each piece has four dichotomous attributes – color,
height, shape, and consistency – so each piece is either black or
white, tall or short, square or round, and hollow or solid. The object
is to place the fourth piece in a row in which all four pieces have at
least one attribute in common. The twist is that your opponent gets to
choose the piece you place on the board each turn.
- Type of game
- Abstract strategy game
- Number of players
- 2
- Length of game
- 20 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- This game is available at
many online retailers, including Amazon (currently $19 USD).
- Notes
- While this is not an
Esperanto game, rules in Esperanto are
available online.
- English Title
- Hive
- Game description
- Hive is a highly
addictive strategic game for two players that is not restricted by a
board and can be played anywhere on any flat surface. Hive is made up
of twenty two pieces, eleven black and eleven white, resembling a
variety of creatures each with a unique way of moving. With no
setting up to do, the game begins when the first piece is placed down.
As the subsequent pieces are placed this forms a pattern that becomes
the playing surface (the pieces themselves become the board). Unlike
other such games, the pieces are never eliminated and not all have to
be played. The object of the game is to totally surround your
opponent's queen, while at the same time trying to block your opponent
from doing likewise to your queen. The player to totally surround his
opponent's queen wins the game.
- Type of game
- Abstract strategy game
- Number of players
- 2
- Length of game
- 20 minutes
- Suggested age
- 8+
- Where can I find it?
- This game is available at
many online retailers, including Amazon (currently $17
USD).
This would be an easy game to make at home. There are several
Print & Play versions available online.
- Notes
- While this is not an
Esperanto game, rules
in Esperanto are available online.
- Title
- Amazonoj
- English Title
- Amazons
- Game description
- The game is played on a
square grid, usually 10 by 10. Each player starts with four amazons
(which move as chess queens, but do not capture) placed in
predetermined locations on their side of the board. On a player turn,
he moves one amazon and then fires an arrow from the arrival position.
Firing an arrow consists in placing a new arrow piece on the board;
also the arrow moves like a queen from the position it is fired. The
landed arrow doesn't move anymore and creates a permanent block on the
board. Arrows can not be passed through by either amazons or other
arrows. The first player who can not make a legal move (move and then
shoot) loses the game.
- Type of game
- Abstract strategy game
- Number of players
- 2
- Length of game
- 30 minutes
- Suggested age
- 12+
- Where can I find it?
- This
game was created in the 1990s and is challenging to find. You
can play it online at a number of game sites (Little Golem, Super
Duper Games, igGamerCenter, Igfip, Brain. You can print the game
board and make your own copy of the game.
- Notes
- Click
here
to access the rules
in Esperanto.
- English Title
- Mirador
- Game description
- Mirador is a connection
game played on a 27 x 27 grid of small squares. Several factors
combine to make this a very fast and unusual game: line-of-sight
connection; graded placement (incorporating the use of micro squares);
and equivalent goals - that is, either player can win by connecting
the board edges either from north to south or from east to west.
A significant feature of the game is that players can use their
opponent's placements to facilitate their own connections. So, in
trying to win the race to connect, you must check that the next move
you plan to make doesn't inadvertently improve your opponent's chances
more than yours.
- Type of game
- Abstract strategy game
- Number of players
- 2
- Length of game
- 20 minutes
- Suggested age
- 10+
- Where can I find it?
- You
can;t buy this game, but it is easy to make. The game can be
played on graph paper (by marking off a 27 x 27 area) using colored
pencils to indicate the placement of watchtowers, or miradors, each of
which will occupy a 2 x 2 square. You can also play it online at
Super Duper Games.
- Notes
- Click
here
to access the rules
in Esperanto.
Playing cards (52 card
deck) - See this site
for Esperanto names of suits. I am currently creating a deck of
Esperanto playing cards.
The German company Ludisto makes iOS games, all of which
can be played in Esperanto.
FreeCiv
- Free, open source empire-building strategy game inspired by the
history of human civilization. Available in Esperanto.
Going
Cardboard - Documentary on board games. Subtitles in Esperanto.
More details online.