Today is not a standard LEGO® set review. Instead, I’m taking a look at LEGO® Monkey Palace, a new-for-2024 board game involving strategy and LEGO® brick-building fun. Recently, I found the game at my local Walmart. However, as I write this, it has not officially come out in Canada. Amazon lists the street date as October 28, 2024. Interestingly, it is not currently listed on the Canadian Toys R Us, Walmart, or LEGO® websites. So, I think I lucked out in stumbling across an early-ish copy. Needless to say, I have already forced my wife to play it with me so I can tell you all about it.

LEGO® Monkey Palace Game Specs

• NAME: Monkey Palace
• SET #: 5009128
• THEME: Board Game
• COST: $49.99 CAD
• BRICK COUNT: 232 (not including non-LEGO® brick game elements)
• COST/BRICK: $0.21 CAD
• MINIFIGURES: None (there is a monkey, a frog, and a butterfly)
• BRICKS/FIG: N/A
• RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2024
• BUILD TIME: N/A
• COST/MIN: N/A

The Packaging

LEGO® Monkey Palace comes in a nice looking box. However, once you open the box, you encounter my only real beef with this game. The sorting/storage of the game elements is severely lacking. The game includes 80 arches (1×4), 80 bricks (1×1), 16 columns (1×3), 32 bamboo leaves, 16 round bricks (1×1), 1 monkey, 1 butterfly, 1 frog, 4 corner bricks (2×2), 1 baseplate (32×32), 84 cards, 4 player boards, and 2 double-sided ground maps. However, the tray included in the box only accommodates the arches, 1×1 bricks, and 1×3 columns. Everything else is loose in the box. I dislike that level of disorganization quite a bit.

Each brick type should have its own compartment in a tray, as should all of the cards. When you open the box for the first time, the cards are wrapped in disposable tissue paper that is no good once you remove the cards. The larger flat items like the instructions, baseplate, player boards, and maps could be stored neatly under a tray that takes up the whole length and width of the box. Organization makes set up to play much easier. It’s attention to detail and care that is a little lacking here.

LEGO® Monkey Palace Game Play

I’m not going to go over all the game rules here. Suffice to say the goal is to build upwards. There are rules about how and where you can place the bricks as you do so. In short, you need to build staircases with the arches in order to get higher. The higher you build on any given turn, the more banana points you earn. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Of course, that is an over simplification. I was a little surprised by how many rules there are to this game. I generally play games that require little explanation because I don’t like learning the rules to new games.

With that said, once I got into the game, I enjoyed it. There is a collaborative element of having to build on what others have done. So, you don’t want to screw yourself over in future rounds by building something no one can add to. At the same time, you have to compete to get more points than anyone else.

Collaboration with just the right amount of competition.

One aspect I really enjoyed about the gameplay was that you don’t know how many points any player has at any given time. The points are denoted on cards you collect throughout the game, but they are never all visible to you at once. So, while you might have a rough idea of who is leading, you never really know who is winning until the game is over and you tally up your banana points. It really toned down the competitive anxiety throughout playing the game. I felt LEGO® Monkey Palace was a relatively low stress game compared to other board games I have played. That might not be your thing, but it is the type of game I prefer.

Closing thoughts…

$50 is not horribly pricey for a board game. One might argue that it is a better value than a $50 LEGO® set. Multiple people can play at once for that price. Additionally, you can play the game over and over and it will be different every time. So, if you are looking for good value family or game night entertainment, Monkey Palace is a win. I also enjoyed the game. Even my wife said “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.” She went on to say she would play it with me again. If that’s not high praise from a non-LEGO® fan, then I don’t know what is. Will you play LEGO® Monkey Palace? Do you like the concept? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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