Card games
Jungle Speed
AsmodeeThomas Vuarchex, Pierrick Yakovenko1997
- players
- 2–10
- minutes
- 20
- years
- 7+
In the box
80 cards · 1 wooden totem
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designers
- Thomas Vuarchex, Pierrick Yakovenko
- Artwork
- Franz Vohwinkel, Thomas Vuarchex, Pierrick Yakovenko
- Publisher
- Asmodee
- Mechanics
- Pattern RecognitionReal-TimeSpeed
- Expansions
- Jungle Speed L'extension · 2002
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Be the first to get rid of all your cards, by grabbing the totem faster than your opponent in each duel. In turn, each player turns over the top card of their draw pile; as soon as two face-up cards show the same symbol, those two players lunge for the totem, and the loser picks up both discard piles, while the arrow cards change the rule of the moment. Whoever has no cards left, in neither draw pile nor discard pile, wins the game.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
Totem in the middle, Whole deck dealt, 2 to 10 players
- The wooden totem stands in the middle of the table.
- The 70 cards of the 2019 edition are dealt face down, as evenly as possible: each player forms their draw pile without looking at it.
- 2 to 10 players, ages 7 and up.
How to play
Turn over your card, Same symbol: duel, Loser picks up
- Clockwise, each player turns over the top card of their draw pile, flipping it towards the other players, with one hand. On the next turn, the new card covers the previous one and forms their discard pile.
- Duel: as soon as two face-up cards show the same symbol (colour does not count), those two players, and only they, lunge for the totem.
- The loser of the duel takes their opponent's discard pile, their own and any pot (cards under the totem), slides them under their draw pile and starts play again.
- Inward arrows: everyone tries to grab the totem; the fastest puts their discard pile under the totem (the pot) and starts play again.
- Outward arrows: everyone turns over a card at the same time (a countdown helps). If there is a common symbol, duel; otherwise, the player who revealed the arrows starts play again.
- As long as a discard card is visible, it can trigger a duel.
- Grabbing the totem wrongly, or knocking it over, means picking up all the discard piles and the pot.
- If it is unclear who was fastest, it is whoever has the most fingers on the totem; on a tie, the hand underneath. A totem that falls off the table cancels the duel.
Scoring
No points
- No points: the counter keeps track of games won.
End of the game
Draw and discard empty
- A player who turns over their last card keeps playing; they win once their discard pile is gone too.
- If that last card is an outward arrow, they win at once. If it is an inward arrow and they fail to grab the totem, they pick up all the discard piles and the game resumes.
House rules and pitfalls
The symbols look alike on purpose: that is where the mistakes happen.
- The symbols look alike on purpose: that is where the mistakes happen.
- Older editions also had coloured arrows, which made duels depend on colour until the next card; they no longer exist in the 2019 edition.
- With three players, three discard piles of the same colour count as an inward arrow.
- With two players, each hand plays as a player, with its own deck, alternating hands.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What is the idea?
A speed game: as soon as two players show cards with the same pattern, they lunge for the totem in the middle. The slower one picks up both players' discard piles and the pot.
How do you take your turn?
Turn over the top card of your draw pile, flipping it towards the others, so you do not see it before they do. Then it is your neighbour's turn, and so on, faster and faster.
When do you grab the totem?
When two face-up cards have the same symbol: only the shape counts, not the colour. Only the two players concerned may grab it.
What do the special cards do?
Inward arrows: everyone lunges for the totem, and the fastest gets rid of their discard pile under the totem. Outward arrows: everyone turns over a card at the same time.
How do you win?
By getting rid of all your cards, draw pile and discard pile. Grabbing or knocking over the totem wrongly makes you pick up all the discard piles and the pot.