Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Light strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Build a shared LEGO palace one staircase at a time, convert height and decoration into income, and collect the monkey cards worth the most bananas.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Pieces as Map
Use Pieces as Map as a recurring structure for player decisions and resolution.
Income
Receive recurring resources according to your position, assets, or development.
Hot Potato
Pass an unwanted item before a timer or triggering condition occurs.
End Game Bonuses
Earn additional points for meeting conditions evaluated when the game ends.
Read the full game description
Monkey Palace combines competitive strategy with the tactile freedom of LEGO construction. Each turn, you extend the shared palace with a legal staircase of arches, columns, and bricks. Taller, more elaborate structures earn more Monkey Credits, which buy cards that supply new building pieces and score Banana Points. Those cards also improve recurring income, so a clever build strengthens both the monument and your personal engine. Everyone contributes to the same three-dimensional palace, but ownership of decorations and trophy animals keeps the contest pointed. Multiple ground maps, changing card displays, and the limitless shapes of the shared model make every finished palace distinct. It is a family-weight spatial puzzle whose physical building is not decoration—it is the board, the route network, and the central strategic problem.
