Itchy Monkey (2018)

About this game

Behold, the Phthiraptera in its natural habitat, also known as the common louse or head lice. The lice live on the monkeys, and the monkeys eat the lice. Although it's quite a nasty symbiosis, it's also a perfect example of something we refer to as the circle of life — beautiful! In Itchy Monkey, several families of lice try to become the more dominant type. Each turn, you spawn new lice and jump over to nearby monkeys. Alternatively you can tickle the monkey, which makes it move and bump into other monkeys. That way more of your little friends can jump over! But beware of your rival families because nobody likes nit picking. The family lice that can build a colony on three gorillas, four of the same animal, or five different species of monkeys wins! Itchy Monkey is an easy to learn, but very strategic and tactical game, with various starting positions, optional abilities, and a fair amount of monkey business... —description from the publisher

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 2.4/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.