Elephant's Trunk (2000)

About this game

In Crafty Badger, aka Elephant's Trunk, players are trying to pack clothes into luggage, but a cheeky badger (or harrumphing elephant) keeps interfering with your work. Each player starts the game with all clothing of one type, e.g., caps or shirts; with fewer than four players, players start with multiple types of garments. Four colored suitcases are placed in the center of the table, with the badger next to one of them. On a turn, the player rolls the die. If the die shows a color, the player places one of his items in the suitcase of this color; if the badger sits next to this suitcase, he places two items instead. If, however, the die shows a badger, the player must open the suitcase and reclaim all of the items packed inside – even if they weren't his to begin with! He then moves the badger to the next suitcase in the circle. One bonus to this punishment: If a player ever has a complete set of garments, he returns one of each item to the game box, removing them from the game. The first player to pack all of his garments wins the game.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 1.0/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 4 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.