Disney has been very active in the tabletop space over the last two years. They have put their IPs to work in several different genres. Jungle Cruise is their family-oriented board game that caters to families with younger children. Mixing elements like roll-to-move and carry-and-deliver, there are some simple mechanics that bring Jungle Cruise to a step above your standard The Game of Life or Snakes and Ladders affairs.

The components of Jungle Cruise are all top notch. If there’s one thing you can typically rely on in a Disney game, it’s quality aesthetic and design. The game pieces feel premium and the cruise ships are very sturdy and detailed. Jungle Cruise has a look to it that will draw attention from onlookers.

In Jungle Cruise, players take on the role of Skippers who attempt to successfully navigate the jungle and bring passengers and cargo safely to the Jungle Navigation Company Headquarters. To begin, players load their ship with 12 passengers and place their ship token on the start space. Each passenger has 1 to 2 Family affiliations. Players also receive a Skipper Specialty card which gives them a unique ability throughout the game. Along the route to the headquarters are 4 Outposts and 3 Mailboxes. Each Outpost contains cargo, and each Mailbox gives a clue to which Family is favoured by company owner, Alberta Falls.

On a player’s turn, they roll the movement die to see how many spaces their ship moves. If a player lands on a blank space and has an empty space on their ship, they draw one Lost & Found token. These tokens can be lost passengers or found cargo. Players must stop at any Outpost or Mailbox they encounter. After moving, players must draw 4 Navigation cards and based on their movement speed, they must choose which cards to encounter. Navigation cards will cause players to lose cargo/passengers on specific sections of their ship. When all players have reached the headquarters, points are awarded for passengers and cargo that arrives safely. Tips are also rewarded to players who arrive earliest. The player with the most points at the end of the game is declared the winner!

Jungle Cruise is a very simple game with minimal strategy and player interaction. The recommended age group for the game is 8+, but really you could bring that all the way down to 5 or 6. It has race elements, similar to something like Tokaido, rewarding players for reaching checkpoints earlier. And its deduction elements feel similar to Clue. It’s an unusual pairing of mechanics but it does feel thematic. The Navigation cards have fun flavour text with family-friendly jokes.

There’s nothing wrong with games that look to cater to younger audiences while implementing older, nostalgic mechanics like roll-to-move. Jungle Cruise does a good job of staying thematic and drawing inspiration from Disney’s recent movie. It will help teach young ones, rudimentary strategic decisions without being too punishing. Jungle Cruise is a bright, colourful and light game for families with younger children.