Tembo Tiles
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Nobody waits their turn. Someone yells 'crocodile!', someone blocks your chain, someone laughs too loud. Eight minutes later you start again right away.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The Great Migration, but without waiting your turn
Tembo Tiles brings the Great African Migration to the table with a twist: no turns, everyone plays together. Designed by Brendon and Tyler Cheves for Waterworks Games, the game uses 216 hexagonal tiles representing elephants, giraffes, gazelles, snakes, and other animals on the move. Illustrated by Isaac Lefever, each tile has a color and an animal.
At the table, you flip tiles and place them all together, trying to create chains of your animal or color. Others do the same, simultaneously. Crocodiles break chains, lions act as wildcards. When all 216 tiles are placed, whoever has built the longest chains wins. Eight minutes, a breath, then you start again.
What they say abroad
Tembo Tiles promises controlled chaos: simple to explain, impossible to play calmly.
— FroGames
The real challenge isn't figuring out what to place, but doing it before others without making mistakes.
— FroGames
Tembo Tiles
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat's in the box
216 tiles, a river of possibilities
Animal tiles
Each player has an assigned animal. Elephants, giraffes, gazelles, snakes: you must build chains of your animal or color. Tiles are all flipped together from the central pile.
Lion wildcards
Lions work as wildcards: you can place them anywhere, and they count for any chain. There are few of them, so grab them quickly before someone else uses them.
Killer crocodiles
They are placed on existing tiles to break opponents' chains. Perfect timing: using them too early is a waste, too late is useless.
Central watering hole
The starting point: all tiles expand from here. The herd grows in all directions, each player tries to maximize their connections in the common area.
In eight minutes you'll ask: one more? It always happens with Tembo Tiles.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The calm before the storm
Distribute the animals, place the watering hole in the center. Someone explains the rules in ninety seconds: you place tiles adjacent to matching colors or animals, build chains, crocodiles break them, lions are wildcards. Everyone nods. No one really understood.
The first round, everyone is polite
Flip the first tiles. For thirty seconds there is order: everyone places calmly, thinks, builds. Then someone sees a perfect crocodile to ruin someone else's chain. They place it. Chaos begins.
The savannah explodes
Now no one waits. Hands clash, someone yells 'it was mine!', tiles pile up incredibly fast. The herd grows in all directions, chains extend and break. You see the perfect move but three hands get there before you.
The legendary crocodile
Someone places a strategic crocodile that breaks an eight-tile chain. Shouts, laughter, good-natured insults. Whoever lost the chain seeks immediate revenge. The last wild lions disappear from the table, contended like gold in the Gold Rush.
Sudden end
The last tile is placed. Everyone stops suddenly, like a breaking rubber band. Count the longest chains: someone wins by two tiles. Ten seconds of pause, then: 'One more?'. The box doesn't close for at least three rounds.
How to play
The flow of each game
There are no turns. Everyone plays together, until the tiles run out.
You flip a tile from the central pile. You immediately place it adjacent to a tile already on the table, matching color or animal. If you can't (or don't want to) place it, you discard it.
Each time you place a tile of your animal or color adjacent to other matching ones, you are building a chain. Chains can branch in all directions on the hexes.
Crocodiles are placed on top of existing tiles: they break opponents' chains. Lions are wildcards: they match everything and work for anyone who uses them in their chains.
When all 216 tiles have been placed or discarded, the game ends. Each player counts their longest connected chain. The player with the longest chain wins.
Why it's different from others
Six elements that make a difference
No turns, pure chaos
You don't wait for others to finish. Everyone flips and places together. The pace is frantic, hands clash, those who hesitate lose key positions. The only limit is your pattern recognition speed.
Double matching
Each player has an animal AND a color. You can build chains using both: maximum tactical flexibility, but also more choices to process in real time. Your brain goes into controlled overload.
Crocodiles as weapons
They are placed on top of existing tiles to break enemy chains. Critical timing: using them too early is a waste (chains are not yet long), too late is useless (no time to recover). Revenge is a dish best served cold in hexagons.
Rare and contested lions
They work for everyone, match everything. There are few of them, they disappear very quickly. Whoever draws them has an immediate advantage, but must place them well: a waste now can cost victory in three minutes.
Shared herd
There are no personal areas: everyone builds on the same central space. Your chains intertwine with others'. You can block strategic positions, steal connections, create physical bottlenecks on the table.
216 tiles, zero setup
Place the watering hole, shuffle the tiles, distribute the animals. Start in one minute. When it's over, reshuffle and go: nothing to dismantle, nothing to reset. Perfect for three-to-four-round marathons in a row.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
The game ends when all 216 tiles have been placed or discarded. Chains are counted.
Victory
- Whoever has the longest connected chain of their animal or color wins
- Chains can branch in all directions on adjacent hexes
- Lions in your chains count, crocodiles break connections
How you lose positions
- A crocodile placed on one of your tiles breaks the chain at that point
- Hesitating even for a second: someone else takes the key position you needed
- Wasting wild lions on short chains instead of waiting for the decisive moment
Tembo Tiles is a party game for those who don't have the patience to wait for their turn. Eight minutes, pure adrenaline, infinite replayability.
Frequently asked questions
Tembo Tiles FAQ
Do everyone really play together? Are there no turns?
Really. You flip tiles from the central pile, you place them whenever you want, others do the same. The only order is: you must place adjacent to a matching color or animal. Otherwise, it's controlled chaos. It works because games are very short and the rules are very simple.
Isn't it too chaotic with 6 players?
Yes, it's chaotic. That's the whole point. With 6 people, hands clash, someone screams, tiles fly. If you're looking for order, play with 2-3. If you're looking for party game chaos, 5-6 players is the perfect setup. Eight minutes and it's over, so even those who lose don't suffer.
Can children keep up?
From 7 years old and up, yes, if they have good reflexes and quickly recognize patterns and colors. Matching is very simple (same color or same animal), but the frantic pace can throw off slow thinkers. Tip: first few games with 3-4 people, then gradually increase the chaos.
How long does a game really last?
Between 4 and 8 minutes, depending on the number of players. With 2-3 you go fast, with 6 you slow down due to physical traffic on the table. The first game takes longer because you need to understand the rhythm. From the second one onwards, it's a lightning round: eight minutes, pause to count, then immediately start again.
Is it available in Italian?
This edition is in English. But the game is language-independent: the tiles only have illustrations of animals and colors, no text. The rules must be read once in English (or you can find fan translations online), then you play without language barriers.
Tembo Tiles is a real-time party game for 2-6 players, aged 7 and up, with games lasting 4-8 minutes. Designed by Brendon and Tyler Cheves for Waterworks Games, the game uses 216 hexagonal tiles with African animals: elephants, giraffes, gazelles, snakes. Each player builds chains of their own animal or color, placing tiles simultaneously with others without turns. Crocodiles break opponents' chains, lions act as wildcards. Hexagonal grid matching mechanic, frantic pace, immediate replayability. Available on FroGames.it.
Tembo Tiles
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