Have you ever wanted to yell, “Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” at your friends across a kitchen table? Well, buckle in. This is a review of a game that lets you do just that (minus the monkey suit, unless that’s your thing). Grab a banana and get comfy—here’s what happened when my friends and I tackled Planet of the Apes. Did it go smoothly? Did we get outsmarted by cardboard chimps? Let’s find out.
How It Plays
Setting up
First, spread out the main board in the middle of the table. Give each player a character board (yes – you ALL play as parts of good old Taylor’s mind, weird right?). Shuffle the encounter decks, lay out the tokens and the story cards, and put the ape miniatures on their starting spaces. Don’t forget snacks. Board games need snacks.
Gameplay
On a turn, you work together to deal with events from the movie. Roll dice, match symbols to challenges, and use special abilities to keep Taylor from losing his mind or getting captured. You can swap cards, share resources, and definitely argue about the best plan while your friends ignore your ideas. New story cards come out, bad things happen, and apes are always just behind you – pretty on-brand for the title.
Winning the game
You win if you survive the final chapter and help Taylor escape with his sanity (or enough of it to yell about monkeys). But if you run out of morale, get overwhelmed by apes, or the group loses all hope, you lose. It’s a nail-biter – sometimes you pull off a last-minute save, sometimes the apes win and you all mourn in silence (and snacks).
Want to know more? Read our extensive strategy guide for Planet of the Apes.
Game Mechanics and Player Interaction in Planet of the Apes
When I first got my hands on Planet of the Apes, I was expecting a game where I’d either smash things as a gorilla or rant about the dangers of humanity. What I did not expect was a delightfully odd mix of co-operative and semi-co-op mechanics. You and your friends play as different facets of Taylor’s personality. No, really. One is Rage, another is Intellect, and so on. If you ever wanted to argue with your own brain, here’s your chance—no psychologist required.
Each round, you all work together to overcome hazards using skill checks, which involve rolling custom dice. Sometimes the dice love you, sometimes they treat you like a banana left out in the rain. That’s a sore spot for me. Luck is a factor, but you can plan by sharing resources and special cards. I once tried to hoard everything and, predictably, my friends nearly voted to let my character perish in a river. “Teamwork” isn’t just a buzzword here: if you go rogue, the game WILL spank you. Planet of the Apes feels tense; everyone has a job, and messing up hurts the whole group.
The player interaction can get spicy. You debate, negotiate, and sometimes bribe each other to focus on certain threats. I loved that aspect! Yet, the luck of the dice can still swing things wildly, which isn’t my favorite. Balance is decent, but if the dice hate you, you’ll be howling at the moon.
But before you go thinking this is just math and dice, wait till you hear how the game’s story blends with the classic sci-fi theme…
How Planet of the Apes Nails Theme and Story Integration
Now, I have played a lot of board games based on movies. Most of them feel like a quick cash grab (I’m looking at you, every bad superhero game ever). But let me tell you, Planet of the Apes surprised me with how much it actually felt like the classic films. It isn’t just apes fighting people and people shouting at apes. The whole game oozes story from the box.
You pick up characters straight from the original film, and every turn you make decisions that actually fit the wild world of talking apes and lost astronauts. Each chapter in the game takes you through key moments. One minute you’re sneaking around the forbidden zone, next you’re arguing if you can trust Lucius or not. My friend Greg (who has never seen the movies and thinks Charlton Heston is a salad dressing) even got into the drama! He spent the whole game asking if Dr. Zaius was the good guy or not.
The event cards are packed with direct references to the movie. I found myself shouting, “It’s a madhouse!” three times in one game. The cooperative play makes you feel like you are actually part of Taylor’s desperate group: you’re in it together, either escaping or ending up in a cage, chewing celery and looking confused.
So, as far as theme goes, Planet of the Apes nailed it. The story keeps you involved, no matter who you are or how much you know about the movies. Ready to swing from vines? Well, let’s talk about the next thing—can the game’s artwork and pieces match up to its wild theme?
Planet of the Apes Board Game: Stunning Components and Immersive Artwork
Okay, so let’s talk about something that can make or break a game for me—the stuff in the box. And let me tell you, the Planet of the Apes board game does not mess around when it comes to components. When I first opened it, I felt like a kid at a candy store. But instead of candy, it was ape tokens, thick cardboard, and a heap of cards that actually feel good in your hands. No flimsy, bendy nonsense here!
The artwork is where things really shine. Each card has illustrations that throw you straight back into that wild, ape-filled world. You won’t find any generic clip-art here—every piece looks like someone actually cared, sat down, and painted it just for this game. Even the game board itself screams cinematic drama, like a postcard from a very hairy holiday. It’s all moody colors, ruined landmarks, and angry, intelligent eyes. My personal favorite is the custom dice. They’re chunky and have little symbols on them, which makes me feel like I’m rolling for the fate of humanity (or my snacks, depending on the round).
As for durability, after several sessions and at least one near miss with a spilled drink (thanks, Tom) everything still looks as sharp as when it came out of the box. The tokens haven’t faded, the cards haven’t frayed, and nothing has warped. If this game can survive my group, it’ll survive anything.
Stick around, because next I’ll be talking about whether you’ll want to play Planet of the Apes over and over—or just fling it like a monkey at a zoo!
Replayability and Balance in Planet of the Apes: Will You Go Bananas?
Alright, so after playing Planet of the Apes with my usual bunch of misfits, I got to put the replay value and balance through a solid test. If you worry about games gathering dust after one go, I’ve got some good news: this one dodges that fate, at least for a while.
The missions are set up in a way that, though based on the original film, toss enough random events and challenges your way that no two playthroughs feel exactly alike. Even if my friend Greg (the one who always tries to sabotage team plans with his ‘strategic’ dice rolls) knows what’s coming story-wise, the cards and dice mess things up just enough to keep us all guessing. This adds some decent replayability, though I will say, if you play it twice in a weekend, you might spot the patterns sooner than you’d like.
On the balance side, Planet of the Apes hits pretty close to the mark! Every player gets their time to shine, even if you’re the unlucky soul stuck with the worst dice hand. The difficulty scales somewhat with more or fewer players, so no one feels left behind or useless—unless you play like Greg, and then, well, that’s a personal problem. I did notice, though, that sometimes the random cards can throw you in a pit with no ladder. Just a little too much luck for my taste, but overall not a dealbreaker.
If you love a decent challenge and don’t mind a few chaos moments, I recommend you swing into Planet of the Apes. Just watch out for those banana peels.
Conclusion
So, that’s the end of my review for Planet of the Apes! This game nails the theme, and feels like you’re stepping right into the movies—minus the risk of getting beaned by a gorilla. The art pops, the story hooks, and the teamwork kept my group laughing and bickering in equal measure. Sure, there’s a sprinkle more luck than I’d like, and sometimes you’ll feel the dice hate you personally. But if you want a wild, challenging ride with friends, this is worth a spot on your table. Just don’t blame me if you wind up quoting “Get your stinking paws off me!” after every loss.
