How To Play: Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes is all about teamwork, clever resource use, and picking the right turn order. Use each ape's special powers, chat with your team, and keep morale high. If you can manage all that—and resist monkeying around—you just might win. Good luck learning How To Play planet of the apes!

Planet of the Apes - Planet of the Apes, IDW Games, 2017 — front cover (image provided by the publisher) - Credit: W Eric Martin

Overview

Ever tried playing Planet of the Apes with your friends and ended up arguing more than the apes in the movies? Yeah, me too. After a few rounds (and several thrown banana peels), I’ve put together this handy guide. I’ll give you a simple outline of the rules, and share the best strategies I found for how to beat those pesky apes—or at least, not lose horribly!

What’s in the box

  • 1 Game Board
  • 4 Ape Character Boards
  • 16 Skill Tokens
  • 40 Resource Tokens
  • 5 Morale Tokens
  • 1 Threat Marker
  • 1 Timeline Marker
  • 50 Encounter Cards
  • 16 Event Cards
  • 10 Location Cards
  • 4 Reference Cards
  • 1 Rulebook
  • 20 Wound Tokens

How To Play Planet of the Apes: Rules Summary

Setup: Get Ready to Go Ape!

  1. First, put the game board in the middle of your table. Make sure you can reach it, even if your arms are short like mine after reaching for snacks too many times.
  2. Next, shuffle the event and encounter cards. Place them where everyone can grab them, but not too close to your sneaky friend who peeks at cards.
  3. Then, hand each player an ape leader token. Pick your favorite ape. I always go for the grumpy one that looks like me on Mondays.
  4. After that, put all markers, tokens, and resources in piles nearby. Call this the “Banana Bank.” (Okay, the game just calls it the resource pool, but my house, my rules.)
  5. Finally, give everyone their ape player board and starting resources. Don’t eat the pieces. Learned this one the hard way.

Gameplay: Monkey Business Begins

  1. On your turn, draw an event card. Read it out loud, using your best ape voice for laughs. I’ll judge you if you don’t.
  2. Afterward, take actions with your ape: move, gather resources, or use that fancy special ability your ape has. Choose wisely, my friends.
  3. If you meet a human or rival ape, draw an encounter card. Follow what it says. Sometimes you throw bananas. Sometimes you lose bananas. Sometimes you just cry (or maybe that was just me).
  4. Then, end your turn. Pass the pith helmet (pretend if you don’t have one) to the next player.

Winning: Claim Your Throne

  1. The goal is simple—be the ape with the highest morale and most resources when the final event card is revealed. It’s basically who managed to hoard the most bananas and kept their buddies the happiest.
  2. If there is a tie, the ape with the most completed missions wins. If it’s still a tie, settle it with a banana-eating contest. Again, house rules.

Special Rules & Conditions: Don’t Go Bananas

  1. If any player’s morale drops to zero, that ape is out of the game. Don’t be that ape. Remember what happened to Kevin last time?
  2. Some event cards unleash chaos—unexpected human attacks, forest fires, or sudden banana shortages. Follow these instructions right away. Grumbling is allowed but won’t help.
  3. Work together or go solo. Sometimes, the board requires all apes to pitch in. Sometimes, you’ll want to trip up the leader. Choose your friendships wisely.

That’s it! Now you know How To Play planet of the apes. Get your friends, grab some real bananas, and prepare for a game night that will have you hooting and hollering. May the best ape win!

Best Planet of the Apes Strategies

Keep Calm and Hoard Bananas: Winning Planet of the Apes

Protect Your Supplies

Resources disappear faster than my attention span during math class. In Planet of the Apes, you must keep a close eye on your food, weapons, and tools. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a bunch of hungry apes and no way out.

  1. Track every item you spend and gain each round.
  2. Never trade away food unless you must—hungry apes get grumpy.
  3. Use weapons sparingly; trust me, you’ll need them at the worst times.

Morale: The Secret Sauce

Once, my group let morale slip. The apes started fighting worse than my cousins at Christmas, and we lost. Learn from my pain!

  1. Boost morale every chance you get, even if it means sacrificing a banana or two.
  2. Keep everyone busy and winning small tasks to raise spirits.
  3. Use How To Play planet of the apes guides to spot actions that improve mood.

Balance is Key

If you rush for supplies, someone will sulk. If you baby morale, you’ll starve. Try different mixes each game to find a win.

Mastering Turn Order: Outsmart the Apes!

I learned the hard way that picking your spot in the turn order is not just a small choice. It can make or break your game. My friend Dave always snags the first go, but sometimes, going last is sneaky genius! Here’s what I picked up after a few too many banana-related defeats.

Read the Room
  1. Check who goes before and after you. This tells you what actions might be safe or risky.
  2. Spot your rivals’ strategies early, so you can mess up their plans or swoop in for easy wins.
React to the Board
  1. Wait for the right moment if you like to react. You can fix mistakes or block others’ moves.
  2. Jump ahead in the order if you need to grab key spots or resources before they’re gone.
Work With Your Team
  1. Talk to your pals (or frenemies). Pick a turn order that helps your plans but also messes with the apes!

So, next time you play, watch the turn order—unless you enjoy being trampled by clever monkeys.

Unleash the Ape Squad: Mastering Special Abilities for Victory

Know Your Ape Powers

Each ape brings something wild to the table. My group found out fast that knowing who does what wins games. Here’s how you keep those powers in play:

  1. Read each ability out loud before starting—no surprises mid-game.
  2. Assign tasks based on strengths. Need a fighter? Send Caesar. Need brains? Go Cornelius!
  3. Keep an eye on conditions that trigger abilities, and plan ahead.

Use Powers in Combo

We often chain powers for big impact. For instance, one ape weakens enemies, then another cleans up. Try:

  1. Pairing movement skills with attack boosts.
  2. Timing heals or morale boosts after risky moves.

Communicate on Every Turn

We always shout out our plans. This stops us from wasting abilities. If you want to know How To Play planet of the apes like a pro, never hoard your special actions!

Apes Together Strong—And Victorious!

So, that’s what I learned after wrangling apes with my friends and losing more bananas than I’d like to admit. If you remember to share your resources, choose the right ape for the job, and use those special abilities at just the right moment, you’ll do better than my buddy Mark, who tried to hoard everything and ended up with zip. Trust me, Planet of the Apes is much more fun when you work as a team. Now go out there, save your hairy hides, and teach those humans who’s boss! And if you ever forget a rule, just yell “How To Play planet of the apes?” at the table. Works for us every time.

Want to know what we think of Planet of the Apes? Read our detailed review of Planet of the Apes here

Jamie in his proper element: With all of his board games
Jamie Hopkins

With years of dice-rolling, card-flipping, and strategic planning under my belt, I've transformed my passion into expertise. I thrive on dissecting the mechanics and social dynamics of board games, sharing insights from countless game nights with friends. I dive deep into gameplay mechanics, while emphasizing the social joys of gaming. While I appreciate themes and visuals, it's the strategy and camaraderie that truly capture my heart.