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Junk Art is a dexterity game that is all about gaining the greatest number of fans to win a (typically) 3 round game. You gain these fans from touring the world with your art skills and presenting pieces that appeal to the locals. The cities are your venues. Each encourages you to play differently. The game also encourages you to create your own venues. This, as a self-appointed creative individual, appealed to me greatly. I was sure the internet would be rife with people’s inventions. I was, however, disappointingly a little... well, disappointed. There were only a few people in the furthest corners of the virtual world with one or two posted ideas.
So, what does any self-appointed creative individual do in such a predicament? Take things into their own hands of course! Here is a small selection of venues (both simple and crazy) that I have created for your enjoyment!
Note: This feature will presume that you know how to play Junk Art and are familiar with the rules of play already.
Jakarta – Indonesia
Being the "widest city in the world that isn’t a collection of other cities" is a bold claim! Appeal to this amazing statement by sculpting the widest possible sculpture!
Players: 2-6
Goal: Widest structure
Exhibition End: Chosen by player
In Jakarta, every player will be taking turns to flip the top card of the junk deck and place the depicted junk piece on their sculpture. The twist here is that instead of building the tallest structure, you must in fact build the widest!
If any piece falls off your structure, then you are eliminated from the game. At the start of your turn, before you draw a card, you may choose to stop building and declare your piece as ‘finished’. If you choose to reveal a card, then it must be placed on your structure. By choosing not to add anything to your structure, you skip any consequential turns in the game. Essentially you are relying on others to get too ambitious and knock themselves out. Careful choosing when to leave your sculpture, as ‘finished’ will be key to victory in Jakarta.
Exhibition End And Fans Awarded
When all players have either been eliminated or declared their sculptures as ‘finished’.
1st widest sculpture: 5 fans
2nd widest sculpture: 3 fans
3rd tallest sculpture: 1 fan
Hong Kong – China
The people of Hong Kong live in inconceivably small spaces. As their population grows, so too does their need for more housing. Due to its limited size, the only way to build is up. You have been hired (for some reason) to create the most efficient living quarters within the limited space.
Players: 2-5
Goal: Keep the population housed
Exhibition End: Elimination
The deck of junk cards is separated roughly into equal stacks as there are players. Each player reveals the top card of a different deck and must place that piece onto their structure. For every round turn, they must place a fan token onto their structure (colour irrelevant) equal to the turn it is. For example, turn 1 you must place 1 fan token somewhere on your sculpture, turn 5 you must place 5 and so on.
The population does not wait for you however so you must create as much space as you can to house each person. A fan token cannot touch another token, but they can share a structure piece. If two fan tokens touch, then they must be separated immediately. Play continues until there is one person remaining. They have successfully built the most efficient housing.
If there are no fan tokens remaining due to everyone building adequately, then they must place a second junk piece each turn instead. When one person is eliminated, their fan tokens are returned to the shared play area for others to use.
If you cannot place as many fan tokens as needed by the round, then you must continue building new pieces until you have ‘housed’ as many fans as needed before everyone continues to the next round.
Exhibition End And Fans Awarded
Play continues until there is one grand architect left in play. You are eliminated as soon as ANY number of fans have fallen off.
Player left standing: 10 fans
Players who were eliminated: -5 fans
Brockworth – England
Brockworth is hosting its annual cheese rolling festival again soon. They have commissioned you to build a fancy sculpture at the bottom of the hill for everyone to see. Is that a cheese wheel barrelling towards you? Maybe this wasn’t a good idea…
Players: 2 or 4
Goal: Avoid the cheese!
Exhibition End: Being the last person to survive a cheese catastrophe.
To set this venue up, use the tape measure provided to place a plastic plinth for each player 60cms away from each other. If playing a team game of 2v2 then place a second plastic plinth 20 cm away from the first on each side. Each player takes the long flat junk piece and the flat sphere piece (numbers 6 and 15 respectively) of any colour and removes the representing card from the deck. Each player places the long flat piece on the edge of their plastic plinth (flat side facing down) in order to create a ramp. You see where this is going!
Take it in turns to draw a card from the deck and place the depicted piece onto your structure. Whenever you place a piece, however, one player on the other side of the ‘field’ is allowed to place their ball on their ramp, and let it roll towards you. Lucky for you that there is both a hole in the ramp and a flat side to the ball, so accuracy isn’t in anyone’s favour. But that also includes yours when it is your turn to roll your cheese piece.
No force rolling allowed! Only allow your cheese ball to roll naturally off of the ramp.
Note: The distances may need to be tweaked slightly depending on what surface you are playing on. Experiment to find your optimal distances.
Exhibition End And Fans Awarded
You are eliminated from the game as soon as you have had 6 or more pieces fall off your structure in total. Either from your own placement choices or collision from the opponent’s cheese ball.
2-player game: Winner is awarded 5 fans
2v2 player game:
- A solo victory will award you 10 fans.
- A joint victory will award you 5 fans each.
Åland Islands – Finland
Being part of the biggest archipelago in the world, you have decided to work on a piece that represents its many many many many many many islands.
Players: 2
Goal: Keep the islands connected
Exhibition: When the star is revealed.
Each player will take 3 plastic plinths instead of 1 and arrange them in a triangle formation 10cms away from each other. 10cm from the inside of each stand, not the outside! Split the deck into 2 stacks and shuffle the star card into one of them. Place the two stacks back together keeping the one with the star in it on the bottom. Draw and reveal 3 cards.
Each player will take turns choosing one of the pieces on display to build with, then replacing that card with the top card of the deck. Players must build on one base on one turn, then move to the next stand in clockwise order for the next turn. You can only build on a piece if it is connected somehow to the base’s turn you are on. The aim is to connect each base by the time the star is revealed. The bases must be connected somehow directly to each other base.
For example: if base A is connected to base B and base B is connected to base C, then base A and C are not considered connected. Each base must connect to the other 2 bases with junk that does not overlap another base.
Exhibition End And Fans Awarded
The game only ends when the star card is revealed. Any junk that has fallen off your structures (and into the sea) are discarded.
Three bridged base pairs: 5 fans
Two bridged base pairs: 3 fans
One bridged base pair: 1 fan
No bridged base pairs: -5 fans
Prague – Czech Republic
Petrin Park plays a big part during Valentine’s season, playing host to many people taking a pilgrimage to share a romantic kiss under the sculpture of a romantic poet. Getting overly popular, you have been asked to create a second sculpture for couples to enjoy.
Players: 2-6
Goal: Keep your sculpture erected for the longest
Exhibition End: elimination
Each player reveals the top card of the junk deck and places the junk piece depicted. When you place a piece that touches another piece of the same colour, then you reveal the top 3 cards of the deck. You then select one of the pieces revealed and give it to your opponent to place. They have to place this in a way that will touch another piece of the same colour. This does not trigger them to reveal cards from the deck in turn, this action only happens for whoever’s turn it currently is. The other 2 cards are re-shuffled into the deck.
If there are no cards revealed that match any colours of any opponents’ current structure, then the cards are shuffled back into the deck and the next player takes their turn.
Players are encouraged to build in a way that tries to leave space for other junk pieces given to them or to employ the rule of nudging pieces with the active piece wisely. If there are only 2 players, start the round with 3 bases each, all touching in anyway, if there are 3 players, use 2 bases each, both touching.
Exhibition End And Fans Awarded
The exhibition will end when there is only one sculpture remaining. This will be the sculpture that gets commissioned for the park.
Last sculpture standing – 5 fans
Second to last sculpture standing – 2 fans
And There We Go!
So, there you go, if you find yourself running a little bored of the venues in Junk Art, then try some of these out for size. Some of them, are admittedly a little whacky, but that to me just adds to the fun!
Have fun with Junk Art, and do not be afraid of experimenting with the game and coming up with some unusual venues for yourself!