Mali: Plot Twist Edition

Mali is an economic board game for 3–8 players in which participants race to fulfil a secret set of financial goals — collecting specific assets, accumulating cash, and outmanoeuvring rivals through trade, negotiation, and luck. Each player begins with a hidden Persona Card: a personal checklist of Resource Cards to acquire and a cash threshold to meet. On their turn, players roll two dice and move around the board, landing on spaces that offer chances to buy resources from the bank, pay Kanjo taxes, or trigger special locations — JKIA catapults you to Mombasa Raha, Soko opens a one-minute free-trade window for all players, and Noma challenges you to connect a resource to a real-life experience or pay a fine. Resource Cards are scarce — each exists as a single copy in the game. Once a rival buys one you need, your only recourse is negotiation or outbidding them in a Stalemate auction. Tenda Cards, drawn and read aloud, disrupt plans with unpredictable consequences. Rolling doubles earns a bonus turn, but a second consecutive double costs you your highest-valued resource. The 10x Rule charges a multiplied toll for landing on an already-occupied space. Mali is played in two modes: the shorter Learn Fast Mode, which requires fewer resources to win, and the deeper Full Game Mode, which demands a larger collection and cash reserve. The first player to complete all their Persona Card goals must shout "MALI!" to claim victory — forget to call it and you'll wait another round. —description from the publisher