Review: Botswana

Introduction & Overview

You are a wildlife photographer in Africa attempting to capture the most valuable animal shots. However, you are not the only one taking pictures: you and your competitors will adjust the value of each species’ photos with every shot taken. The rules are simple, but the decisions you will have to make are anything but!

This is the premise of Botswana, a design by Reiner Knizia (Tigris & Euphrates, Ra, The Quest for El Dorado). It was first published in 1994 by AMIGO under the title Flinke Pinke as a reimplementation of Irish Wolf. In 2025, it was reprinted by 25th Century Games featuring artwork by Weberson Santiago (The Bloody Inn, Sail, Flatiron).

It is not currently published in Spain, so you will need to turn to the second-hand market or import copies (the game is completely language-independent). It accommodates 2 to 5 players, with a suggested minimum age of 7 and an approximate playing time of 20 to 30 minutes. The retail price is €24.95. For this review, a copy of the French edition from 25th Century Games was used as a review copy.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 21.5 × 15.5 × 4 cm (a small rectangular box similar to Battle Line Medieval), we find the following components:

• 30 Animal Cards (63 × 88 mm)
• 25 Wooden Animal Figures (5 of each species)
• 1 Cardboard Score Track Board (double-sided)
• 10 Wooden Scoring Markers (2 in each color)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Botswana is a game in which players take on the role of wildlife photographers in Africa competing to snap the most valuable shots. Over a number of rounds equal to the player count, players take turns in clockwise order starting with a hidden hand of cards dealt out equally at the beginning after setting aside a few cards at random. On each turn, the active player must play a card from their hand into the row corresponding to that animal species (leaving all previous values visible), thereby setting the new temporary value for that species (from 0 to 5). Next, they take an animal figure of any available species from the center of the table, with no requirement to match the card just played. The moment the sixth card of any species is played, the round ends immediately once that player collects their animal figure. At that point, scoring takes place: each collected figure scores points equal to the value of the last card played in its species column. Once all planned rounds are completed, the player with the highest cumulative score is declared the winner.

Key Concepts

We begin with the Animal Cards. These feature one of five distinct species: giraffes, hippos, elephants, meerkats, and lions, each depicting thematic artwork alongside a numerical value ranging from 0 to 5. Players manage these cards in their hand and play them on their turns into overlapping columns by species, ensuring that all previously played values remain visible. In addition to serving as a round-end timer as soon as any single species reaches six cards, the final card played in each column determines the point value awarded for each matching animal figure during scoring.

Next come the Animal Figures. For each of the five species present in the deck, there are five wooden figures. At the beginning of each round, they are grouped in the center of the table to form a common supply. After playing a card on their turn, the active player must claim one of these available figures (regardless of whether it matches the species of the card just played) and place it visibly in front of them, building a personal collection that will be converted into points at the end of the round based on current market values.

Rounding out the components is the Score Board. This shared board features two sides with different track layouts to accommodate players’ visual preferences. Its primary role is to serve as an ongoing record across the rounds of the game, providing a track along which markers advance as collected figures are scored against the final card values. To track these points, players use the Scoring Markers. Each participant receives a pair of wooden discs in their color, labeled with values to easily track scores when crossing the fifty-point threshold. These markers advance across the spaces of the central board following each round’s evaluation, reflecting each player’s standing.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

1. Separate the animal figures by species and place them in the center of the table in five distinct groups, leaving enough room in front of each group to play cards later on.
2. Place the score board within reach of all players on whichever side is preferred.
3. Each player chooses a color and takes the two corresponding scoring markers, placing one of them on the starting space of the score track.
4. Shuffle all animal cards thoroughly.
5. Depending on the player count, secretly remove a set number of cards face down from the game:
   • At 2 players: 2 cards.
   • At 3 players: 3 cards.
   • At 4 players: 2 cards.
   • At 5 players: 0 cards.
6. Deal out the remaining cards equally among all players to form their starting hands.
7. Randomly select the starting player.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Botswana is played over a number of rounds equal to the number of participants. In each round, players take turns in clockwise order, beginning with the randomly selected starting player (in subsequent rounds, the starting player token moves clockwise to the next player).

On their turn, the active player must perform the following steps in order:

1. Play an Animal Card. The player chooses a card from their hand and places it in front of the matching group of figures for that species. The card is placed overlapping any earlier cards of that species in a staggered column so that all previous numbers remain visible.
2. Draft an Animal Figure. The participant selects and takes an animal figure of any available species from the table (it does not have to match the species of the card just played) and places it face up in front of them in full view of everyone. If all figures of a given species have been claimed from the central supply, no more figures of that type can be collected, though cards may still be played to that species’ column.

The end of the round triggers immediately when a player plays the sixth card of any species. As soon as that turn concludes, the round ends instantly and players score points equal to the current value of each animal figure they have gathered (the value of each animal is determined by the last card played in its column, or zero if no cards were played for that species).

To set up a new round:

• Return all animal figures to the center of the table, grouped by species.
• Shuffle all animal cards back together (including any cards set aside at the start of the round).
• Set aside the appropriate number of cards face down according to player count, then deal the remainder equally among all participants.

The starting turn passes to the next player in clockwise order.

Game End

The game ends after completing a number of rounds equal to the number of players. The player with the highest total score at the end of all rounds is crowned the winner.

In the event of a tie for victory, all players participate in a single tiebreaker round; the player with the highest overall score after this round wins. If a tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Personal Opinion

It is no secret that the board game publishing scene is currently engaged in an ongoing effort of tabletop archaeology. Publishers have struck gold by rescuing overlooked gems designed by legendary figures, titles that originally emerged in an era when the market looked vastly different from today’s landscape. Throughout the nineties, with a niche hobby base and precarious distribution outside German borders, countless designs slipped into obscurity due to logistics rather than quality. Reviving these lost relics is a low-risk proposition: it taps into veterans’ nostalgia while offering modern audiences remarkably refined designs.

Within this trend, Reiner Knizia has become an inexhaustible treasure trove. Imprints such as Allplay, Bitewing Games, and 25th Century Games have wholeheartedly embraced the role of legacy caretakers, combing through his prolific ludography to return long-lost games to store shelves. In addition to refreshing the visual presentation, these publishers seize the opportunity to implement slight mechanical tweaks that smooth out rough edges and tune the pacing to meet contemporary expectations.

Today we are looking at another rescued design, this time courtesy of 25th Century Games. Let us examine how Botswana holds up at the table—a game designed in 1994 by Reiner Knizia as a reimplementation of Irish Wolf, which originally appeared in the first 1992 issue of Spielbox (the renowned German board game magazine).

In Botswana, players step into the shoes of intrepid photographers roaming the vast African plains in search of the most valuable wildlife photographs. Over the course of the expedition, participants vie to capture shots of five iconic species: lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and meerkats. However, editorial interest fluctuates with every shutter click, causing the market valuation of each animal to rise and fall as pictures surface in the field. Only those who read market trends and hoard the most sought-after specimens will emerge triumphant.

Mechanically, this is quintessential Knizia math in action. The game spans as many rounds as there are players, dealing out a deck of cards numbered 0 through 5 across the five animal species, with a few cards secretly removed based on player count. Twenty-five wooden miniatures representing these five species are grouped in the center, waiting to be claimed as players venture across the reserve.

Turn structure could hardly be simpler. The active player plays a card from their hand to the corresponding species column, overlapping previous cards so that all prior numbers stay visible. In doing so, they set that animal’s new current value, regardless of whether the number is higher or lower than the previous one. The core twist lies in what follows: the player must then claim any one figure from the central supply, which does not need to match the species of the card just played.

Tension spikes as the expedition draws to a close. As soon as someone plays the sixth card of a species and drafts a figure, the round ends abruptly. At that point, the photo gallery is scored: the top card of each column sets the multiplier for every matching figure in players’ personal collections. Scores are tallied on the board, the setup is refreshed for the next round, and the player with the highest aggregate score after all rounds wins the game.

As you can tell, the rules are fairly straightforward, so let us dig into the dynamics and overall experience. What immediately stands out is Knizia’s radical distillation of stock manipulation. The game strips away all unnecessary chrome to deliver pure speculation in its barest form. Each player starts with private information in hand—card values that opponents obviously lack—which provides tactical leverage to shape prices to their advantage. It creates an ongoing tug-of-war where managing your timing and manipulating valuations forms a direct, cutthroat gameplay loop.

Undoubtedly, the design’s greatest strength is the psychological tension gripping players on every turn. The instinctive reaction when holding high-value cards is to cling to them tightly, delaying their play until the very last second to keep opponents from burying them beneath a zero. Yet this caution is a double-edged sword: hoarding figures of a species currently valued low is akin to broadcasting your intentions across the table, practically daring rivals to crash the market or rush the round end to torpedo your plans.

Conversely, you will occasionally encounter the frustrating scenario where your starting hand is entirely scattered, giving you disconnected values across all five species. Finding a cohesive path forward in these situations becomes an agonizing exercise, as you lack a reliable speculative anchor to build around. Every turn feels like stumbling through the dark, shedding cards merely by process of elimination and collecting figures aimlessly, entirely adrift on the tides dictated by other players.

Unfortunately, this extreme simplicity ultimately works against the design. By paring the system down to bare bones, the game frequently descends into chaotic, uncontrollable territory. There are undeniable sparks of table banter when a value gets unexpectedly wiped out, but the overarching impression left behind is one of arbitrary volatility. Anyone seeking meaningful agency over their investments will find this barrier hard to overlook, even if fans of lightweight tactical chaos may appreciate the breezy nature of it all.

Another flaw stemming from this simplicity is the emergence of dull reactive dynamics, most notably mirror play. Whenever a leader builds a healthy margin over second place, their optimal move is simply to draft the exact same species as their closest pursuer, neutralizing any comeback bid by locking in identical payouts. While the limited supply means matching every single piece is not always feasible, the tactical incentive remains clear: when the frontrunner mimics the chaser’s stock, final values become largely irrelevant, deflating all competitive drama.

Scaling is also hit-or-miss. At lower player counts, individual turns drag out too much. When playing with five, every single card enters circulation, which removes deduction and dilutes suspense. The game hits its sweet spot at four players, where hidden cards keep everyone guessing which species cannot trigger the endgame, preserving genuine table tension.

Replayability is similarly limited. For starters, nothing introduces variability outside the randomness of the deal and the hidden cards removed prior to each round. While reading opponents’ collections and timing market shifts offers enjoyable interaction, the design simply lacks the depth needed to keep returning to the table week after week.

In terms of alternatives, several market designs handle this exact speculative core with greater finesse. Games like Soda Jerk or Vegetable Stock (check out its tocho-review here) share an almost identical foundation—manipulating market prices via cards—yet they offer much more engaging decision spaces. Through calculated information control and tighter drafting dynamics, they grant players tangible influence over outcomes, avoiding the roulette-like feeling that undermines Botswana.

Turning to production, 25th Century Games spared no expense. The cards feature substantial weight, a smooth finish, and resilient snap (sleeving is recommended to prevent identifiable wear), accompanied by custom-shaped wooden animals printed in full color on both sides. The rulebook is clean, logical, and unambiguous throughout.

Weberson Santiago brings tremendous personality to the table. His expressive, contemporary aesthetic shines through once again, steering clear of the conventional documentary realism typical of nature themes. The palette delivers a bold visual contrast dominated by warm yellows, teal, and purple, blended with gritty textures and screen-printed effects. Rather than anatomical accuracy, the animals sport angular, stylized profiles packed with movement and intense gazes that burst off the table.

And let’s wrap this up. Botswana distills market manipulation to its simplest expression by pairing straightforward hand management with simultaneous animal drafting. This minimalist framework sparks enjoyable mind games, where timing high cards and tracking the endgame trigger generate lively moments. However, that stark minimalism takes a toll on player agency. The gameplay drifts too readily toward chaotic unpredictability, where poor card distributions force blind plays and runaway leaders can coast by mimicking opponents. A brisk filler with flashes of fun, but one whose volatility leaves serious strategists out in the cold. For all these reasons, I give it a…