- BGG rating
- 7.8
Buru: Ambelau
- 1–5 players
- 60–90 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2024
- BGG rank
- BGG #8,952
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Buru
2024
Rules assistance for Buru
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 60–75 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.3/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Buru
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Buru is a board game released in 2024 for 1–4 players, 60–75 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Alex Flagg, Taran Lewis Kratz, and Stephen Wren and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, End Game Bonuses, and Solo / Solitaire Game.
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About the game
In Buru, you are a noble of the 14th century Majapahit empire, a powerful thalassocracy (maritime kingdom) that presides over the Indonesian archipelago. At the orders of the king Hayam Wuruk and his vizier, the great Gajah Mada, you have set out across the sea to expand the great mandala of Majapahit through commerce and diplomacy. You and your fellow nobles have recently arrived at the remote island of Buru, eager to earn your place in history. Here, you will dispatch your parties to the island to explore, trade, and pay your respects as you compete to win over Buru's residents and ultimately gain the favor of the King himself. Buru is a mid-weight, Euro-style board game for 1-4 players. Over five game rounds, you and your fellow players secretly deploy explorers to the four different regions of the island in order to gather resources, recruit islanders, set them to tasks, and pay tribute to the spirits revered there. The object of the game is to win the islanders' esteem. You can earn esteem in many ways, primarily by paying tribute, but also by pleasing elders, tasking local nobles, fulfilling the king's decrees, and holding a totem when any player pays tribute to that spirit. At the end of the game, the player with the most esteem wins and is declared the new governor of Buru! -description from designer
Categories
Mechanics
Publishers
- Kobold Spieleverlag
- Crafty Games
Questions and answers
Buru supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Buru is 60–75 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Buru for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Buru has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Buru belongs to these categories: Economic, Exploration, and Medieval. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, End Game Bonuses, and Solo / Solitaire Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Buru are: Alex Flagg, Taran Lewis Kratz, and Stephen Wren. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Buru as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.