- BGG rank
- BGG #15,075
- BGG rating
- 6.0
Anno 1452
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 1999
- BGG rank
- BGG #18,619
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Malawi
1986
Rules assistance for Malawi
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 20 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.4/5
Rules assistant for Malawi
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Malawi is a board game released in 1986 for 2 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Gerhard E. Kodys and its main mechanics are Square Grid, Grid Movement, and Static Capture.
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About the game
from the translation: OBJECTIVE Place one of your pieces on your opponents back row. THE GAME The players each stand their pieces on their back rows. They place two balls on each figure. They now take turns and choose one of the following three actions. 1.Move: Players can move the chosen piece as many squares sideways, forwards or backwards as the piece has balls, if it has 4 balls it must move 4 squares. The pieces may neither jump nor change direction. 2.Sharing: Players may take all the balls from a selected piece and place one each on any of their other pieces. Exception, if a tower has six balls only five balls may be placed on the other five pieces and so one ball is lost and is removed from the game. 3.Capturing: Only balls are captured, not pieces. The capturing piece and the threatened piece stay on their own squares. Example a white piece and a brown piece stand two squares apart. They have two balls and three balls respectively. It is whites move and white can remove the three brown balls from the game as long as there is no piece between the white and brown pieces. Pieces whose balls have been captured can be activated again by the sharing of balls. Therefore, capturing only limits the movement possibilities, the number of pieces always remains the same. If a player loses all their balls they can no longer move and have lost.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Piatnik
Questions and answers
Malawi supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Malawi is 20 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 Malawi for ages 10 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.
Malawi has a complexity rating of 2.4 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.
Malawi belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Square Grid, Grid Movement, and Static Capture. 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 Malawi are: Gerhard E. Kodys. 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 Malawi 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.