This review was originally posted to the Boardgame Geek here.

For some reason, I really enjoy Stefan Dorra’s designs. I’m not sure why, but they just seem to work for me. Tonga Bonga is a racing game of bribery that in my opinion, hasn’t really gotten the attention it deserves. So… why do I like it so much? Read on.
My reviews all (will) cover several things: an overview of the game, the components and their quality, the ruleset and its clarity, the fun factor, value for the buck, and the lowdown.

Overview

Tonga Bonga is a game of boat racing to various islands in the South Pacific. Everyone is trying to make the most money by delivering goods to 4 of the 6 islands on the board and then racing back to Tonga Bonga for a bonus. To do this, you must bribe your opponents by offering up cash for them to place their workers (dice) on your boat. You then need to roll the dice well… or poorly, depending on your objectives. By rolling well, you can claim the money that your opponent’s are bribing you with. However, if you roll poorly, they don’t go very far. So really, both options are good for you.

Favre4MVP has outlined the rules very well here.

Components

In the box, you’ll find a large board, 4 sets of dice and wooden cubes in different colors, 4 boats, and some really great molded plastic money. Oh, and lots and lots of air. As one of the pics for the game shows, the box is a standard Ravensburger size box, but it could have been about half the size, were the board a quad-fold. Ah well, at least they didn’t skimp on the bits. The boats are awesome with your sail representing your color. The dice are great too, with the pips going from 1-5 and the sickboy. Yup, it shows a guy puking over the side of the boat. Possibly one of the best ideas for dice ever. The money is close to the highest quality I have in any of my games. Manila’s might be slightly better, but Tonga Bonga’s is much more visible from a distance.

Components: 9 out of 10

Ruleset

The rules are short, well written and clear. Except for the fact that I always forget to rotate the starting player, they’re great.

Ruleset: 9 out of 10

Fun Factor

Tonga Bonga isn’t a heavy game, by any stretch of the imagination. That’s possibly why I like it so much. The great fun in this game is in bribing your opponents. Offer up a bunch of money for each of your sailors and you’ll likely get some high valued dice from your opponents. However, you can offer practically nothing if you just want to annoy them. This is equally fun… and even better if everyone rolls high. Then they are forced to give you high dice with practically no reward, which always plasters a big stupid grin on my face. Of course, my opponents don’t seem to like it much. Heh.

Fun Factor: 9 out of 10

Value for the Buck

Here’s where Tonga Bonga falls down a bit. As far as I know, it’s out of print. That doesn’t mean it’s hard to find, but you likely won’t find it on the shelves of your FLGS in North America. Here on BGG there’s always a few up for grabs as well as on ebay.co.uk or ebay.de. However, you’re likely going to have to fork out around $50USD for it, including shipping… which I’ll admit is pretty steep. Nonetheless, if your group enjoys light, quick games with a dash of luck, a smidgen of backstabbery with a sprinkling of tough decisions, you could do far worse than Tonga Bonga.

Value for the Buck: 6 out of 10

The Lowdown

Tonga Bonga likely won’t be remembered as Stefan Dorra’s best game. However, it fills the niche for a light racing game with a good amount of player interaction with resource management and backstabbery. Good family fun.

The Lowdown: 9 out of 10 (not an average)