The Penguin Ultimatum (2003)

A card-laying game (like a tile-laying game, but with cards) in which players are throwing a party for penguins.

Cards are either Penguin Guests or the Entertainers that perform for them. Each turn, a player must add one penguin to the party grid and may also claim any penguin as his own. As Entertainer Cards become sufficiently surrounded, the Entertainers perform, and there is a scoring round. Players who own penguins that enjoyed the performance get points.

Importantly, the player who scored -- but scored the fewest points -- gets to keep the Entertainer Card. This card can be turned in to break a Penguin Placement rule during the game, or saved for potential bonus points at the end.

The game ends when the Entertainers run out, which takes about 45 minutes at most. It is designed to work equally well for 2, 3, or 4 players.