Five Bucks for a Game I Now Carry Everywhere

Found this one on a clearance shelf for basically nothing, I want to say five bucks, and now it lives in the glovebox for waiting rooms and slow restaurants, that’s the whole review right there if you just want the verdict. Little box, big value, the origami art on every card is genuinely charming, the sea theme actually gets you excited to steal a boat card off your opponent.

Two players is where this game lives and dies, and I mean that mostly as praise, at higher counts it gets a little messy and a lot of people online say they’d rather play it at two than at four. But even at two there’s a wrinkle worth mentioning, some sets just aren’t profitable to collect once you’re only fighting one other person for them, the math changes when there’s nobody else drafting off the shared piles. And the last chance call, where you can end the round early for a bonus if you’re still ahead after everyone else’s final turn, has its detractors too, I’ve seen people argue it shouldn’t score the same as a normal win when the totals end up tied, and I get the gripe even if it hasn’t ruined a game for me personally.

If you sleeve your cards, heads up, the box is oddly oversized for what’s inside, one reviewer flat out said they hate the box for exactly that reason.

Price per hour this thing is an absolute steal, mine cost less than a fast food meal and I’ve probably logged fifty plays on it by now between the car and actual sit down games, so the dollars per hour of fun math basically breaks the calculator. It’s light, it’s a little lucky, the stealing mechanic can feel a bit mean if you’re the one getting picked apart, but for a pocket sized filler this punches so far above its price it’s almost embarrassing.