Kelp Board Game Review

 The world needs more board games spawned by nature documentaries. I think it wouldn't hurt designers to try on the theme of hostile creatures more often in their games.

 Kelp is Carl Robinson's first original work, developed and published in association with Wonderbow Games. Deeply asymmetric in design, Kelp pits a shark against a squid among seaweed, a cat-and-mouse game for two players. Deck building vs. bag building. Cards vs Dice. Lego (at least for a moment) vs. Mahjongg.

OCTOPUS

 Squid game is a survival game. The kelp forest is divided into a 3 × 3 grid, each containing a tile facing the squid player. One tile is a squid. Other tiles are shells, traps and (potentially) squid food.

 Players choose two actions in any combination: play a card, return a card to the hand limit, or discard to hide an exposed tile. Each card has a face value. Actions include learning (adding cards to the deck), swapping adjacent tiles, randomly shuffling tiles, hiding tiles, and eating.

 A squid has two goals: survive and/or eat. If the shark is exhausted in the hunt, then the squid wins. Eating all four food options also results in an instant win for the squid. However, in order to eat, the player with the tentacles must first add a food card and tile to the game through learning, and then reveal the location of the squid and food after eating. Each food consumed adds strength, creating all the motivation needed to relieve tension.

 Aside from stealth, the squid's only weapons are traps. If the shark ever discovers the trap, it will have consequences that will affect the state of the field. Traps can also be obtained through training.

SHARK

 The shark's moves are a bit more procedural, but also pretty simple. Toothy takes out two dice from the bag, which he throws and uses. The blue cubes placed along the lines of motion represent the currents that move the shark outside the designated space. When the currents are arranged on the map in descending order, they provide a chain movement. Yellow dice reveal squid tiles if they are tossed high enough to exceed the success threshold. The red dice, which also require successful rolls, allow you to strike a secret configuration of squid tiles.

 If the squid itself is successfully hit, players engage in a battle of wits to decide the game. The squid has three special action cards for this circumstance, the shark has a counter card. Both players secretly choose a card and reveal it. If there is a match, the shark counterattacks and wins. The discrepancy allows the squid to perform an evasive maneuver while continuing the game. However, after this first duel, the matching set is removed, leaving only two matching cards and therefore a 50-50 chance of the next shark strike. The third strike is a guaranteed victory for the shark.

 The shark builds strength in two ways. Search dice used and the first activated current die in a turn are used to activate a series of abilities, each of which requires three dice to unlock. During the game, the shark gets the opportunity to roll the dice and improve with ease. The second way is the one-time ability card market. Any unused dice on the shark's turn go into their wallet, which the shark uses to make purchases based on the number of points. After three dice, a purchase is required. These market cards also add dice to the bag, shifting the balance towards search and strike.

 The shark's weakness, however, is the eight-cube lane, which leads to exhaustion. Hit dice used automatically land on this track (removing them from the game). Each card purchase also permanently puts one die on the track. If you do the math, you'll see that upgrades and attack are limited. The shark must move with hasty precision.

EXPERIENCE

 Playing Shark is an internal conflict from start to finish. You want to set the available current points on the board for the future, but you also want to use them early and often to activate those flips. You want to shop early and often for special cards and extra strike dice, but those purchases will lead to exhaustion and an early death if you also have a lot of terrible rolls in your wallet. When you have hit dice, it's tempting to blindly attack on a good hunch, but there are only so many opportunities to swing before you run out of gas.

 The squid game ends. Anything you want to do that is of any value requires you to disclose some information to the shark. It's very tempting to eat, but once you reveal your position, you must have cards to hide, shuffle and swap them to safety, or your opponent will eat you next.

 Not only are the mechanics asymmetric, but so are the behaviors required on both sides. Every turn when the shark feels desperate, it's like you know your time is up from the moment the first die hits the exhaustion track. Even the fact that you have to swim forward all the time ("around" is prohibited) tickles the nerves. A squid, on the other hand, must remain calm, cool, and collected—or it will die of impatience. An untimely bite when the supporting arm is weak will only create a source of anxiety and a great opportunity for the enemy.

 As much as I love the feel of Kelp, I think people will be disappointed that the last moment of the game depends on flipping the map like an old school game of war. I understand the psychology of conflict: it's obviously best to move the shark to the other side of the board, but the shark knows that. Actually, the shark knows that I know that the shark knows, so I have to do it anyway, because that's the last thing the shark expects. The solution is always interesting, but that doesn't necessarily make it exciting. I think it fits the theme well, so I wouldn't suggest changes, but I wonder what the final answer will be. A great deal of systematic work can unravel in a hurry if the "wrong" map sees the light of day.

 For all I know, my second potential problem may already be solved. I feel both sides, but especially the calamari, could use a little more spice. I'm not quite sure where it's needed, but it's needed. Team Wonderbow has already announced an additional deck of cards with a race for secondary objectives and long-term advantages. Maybe that's the answer, but the overall collection of action makes you wonder if there might not be another trick up one of the squid's many sleeves or something else to liven up the fact that your ultimate goal is hiding in the first place.

 Speaking of squid, eating as a strategy is an exercise in self-flagellation. In our first couple games when I was a shark, no one tried to do this. The cost seems too high. When I finally sat down like a squid, I went for it. When I raised my head to eat, I had hide and seek, swapping and shuffling. My location was compromised for the rest of the game. I lost. After that, I hesitated to do it again. Even with shuffling cards in hand, there were so many exposed tiles on the board that it was difficult to get back to the safety of the seaweed. I feel like a squid shouldn't try to eat unless all the food is added to the log, unleashing a maddened, overindulgent sprint to the finish line. Studying these food tiles on the map (even if the phrase is grammatically unclear) is the perfect way to put pressure on the shark and create an exciting duel.

 Squid maps have a delicate balance. If it is too easy to hide the tiles, the squid will live in an impenetrable secret. If the task is too big, the shark will have a full belly. Once you settle into that pocket, the difficulty with the squid is how passive the turns can be. There are back-to-back hide turns to just get through the deck and hopefully make the perfect hand. Such patience may not be for everyone. It wasn't for all my opponents.

 Shark definitely has options and feels more active from the start. It's just a matter of weighing priorities against the pressure of a ticking clock. I appreciate the extent to which Mr. Robinson imbues Kelp with the personalities of his characters. This sea teems with idiosyncrasies.

ALGAE FOREST

 Kelp is every bit as intriguing as I hoped it would be when I listed it as one of GenCon's most anticipated games. I have never played a game like this. I'm really excited to see the final production - the prototype is nice (even the spare Lego shark is adorable). I am interested in the campaign and any possible future announcements.