Fish ‘n’ Flip

My love for nature games is well documented. And my preferred player colour is blue. So a marine themed card game focussing on blue hues instantly caught my eye. And I am glad that it did because I am really enjoying FISH n FLIPS!

A solo-able, co-operative or competitive game from their FUN BY NATURE range, the ultimate goal in Fish n Flips is to save as many sea creatures as possible from nasty fishing nets.

Set up is simple – choose 4 of the 8 random species of marine animal and shuffle those cards together (the rest aren’t needed for the game). There are also a set number of trash cards shuffled into the deck (which act as column stuffers and can be increased in number to make the game harder).

Then lay out cards face up into a grid of 4 x 3 (with bubble icons always in the top right corner), setting the others aside as a draw deck. The boat card is set higher in the right most column in row 7, The animals should be facing in different directions at the start of the game. Each player also gets two random action cards and a power card for one of the matching animals in play. The rest of the action cards form a deck ready to be drafted from during the game.

Flipping Heck

Every turn, you play an action card from your hand which will flip or swap certain cards in the tableau. Then, if a group of 2+ of the same animal (including a card that has been flipped or swapped) end up swimming in the same direction, they are free and removed from the tableau. Then, Tetris style, the cards above drop down. If another set is formed as a result of the cards descending, these are also saved (yay!). Each player also has a special power. These give you an optional bonus way to manipulate cards if you are switching and flipping that species on your turn. So e.g. if you free a group of rays, you can free any other rays in the same tow/column. A new card is then added to each column (net) and this drops down to the lowest available position. But note that if a set is formed simply by adding a card at this stage, those are not removed.

When the species deck runs out, the game ends and your score will be how many animals are still in the nets so you want it as low as possible. If a column ever reaches the 7th row, the game is over and everyone loses!

If co-op gaming doesn’t hit the spot, there’s a competitive mode using a 3 x 3 grid (no boat) where players are trying to free the most animals by bidding how many animals they think they will be able to save using one of their action cards. The highest bidder gets to take their action. If they freed the exact number predicted, they get to keep them for scoring. If they didn’t rescue as many as they thought, they gain a waste card, and the freed animals are discarded. If you free more (yay!), the excess gets distributed between the other players of your choice! Two special powers are also available, but they are common to all players. At the end of the round, the remaining cards are discarded and a fresh grid of 3×3 cards are revealed. Animals are worth 1, trash is worth -2, so bid carefully!

In addition, there’s a solo mode and a campaign you can download from Helvetiq* which increases in difficulty (from 1 – 5). With specific tasks, particular animals and more trash types which have their own effects/restrictions, there’s a tactical levelling up in campaign mode.

Final Thoughts

I have really been enjoying Fish ‘n’ Flips and my personal favourite way is solo. I had to do a wee bit of Board Game Geeking to determine the rules a single player game should have (turns out it is 2 power animals and 4 action cards which refill when down to 2)., but once I had that steer I was set. The action cards and comboing power cards increases the need to think ahead, and the efficiency puzzle is really fun. I am mid-way through the campaign and it is indeed getting trickier!

Co-operative is also chilled fun with communication actively encouraged between players. And competitive mode is a different twist on the basic gameplay which I wasn’t expecting. Bidding definitely feels weightier when scores are close and the winning and losing could be determined by doing too well in freeing animals! But for me this game really shines as a solo puzzle. It could be because my husband is a bit of an alpha-gamer in co-op mode. I also like to be the architect of my own victory or demise. But either way, I am having a flipping good time with this game!

I also love the eco-friendly credentials of this FUN BY NATURE series – there are practical tips in the back of the rule book about how we can help stem the flow of marine pollution! And all the components have been made without plastic and using FSC certified components/ biodegradable glue! The colours on the cards are lovely soft hues of blue and green (although colours are generally only relevant to the Octopus special power), and the illustrations are simple but lovely.