Kelp: Shark vs Octopus

I try not to rate new games as a 10 (avoiding the 'new game, ooo shiny must be good' feeling) but honestly I cant think of anything that needed improvement. Very fun, plays amazingly well, clear rules, fun experience! Not sure why people complain about the strike mechanic, it isn't luck based (it can be if you just choose randomly) but the shark is trying to guess what the octopus will play and the octopus is trying to play something useful without it being the one the shark expects.

Kelp is my favorite Asymmetric game. The way it pits a dice builder game against a deck builder game with the hunter and hunted theme really speaks to me. The board presentation is nice and I feel like every mechanic is intuitively related to every other mechanic in a way you would not expect, but makes perfect sense -- it leaves you lots of room to learn, grow, strategize about what to do differently in the future. Every time I play it I learn something new. If you like games of information manipulation and deception, you might just be an Octopus in Kelp. If you like games of probability and deduction. You're a shark.

Ein absoluter Stern unter den 2 Spieler Spielen. Musste mir die Deluxe Kickstarter Edition besorgen. Die Octopus Figur verleiht zusätzliches Selbstvertrauen für den Octopus.

You wouldn't think a shark vs. octopus game would be so intriguing, but it is. The asymmetrical design is great, and it plays so smoothly. Turns are quick, setup is easy--especially once you know what you're doing--and the board and pieces are well-made and just *pretty*.

Hidden movement was done really well, you don't have to reveal yourself but the pressure of the shark getting stronger is always looming, so when is it safe to reveal, gain an advantage, and then slip away? A real sense of hunter vs hunted, and I love the theme.