REVIEW OF Shipwrecked
I love a game that has a bluffing factor to it. I really stink at such games, but they are so much fun to play that I disregard my shear horrible play. Shipwrecked (Out of the Box Publishing, 2002 - Matthew Kirby), promised "Bidding, Bluffing, and Survival", and I was intrigued. Of course, the simplicity of OOTB games often leads to some great enjoyment, so I had high hopes for the game. Featuring great artwork by John Kovalic, and some other nice components, it promised to be slightly more advanced than most OOTB games.
And it did not disappoint - Shipwrecked plays quickly, has a great bluffing aspect, and is simply a lot of fun to play. It's best with four players (immensely so) and involves a lot of second-guessing that might turn some people off, but all those I played the game with enjoyed it. It's an interesting game, and it takes a few moments for some folk to wrap their head around the paper-rock-scissors mechanics of the bidding; but once the game gets going, it's smooth flowing fun.
Each player takes a set of "bid cards" of their color. These cards include three "Pass" cards, two "Stop" cards, and one "Strike" card. Players also get a certain amount of gemstones, according to the number of players, with the remainder of the stones placed in the "bank". A pile of twenty-four resource cards is shuffled and placed face down, next to the game board. The game board is divided into a grid, with six numbered rows and four columns. Each row (starting with # 1 at the bottom), has a number of gems next to it - with five next to # 1, four next to # 2, etc. One player is chosen to go first, and the game is ready to begin!
On a player's turn, they first collect income for every resource card they currently own (none at the beginning of the game.) Each resource card has an income of zero to two on them. The player then puts a resource card up for bid, either any of the resource cards in the bank, or the top card from the resource stack. This card is put face up in the middle of the table, and all players will compete in an auction for the card. If the card happens to say "hidden resource" (there are four of these cards in the deck), then the player turns the next resource card over, and it is auctioned off without the players knowing what it is.
Each auction takes place the same way. Players choose one of their six bid cards and place it face down in the # 1 row on the board. If anyone places a "stop" card, they may (they don't have to) announce that the bid is stopped. If no one does this, then players play another card in the # 2 row. This continues until one player decides to stop the bid in any row (if they played a "stop" card.) The bid is automatically stopped after the sixth row.
Players, once the bid is stopped, turn over the last row of cards to see who won the bid. The way to determine who won works thusly…If one, and only one person, plays a Strike card, they win the bid.
If two or more people play Strike cards, they cancel each other out.
If one, and only one person, plays a Stop card, AND no one plays a Strike card, they win the bid.
If two or more people play Stop cards, AND no one plays a Strike card, then they check for a tie breaker. Each player involved turns over all other cards that they've played. The player who has played the most Pass cards wins the tie. If this still results in a tie, all players must pay the cost of the card, and bidding starts completely over for the card.
The winner takes the resource card, paying the bank the amount of gems shown next to the row of the final bid. If a player can't pay the cost, they must sell Resource cards that they've already won back to the bank for the "value" listed on the card. (Resource cards have a value of one to five). If a player still can't win the bid, then all of their resource cards are given to the bank, and they are out of the game.
Play then passes to the next person. Each Resource card is one of four types (Food, shelter, water, and friends) and is worth ten to fifty points. When one player has 100 points from one type or 150 points from any type, they win the game!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The cards are all thick, laminated, with the artwork of John Kovalic (of Dork Tower fame) and certainly convey a humorous bent to the idea of landing on an island. The pictures are cartoonish, but I find that the theme fits the game well. The Resource cards are quite large, much larger than normal sized playing cards, while the bid cards are smaller squares. The gems are small glass beads, and the board is a fairly large square board (which I was surprised fit into the box) which holds all the bids easily. The box is the small, flat, square one which OOTB puts much of their games into, and the durable box fits easily onto most shelves.
2.) Rules: The rulebook is the longest OOTB rulebook I've ever seen - clocking in at six large pages. However, that's simply because two and one half of the pages are dedicated to an entire full color pictorial depiction on how bids work. Once players understand how the bidding works, this may seem over the top, but there is absolutely no question once you read over these rules. When teaching the game, I found that a demonstration of the bidding process speeds up the game. Instead of taking one minute to explain like most OOTB games, Shipwrecked takes five. Teenagers and adults both understood quickly…
3.) Winning the bid: Unlike many auction games, it's not always good to win the bid in Shipwrecked. At first, it's probably always in a player's benefit to win every auction that they are involved in, if possible. But money gets tight really quick, and a player can be forced to sell off some resources to win others (which can get annoying). If a player plays a "strike" card at the wrong time, they might accidentally win. This provides a lot of tension to bidding rounds, especially those that are later on in games.
4.) Elimination: There is an elimination aspect to the game, although I haven't yet had it happen in any of the games in which I've played. Some players have come close, but really, there's no need to worry about this. If a player is eliminated, it's because they've bid extremely aggressively and were caught with their pants down. If a player is running low on money, they just have to pull back with their bidding and try to win cheaper resource cards.
5.) Bidding: The whole bidding system is one whole "outguess your opponent" game. In a sense, the game is blind bidding, but players have a little bit of information, watching what resources a player has already won. I like the way a player has to gauge when to play their "strike" card, and when to play the "stop" card. Then, when playing the "stop" card, when does the player declare that the round has stopped? As the price for each resource card drops, players basically play a game of "chicken", waiting to see when they will try to win the card. Often, this happens at the same time for several players - sometimes giving an odd player out the card, or causing the tied players to pay the bank money. Either way, it's an exciting, tense time.
6.) Fun Factor: As I just said in the last point, the bidding is what makes the game fun. Watching as each card comes up, seeing who might possibly win if they gain the card, keeps each bidding round interesting. Players who despise blind-bidding and bluffing may not enjoy the game, but most people will enjoy the game - it's a lot of tense fun in a short amount of time.
I really enjoyed Shipwrecked, as it was a short, fast blind-bidding game that held my attention the entire game. Games can swing back and forth quickly, and most last less than thirty minutes. I think it's a lot of fun, and offers meaningful decisions. Yes, the game probably qualifies as "light", but it's more than just a lark in the park. There are blind bidding games that I think are heavier and better, such as Aladdin's Dragons and Fist of Dragonstones; but when I only have a short time and want to play a game that's quick yet offers good choices, then Shipwrecked is my choice.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
And it did not disappoint - Shipwrecked plays quickly, has a great bluffing aspect, and is simply a lot of fun to play. It's best with four players (immensely so) and involves a lot of second-guessing that might turn some people off, but all those I played the game with enjoyed it. It's an interesting game, and it takes a few moments for some folk to wrap their head around the paper-rock-scissors mechanics of the bidding; but once the game gets going, it's smooth flowing fun.
Each player takes a set of "bid cards" of their color. These cards include three "Pass" cards, two "Stop" cards, and one "Strike" card. Players also get a certain amount of gemstones, according to the number of players, with the remainder of the stones placed in the "bank". A pile of twenty-four resource cards is shuffled and placed face down, next to the game board. The game board is divided into a grid, with six numbered rows and four columns. Each row (starting with # 1 at the bottom), has a number of gems next to it - with five next to # 1, four next to # 2, etc. One player is chosen to go first, and the game is ready to begin!
On a player's turn, they first collect income for every resource card they currently own (none at the beginning of the game.) Each resource card has an income of zero to two on them. The player then puts a resource card up for bid, either any of the resource cards in the bank, or the top card from the resource stack. This card is put face up in the middle of the table, and all players will compete in an auction for the card. If the card happens to say "hidden resource" (there are four of these cards in the deck), then the player turns the next resource card over, and it is auctioned off without the players knowing what it is.
Each auction takes place the same way. Players choose one of their six bid cards and place it face down in the # 1 row on the board. If anyone places a "stop" card, they may (they don't have to) announce that the bid is stopped. If no one does this, then players play another card in the # 2 row. This continues until one player decides to stop the bid in any row (if they played a "stop" card.) The bid is automatically stopped after the sixth row.
Players, once the bid is stopped, turn over the last row of cards to see who won the bid. The way to determine who won works thusly…
The winner takes the resource card, paying the bank the amount of gems shown next to the row of the final bid. If a player can't pay the cost, they must sell Resource cards that they've already won back to the bank for the "value" listed on the card. (Resource cards have a value of one to five). If a player still can't win the bid, then all of their resource cards are given to the bank, and they are out of the game.
Play then passes to the next person. Each Resource card is one of four types (Food, shelter, water, and friends) and is worth ten to fifty points. When one player has 100 points from one type or 150 points from any type, they win the game!
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The cards are all thick, laminated, with the artwork of John Kovalic (of Dork Tower fame) and certainly convey a humorous bent to the idea of landing on an island. The pictures are cartoonish, but I find that the theme fits the game well. The Resource cards are quite large, much larger than normal sized playing cards, while the bid cards are smaller squares. The gems are small glass beads, and the board is a fairly large square board (which I was surprised fit into the box) which holds all the bids easily. The box is the small, flat, square one which OOTB puts much of their games into, and the durable box fits easily onto most shelves.
2.) Rules: The rulebook is the longest OOTB rulebook I've ever seen - clocking in at six large pages. However, that's simply because two and one half of the pages are dedicated to an entire full color pictorial depiction on how bids work. Once players understand how the bidding works, this may seem over the top, but there is absolutely no question once you read over these rules. When teaching the game, I found that a demonstration of the bidding process speeds up the game. Instead of taking one minute to explain like most OOTB games, Shipwrecked takes five. Teenagers and adults both understood quickly…
3.) Winning the bid: Unlike many auction games, it's not always good to win the bid in Shipwrecked. At first, it's probably always in a player's benefit to win every auction that they are involved in, if possible. But money gets tight really quick, and a player can be forced to sell off some resources to win others (which can get annoying). If a player plays a "strike" card at the wrong time, they might accidentally win. This provides a lot of tension to bidding rounds, especially those that are later on in games.
4.) Elimination: There is an elimination aspect to the game, although I haven't yet had it happen in any of the games in which I've played. Some players have come close, but really, there's no need to worry about this. If a player is eliminated, it's because they've bid extremely aggressively and were caught with their pants down. If a player is running low on money, they just have to pull back with their bidding and try to win cheaper resource cards.
5.) Bidding: The whole bidding system is one whole "outguess your opponent" game. In a sense, the game is blind bidding, but players have a little bit of information, watching what resources a player has already won. I like the way a player has to gauge when to play their "strike" card, and when to play the "stop" card. Then, when playing the "stop" card, when does the player declare that the round has stopped? As the price for each resource card drops, players basically play a game of "chicken", waiting to see when they will try to win the card. Often, this happens at the same time for several players - sometimes giving an odd player out the card, or causing the tied players to pay the bank money. Either way, it's an exciting, tense time.
6.) Fun Factor: As I just said in the last point, the bidding is what makes the game fun. Watching as each card comes up, seeing who might possibly win if they gain the card, keeps each bidding round interesting. Players who despise blind-bidding and bluffing may not enjoy the game, but most people will enjoy the game - it's a lot of tense fun in a short amount of time.
I really enjoyed Shipwrecked, as it was a short, fast blind-bidding game that held my attention the entire game. Games can swing back and forth quickly, and most last less than thirty minutes. I think it's a lot of fun, and offers meaningful decisions. Yes, the game probably qualifies as "light", but it's more than just a lark in the park. There are blind bidding games that I think are heavier and better, such as Aladdin's Dragons and Fist of Dragonstones; but when I only have a short time and want to play a game that's quick yet offers good choices, then Shipwrecked is my choice.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
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