Captains of the Gulf

The first time it came out, I passed it by because it had not left a good impression on me. But when the Kickstarter for the trilogy’s second entry, Crescent City Cargo, pressed all the right buttons and the bundle showed up at a good price, I took the bait too. Besides, it is difficult to resist the idea that I have a fishing boat that is, obviously, my baby.

Everyone takes charge of their own boat and tries to build an honest livelihood by fishing and selling their catch. The flow runs through a rondel system that is interesting but also fairly dry: your options are constrained, so you need to squeeze them properly to gain an advantage. It does not let you improvise casually; it demands careful planning and a bit of finesse, especially when the sea is not doing you any favours.

Its nicest idea is the re-seeding of the sea, which gives the fishing some life and stops the process from becoming completely mechanical. Interaction mainly comes from everyone operating under the same constraints and chasing the efficient opportunities, rather than from anyone pulling another player’s nets. That is where the good captains show themselves: in rough waters, at the winches, and in whether they can turn a profit from a system that gives very little away.

It is not a bad game; it has good mechanisms, and I would happily play it two or three times. I just cannot easily see anyone becoming thrilled by it. Its biggest obstacle is learning it: the rules are thoroughly hostile to the reader, and their examples, while not incorrect, are impressively useless precisely in the difficult cases. Find someone who already knows it to teach you, and your first trip out to sea will be much calmer.