Kelp is a two-player asymmetrical game where one player controls a crafty octopus and the other plays as a pyjama shark in their natural underwater habitat. The game combines hide and seek mechanics with bluffing and manipulation, featuring both deck building and dice bag building elements as players engage in this predator vs prey encounter.
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The Verdict
based on 13 reviews
Bower's Game Corner enthusiastically praises "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" as a fresh, exciting, and excellent asymmetrical two-player game, noting its deep strategy, balanced gameplay, unique theme, and top-notch components. The reviewer considers it one of the best two-player games they've ever played.
The reviewer highly praises Kelp: Shark vs Octopus as one of the best two-player games they've played recently, highlighting its asymmetric roles and deep strategic depth that offers a satisfying, brain-taxing experience.
The reviewer praises "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" as an excellent two-player game, highlighting its tense cat-and-mouse gameplay, effective deck and dice building mechanics, and replayability. They appreciate the distinct experiences of playing both the shark and the octopus, noting that games are quick and often come down to the wire.
The reviewer highly praises "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" as a tremendous asymmetrical game, noting its approachable rules and simplistic mechanisms that still offer deep tactical play, and highlighting the cleverness of both the shark's dice mechanics and the octopus's bluffing.
The reviewer praises "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" as an excellent asymmetrical two-player game, highlighting its engaging deck and dice-building mechanics, the exciting cat-and-mouse gameplay, and its strong replayability.
The Dice Tower reviewers, including Tom Vasel, found "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" to be a highly enjoyable and tense asymmetrical two-player game. They particularly praised the distinct gameplay mechanics for both the shark and octopus roles, highlighting the engaging cat-and-mouse experience.
“Kelp is just as intriguing as I hoped it would be when I listed it among my most anticipated games of GenCon. I have never played a game quite like it.”
The reviewer found Kelp to be a charming and well-balanced asymmetric cat-and-mouse game with engaging mechanics, despite minor issues with the Octopus's limited deck-building options and the potential for games to drag.
“While it lasts, however, there’s something good and primal here. Kelp offers a more immediate hidden movement game, one that thrums with its hunter’s cold blood in place of the cold calculations that usually dominate the form.”
The reviewer praised the asymmetrical concept and production quality of Kelp: Shark vs Octopus, finding it enjoyable to play again. However, they noted a heavy luck factor with the shark's mechanics that could make it overpowered and would not personally buy the game, though they felt expansions might improve balance.
The reviewer generally enjoyed "Kelp: Shark vs Octopus" and would play it again, appreciating the asymmetrical concepts. However, they found the shark's dice-rolling mechanic could introduce an unbalanced luck factor, potentially making the shark overpowered, although expansions might help mitigate this.
The reviewer found Kelp: Shark vs Octopus to be an enjoyable asymmetrical game with great production value and unique mechanics for each player, but noted that it felt somewhat unbalanced in favor of the shark without expansions. While they would play it again, they wouldn't personally purchase it.
“Ignore my rating, you lovers of hidden movement. If you want a lighter, faster-playing Mind MGMT, Kelp is here for you.”
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