Sail
Designed by: Akiyama Koryo,Kozu Yusei
Sail is a co-operative two-player trick-taking game where players are trying to sail their ship to safety around a series of islands, past storms, and most critically of all, avoiding the deadly Kraken…
The board sits between the players and of the three suits of cards, the Kraken deck is given the 1s and 2s and the rest of the cards (3-9) are shuffled and players are dealt nine each before play begins. Sail’s procedure is simple: one player leads a card and their partner does likewise, following suit if they can, and the winner leads the next ‘trick’. When one player wins their fourth trick, the round is over – assuming you haven’t won or lost in the interim!
But your progress isn’t about numbers but symbols. Every card has a symbol on it and together with your partner, you’re making symbol combos that – usually – cause things to happen on the board. Wheel symbols move the ship forward one space. Wheel symbols with a tentacle move the ship, but at a cost: causing damage from the Kraken. Other combos allow you to add cards to the Kraken deck, which is absolutely pivotal to your survival: if it runs out, you have lost the game. And for the Kraken, damage is dealt by shedding cards from its deck, which is not particularly large to begin with!
One last thing: once a round begins, it must be played in silence – there can be no communicating between you about your cards. If you can make it to the finish line without the Kraken stopping you, you win the game. If not – you lose! Sail has various set-ups from the reasonably-easy ‘learning’ scenario to the nigh-on impossible odyssey from one side of the board to the other. Additionally, each player has a Pirate card in each game that gives them, and them only, a special power. In a game of tight margins these can be critical, so choose and use wisely!
Sam says
It sounds compelling, it looks lovely (if a bit murky on the card colours, especially for anyone blue/green colourblind) and I do like trick-taking games. But I tried Sail four times and it didn’t do much for myself or the people I played with – it’s a clever design I think, but the gameplay is so mechanical and reference-heavy that we found it hard to feel engaged in the drama or narrative, and the puzzle was a little too admin-heavy to feel it was enough by itself. It does have its fans, however, and has proved popular enough to merit a legacy-style sequel.
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Take That!
Players are working together, but the game itself will target your ship, of course.
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Fidget Factor!
Extremely low. There are only two players, you must follow suit if you can. When you can’t, your options do expand a little.
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Brain Burn!
The task at hand is sailing your pirate ship to it’s ultimate destination, so the objective is clear. Managing it is the tactical challenge of combo-ing with your partner and utilising your pirate abilities as much as you can. Chiefly, you need to keep cards in the Kraken deck!
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Again Again!
There are different set-ups, different Pirates to try out, and of course the randomness of the cards themselves.
