Shallow Regrets

As you row out under a gray, foggy sky, you have one goal in mind: catch something horrifying and cash in. These eldritch creatures may look unnatural, but they are worth a small fortune if you have the stomach for it. Your line pulls tight, the water churns, and a huge shadow rises beneath the boat. Suddenly, payday feels a lot more terrifying. You are fishing Shallow Regrets.

Judson Cowan designed and illustrated Shallow Regrets, an unsettling eldritch fishing game for 2-3 players ages 8 and up. This Button Shy game takes about fifteen minutes to play.

Setup

Shuffle all 18 cards and deal them into six 3-card stacks called shoals. Make sure at least three shoals show small shadows on top. If not, shuffle a shoal with the largest visible shadow and check again. The most remorseful player goes first.

Gameplay

In Shallow Regrets, players take turns fishing from the shoals. On your turn, draw two cards from any shoal or shoals. Catch one – if you can – then throw the other back.

To catch a fish, compare its difficulty (top right) to your total strength, shown by the hook icons on the fish you have already caught. If your strength meets or exceeds the fish’s difficulty, place it face up in front of you. You can catch only one fish per turn, and all caught fish stay visible to everyone.

Then throw the other card back face down into one of the six shoals. Always return a card to an empty shoal if possible, or otherwise covering a large shadow. You cannot cover a small shadow unless every shoal shows a small shadow on top.

Using fishy abilities

At the start of your turn, before fishing, you may use any number of abilities on your ready fish. Rotate each used fish 90 degrees to exhaust it, then resolve its ability. Once exhausted, a fish stays exhausted for the rest of the game, but it still keeps its other attributes.

After you finish your turn, play passes clockwise to the next player.

The Biggest Haul

The game ends when players have caught all the fish, or when no one has enough strength to catch the fish left in the shoals. Then add up the points (top left corner) on all the fish you caught. The player with the most points wins.

Impressions

Shallow Regrets is easy to teach, quick to play, and likely to lure you into another game right after. Each turn has just three steps: use abilities, draw cards, and throw one back.

Early on, you will want to catch fish that provide strength to reel in bigger catches later. The card backs can guide you, since each gives a hint to the strength required to catch the fish you’ll find.

Using abilities and timing them just right is what makes Shallow Regrets reel. Even with a little luck involved, you will usually have a solid choice between the two cards you draw. And fish abilities can lend a hand when the choices otherwise seem un-reachable.

Shallow Regrets has a smidge of take-that, but for the age range it targets, it’s plenty. Most of the interaction comes from swapping fish with an opponent or sticking them with one of your -1 fish. Even then, a well-timed Moray Eel can prevent that, for at least one turn.

Fun for the Whole Shoal

For an 18-card game, Shallow Regrets packs in plenty of strategy. No two games play the same, and after a few rounds, you start to spot combos and get a feel for when to time abilities. Like other Button Shy games, it’s compact, easy to travel with, and great for small spaces.

Shallow Regrets hit a sweet spot with my son. He’s 12 and a budding fisherman, so the fishing theme and simple gameplay lured him right in. That felt like a win-win. It immediately caught his interest, and I got more time with him at the table.

I loved the art style in Shallow Regrets. It feels creepy with a dash of eerie, but not in a way that would scare kids. It’s more likely to make kids laugh and say “eww, gross” than scare them. All eyes on you, Kelpie.

I was a little surprised it does not include a solo mode, since many Button Shy games do. The good news is there’s a small expansion that adds one to Shallow Regrets.

Ready to cast your line and catch some eerie fish? Grab your rod and reel, then pick up a copy of Shallow Regrets from your friendly local game store or directly from Button Shy.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Shallow Regrets from Button Shy for this review.