Review: Hey, That’s My Fish! is a Strategy Surprise
Ratings: Saunsu 7.5, Rick 7.0, Sarah B. 8.0
Being a serious hobby gamer, I am always drawn to the heavy, table-hog worker placement, resource management, action selection, five-hours-later type of games. Sometimes, though, it is the cute artwork or silliness of a game’s name that can totally draw me in like Hey, That’s My Fish! did. I actually first ran across the game scanning for deals online, but opted out on buying the game at that time. Then recently, lo and behold, Hey, That’s My Fish! showed up in an order that was recently delivered to the cafe. Yay me, now I actually get to try before I buy.
Initial thoughts
The artwork and silly, cute name are quite misleading. Hey, That’s My Fish! is not the cutesy cozy little kids’ game one might immediately think it would be. Once the box was cracked and the adorable game was set up, that is where the cute ends and the serious strategy begins. Make no mistake, whatever you do — don’t underestimate this game and be ready to put your strategy thinking cap on!
Game Play
Hey, That’s My Fish! is a low complexity, grid movement, map reduction style game with a variable set up that accommodates 2-4 players ages 8+, with an average play time of about 20 minutes. Once the game is set up, which varies based on player count, each player takes a turn placing one penguin at a time on tiles with a single fish until all penguins are placed. Once that is done, the real strategy begins. You move your penguin as far as you want in a straight line (no changing direction) and once you have decided on your stopping point, you retrieve JUST the tile that you started your movement from. Game play continues in this same fashion, but once a player is not able to move any of their penguins, they must remove their penguins, claiming the tiles that their penguins were on. Once all players’ penguins have been removed, the game ends and the person who collected the most fish in total wins the game.
Pros
I love the introduction of the tray-style board that keeps all the tiles in place. The little penguin meeples are pretty fabulous as well, and go a long way to setting the stage of the production quality of the game. Really all the components are top-notch and I must 100% commend publisher Plan B Games for having such high quality in a game you wouldn’t initially expect it in. The rulebook is super easy to follow, making it a quick pick-up for any gamer level.
Cons
My only complaint or con is that the game doesn’t last quite long enough.
Closing Thoughts
Hey, That’s My Fish! is strategy at its finest with an adorable theme to boot. If you are looking for a strategy game that can appeal to all gamer levels and types, Hey, That’s My Fish! would be a great addition to any gamer’s collection!
