Kuroshio
- Board's Eye View
- Apr 25
- 1 min read
Kuroshio is a compact, small-box game from Icerain Lin and Icerain Games/Taiwan Boardgame Design (TBD) that takes its name and theme from the warm current in the Pacific Ocean that attracts a great many fish and, therefore, a great many East Asian fishermen. There's a solo/solitaire mode but the competitive game takes 2-4 players, with a playing time of around 30 minutes.
The game is played on a randomised layout of initially mostly face-down sea cards. Players start off with a card in hand and, on your turn, you play that card face-up and take the face-down card you replaced. The revealed cards show routes which players can take with their fishing boats. They also show fishing grounds and/or markets. Visiting the fishing grounds earns you the corresponding fish but to fully realise the value of your catch you'll want perodically to visit the relevant market spaces. These let you flip your fish tokens for the numerical value on their reverse.
Tho' gameplay is simple, there are strategic decisions to take over which catches to trawl for and when to take them to market. There is also some sharp interaction as players are able to collect and use whale tokens to exhaust a fishing ground. At the end of the game, the player who has the most of a particular species/colour of fish gains all unclaimed fish of that species - so there's a competitive majority-control aspect running alongside the set collection scoring.
