Oh Crab! Preview
The Crab Shack is a little old place, where we can get together, Crab Shack baby, Crab Shack bay-bee. Crab baby, that’s where it’s at, Ooo crab baby, that’s where it’s at! Was sadly not sung by the B-52’s, because if it was, this would’ve been the perfect introduction to a preview of the board game Oh Crab! Instead, I’m left looking like an idiot, not able to cobble together some vaguely amusing introduction to the soon to be crowdfunded game.
Had I clawsed for thoughts, I might’ve written an introduction that instead of making reference to adapted song lyrics crabbed your attention better. I know many of us are feeling the pinch, so you are probably here to find out more about the board game, so I am sorry for penning such a shellfish introduction.
More about the game
Oh Crab! sees players racing to the sea having avoided being turned into patties at the crab shack. The escapees will have to navigate their hand of cards and the obstacles on the beach to win the game. Optimising shortcuts, avoiding pitfalls, mucking up other players’ plans and playing the right cards at exactly the right moment is the key to success.
Hand management is the most intrinsic mechanic in the game which has a nice twist. You build up a tableau of played cards, adding cards to the left or right of those already played (but not in between). You can gain extra movement or important shell tokens if you can join matching symbols on the edges of the card you play. You may have to discard cards if you move into an obstacle. This most likely will be a result of another player pushing you into it. However, you can always rest when required, to gather all cards back to your hand.
Final thoughts on Oh Crab!
This board game plays two to five players. In terms of age rating, many eight year olds would be able to be competitive so it is great for families!
Oh Crab! is a satisfyingly simple race with a good amount of interaction and strategy to make it interesting. I have thoroughly enjoyed my plays of the game. There is some take that in the game, some will find that a little frustrating, but I think it would be too vanilla without that player interaction and karma tends to level things out.
Although the copy featured here is a prototype, you can already tell the quality of the components. I really like the sectional board that allows for variability in set up. If you can get over the fact the crabs have teeth, then the wooden crabs are characterful and fun! Whatever you do, don’t let the family-friendly bold and colourful artwork mistake you, this game isn’t just for the young. There is plenty of game night fun to be had with this one! Be sure to check out the Kickstarter campaign!
Follow the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smartflamingo/oh-crab
