Come Sail Away! Review
Had air travel never been invented, Frank Sinatra would’ve probably sung the lyrics ‘Come sail with me, let’s sail, let’s sail away’ which would’ve been perfect to link into my introduction for the board game review of Come Sail Away! Ultimately though, air travel has been invented and is rather popular, so thank you early aviators like Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Wright Brothers for absolutely ruining my introduction. Hopefully it hasn’t put you off reading more…
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Setup
To set up, empty all the coloured Meeples into the middle of the table, I arrange these by colour rather than creating a jumbled mix in the plastic tub provided. Then, looking at the backs to ensure player colour, create the shape of a ship by placing the sides, and top. Place the staircase in the middle of the ship and surround this with square tiles, these should be a tile with each of the three coloured doors on, plus a mixture of the other room tiles as per the rulebook. However, the arrangement should be the same for all players.
Place the disgruntled passenger bell boy board to one side. Also place the luggage token on the left-most space on the track below the deck of the boat.
Depending on what rooms are used, place the corresponding number tile on the side board. Shuffle the deck, dealing two cards to each player and place the remaining cards on the same side board. I personally like to count out eleven cards per player and place these, returning the rest to the box as it makes it much easier to know when you have played twelve cards and triggered the end game.
Finally distribute five doors to each player that go along the top of their ship. I try and evenly distribute the point scoring opportunities for these among the players but the rulebook does not dictate that.
You are now ready to play Come Sail Away!
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Gameplay
On your turn you will play one of the two cards in your hand. You will collect the meeples that match the colours on the card and place these in your ship. One of the illustrations on the card will have a suitcase below it, this passenger wants to thematically be taken to their room so they can unpack ahead of their journey. Therefore, if this meeple is placed on a matching coloured door you get to move your luggage token along its track, unlocking bonuses and scoring opportunities along the way. You then place your played card beside your board and pass your unchosen card to the left. Another card is then drawn to your hand and play continues.
Of course, it isn’t as easy as placing your meeples wherever you want, they need to be placed in rooms beside one another in the exact same order as they appear on the card, meeting any restrictions of the tile they are being placed on. Additionally they cannot be placed in the same room as a meeple placed in the same round. The staircase can hold any number of meeples, but only of three different colours. Of course, passengers placed on the grand staircase do not help with scoring. Any meeple that cannot be legally placed goes over to the disgruntled passenger board and will be negative points, if still there at the end of the game.
The luggage track does have a couple of opportunities to move passengers from the grand staircase and disgruntled passenger board which can be a point saviour.
Speaking of points, players will score points for filling a room with the correct passengers. Certain rooms will give additional bonus points to the player or players that complete them first, other rooms will move you along your luggage track instead.
At the end of the game you will add up the points for completed rooms, bonus points for room completion, points reached on the luggage track, as well as left over passengers that are still in a room that isn’t the grand staircase, and then subtract any points for disgruntled passengers to work out your final score. The player with the most points will win Come Sail Away.
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What it’s like
Turns in Come Sail Away! are simultaneous, which ensures downtime is at a minimum. It also means it works at all player counts. Additionally only having two cards to choose between, helps speed up the decision making process. Thus, Come Sail Away steams ahead at quite a good pace. You can sea out a game in about 20 minutes. Puns intended.
I like the placement puzzle this game offers. Moving along the luggage track is vital and so the placement of that passenger is often the starting point for how you distribute the rest of the card. Gaining bonus points for rushing to complete some tiles is good, but finishing a tile will restrict movement around the ship as passengers cannot be placed on completed tiles, so sometimes delaying is more beneficial. Yet you want to complete the rooms for the end game scoring, so it all just adds to the decision making process.
I will say that there isn’t a lot of strategy to this one and it is fairly repetitive in gameplay terms. Whether you get the right luggage passenger has an element of luck to it. Although the person passing you the card can limit your chances of you getting a card you want sometimes too. This adds a pinch of spice for the observant. Generally though you are playing in a solo way, albeit multiplayer. I know that type of game isn’t for everyone.
I think a fifth player could have easily been accommodated and as a family of five that would’ve been most welcome. There is a solo mode though that I have not tried.
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Table Presence
The box art tart in me was delighted by the lid of the box. The signature style of Saashi and Saashi just pops with the block colours. That distinctive look is a little bit more watered down inside the box, but the hints are there and I still really like how it looks on the table. Each passenger colour having its own shape is a particularly nice touch which might help with accessibility.
If you like your board games organised, you are going to be disappointed. Come Sail Away! relies on you just dumping everything back in the box and putting the lid on. I actually don’t mind this, but I know it is a bugbear of many.
The rulebook is comprehensive and probably a little over the top. Come Sail Away is an easy game to teach, but I found the rulebook made it much more complicated than it really is.
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Final thoughts on Come Sail Away!
I’m a big fan of simultaneous play, it just keeps things moving and minimises downtime. It is especially useful if someone at the table wants to overthink their turn. I am also aware that this puzzle really works with my brain, so I particularly enjoy the exercise for my grey matter! However, not everyone will enjoy it as much as me. Half my family love it, but the other half would probably say they are happy to play it, but would never choose it above other things. They have pretty much acknowledged that they don’t think they will ever be able to be that competitive and that puts them off a little.
I have been fortunate enough to play several of the games published by Saashi and Saashi. With the exception of Railway Porters, which was too luck dependent, I have really enjoyed them all. Come Sail Away! is the best game I have played of their titles so far. This game certainly floats my boat!
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Key Facts
Number of players: 1 to 4
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 10+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 10+
Playing Time: 25 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 2 minutes
Designers: Daryl Chow and Saashi
Publisher: Saashi and Saashi
RRP: £38.99
Summary
A delightful filler game that has plenty of puzzle to it. Come Sail Away! is quick and certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome at the table. I’m a big fan, but not everyone I play it with is.
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Fun optimisation puzzle
- Simultaneous play
- Good looking
- 25 minute play time
Cons
- Solitaire multiplayer
- No storage organisation
- Repetitive
- I’m surprisingly good at it!
Need more games?
If you already own Come Sail Away! and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- In Front of the Elevators
- Dice Hospital
- Ofrenda
- Lost Seas
Buy Come Sail Away!
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Reviewer’s Note
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