Oh Crab!: Buzz Review

Information:

Mechanics: Racing, Deck Building, Modular Board.
Player Age: 8+
Player Count: 2 - 5 Players
Time to Play: 40 - 60 Minutes
Game Designer: Bartosz Szopka, Bartłomiej Zielonka
Game Artists: Radosław Jaszczuk
Publisher: Smart Flamingo Games
Year Published: 2024
BGG Complexity: 2.0
Disclaimer: A preview copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Basic:

Oh Crab! Is a racing game where you aim to be the first crab to reach the sea. To do this, each turn players simultaneously select one card to play face-down. Then in clockwise order, starting with the player with the chef marker, you are adding the chosen card to a personal tableu of connected cards. This can either be to the right or left of previously played cards, it cannot be between existing cards. In any order you can activate any and all actions on your played card, moving your crab closer to the sea.

If you play the 'Rest' card, after you resolve your current turn you gain a new card for your hand out of the three cards in the marketplace and then discard and re-draw all your cards back into your hand. Knowing when to rest is a core part of the flow of the game.

Unique:

When adding a card to your engine, the important part is to match the half illustrations on the side of the cards. This creates additional forward, side, or other movement, and can also award you shells.

Shells are a crucial element of the game. They can be gained through combining cards or being the first to reach them on the board. Shells can be spent on the three actions available at the side of the board. These will allow different benefits or additional movements.

Zig-Zag:

Oh Crab! Is a racing game so of course there is a high level of board interaction between players. The main focus of this interaction is pushing other crabs. If you move into a location occupied by an enemy crab, you are able to push that crab in one of the three foward directions. This becomes pivotal in two parts. One, you can push an enemy player into a hazardous location causing that player to discard a card or gain other hazardous effects.

Two, you can set yourself in a position that forces opponents to push you along for the ride, gaining momentum through closed-off areas.

Zone:

- Unique hand building that focuses on gaining more actions through combining the side actions on cards.

- Modular map setup.

- Cards will be discarded for costs and penalties so your engine will be reconstructed differently between rest turns.

Oh Crab! is an easy back for me and has earned a rating of Kickstarter approval. This game consists of a combination of mechanisms that I already enjoy and has a good amount of unique additions. At its core, it is a racing game with a modular map setup and is focused on hand-building gameplay. The most interesting mechanism is how you build your engine between gaining new cards. Every time you play a card that isn't a refresh, you are adding a card to the engine in front of you and gaining anywhere between 1-3 new actions for your crab. The core component to this engine building comes from combining the side actions of the cards. This can open up more movement or gain the player additional shells. I often found myself adding cards to my hand that supported previous side actions instead of being focused on the main action of the card. If you enjoy racing games with great modularity and an engaging game flow, then Oh Crab! is a game for you. Click here to go to the kickstarter.