Quick Look: Last Fish! An All-In-One Competitive Card Game
Designer: Rico Connolly
Artists: Winnie Liu
Publisher: Whiskers
Year Published: 2023 (LIVE on Kickstarter – link at bottom)
No. of Players: 2-6
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 10-60 minutes.
Foreword:
My very first comment has to be about their Discord community. I popped on to chat with their sizable team and was met with the largest I’ve seen to date and was quite active. Nearly 5000 members, close to 800 presently online, and basically instant interaction between myself and their team when I hadn’t even announced my visit. If this is the crew size and level of attention they are going to bring to the Kickstarter campaign, that could be interesting indeed.
I got this in the mail and enjoyed the design and style right away. It’s in a sleek, double-deck box, that is soaked in theme right down to the picture inlay with a thank you message. They have a TTS version that they’ve been play-testing heavily with for those looking to take a test drive. I’ve attached their website below that links to their socials and discord. Now, I’m going to get into the game, and the fireballs.
From the Publisher:
Shoot fireballs. Explore the Great Pond.
Fry your friends, they were fishy anyway.
The tides turn as the magical card game of Whisker legends roars to life! Last Fish! is a tabletop casual card game set in the vibrant world of The Great Pond coming to Kickstarter on February 28th, 2023.
Transform into a swashbuckling Whisker armed with Spells, Curses, and more. Plunge headfirst into dynamic duels, unleash devastating combos with your Attack cards, and fight for survival amongst friends and foes alike! Defend against incoming onslaughts with an array of Items and counter-skills called Instants. Watch your step, though! With every turn comes an unpredictable Encounter card that might reverse the tide, for better or worse.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided the prototype copy of Last Fish! An All-In-One Competitive Card Game. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.
Review:
Initial Impression/Components:
I’d describe the art as “cute”, but it was well done and inviting. I would describe it as “cute”. The cards are colorful, and a firm linen quality. They have unique card backs for quick sorting and recognition of different card types. The rulebook was short and quick – exactly what I’m looking for in a quick skirmish card game. The double-deck box was the style that opens from the top with a firm magnetic close. I did have a major problem with the font size on the cards which was far too small (I’d estimate a font size of 4 for the flavor text, and size 6 for the descriptions). I discussed this with the publisher and recommended it be pushed to at least size 10. The rulebook was also a bit too thin and tore easily at the intersections of its fold lines. I shared that as well.
Favorite:
I thought it was interesting and a good approach that no one can use attack cards on their first turn (each player at the table). This gave everyone a chance to get an item down and take a turn without having one or more of their 3 hearts damaged right out of the gate. This was an easy solution to what would have otherwise been a very big problem.
Least Favorite:
In an odd twist, my least favorite thing, was also the favorite thing of another play tester at the table. I felt there were far too many damage prevention cards in the game which dragged it on a bit. You can nearly always get an item down which will be a shield vs your hearts and you also have damage prevention spells. I would have liked a little more ‘take that’ and a little less ‘nice try’. Another play-tester at the table insisted that was what made the game and it could be over in minutes otherwise. Though I agree with the statement, I’d still tweak it and add more variety.
Mechanics:
– Action/Event
– Card Play Conflict Resolution
– Hand Management
– Interrupts or Cancels
– Multi-use Cards
– Player Elimination
– Take That
– Variable Player Powers (special item pairing)
Rules:
The rules for this title were quick and easy. You get three lives, and it has a last-one-standing victory condition. You’ll have encounters which are like small events at the start of each player’s turn. You’ll also have equipped items which you can have up to 3 at a time and they also serve to shield damage. Last but not least, you’ll have attack and spell cards to do damage to your opponents in your attempt to be the Last Fish!
The rules were on a single folded piece of art paper and were easy to follow.
Areas they did well:
• A full round without attacking to allow players to get set up
• Eye pleasing and enjoyable theme. (Though the fish-people look like cat-people to me, lol)
• Unique card backs
• Nice box and card quality
• Small and portable
• Super fast to learn and play
• Good game to introduce to younger audiences and kids
Areas they could have improved:
• Font size. Easily the area that needs their focus.
• Card variability (remove duplicates)
• Thicker art paper for rulebook
• More damage cards and/or unique spells
• Less ways to prevent damage
• Too little control / luck based
Overall:
The game was alright overall, but it isn’t deep or challenging enough to make it to my table often. I prefer more control and strategy than luck of the draw. That said, it is a decent choice to play with my young children so I may end playing it more than I think. When it arrived my oldest thought it was a gift for her and when she discovered it wasn’t she still stole away with the adorable stickers that were sent with the game. She loved the look of it. I plan to play with her next week and see what she thinks and if she wants to have it to share with her friends.
Final Thoughts:
As a game designer, for the genre and weight it was in, I did like how all items were worth 1 sheild and never had any damage value or things like that. Some had special abilities or effects but for the most part, they had different images and names just for looks. Through things like this, they made it accessible to any audience and could use a single sheet for rules. I did see a few typos and hiccups on the cards and in the rules but this was a pre-launch copy and the final product may vary – I’d check into that. That’s all for this light and quick skirmish game, have a great one and happy gaming!
I’ll see you next time, back here at The Game Table,
Brad Hiscock, aka Zerility
Here’s a link to their Kickstarter page and website:
After reading Brad’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Last Fish! An All-In-One Competitive Card Game will be live on KICKSTARTER until DATE, and has a funding goal of $10,000. Check it out and back it HERE.
Find out more at BGG.
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Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”, is a construction project manager and electrician by trade who was the owner of a 6-time award winning electrical company. His passion for board games has led him from playing hundreds of original titles to creating a design and publishing company of his own, Convivial Games. As an up and coming collaborator on many projects, he is always eager to try new games and meet new people.
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All of Brad Hiscock, aka “Zerility”‘s reviews can be found HERE.
