MIA #11: Fleet Fins (Flotte Flosse)

Fleet Fins (Flotte Flosse)

• designer: Reiner Knizia
• publisher: Haba
• date: 2003
• BoardGameGeek rank/rating: not ranked/6.15
• age: 4+
• # of players: 2-4
• print status: OOP
• cost: $21.60 (FunAgain.com)

Disclosure moment: I played this one just over three years ago at Gulf Games... and wasn't particularly impressed. Then last year FunAgain had it on sale and I picked up a copy for Collin... and I was forced to revise my opinion.

The game itself is a standard speed/recognition game (along the lines of Barnyard Critters) with a quirky little adaption - since the players are hunting fish, they use fishing net to "catch" the fish. However, you don't want to catch fish with teeth - they bite, you know - so it's not only a matter of finding the right fish but also of making sure he's a friendly little fellow. There's also a fisherman for you to net (his is the only card that appears multiple times in the deck).

So, one player flips the card (usually the adult playing), everyone hunts for the fish, someone slaps it with their net & claims the card (if he's friendly) or loses a card (if his teeth are showing). Play to the end of the deck.

You can see why I was underwhelmed the first time out. But then I got to play it with my just-turned-4-year-old & the genius of the game became clear. This is a game that he can do well at... and at the same time engages his imagination with the very cute cartoon-y fish pictures. We've had to train him not to shout out when he saw that the fish we were looking for has teeth - he was so busy getting it right that he didn't realize he was helping the rest of us as well.

The age recommendation is spot on, btw. His older brother (8) is still willing to play this one, which gives it a reasonably long lifespan for a kid game.