Review - Shoal

 This review originally appeared as part of my '500 Games in 1 Year' series which can be found at Instagram or on Tiktok

****SHOAL****

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pre-release copy of the excellent ‘Shoal’ game from Molinarius Games lately and managed to get it to the table recently. This is a 2-4 players tile layering game, designed with ease and simplicity in, but whilst also retaining a decent level of strategic play and planning. 

Essentially in ‘Shoal’, over 10 rounds you are attempting to score the most number of points by constructing a ‘Shoal’ with various fish whilst obeying 4 key placement rules (which are nicely displayed on the side of box for ease of reference!). The placement rules, and the game itself, is very easy to teach, and within minutes of opening you will deep into your first game!

The game will vary from time to time as you have to draw one scoring objective card for the whole game that will really determine how you score the vast amount of the points on offer.  These are all straight forward and easy to understand.

Younger players will relish the theme and simplicity of the title, and you will be able to have competitive games with both adults and young ones at the table. 

In essence, whilst Shoal doesn’t do anything particularly new, it takes key concepts from classic mechanics and produces a fantastic tile laying game that is quick to learn, quick playing and provides endless hours of fun. It also comes in a nice portable sized box which will be ideal for taking around the various places we will visit this summer!

Recommended!

8/10