Kelp Board Game Review – Shark vs Octopus Psychological Warfare

In the depths of the ocean, vast fields of nutrient-rich kelp grow, supporting an incredible range of biodiversity beneath the waves. Now, with Kelp, designed by Carl Robinson and published by Wonderbow Games, we have a brilliant asymmetric board game for two players that pits a shark against an octopus in a deadly underwater battle for survival.

For me, Kelp quickly became what we call in my house a game of “Where’s John?” One player is the hunter, the other the prey, and both sides create a fantastic level of tension.

Playing as the shark felt methodical and oppressive. I moved around the board building momentum, using my mere presence to pressure the octopus into revealing themselves or, at the very least, forcing them to reposition in order to pursue their own objectives.

Meanwhile, playing as the octopus was pure stress. Every move felt risky, knowing that every card I played could make my opponent know EXACTLY where I was. I had to stay hidden while bluffing just enough to remain one step ahead of the disaster that was an incoming shark attack.

The brilliance of Kelp’s asymmetry is that the two players are not simply performing variations of the same actions. Each side feels like it is playing an entirely different kind of game, and that only enhances the experience further.

Now that I’ve hopefully set the scene a little, let’s talk mechanics.

Starting with the shark, you have a really nice detailed miniature that the octopus player places into one of the four dens surrounding the kelp field sections of the board. On your turn, you pull two dice from a bag containing blue movement dice, yellow search dice, and a single red attack die. Only being able to pull two dice created some tense moments where I got angry at my own ability to pull what I needed from a bag as I was desperately hoping for the exact result dice, and then result that I needed.

If you pull a blue current die, you can place it onto one of the current spaces on the board. These allow the shark to move greater distances using ocean currents. The currents can chain together, but only if the next die value is lower than the previous one, representing the shark building speed as it follows the current of the water. If you don’t pull any current dice during your turn, you must still move at least once. Sharks, after all, are not campers.

If you choose not to place a current die onto the board, you instead put it into your energy reserve. This reserve allows you to purchase powerful one-use upgrade abilities later in the game. Search dice not used also go on the energy reserve and when you have three dice there, you must purchase a card and put one of the spent dice onto the fatigue track.

The yellow search dice allow you to investigate one of the nine grid sections that make up the board. Each section has a yellow and red target value. If your search die matches or exceeds the yellow value of a section adjacent to your shark, you may reveal one hidden token in that area. Even if you discover the octopus, you cannot attack unless you also have access to the elusive red attack die.

Ah yes, the red attack die, or as we began to call it, the “where the heck are you?” dice. There is only one in the bag at the start of the game, and I cannot overstate how often I begged for that thing to appear. Like the search die, it allows you to target a nearby section if the roll matches or exceeds the area’s value. If the octopus is revealed there, combat begins.

Combat is like a game of rock, paper, scissors. Both players secretly choose one of three cards: Fight, Flight, or Flinch. The cards are revealed simultaneously, and if the shark card differs from the octopus’s chosen card, the attack succeeds, shark wins. If the octopus successfully defends by matching cards with the shark player, the shark suffers the consequence listed on the octopus card, such as being thrown back to its den. However, even a successful defence comes at a cost because that defence card is permanently removed from the game. This means future fights become increasingly dangerous for the octopus, shifting from a one-in-three guess to a fifty-fifty chance, and the final combat, if you get that far, being an instant win for the shark.

I got particularly lucky during my first game as the shark. I noticed that several tokens in one lower area were barely being moved by my partner, which made me suspicious enough to position myself nearby. Then, by sheer luck, I drew the red attack die at exactly the right moment. It reminded me a lot of playing Stratego against my other half (it’s one of her all time favourite games), a game I am somehow still undefeated at. Knowing my opponent fairly well by this point, I trusted my instincts on which defence card she would choose — and thankfully, I was right.

As the game progresses, the shark gains access to stronger abilities through upgrades. Purchasing these upgrades adds more dice to your bag, including additional attack dice, which dramatically improves your hunting potential. However, there is a cost. A single dice from an ability purchase is added to your fatigue track, and once that track fills completely, the shark becomes too exhausted to continue the hunt, ending the game.

Playing as the octopus, however, feels completely different.

The octopus uses hidden tokens spread across the nine board sections, only one of which represents your true location. On your turn, you play cards from your hand, usually at the cost of revealing tokens, narrowing your possible location or manipulating your hidden tokens. Some cards allow you to swap revealed and hidden tokens, others help you move unseen, and some let you learn stronger cards from the market.

Most importantly, the octopus must eat to win.

The octopus player wins by consuming four food tokens, though only one begins on the board. Additional food tokens and matching eat cards must be acquired from the market before you can attempt to consume them. Eating pushes you closer to victory, but it also reveals your position to the shark, creating some tense moments where survival suddenly becomes far more important than progress.

I got lucky during my first game as the octopus as well. My partner had worked out exactly where I was hiding, but she only drew current dice during her turn, giving me just enough time to disappear again and reshuffle my hidden positions.

Production-wise, Kelp is excellent. The components are relatively simple in design, but everything feels sturdy and thoughtfully made. The artwork perfectly captures the marine theme without becoming overly busy, and the shark miniature is packed with detail — I fully intend to paint mine at some point. The octopus tiles even remind me of mahjong pieces, with a satisfying weight and texture to them. There’s also a subtle shine to the components that gives them an almost underwater glow.

At its heart, Kelp is a game about information. As the octopus, I spent most of the game creating uncertainty, trying to be everywhere and nowhere all at once, whilst as the shark I was constantly trying to narrow down possibilities and force commitments from my opponent. It almost feels like a game of Battleships at times, except the other player is actively trying to manipulate your expectations.

The biggest downside is the learning curve. During your first game, both players are effectively learning entirely different rulesets and mechanical priorities. Whoever understands their role faster will probably win. In our first playthrough, this initially made the shark feel overwhelmingly powerful. Then I played as the octopus, understood the shark’s limitations better, and suddenly felt the octopus might actually have the advantage instead.

That balance of uncertainty is part of what makes Kelp so compelling. Once both players understand their roles, the game transforms into thirty to forty-five minutes of psychological warfare and aquatic mind games.

Kelp is a great game that I cannot recommend highly enough for two players, it succeeds because it makes tension fun without it being unfair, and a game is quick enough to not make a loss feel like that tension was not fun. So whether you are methodically hunting your octopus prey through a dense kelp forest, or you are trying to be everywhere and nowhere all at once as the octopus, Kelp generates some wonderful gaming moments without ever feeling scripted or railroaded by the mechanics. Kelp is smart, beautiful mechanically and aesthetically and it’s just the right amount of cruel to its players. Exactly as the sea intends.

Kelp is available now, you can find it on Zatu Games.