Kevingston Boardgames. Cambridge, England
Anglepen Jones & Co. Ltd., (1995, Out of print?)
My personal experience of angling consists of avoiding school rugby by dangling a rod and line into Ipswich docks. I'm not sure whether this qualifies me to review this game or not, however, the game claims to be unique, exciting, and not for anglers only, so here goes:
The game equipment comprises a large beautifully painted full colour board depicting a lake with an overlaid grid, six detailed pewter fisherman, two small pewter boats, three packs of cards with full colour illustrations, rules, 45 tiny fish cards, two dice, and some counters. All of the components are of a very high quality.
The fish start off in random positions and the anglers move by dice throws into position around the lake. Another dice throw determines the casting distance although the direction is determined by the player. If a fish is hooked it moves off according to a dice throw in a direction determined by a card. The angler, depending on a dice throw, may subsequently be able to move the fish in a direction of their choice. (This, interestingly, includes the ability to 'push' ). It is then the next players turn.
This sequence of fish move, angler move, repeats continuously until, by more luck than judgement, the fish ends up at the anglers feet.
If a fish stops on one of the hazards (reeds, weeds, lilies, fallen trees) a 'hazard' card is taken and acted upon (typically the line breaks). Similarly there are 'problem' squares which result in the turn of a 'problem' card.
Each fish has a weight (2 to 50lbs plus) on its reverse side which is not known until the fish is caught. The winning criteria can be weight or number of fish caught and Real Enthusiasts can record the name of the lake, the heaviest fish caught that day, etc. etc. in the supplied record book.
There is negligible interaction between players, each player playing a solitaire game against the cards and dice. We halted the game after three hours, having caught half a dozen fish.
The rules could be better, both in terms of logic and presentation. For example, anglers can fish from twigs in the middle of the lake but not from the boats; and 'Rule One' forbids casting over another line, (presumably heinous crime No.1 for anglers, but largely irrelevant to the game), but it's not until you read 'Supplement to Rule Eleven' that you discover how to cast in the first place!
This game is a game of contrasts. The artistic presentation is excellent, but the game is frustratingly shallow, and very expensive. It is the other end of the scale to, say, Railway Rivals. There is great potential here, perhaps with one team playing the fish and one the anglers, but as it stands; unique yes, exciting no.