Matthew BaileyGames that are basically just Uno are pretty much dime a dozen these days, but it’s rare that a game comes along which plays in a similarly accessible way while significantly upping the complexity and being a much better game to boot. Today we are going to be looking at Otter, which fulfils that criteria in spades.
In Otter, you are trying to get rid of all the cards in your hand by playing them onto one of the three otters in the centre of the table. Each otter has a head card and a tail card, and these create the rules for what cards can be played there. Head cards relate to numbers, such as playing a higher card, a lower card, an even number, or a number close to the current one. Tail cards relate to the cute symbols on the cards. It’s a simple system to understand, and even younger players with a bit of help can work this out.
At the start of the game, everyone is dealt ten cards and three otters are set up in the middle of the table with a starting tummy card between a head and a tail. Players then take turns clockwise. On your turn, there are two phases. First is High Tide, where you may draw up to three cards. For every card you draw, you can either flip one of the otter heads or tails to its opposite side, or swap the position of two heads or two tails. This allows you to change the rules currently in play before you start placing cards. At first, the idea of choosing to add cards to your hand feels a bit counterintuitive, but when you realise that by setting up a strong play you may pick up two cards but then lay down four, ending up with a net negative… which is positive… you know what I mean.
After that comes Low Tide, where you must play cards onto a single otter. The card played has to follow at least one of that otter’s current rules. If you can continue playing cards that still follow the rules, you may keep going and play multiple cards during the same turn. Your turn ends when you either choose to stop, cannot legally play another card, or play a card that breaks the sequence.
Now this is a rare bit on Little Board Gamers where normally in a review I never deviate from the rules of the game, but in this case, out of interest, we did try a few games removing that restriction and letting you play your cards anywhere, and we actually preferred playing like this. It sped up the game slightly, but also meant your switching and movement of the heads and tails could be that much more strategic, potentially allowing for some huge combos. Again, this is 100% not in the official rules of the game, but it would feel amiss for me not to mention it.
When you run out of cards, the round ends and you take a Lucky Stone if you do not already have one. Everyone then refills their hand back up to ten cards, keeping any cards they did not manage to play. The otter heads, tails, and tummy piles remain where they are for the next round. If you already have a Lucky Stone and empty your hand again in a later round, you win the game. The two-player game uses the same system, but you need two Lucky Stones before winning.
The whole thing plays really well, and the feeling of joy you get when you manage a big combo is really quite appealing. The artwork is lovely, everything is well made, and everything, ever importantly, comes in a really small box, which is always a win when space these days is at such a premium, especially with what I am assuming is everyone’s ever-growing board game collection.
There is also some maths and numeracy going on here, so for people looking to push their kids into some simple arithmetic and number recognition as a little boost, this has also got that going for it as well.
Overall, Otter is a really nice card game that I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed. It takes the concept of a deck-shedding game much like Uno, ups the complexity, and is a much better game because of it.
Disclaimer: A copy of Otter was kindly provided by the Charming Games Collective via the UKBG Review Circle.
