Background

Last year at Geekway to the West, the local gaming convention here in St. Louis that you have heard me talk about a lot, fellow game designer and past guest on this show, Phill Wamser and I sat down and played this one evening after a long day in the booth. We were surprised by the feel of the cards, but other than that, we played two or three games back to back without really realizing it. As soon as we realized it, we decided we like this elegant game design!

In Sea Salt & Pepper, you are trying to collect duos of animals or boats, collections of sea creatures, and mermaids to score seven or more points as fast as you can to catch your opponents off guard. Push too long and your opponents might score more than you, or steal a card ruining your hand. All of this is beautifully illustrated with origami creations that bring this aquatic world to life!

Rule Clarity

The rule booklet is quite clear. There are not a lot of rules. The scoring examples really help to clear up anything that might need additional explanation.

Time to Explain to Newcomers

The teach on this game is a bit longer than you would expect. It takes about ten minutes. While there are not a lot of rules, they are very finicky.

Gameplay

There are four different kinds of cards. First, the duos. These cards require a matching pair to play. Each pair offers a different bonus when played. Collector cards are worth more as you collect more. One shell card is worth zero, but two are with two points, for example. The Point Multiplier cards are just that. They are with points based on how many of a certain card you have. For example, the Penguin Colony is worth two points per penguin. Lastly, the mermaids are worth one point for every card you have of your largest color. So, if you have four dark blue cards, a mermaid would be worth four points.

With that knowledge, let's look at how to play. You shuffle the whole 58 card deck together. Flip over the top two to form the starting discard piles. No cards are dealt out to players. Place the rest next to the discards for a draw deck. A player has two options, take the top card from a discard pile into hand, or take two from the draw deck. They must select one to keep and one to discard, placing it face up on either discard pile. If a discard pile is empty, it must be played there. Otherwise, the player's choice.

Now, the player can play any duo from hand taking the bonus action. Fish allows the player to draw the top card of the draw pile into hand. Boats give another turn. Crabs allow the player to look at one discard pile and select a card to take into hand. Be careful to keep the cards in the same order. Lastly, the swimmer shark duo. This seems a bit dark and morbid, but I did not make the game. This duo allows the player to steal a card from an opponent. 

Collection and Multiplier cards are not played. They are kept hidden in hand, as are mermaids.

Now, the player can end the hand if they possess seven points or more. If not, play passes to the left. 

There are two different ways to do this. First, simply say STOP. The hand ends and all players score all the points they have.

Or, you can risk it and call LAST CHANCE. The active player announces how many points they have, and each player gets one more chance to exceed that. If the active player is successful, they score all points as normal, plus a color bonus of one point for each different color. Then, all opponents only score their color bonus. However, if an opponent scores more than the active player, the active player only scores the color bonus, and all opponents score full points.

Points are recorded, and a new hand is dealt. Play continues until the specified point total is reached. 2 players 40, 3 players, 35, 4 players 30.

There is another way to win. If a player can get all four mermaids in hand, they win the game immediately. Not the hand, but the entire game. I have not seen this yet. I have seen a player, myself included, have three of them, but never all four.

Replayability

Can I say it has it in spades since it is a card game without a spades suit? You know what? I am going to say it anyway. Sea Salt & Paper has tremendous replayability.  It is quick and light with the right amount of strategy to keep you engaged and want to play more. The first two times I played it, multiple complete games were played in one sitting. Each player count adds a new level of strategy, which makes its replayability even higher. What works in two-player, doesn’t work in three. With more players, you now how to try and remember what other players have picked up.

Component Quality

This is, oddly, my concern. Pandasaurus Games typically has a very high production quality. Sea Salt & Paper, being only 56 cards, has very flimsy cards. To be fair, they have not creased or bent yet, but they do not have a heavy-duty feel to them. Honestly, this is my only complaint. The telescopic box is very thick and sturdy. My guess is, to protect the flimsy cards.

Lunchtime Potential

Sea Salt and Paper lists its time on BGG as 30-45 minutes. That puts it firmly playable in an hour. With the scaling of end game points, the game plays about the same at all player counts. So, yes, indeed Sea Salt and Paper can be played in a lunch hour. You might be able to fit it into a fat half hour.

Artwork

The art on the cards are origami creations of the different animals and people. The attribution reads: Creation amd production of the origami by Lucien Derainne ane Pierre-Yves Gallard. Then, with permission of Tomoko Fuse for the use of the pictures of the shells. The photographer for all is listed as Pierre-Yves Gallard. I love the art. I simply find it beautiful and it fits the feel of the game beautifully. This might ruly need to be seen to be believed. They are gorgeous.

Now, the graphic design is another huge success. In the upper left is a box featuring the type of card (boat, fish, penguin) and a symbol. Each card has a color, for the color bonus. But, with 1 in 12 males and 1 in 200 females being colorblind, ColorADD has developed a color alphabet. These symbols are on full display here. You can learn more about ColorADD at coloradd.net. It is very interesting. In the bottom right, there is a number that tells how many of that card are in the deck.

Other

There is no other at this time for this game.

Expansions

Sea Salt & Paper: Extra Salt

This is a little pack of 8 new cards that have new effects. Extra Salt introduces jellyfish, when paired with a swimmer, causes your opponents to only be able to draw one card, they cannot play any cards, and they cannot end the game that round. The lobster, when paired with a crab, you can take the top 5 cards of the draw pile, select one to put into your hand, then shuffle the others back into the draw pile. The seahorse acts like a wild for any collection. Though you can not exceed the normal limit for whatever collection you put it in. Lastly, the starfish allows for a trio to be made. It is combined with duo in hand and adds plus two points to the trio for three points. However, it does cancel out the effect of the duo. So, be careful when and with what you play these guys.

For the low price, and the added replayability it comes with, this is basically a must have. It adds a little more strategy to the game, and that is always welcome. A last note about Extra Salt: It fits in the base game box nicely.

Bang for the Buck

The original deck of cards retails for $14.95, and the expansion is $6.95. Both are well worth it. The only time that I have only played one game of this was with Edward the night I taught it. It was closing in on bedtime. As I have previously mentioned, the other times have led to at least two games, if not three. It is a very compelling game that you and your coworkers will want to keep playing. 

Summary

Sea Salt and Pepper came out back in 2022. It was a Spiel des Jahres Recommended game, but not a nominee. That is sad, but it is still good to see it getting attention. It is well loved on BGG with a 7.5 with over 14K ratings. The weight is 1.75, and that seems pretty accurate. There is a lot of strategy and deceiving, especially in the discarding part. Do I discard on top of what I need and hope someone takes the card clearing my way? Or do I discard in the pile next to what I need keeping it open? Wait! What did my opponent do? Do I need to cover up their discard?

Edward has become obsessed with playing this game before bed each night. It is infinitely replayable and lovable.  He wishes there was a link to show all the origami that they used so he can make some of them, too! They are that cute!