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You are a whale. More accurately, you are a group of Baleen whales and you are hungry for Krill.
In Go For The Krill, 2 - 6 players control a group of whales made up of a hand of cards numbered 1 - 10, a squid card, and a penguin card. Your goal is to play a card each round to consume a school of Plankton (or the more valuable Krill) cards that correspond to the numbered whale card you played. If two or more players play the same number in a single round, the cards are moot and the players gets nothing!
Players place a single whale card in front of them face down. All whale cards are revealed simultaneously and scored. After 12 rounds, players total the number of Krill and Plankton cards and the player with the most points, wins.
—description from the designer
- Solid drafting and set-collection loop for a light-cab game
- Pleasant components and theme; family-friendly humor
- Can feel random at times
- Whale/recall effects can be frustrating if mis-timed
- Simultaneous drafting and hand management within a dynamic discard/recall system.
- Undersea world with krill, a giant squid, and an emperor penguin.
- Whimsical, family-friendly
- Goon Nuts for Donuts
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Moderate interaction / take that flavor — Whale mechanics move cards around, affecting opponents.
- Set collection / score optimization — Collect piles by matching numbers; discard pile interactions affect future rounds.
- Simultaneous Reveal — Players reveal cards in unison; unique-numbered cards grant control of piles.
- Simultaneous reveal / drafting — Players reveal cards in unison; unique-numbered cards grant control of piles.
- Special cards with discard/recall effects — Giant squid and emperor penguin alter card flow—squid recalls a card; penguin grabs non-spooked cards.
- Take That — Whale mechanics move cards around, affecting opponents.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Who's going to argue against a stuffed whale wearing a tie?
- It's just a five out of 10 for me.
- This is a game in which you are simultaneously selecting and trying to take cards in the middle, outguessing your opponents.
- I like Mosaic. I’m giving this game a seven out of 10.
- Life is a cooperative game and you are placing tiles on a board trying to get them all in.
- This is a giant rolling right game where instead of just getting a small sheet, you are getting a large sheet here.