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Game Info
Year
1993
Collection
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
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Description
Also known as 'Rette Sich Wer Kann' ('Each Man for Himself') and often times referred to as 'The Lifeboat Game,' this pure negotiation game puts a different spin on the typical ocean catastrophe. There's been a boating accident, and a rag-tag group of six lifeboats is trying to make its way to one of several islands just over the horizon. However only one boat will make any forward progress in a given turn, so players try to convince everyone to vote for his particular favorite. To further complicate matters, the sailors can't seem to decide which boat they want to be in, so they're constantly jumping out of boats to swim to another one. As if all that wasn't enough, one of the boats springs a leak each turn. If the boat is at maximum occupancy when the leak occurs, then players vote to decide who to toss to the sharks!
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Lifeboats - 6p - The Rules
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video W99KKot8_oU
Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69255 · mention_pk 165677
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- A lot of fun
- Accessible rules
- Hilarious negotiation aspect
- Good for late-night convention play
- Underrated game
- Can be played with new players easily
Cons
- Can be frustrating when one person is targeted repeatedly
- Slightly too long
- Component quality may not be great in newer versions
Thematic elements
- Survival at sea
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Captain Cards — Special cards that allow players to influence outcomes or make decisions.
- negotiation — Players negotiate and influence each other to vote or make decisions that benefit them or harm opponents.
- player elimination — Players can be eliminated from boats, and boats can sink, leading to potential player elimination from scoring.
- set collection — Players aim to get their pawns to shore to score points, implying a form of set collection or objective completion.
- Voting — Players vote on which boat springs a leak or which boat moves forward.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I tried never to be the person speaking out against someone very often
- you really are just picking on me here
- if you want to score points you need to get a red home
- it's called winning though
- you're not competing with me and Martin
- the alliance is wow you really are just picking on me here
- I literally can't wait I literally can't wait
- if yellow moves here it's 17 points for yellow Black's going to get voted
- I don't think I have to play Captain
- the strategy was to try and go on the same boats as Ken
- you have to be willing to talk some trash sit back you know and get what's coming to you
- Ken it's funny you say that because part of my strategy at the beginning of the game was to try and go on the same boats as Ken smart man
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video uz96Rv3z0dA
Rules Teach at 0:13 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69256 · mention_pk 165678
Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging negotiation and voting mechanics.
- Tense survival theme with a clear goal.
- Interesting 'jumping ship' mechanic.
Cons
- Potential for player elimination.
- Complexity in understanding all the rules for sinking and elimination.
Thematic elements
- Survival and escape from a sinking ship in lifeboats.
- A sinking ship, the Majestic Santa.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control/placement — Boats are placed on a board with specific spots and Crest shapes, and players place their pawns (officers and sailors) into these boats.
- Card Play — Players use cards, including special 'Captain cards,' to influence votes and actions.
- negotiation — Significant discussion and negotiation occur between players to reach decisions on game actions.
- Player movement — Boats move along a track towards islands, and players can 'jump ship' between boats.
- Push Your Luck — Boats can sink if they accumulate too many leaks relative to the number of people on board, adding a push-your-luck element.
- set collection — Reaching islands with officers and sailors earns points based on their type and the island's scoring parameters.
- Voting — Players vote using cards to determine actions like which boat gets a leak or which boat moves.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- So we're going to be placing our boats out um in turn order and there's a black neutral boat um that Craig will place out in this spot here
- The captain cards cancel out an action
- if there's more leaks than people like pawns on board the whole boat sinks
- if you can't jump in you're dead
- everybody's swapping positions
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 7IxVe7snZDQ
Watch It Played Interview at 10:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64812 · mention_pk 158344
Click to watch at 10:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- works really well at conventions
- so Cutthroat and mean
- absolutely fantastic classic
- looks lovely
- components are really nice
- so much fun
Cons
- losers of votes are thrown overboard
Thematic elements
- Survival at sea
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- player elimination — The Losers of those votes are gonna be thrown overboard
- Voting — lots of voting happening
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- High Society is a fantastic card game if you're trying to collect the different cards that get you points something multiplier points however some of them have your points or some of them are negative points
- all of a sudden everyone is not bidding to take the card everyone's bidding not to take the card I love those twists in games
- Cursed Court is just marvelous
- it's quick like fun fast but one of the best kind of like bidding deduction games almost in a way a lot of bluffing that goes on
- I'm not the biggest lover of mean games with the caveat being if it's a small light fun fast game then yeah mean is fine because the experience is short but if it's a long big game I struggle with like a big long Euro game that's mean
- the biggest way to deal with mean board games for me is the expectation going in
- hey just so you know this is a really mean game and I want you to play as mean as possible and I'll do the same because that sets up the expectation for the evening
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video fiEeGFVZK84
No Rolls Barred Discussion at 0:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11874 · mention_pk 34789
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong cooperative tension and communication cues
- Appeals to players who enjoy mechanism-based cooperation
Cons
- Can be lengthy if discussions stall
Thematic elements
- Resource allocation under crisis, teamwork, and decision-making under pressure.
- Cooperative survival scenario aboard lifeboats that must be allocated efficiently.
- Crisis-driven, with emphasis on collective problem-solving.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- resource allocation — Players allocate scarce resources to ensure survival of the crew.
- Team coordination — Group decisions shape the outcome, rewarding effective communication.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the board game league six
- they're going to earn different numbers of victory points
- our finale Cosmic Encounter
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video bJ5RjGXJsrs
BoardGameBollocks Discussion at 1:59 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6388 · mention_pk 18863
Click to watch at 1:59 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fun social interaction
- clever voting mechanism
Cons
- can be ruthless depending on players
Thematic elements
- leadership, sacrifice, and rescue decisions
- maritime survival with votes and social dynamics
- social deduction-lite with voting tension
Comparison games
- The Resistance
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- player elimination — players vote to push others overboard; balance strategy and compatibility
- vote/auction for elimination — players vote to push others overboard; balance strategy and compatibility
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- probably the greatest party game of all time
- it's a betting racing game
- this is basically one huge massive rondell of a game
- I hate painted miniatures
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dzNM4yXf7b0
No Rolls Barred Playthrough at 0:48 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 2792 · mention_pk 8136
Click to watch at 0:48 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- highly social and interactive
- funly chaotic; strong table dynamics
- short rounds with escalating tension and dramatic reveals
Cons
- can become mean-spirited or spiteful
- tie-breaks and captain's hat usage can feel unfair
- depends on active player engagement; can stall if players disengage
Thematic elements
- survival, negotiation, and betrayal under pressure
- sea survival after a shipwreck; boats leaking and people being thrown overboard
- humorous, tense banter with sharp social play
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- captain's hats — each player has three captain's hats; playing one can instantly win a vote if alone, but multiple hats cancel each other out
- Hidden Information — cards are played face down and revealed to determine the vote outcome
- negotiation/deals — players negotiate deals to influence votes, though deals are not binding
- risk of sinking — a boat sinks if leaks exceed sailors at end of phase, eliminating all on board
- variable voting weights — sailors, mates, and officers have different voting weights affecting outcomes
- Voting — rounds include multiple votes to determine which boat springs a leak, which sailor is thrown overboard, and which boat moves forward
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a very mean game so I just before we start I want to make sure that we're all friends
- the leaks might happen in which case people might have to be thrown overboard
- we're going to start with determining a first player
- Captain's hats... if only one is played during a vote then the player who played it instantly wins
- there's just no more room on this floating door
- the game rides on this
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6