Seaside is a game that features only wooden tokens, and being lightweight and super portable, can be played everywhere. Bring it along on your next adventure!
The sun is shining, as a light, salty wind sends cottony clouds scudding across the sky. Sandpipers filling their bellies with strange insects, crabs hiding under piles of rocks, seashells washed up on the sand, curling waves that break along the beach. Nature in its simplest beauty.
One token at a time, create your Seaside with the elements the sea sends your way. The goal of the game is to have the highest stack of tokens.
How to play:
Put all tokens in the Bag and mix them up. The Play area is divided into 2 spaces: The sea (central area) and the Seaside (area in front of each player)
On your turn, draw a token from the Bag, look at it secretly, choose the side that interests you and apply its effect. Once you have chosen the side of the token you'd like to play, it will remain like that for the rest of the game.
Once you've applied the token's effect, your turn is over; pass the Bag to the player on your left.
There are two types of tokens:
Tokens with a blue design are thrown into the sea
Tokens with a white design are placed on your Seaside
If you pick a token with a blue design and throw it into the sea, you immediately take another turn. Your turn ends when you pick a token with a white design and put it on your Seaside.
The key to the game lies in the interaction among the various elements of Seaside’s ecosystem. The Sandpiper allows you to fetch Isopods from the Sea. The more Beaches you have, the more Shells you can collect from the Sea. Having one Rock does nothing, but the second one you place allows you to collect all the Crabs from the Sea... and even steal one from another player! Finally, Waves wash across the Beach tiles and flip them over.
As soon as the bag is empty, the game is over. Stack up all the tokens from your Seaside, and the player with the highest stack wins!
—description from the publisher
- compact footprint
- quick to teach
- weight estimates varied in the video
- Sea Salt and Paper
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile placement — placing tiles to build shoreline/boats
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this here's the wildest game in the wilderness if you're wearing hats and sunglasses best remove them
- Isle of cats is 5.1
- actual weight of cosmic frog is 4.2 lb
- the physical weight of war of the ring is 6.3
- Prodal Club amazing game amazing game
References (from this video)
- Excellent quick filler
- Easy to teach and universally approachable
- Pattern emphasis may not appeal to heavier gamers
- pattern-based scoring and stack progression
- set-collection with tokens; quick rounds
- light, breezy filler
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- end-of-round scoring — Scores occur based on collected tokens with simple decision thresholds.
- set collection — Players collect tokens and build stacks to maximize end-round scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We've talked about this one a ton. This is the filler game we pull out the most.
- Sea Salt and Paper is addictive and a very, very good production.
- It's super quick. It's super simple. So, you could teach this to anyone.
- Castle Party is awesome. I love that freaking game.
- My Shelfie is essentially like Gamers Connect 4.
- My ideal game day is a big one, a bunch of fillers, and then maybe one more big game.
- Captain Flip is awesome. I love that freaking game.
- The video is chaos.
- We would love to know in the comments below what are some filler games that you love.
References (from this video)
- Cute components
- Quick gameplay
- Family-friendly
- Not great at two players
- Limited strategic depth
- Token collection
- Beach/ocean environment
- Push your luck
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Push Your Luck — Draw tokens and make strategic choices
- Token Collection — Collect and stack tokens with different abilities
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We are trying to get through as many of the games released in 2024 that we have as possible
- We're trying to do a better job at playing more games this year
References (from this video)
- Waterproof
- Compact
- Easy to learn
- Travel-friendly
- Token collection
- Outdoor/Beach
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Token drawing — Pull tokens and choose action side
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Here are five games you can play in those situations.
- Some of them are even waterproof.
- Most of them don't take a lot of space and all of them are quite easy to teach.
References (from this video)
- accessible and quick
- great beach-game vibe
- high luck factor
- replayability may feel limited
- push-your-luck with stacks and timing
- beachside casual environment
- beachy and breezy
- Sears Catalog
- Panda Royale
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- push-your-luck / stack building — Players pull and stack wooden tokens; biggest stack wins.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- break breaking news I really do got breaking news
- it's a co-op family game this is it this is it
- the box art sold me the cards were cute and colorful
References (from this video)
- table presence and portability
- light and quick to play
- high luck element
- replay may feel limited
- pure push-your-luck stacking
- coastal resort vibe
- light and breezy
- Panda Royale
- Seaside-esque light filler games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- push-your-luck and stacking — Draw tokens and stack them to create tall piles; the largest stack wins.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- break breaking news I really do got breaking news
- it's a co-op family game this is it this is it
- the box art sold me the cards were cute and colorful
References (from this video)
- easy to learn and quick to play
- travel-friendly packaging
- versatile; couch-friendly and no-table-setup scenarios
- some interaction may feel fiddly for new players
- scoring can hinge on disc stacking, which may surprise first-timers
- light, beachy collection-game vibe
- coastal seaside locale with beach-themed elements
- whimsical, breezy
- Dorf Romantic
- Pollen
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- end-of-game stacking — scoring based on final stacked discs per player, with stacking order impacting totals.
- set collection — players collect discs with imprints (seashells, crabs, waves, etc.) to maximize point total.
- trigger-based take-from-others — certain disc types and timings let players steal discs from other players.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a beautiful little production
- it's just such a fun little quick game
- it's adorable it's very chill
- it's the exact same idea in pollen you're going to be placing out tiles
- you surround that bug and whoever has the most of that bug type wins
- it's basically Tetris in a board game
- there's no winning or losing this game it's the same kind of thing as romantic
- the production is incredible
- it's very easy to teach
References (from this video)
- Portable
- Simple rules
- Quick gameplay
- Unique tile-flipping mechanism
- Somewhat confusing rules explanation
- Collecting beach items
- Beach/Ocean
- Light push-your-luck
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Push Your Luck — Draw tiles and decide whether to keep or return them
- set collection — Collect various beach items like shells, crabs, and waves
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Not enough Real-Time games especially at a strategy level
- I've never tested positive for COVID or crabs
- We're basically Good Morning Pinball Society now
References (from this video)
- Playable anywhere, even in sand
- Simple to teach
- Portable
- Unique gameplay
- Not the most complex game
- Collecting sea creatures
- Beach
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Push Your Luck — Filling the sea with creatures hoping to draw the right token
- Token drawing — Draw tokens from a bag, choose which side to use
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- A holiday is not always the best time to be playing a game when you want to be swimming in the pool or lounging at the beach.
- The true type set experience is playing this game once with naive optimism and ending up with a mess of a board
References (from this video)
- Beach-themed
- Portable
- Sturdy components
- Token collection
- Beach
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Push Your Luck — Draw tokens from a bag, collect specific combinations
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's a must have for Lord of the Rings fans but can be enjoyed by all
References (from this video)
- Beautiful production and tactile components
- Accessible for families and new gamers
- Juggling tokens could feel abstract to some players
- Replay variety depends on token distribution
- coastal economy and exploration with a light, table-ready feel
- coastal retreat with wooden tokens and collectable actions
- family-friendly, approachable
- Sushi Go (token drafting vibe)
- Other light drafting titles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / resource management — Tokens enable actions; players manage a small pool to trigger high-value plays.
- token drafting / token management — Players select and resolve actions using wooden tokens, building strategies over rounds.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is ridiculous
- I came home with a copy of that as well
- face dropping Tom Bassel there
- I'm a sucker for a gimmick
- it's basically deduction like clue mixed with trick taking
- look at that butt now
- this game's going to blow your mind
- blueprints of Mad King Ludwig
- a really cute Christmas thing
- I'm pumped for the retail release of this