What’s krakening, folks? (Cue the onslaught of pirate puns.)
Beleaguered sailors, plunder-happy pirates, and demented cultists. That’s what’s happening. And a hungry Kraken… but hopefully we won’t have to worry about that.
Feed the Kraken is a hidden-role social deduction game from Dr. Hans Joachim Höh, Maikel Cheney, and Tobias Immich. Five to eleven players will compete for 45-90 minutes in a tense game of negotiation, manipulation, and brazen sabotage. What the creators have done though is craft a social deduction game within the watery illusion of a big-box board game. It’s a mermaid of a game, beautiful and treacherous. It is a beguiling journey that will have you traversing a gorgeous board with very nice components.
Argh you ready? Aye can’t wait.
Sorry, not sorry.
GAMEPLAY
From the Feed the Kraken Kickstarter page
If you want a more thorough explanation of the rules, then check out the video at the top of the article featuring Maikel, one of the game’s creators.
But, overall, the game is a breeze to learn. Playing in person definitely makes things simpler, yet our group of eight were able to play fairly easily over Zoom with one player managing the components on the board.
Each player receives a secret loyalty token at the beginning of the game, as well as a character card that will grant them a one-time ability. Then starts a cycle of captaincy, voting, movement, and event resolution until one side emerges victorious. Either the sailors, the pirates, or the lone cultist (unless they convert unfortunate souls onboard).
The acting Captain selects a Lieutenant and Navigator to help them chart a course and move the ship. Then the entire crew votes either yay or nay on that combination of players. If voted down, a mutiny occurs and the ship’s leadership changes, starting the process all over again. Whenever the trio is not challenged by enough players, or accepted by all, then the three players proceed to secretly look at and choose navigation cards, with the Navigator selecting the final card. The ship moves and then the crew resolves any token that is in the space. It could be a cabin search that allows a player’s secret token to be revealed to the Captain. Or it could be a bloody tongue cut from a particularly mouthy sailor, who must remain silent the rest of the game. And, if the crew is really unlucky, it could be a disastrous encounter with the Kraken that requires a sacrifice. After all, you have to feed the Kraken…
At the top of the board, three zones mark the victory locations for each side. When one is reached, that group wins.
That’s it. I don’t want to parrot (hehe) all of the rules at you.
I played as a pirate, and I had a good time inserting myself in the ranks of the sailors, maintaining their belief in my innocence while trying to subvert their actions and send the ship toward a pirate victory. The things I appreciated most about Feed the Kraken, though, were all of the gameplay elements that I considered after the game was over which could have affected the outcome.
When I let a Sailor remain as captain on a pivotal token that ejected one of my pirate compatriots. A card combination that I should have considered more carefully before speaking to the crew. Other moments in the game when I could have used my character card. All of this involved strategy that was deeper than I am used to in social deduction games.
I think after repeated plays Feed the Kraken will retain a special pull that will make me want to swim in its waters (not my best, I know) again and again. It’s got the interpersonal tug-of-war that can be thrilling with the right people, but it also has a little bit more substance than other games in the genre.
EXPECTATIONS
I could easily see this replacing games like The Resistance, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and Deception: Murder in Hong Kong.
It all comes down to the people you play with. If you know that your friends or family don’t respond well to games that require verbal sparring, subtextual deciphering, and downright lying, then you’ll maybe want to pause before jumping in.
But I really enjoyed my time with Feed the Kraken because the trajectory of the game never felt certain and I get a lot of joy from balancing on the edge of a knife in conversation. Failures can also be just as amusing or rewarding as successes, too, if you have the right outlook.
Here’s the good news: The game has passed its funding goal, so it will move to production and this gun-happy, argument-rich tabletop adventure will become a reality. And by the time fulfillment arrives, maybe we’ll have a vaccine out so all of us can get together and play.
When that happens, I’ll be ready with my bag, my secret token, my character card, and my guns—primed to emerge as a mutineer along with the rest of you.
CONCLUSION
Feed the Kraken anchors (eh?) the social deduction genre with a more substantial physical setting. It delivers pirates, mutiny, and hungry leviathans that lurk beneath the waves. What more could you ask for from a seafaring tabletop game?
I like the interplay between sailors, pirates, and the cultist because it leaves a lot of uncertainty if all of the players are doing well to either deceive or to ferret out the truth. There is a real chance for each side to win all the way until the end and I don’t think it felt as wonky as other social deduction games. While I played on a live stream, I think this is a game that would easily finish in under 75 minutes, which is the right length for an experience that infuses a lot of traditional board game elements on a social deduction game that would normally be light on components and strategy.
It’s got a combination of strategy, deception, and tactile interaction that I find rich and satisfying. I’m very glad this game has fully funded on Kickstarter and I hope it continues to knock out stretch goals in these last two days!
What do you think, though? Is this something that you would back? Let me know in the comments!
