Transparency is an important thing in life.
Checks and balances to prevent the prime minister isn’t redirecting the nation’s state pensions into his own account or being open that, yes, you did zoom ahead through the next series of Succession before your treachery is discovered ensures accountability for all our actions.
But too much transparency rather ruins all the mystery. Maybe it’s probably best we don’t all personally have a detailed rundown of precisely how everyone’s individual tax was spent, down to the minister’s personal secretary ordering a third dessert (a crème brûlée) with their meal, or that your life partner spends £100 a month on feeding the next-door-neighbour’s cat (it looks too skinny).
We need something to keep us all on our toes. Just enough to murk the waters.
So here we get to the tabletop game bit. the above, in a roundabout way, is the promise of Romain Caterdjian and Anthony Perone’s Dive, except instead of government corruption and relationship white lies, we turn to the ocean’s depths for a sense of uncovering what lies beneath and living on the edge.
Dive’s USP is its transparency. In the sense that it’s main board is close to see-through. Players take turns as divers taking part in a time-honoured island tradition to reach the furthest depths without coming to the attention of nearby sharks. Whoever gets down, deeper and down discovers their village’s sacred stone, which has been cast in the water.
To do so, each diver must predict what’s coming on their journey to the seabed. Opaque sheets acting as the ocean are placed in a pile: before taking a turn each player inspects the depths and secretly logs their guesses as to what’s below. Predict a shark correctly and you get to proceed further, fail to do so and your turn ends there. As well as correct guesses, points are accrued via turtles on tiles where a successful guess has been made.
So, depth perception is key, alongside a stick-or-twist mechanic: if you’re unsure on deeper tiles, you can spend ‘guess’ points closer to the surface to ensure you get more turtle power there.
It’s a game that looks like a game that requires a lot of explanation at first glance, but is enjoyably simple after a couple of goes. And one that doesn’t outstay its welcome, either.
Its uniqueness is not lost on E, either. My daughter is instantly drawn to its nature theme, it’s cleverly designed components and its glittering waters. It’s something that taps into the curious whatever their age.
What else to say? Well, this package is a thing of beauty. Alexandre Bonvalot’s artwork jumps out of the box, first through its cover art, then a well-organised insert with various critters that feels like the bottom of the ocean, right through to the transparent ocean sheets and its creatures.
It’s a game that makes you want to get in the sea. Until you remember that you live in Britain, it’s cold and, thanks to laissez-faire light-touch environmental regulation, the waters surrounding our island are currently filled with more human excrement than water. Little transparency, both metaphorically and literally. Maybe we do need some more after all.
Game facts and stats
Age
8+
Year first published
2021
Publisher
Sit Down!
Designer
Romain Caterdjian and Anthony Perone
Player count
1-4
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“I like it’s really clever cos we can only see six or seven layers below the transparency top.”
Is it tricky?
“Yes, quite. When we’re into the deeper end if we make just one mistake we’re out of the game.”
Is there another game this is similar too?
“Maybe Carcassonne, cos it’s also quite calming.”
9/10
My review
Set-up time
Fairly simple after first use. The holder for the ocean sheets can be placed straight back in the box without pulling it apart. A bit of shuffling and it’ll unpack in a couple of minutes.
Price
First-hand, about £20-£23
Practicality
It’s in a surprisingly tiny box, which is compact. The only downside is when placed on the shelf side-up, most pieces will come out of their designated place. But this is a minor quibble.
Fun for parents
There’s more scope here as a family game than on a game night, though even then it will act as an easy-to-teach gateway title for newcomers, or as something to play in between games. But it’ll be one that parents will want to play with kids over and over again.