When two board game-experienced minds like Thomas Provoost, co-founder of Repos Production (7 Wonders, Just One, Ghost Stories), and designer Antoine Bauza (7 Wonders, Ghost Stories, Draftosaurus, Takenoko, ...) start a new publishing house, one can have high expectations of the games. The first game from "PlayPunk" is called "Captain Flip" and was developed by the two authors Remo Conzadori and Paolo Mori, who are also far from unknown in the board game world, designed the game. We tested how good the result of the collaboration is.
A captain is only as good as the crew that works on the ship. This is exactly what the players have to Captain Flip You hire new crew members and place them as cleverly as possible on your own adventure board in order to collect the most gold in different situations.
Flip or Flop?
Whether on a pirate ship, a raft, opposite an octopus or on a deserted island: nothing can unsettle real pirates. They know exactly what risks they can take. At least most of the time...
The gameplay of Captain Flip is extremely simple. Whoever is next draws a piece from the bag. This happens in such a way that you only see one side of the piece. You can now decide to place the character shown on the front on the adventure board. Alternatively, you can turn the piece over. The character that is now visible must now be placed.
There is not much to consider when placing them. You simply choose the bottom field of any column on the adventure board.
Then you activate the immediate effect (highlighted in yellow) of the tile, if there is one.
If a person fills the fourth column of their adventure board, the current round is played to the end before the final evaluation takes place. All end-of-game effects (highlighted in grey) are now activated. If someone has three or more female gunners in their crew, they lose immediately. The person who has collected the most gold with their crew wins.
In each game, you can choose one of four adventure boards. Each offers different layouts and effects when certain columns are filled.
Information about Captain Flip
| Number of people: 2 to 5 people plus solo mode Age: from 8 years Playing time: 20 minutes Difficulty: Family game Long-term motivation: very good Classification: Tile laying game, Push your luck Game idea: Remo Conzadori, Paolo Mori Illustrations: Jonathan Aucomte Publisher: PlayPunk; Distribution German edition: Asmodee Official Website: Captain Flip Year of publication: 2024 Language: German Cost: approx. 25 euros |
Conclusion
If you were looking for a definition for family game or casual game, you could simply Captain Flip show. Everything is perfect for the target group. A slim and simple set of rules, great cartoon graphics and a short playing time of 15 to 20 minutes make the game playable for practically everyone.
You might think that the game is not suitable for frequent players (especially long-term). But they really put a lot of thought into it and developed the various adventure boards, each of which has its own feel. The different bonuses and requirements of the individual columns mean that you always put the characters together differently. I still like the game after more than 50 games (some on boardgamearena) has not become boring yet. It is perfect as a nightcap.
The only drawback of the game, in my opinion, is the material. The adventure boards are not very thick and I am also unsure how durable the character tiles really are. Another factor that becomes relevant here is the bag. For the amount of tiles, it should really be a bit bigger. So you basically just have a "lump" of tiles in the bag that cannot be mixed.
Visually, the material is top-notch. The cartoon look beautifully implements the theme. The icons on the individual characters are also very well chosen. After a few games, you'll have internalized all the effects so much that you won't need any references anymore.
The game also offers a few tactical options. However, you should always remember that the luck factor is very present here. You make sure to keep as many options as possible open for the different characters and work with the tiles you draw.
Overall is Captain Flip a game that is extremely versatile despite, or perhaps because of, the very simple game concept. Thanks to the different adventure boards, it can also be convincing in the long term and offers entertaining and fun for both casual and family players as well as for frequent players.
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