It’s summertime and there are a few words that will get everyone excited: Let’s go to the beach! Grab a surfboard, hit the water and do the best tricks to be the greatest surfer in the land. Today we are going to take a look at a game that does just that!
The Perfect Wave is published by The OP, designed by Jason Mowery and Chase Williams. Art by Patrick Spaziante. It plays 2-4 players in 30 mins.
Overview:
In The Perfect Wave you are performing tricks with sequenced wave cards trying to complete goals. The better your tricks the more points you can score. Outscore your opponents and you are the victor!
Gameplay:
Each player starts with a board to place their cards, a board and wax tokens. In the middle of the game area you place the pier board with the trick cards and paddle out cards as the Maneuver deck and two of the goal cards are dealt to each player as well.
On a player’s turn they will play wave and trick cards, paddle their surfer out, gain wax tokens or activate a public goal. Playing wave and trick cards to your player board is the key element of gameplay here. Wave cards represent the size of your wave, and you want them to go down in number from right to left. So number wave cards need to played in that order and you will score based on the longest run you can make. They can only be placed on the space directly above your surfer or to any space to the right of your surfer token.
Trick cards will let you score additional points for the wave if the conditions above it are met. They can be placed on any empty spaces above a wave space. These can lead to a lot of points when you are playing the wave cards.
Your surfer will need to peddle out to the right to grab the wave, and you will only be able to count the longest run based on where your surfer is. So paddling out is a big part of the game and you need to get that surfer to start as far out as possible!
The public and private goal cards are important as well and will allow you to gain more victory points when you score at the end. The game will progress over players turns where each person takes turns trying to grow their perfect wave and get their surfer set up. Once the last card is drawn from the Maneuver deck the players will each take turns until everyone has equal turns.
At the end of the game players will score their victory points in a number of ways. First by looking for their longest wave and scoring the points at the bottom of those spaces. They will also score sets or runs of 3 or more cards in the wave. Trick cards are scored if the conditions are met. Finally the public and private goals cards are scored as well. The player with the most victory points wins!
Impressions:
The Perfect Wave gives you the experience of lining up a wave and trying to take it to the biggest ride you can. The way the cards are laid out and selected, trying to line up runs, sets and cards in correct order makes it feel like you are preparing for a great ride through the play of the cards. The addition of the surfer trying to make it out far enough to grab that wave is a fun mechanic that balances it out well.
The art leans into the theme as well, with the water and surfer style, the wax tokens and even the long player board gives you the experience of the surfer and sand at dusk. I love this style and fully expect this to be a hit for anyone who loves the rhythm and style of the ocean and the waves.
The game plays at a quick pace, even at full player count we are able to get through games in under 45 mins. It almost feels too quick because you can never get everything lined up exactly how you want it-which adds to the challenge of the game. Deciding where to put your focus in the wave progression, sets or runs and the tricks is part of the fun and one of the best parts of this game.
Overall The Perfect Wave is the perfect addition to your collection and one I expect to see on our table for quite some time. So grab your board, wax and strap in for a great day at the beach when you get The Perfect Wave out for your next game night!
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