It’s In The Name Of The Game: CONSERVAS review

I’ve had a couple or three out of town trips recently. Even though I’m on “vacation”, I still pretty much stick to the same routine. If you’ve ever been to a con with me, you are probably familiar with the fact that I like to get up early, and I become C3PO after 9:00 p, asking if it is okay for me to “power down, sir.”

Since that schedule is not exactly the same as my friends and family, I usually bring a game that I can set up and play by myself in 20-40 minutes. Recently, 25th Century Games sent me a copy of CONSERVAS, a new solo fishing game by Scott Almes, that I was eager to try because of the theme and the production.

CONSERVAS takes its setting very seriously. Everything from the box cover, to the art direction, and to the game play seamlessly tries to integrate you into the real world of hauling the monthly catch of small fish that are packed into little tin cans for sale. Funny, that does’t sound like a theme I would enjoy, but there is something about the bright colors, cute little wooden pieces, and spiral bound game board / book that is very attractive.

For such a small box game, the production is pretty impressive. Instead of a fold out game board, the game comes with a monthly market book, where players can choose the month of the season that they will be fishing off the coast of Spain. Each month carries different objectives to complete for the win, with unique set ups, sets of fishing tokens, and little tweaks to the rules to fit the month’s theme. Some lagniappe? I cannot help but notice the gorgeous artwork that represents each month, with the subtle changes to the background of the ocean or the small fishing village.

But production aside, most solo players come for the game play. I’ll remind you again that I am not much of a solo player; I much prefer being around the table with my wife or family or friends. But, a well done solo game has its pleasures, for sure.

If you are looking for thematic connection in your solo game, CONSERVAS fits. And if you are looking for smooth play but tough challenges, then CONSERVAS is perfect for you. Let’s talk about the game play first.

Players first choose a month to play, and turn to that chapter in the book. I particularly enjoyed February, because it was the first month that I won. In that month, players will try to catch three different types of sea creatures — blue sardines, green mussels, and yellow scallops.

Each round of the month, players will dip into their sea bag and pull out tokens representing the fish and empty waters. Players will do this for the boat and the deep sea ocean tile that they start with, but more tokens can be pulled out once players purchase more boats. Gotta spend money to make money, I guess. Players can not only purchase bigger and better boats, some of which come with monthly upgrade costs, but they can also spend fish from their “catch” to get upgrades for their boats or sell directly to the market for money.

But there’s a catch. (I couldn’t help that one.) Right away, you will notice the twist of the game.

What looked like your standard bag building, economic game, turns into a simulation of over fishing in the Spanish waters of the Atlantic. The game uses the bag building combined with a market board to make that connection. The object of every month, save one notable exception in April, is to fish but also sustain the schools of fish. In other words, you have a goal each month of a certain total of profit in terms of money, but you also must end the month with certain numbers of fish tokens in your bag.

It’s trickier than you think. Generally speaking, the only way to get more fish tokens is to put them in the deep waters, instead of in your catch, because at the end of the month, if two or more fish are in the ocean and not in your boat, they will spawn more fish. Balancing that line of keeping your cash flow steady and getting more boats and upgrades, versus over fishing the waters to the point that you cannot win (because you don’t have enough of those types of tokens) is a tasty little game decision each round.

Unfortunately, I’ve gotten too greedy more times than not. I have succumbed to the danger of a shiny new boat or a cool new upgrade card. Some of those boat and upgrade cards seem so necessary to win — and some of the months require you to purchase extra boats or upgrades, so it is even more of a pied Piper calling you — that it is hard for me to focus on keeping enough tokens in the bag.

I had a month last night when I got really close to winning, but had to make a decision as to whether to go for a big market sale or leave the tokens in the sea to produce more fish. I made the wrong choice. I can still see the disappointed face of my grandfather, who used to love it when my brothers and I would fish with him at his camp on the Mermantau River. He would have wanted me to let those fish spawn.

But I have not always disappointed my grandfather. When I have successfully ended the month meeting all the goals, counting out big stacks of fish out of my sea bag at the end of the game, it is a very satisfying feeling indeed. To me, that is the mark of a good solo game. When I feel a sense of accomplishment for winning, and enjoyed the fruits of strategic decisions along the way, it makes me want to pull the game off the shelf more.

CONSERVAS produces those positive feelings, even amidst the struggle. I’ve enjoyed my time with CONSERVAS and can see myself playing more. I guess you could say that I’ve left some bon temps in the box for the next game session.

Until next time, laissez les bon temps rouler!

— BJ from Board Game Gumbo

** A complimentary copy of the game was provided by the publisher. **