Whale Riders at a Glance
| Game Type Animals & Transportation Theme, Contracts, Hand Management, Market Race, Kickstarter (crowdfunded) | Play Time 30 - 45 mins | Skill/Complexity (1.8 - 5) Light |
| Age 8+ | Publisher(s) Grail Games | Published 2021 |
| Categories Family | Players 2 - 6 | Cost $29.99 approx. |
| Our Rating 8.6/10 |
About Whale Riders
I’m always interested when a new game designed by Dr. Reiner Knizia becomes available. He has designed some of my favorite games, and the primary aspect of his game design that always hooks me is that he manages to implement a very simple set of rules to allow for some very interesting and engaging gameplay. His games tend to be easy to teach and can be quick to jump into, and during your first couple of turns I might think, “Is this all there is?” But then as I experience the game arc unfold, I often find myself blown away at the cleverness of his design and end up thinking about that game for quite some time after it has concluded.
Whale Riders is one of his latest games to be released, published by Grail Games and illustrated by the legendary board game artist Vincent Dutrait. This incredible board game trio – Grail, Knizia, and Dutrait – unfortunately has come to an end as indicated in a recent Tweet by Dr. Knizia due to some behind-the-scenes quarrels. As a result, Grail Games will no longer be printing or publishing their Reiner Knizia catalogue – (spoiler alert) news that made me thankful I had picked up a copy of Whale Riders when I had.
In Whale Riders, players set sail down the Ice Coast on their whales, acquiring and trading goods along the way and attempting to acquire the greatest number of precious pearls in order to win the game. However, a winter storm is on the horizon, and players must decide how much they wish to tempt fate – do they drag behind and collect more goods, or do they speed ahead to try and beat the storm?
Best Suited for Families & Seasoned Gamers
Whale Riders is definitely a game that was designed with families in mind. The theme is a fun one and appropriate to players of all ages, and the game’s beautiful artwork makes for an impressive table presence and will easily draw people in, which is always a good quality in an entry-level game in my opinion. While this game could be played in casual settings with family and friends, this is also a game that seasoned gamers could also enjoy, especially gamers who know and appreciate Reiner Knizia’s design.
Skill/Complexity (Lightweight)
This game is very light-weight on the complexity spectrum (1.88 on BoardGameGeek), and would be a very quick and easy game to teach to a wide range of players in terms of age and gaming experience. On a player’s turn, they perform two of five very simple actions:
- Move their whale rider forward one space
- Buy one tile
- Take one gold coin
- Discard contracts
- Fulfill contracts
As mentioned earlier, however, despite being very simple in terms of rules complexity, the game does offer some very challenging decisions and also has two modules that players can throw in if they would like some added level of decision-making – one that gives players unique powers, and another that gives players achievements to work towards that provide bonuses. For experienced gamers playing this game, I would recommend playing with these even during your first play.
Gameplay and Insights
I will admit that I am a little burned out on the “gather different types of resources and then trade them in for completing contracts” idea in board games – we’ve seen it countless times at this point and whenever I see it in a game at this point, I am not usually excited. However, Reiner Knizia has managed to even take this simplest and generic of gaming concepts and add in some very cool twists that still managed to make this game feel fresh for me.
The main idea of the game is that you are moving your player piece down the coast, gathering resources, and trading those in to fulfill contracts in your hand which in turn give you bonuses. Once a player has reached the end of the coast, they turn around and make the journey back. The entire objective of the game is to collect the most pearls, which players can acquire at different spots along the coast, by fulfilling objectives, and also by purchasing an abundance of them once they have completed their coastal journey.
The tricky aspect of the game, is that once you move forward, you can never go back – an aspect I always really enjoy in games. Players decide how quickly they want to move forward, and how long they would like to stay on their current spot (there is no requirement to move your whale forward on your turn). However, there are a couple of influential factors that in particular make the game very interesting:
- How quickly other players are moving their whales down the coast – I am always a huge fan of games that give players some sense of control of how quickly the game moves along, which can make the game feel very different depending on who you play with and different playing styles. In this game, there is a benefit to staying behind or moving ahead to keep yourself apart from other players so that you aren’t competing for resources at any given space. However, you don’t want to be left behind, because the first player to make it back to the top of the coast will have access to all of the pearls for sale, and the whole point of the game is to have the most pearls – everything else is essentially worthless and only a means to obtain pearls through acquiring money.
- Storm tiles – As players purchase tiles from different spaces, they draw new ones out of the bag to replace them. Included in the bag are storm tiles which essentially clog up the board and make goods more expensive (as players buy less expensive goods, the storm tiles will shift down the market and new tiles drawn will be more expensive, since the cost of goods increases from left to right). This makes for a really cool game arc in the sense that in the beginning goods are plentiful, but toward the end they become more expensive, especially on the return journey home. However, the focus toward the end of the game becomes less on acquiring goods and more on trading those goods for coins by fulfilling contracts and ultimately purchasing a bunch of pearls at the very end.
Versions/Editions/Expansions
There is currently only one edition of Whale Riders, and there will likely ever only be one edition unless this game is reprinted by another publisher at some point in time. There is also a Whale Riders: The Card Game, which features the same artwork but is actually a very different game (this will also be a tough game to find in the future, so if you would like to pick one up you should probably act quickly).
Player Count
At 2-6 players, I could see Whale Riders being a game that plays decent at all player counts, but I would say 3-4 players would probably be the sweet spot. With only 2 players, the board will be a little too open and with less pressure to move forward; with 6 players, the game might feel a little chaotic with tiles constantly being snatched up. I think with 3-4 players, the balance of access to tiles and competition would be just about right. It’s worth noting that I’ve only played with 3 players, but I am fairly certain my assumptions would be correct here.
Likes & Dislikes
There is definitely a lot to like about Whale Riders, but here is a quick summary of my favorite aspects:
Simple rules, yet interesting decisions – As mentioned earlier, I love that this game is super simple to teach, yet allows for players to interact with the game in different ways that will keep it feeling fresh and interesting depending on who you play with.
Very quick turns/low downtime – I love it when games constantly make players say “Oh wow, it’s my turn again?” and turns in Whale Riders are that fast. With only two simple actions on a turn, things move pretty quick. And since the decisions you make on any given turn aren’t that complex, the game doesn’t really pose any kind of risk for analysis paralysis.
Player pacing – I really enjoy the fact that the pace at which the game moves along in Whale Riders is determined by the decisions that players make. If a player wants, they could technically race down the coast one their first few turns or so, buy/trade some resources on the way back, and then have exclusive access to the pearl market at the end. This would speed the game along and force other players to have to adapt. I really like the fact that this game forces players to watch what other players are doing, how quickly they are moving along, and then adjust their own decisions accordingly. The fact that the game includes the storm tiles does ensure that players can’t hold back for too long and must move forward, thereby eliminating the possibility for the game to become too dragged out.
Artwork – I can’t not mention the beautiful artwork by Vincent Dutrait. It really brings the game to life and it’s difficult for me to imagine the game without it.
The 2 included additional modules – These are both solid additions to the game. Without them, the game is a very lightweight family game, but adding them in gives enough depth and flavor for experienced gamers to be satisfied.
I just have a couple of potential cons to note here for Whale Riders:
Generic feel of buying resources/fulfilling contracts – Despite the fact that Reiner Knizia added in some unique twists that keep Whale Riders a fun and engaging experience, to me, the buying goods and fulfilling contracts is the most generic part of the game. That being said, the game is really geared toward the family gaming setting, and I don’t think most casual gamers would recognize this aspect of the game as something that has been overdone in other games. This is a minor con for me because the parts of this game I really enjoy make this aspect not matter so much.
No solo mode – This isn’t a big con for me, but some people might be disappointed that there isn’t a solo mode. I would have loved to see one, but this doesn’t make the game less of a “buy” for me.
No future content/may be difficult to find – As mentioned in the intro, due to the behind-the-scenes disagreement between Grail Games and Reiner Knizia, this game and any future content that may have been originally planned will no longer become available beyond this first printing. It’s a shame, because I would have loved to see some additional modules/expansions for it. This could potentially limit its replay value as time goes by.
Final Thoughts
I am very glad that I was able to receive a copy of Whale Riders by backing the Kickstarter in 2020. It is a lot of fun to play, and with its simple rules and quick-moving gameplay, I can see this continuing to be a game that I introduce to other players for quite some time. And despite the fact that there won’t be any additional content for this game for the foreseeable future, I think there is enough in the base game with the two modules to keep the game fun and engaging for multiple plays and also with different kids of players.
The bottom line: If you are looking for a beautifully-illustrated family-weight game with a unique theme and some clever gameplay – and you can get your hands on a copy – Whale Riders is a game that is worth at least trying out!
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