Review -- FISHFRY

Good things coming in small packages is a well-known adage for a reason, and Fishfry: The Fishing Dice Game is another example of why that is the case.

Fishfry comes in a box about the size of a thick cellphone, so the idea of taking the game anywhere certainly applies. And the box could be smaller. It contains only five specially made dice, and a small folded ruleset.

The dice are nice. They are lightly engraved, so the unique sides should last.

Each dice is the same. One side has the head of a fish, one the tail. Three sides show middles with weights, with the final side a small 'panfish'.

The game is pretty straight forward, over three rolls you are trying to 'catch' the biggest fish. So you need a head, tail, and preferably three 20-pound middle sections.

Roll a panfish, and it gets set aside, and cannot be re-rolled. But, if you roll all five dice as panfish in your three rolls, everybody fries up their fish, losing whatever they had scored. The player with the five panfish rolled wins the game.

You can play it as a single round, or go tournament style, adding up your poundage over several turns, to see who has the most pounds at the end of the game.

Now there is almost zero skill to this game, with the outcome based on dice rolling luck, think Cosmic Wimpout and Yahtzee, but for some mindless time killing who cares.

Fishfry is a game that if you have a cabin at the lake would be ideal for a rainy afternoon. You can teach it to a new player in maybe 60-seconds, or less.

Hunters and fisherman should dig the game too. You could toss this one in the tackle box, or gun case, and play it over a shore lunch easily.

The theme helps this one, and the simplicity of rules, and ease to carry it anywhere makes the 2010 release from designer Scott Westgard one to seek out if you want something light to play on occasion.

Check out this offering at www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/82343/fishfry

If anyone is interested in this game, or other boardgames feel free to contact calmardan@sasktel.net

-- Review appeared in Yorkton This Week newspaper Jan 4, 2012 - Yorkton, SK. Canada