Tabletop Tuesday - Happy Salmon

POUND IT! POUND IT! HAPPY SALMON! HAPPY SALMON! HAPPY SALMON!

To the uninitiated, that sounds really really untoward. But for those of us who have been lucky enough to play Happy Salmon from NorthStar Games games, it brings a smile to your face. A word of warning, this is not a quiet game or a game for the overly shy. It is a game that rewards excitement and punishes timidness.

Each player is given a stack of cards the cards have four commands, Pound It, High 5, Reverse and Happy Salmon. The goal is to get rid of all of your cards first. You give a read set go and you try to match another player who is trying to get rid of the same card, and you have to act out the card do discard it. So pound it is a simple fist bump, high five is super self-explanatory and reverse means you need to physically move where you are standing around the table. Sitting is really not recommended. And lastly the games namesake the happy salmon. Players clasp each other’s arm and then make flap their hand like a fish tail. All the players are shouting all at once so it’s very chaotic and super loud. Which is pretty fun.

Would I recommend playing this in a hotel late at night? Do you want to meet your neighbors, then maybe? But it is perfect to play in a common area of a hotel. Fun for kids … and adults. A great game to play at camp with scouts or even as an activity with scouts at one of their meetings. When I would have by Tiger scouts (1st graders) play it they loved the action and no one really cared who actually won the game.

One of the more fun games that I have played all year.

NOTE: I was given a copy of Happy Salmon by NorthStar Games for use in facilitating this review, but as always all opinions are my own.