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Still, those event cards - and everything else in the game, for that matter - play host to amazing artwork. Much like the Disney Villainous board game(another entry from Ravensburger), they're rendered in a beautiful, painterly style. That attention to detail extends to its deliberately washed-out 1970s color palette, wooden 'meeple' playing pieces, and the abundance of references you'll find throughout. A great deal of care has gone into this adaptation, and it feels distinctly premium as a result. In Jaws, each hero gets a different set of abilities and limitations but with a shared objective, and the shark plays in a completely different way. The heroes need to work as a unit to communicate their plans and abilities. Only one can collect barrels, only one can carry them easily, only one can fire them at the shark. They also have a selection of abilities to coincide with these, but communication is key! The last thing you want is for each beach to become a bikini buffet for the shark! Alternatively, if you're after a more hands-on experience hunting sharks and saving the folk of the '80s, Jaws the board game, developed by Prospero Hall and published by Ravensburger, is a superb alternative. The game features asymmetrical teams, is for 2-4 players and plays in around 45 minutes! Gameplay The heroes now need to kill the shark, like in the Jaws movie. Dependent on how well they did at preventing locals from becoming lunch, they’ll receive item cards to help them. They do a range of things, centred around hindering and slowing the shark. Their goal is to get the shark to zero health.
Leave it to the design studio Prospero Hall to resurrect this 44-year-old film in a new cardboard format. This group of designers has been responsible for recent hits such as Horrified, Jurassic Park: Danger!, and even the Funkoverse Strategy Game. They design mass-market titles that bridge the gap between gaming hobbyist and random Target shopper. Choosing a less desirable breaching point for more evasion was wise in our case, as the humans managed some fantastic dice rolls! It doesn’t matter how ripped a shark you become in Phase One, a machete to the head can still cause an awful amount of damage. Inevitably, you’ll have less and less choice as you decimate the boat, and the humans will be more and more cornered. Your shark ability cards will also be very circumstantially used here, but the right one at the right time can give you more of an edge when needed! Final Thoughts On Jaws The barrels, iconic of Jaws, aren't wasted by the humans when spent. They act as beacons to identify when the shark has been in that area and can help identify where the shark is. However, loading them up and collecting them is a hassle, and by the time you've loaded every area up the shark may have a belly full of Speedos! Victory is sealed when the heroes perish or the boat sinks! These points also have stats for the shark, determining its evasiveness and damage it will do. Sometimes it’s too tempting to not go for the big hits!
Game details
For a game that looks to be a cat and mouse-esque film port, this is fantastic. There is no denying it excellently links to the cult classic, with each card containing a quote from the film. It's impressively designed, and I guarantee your performance in Phase One is not a surefire route to winning. Speaking of, the shark has an equally tough job. The shark needs to stay hidden from the heroes as best it can, not allowing them to find him, whilst also devouring the poor people of Amity Island. If a swimmer vanishes from the board, you can have a solid guess at where the shark is. For a game that looks to be a cat and mouse-esque film port, this is fantastic. There is no denying it excellently links to the cult classic, with each card containing a quote from the film. It’s impressively designed, and I guarantee your performance in Phase One is not a surefire route to winning.
For the second act, you flip the main board. Now you’re on board The Orca, Quint’s vessel. The ship is sinking, like the latter stages of Jaws. (Spoiler alert! But come on, everyone’s seen Jaws, right?) Now the humans have to battle the shark in a tense, tight stand-off. You’ll have to use action and strategy cards to both defend the poor Orca boat. At the same time, you’ll try to defend yourself from the relentless, hungry shark! Listening to the opposition’s justifications for their ideas makes you feel like they’d be better sharks at times, but you can’t necessarily guarantee it. Being the shark is a tremendously unique feeling. A mad one. You can’t describe the thrill of being chased by the people around the table without any limitations. Risks are yours to take, and when they pay off it’s a mad feeling. The temptation to add to the madness is incredible when it’s legal, and stirring the pot is crazy fun. There is no expectation of you to speak at all, but any smile, time taken, or flinch sparks outrage. The shark must eat as many swimmers as possible to gain strength. When the shark has two barrels, or has eaten so many swimmers, the game moves on to Phase Two. Phase TwoRavensburger and Prospero Hall are on a roll at the moment. Alongside Disney (and Marvel) Villainous, they’re releasing all the pop culture hits. Jaws is a one-versus-all kind of game, like Scotland Yard, Whitechapel, or Fury of Dracula. One to three players play as Brody, Quint and Hooper. Meanwhile, one player takes on the role of the villain-of-the-piece shark, itself!
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