SNAP Review – Captain Flip

Ahoy there! I be fixin’ to get the most treasure.

My crew will find the most treasure!

Aye? I’ll flip ya for it.

That’s why they call her – Captain Flip!

Game

This is a SNAP review for Captain Flip, a fast-playing tile game for 2-5 players.

Captain Flip was designed by Paolo Mori and Remo Conzadori, and it’s published by Play Punk. The box says it’s best for ages 8 and up, and it plays in 20 minutes or less.

Art

Let’s start with the art in this game.

Captain Flip was illustrated by the same artist who did Peek-a-Mouse and POW!, two other games we’ve reviewed in the past. He also illustrates comic books, and that influence is very apparent here.

The art is colorful and strong, and, let’s face it, a little wacky. The different crew characters on all the tiles really have a lot of personality.

The player boards are pretty good-looking too. There are four options and each one is very different, with details that tell a story without using any words.

And these are some of the nicest cardboard coins I’ve ever seen in a game for kids.

Mechanics

But what do we do with those coins? How do we actually play Captain Flip?

The goal of the game is to collect the most treasure – by building your crew.

Everyone takes a matching player board, and whoever gets lucky enough to have the pirate flag on their board goes first.

On your turn, pull a tile from the bag, and set it down or hold it so that you can only see one side.

Now, you have a choice to make – do you want to add this crew member to your boat – or – do you want to flip the tile and see what’s on the other side?

If you flip the tile, you MUST use the side you flipped to.

Once you’ve decided, choose one of the five columns on your board, and place the tile on the lowest space that’s still empty in that column.

Each of the characters does something a little bit different:

• Place the Cartographer on your ship to get the treasure map. Any turn where you possess the map, you take a coin.
• The Navigator immediately grants 2 coins for each Cartographer already on your board.
• Get five coins immediately whenever you place a Gunner in your curew – but if you have three or more Gunners on your board, you’ll automatically lose the game.
• Place the Cook in a relatively-full row, since he gives you a coin for each character in the row when you put him down, including himself.
• The Monkey gives you a coin immediately, but then you have to flip a tile adjacent to the Monkey – and apply its effects.
• Place the Parrot to immediately draw and place another crew tile. But each Parrot still on your board at the end of the game makes you sacrifice a coin.
• The Lookout and the Carpenter give coins at the end of the game – but only if they’re positioned correctly.
• And you’ll want Swabbies in multiple columns to get lots of end game coins.

(I love that set collection.)

That is a lot – but don’t worry. There’s a few of these super handy player aids to keep them all straight.

Every board also has a few columns with bonuses – you take the bonus when you fill the column, whether it’s extra coins or a chance to grab the Treasure map.

The game ends after any player has filled four of their five columns. Make sure to finish the round so everyone has the same number of turns.

Then count up your end game coins. And don’t forget to add your coins from the Swabby, the Carpenter, and the Lookout, and subtract a coin for each Parrot.

The player with the most coins, wins the game!

Expectations

So Anitra, Captain Flip – what did we expect from this one?

I got a chance to play this on Board Game Arena before we got our copy. I loved how easy it was to learn, and I looked forward to teaching it to our kids.

I also got to play this on Board Game Arena before it arrived in the mail, and it was, in fact, super fun. And then when I heard this game was a Spiel des Jahres nominee, I was even more excited to play it on our own table. It looks great, it plays fast, and I expected it to be a hit.

Surprises

There were some surprises.

Even after trying it, I was surprised at just how fast this game can be with two players. There are really only two decisions to make on your turn, and they’re pretty simple: First, take this side of the tile, or risk flipping it – and then choose where to put the tile on your board.

In fact, we had to intentionally slow down sometimes, because it’s tempting for the next person in line to start drawing their tile before you’ve made your decision. But crew members like the Monkey or the Parrot can cause cascading effects on your board. And you go “wait, wait wait, make that stop!”

It’s not slow at four or five players, but you’ll have a little more time to socialize with each other between turns.

For me, it’s kind of hard to come up with things that surprised me about this game, but that’s ok.

The art is a little bit irreverent, which makes it funny. I didn’t realize there were four different player boards, because when I played it on BGA, I only used the basic one, so that was a nice surprise. One thing I was surprised by was the price. This game is just $30 on Amazon, and it’s a really great deal for everything you get in the box.

The only thing we struggled with was our ten year old and remembering that he had to take the tile and then put it down without looking at the other side. Kids like to explore things with their hands! Especially him.

Recommended!

So Anitra, do we recommend Captain Flip?

We absolutely recommend Captain Flip; it’s perfect for families to play. The decisions here are pretty simple, so a 7 or 8 year old won’t get bogged down.

And the characters will have you rooting for them (“Swabby, Swabby, Swabby!”) or sometimes groaning when you get the one you really DON’T want (“awww”).

This game has that great feature where you always think you can do better. And it’s easy to learn, but there’s room for strategic thinking and variety with the player boards. I really don’t think we’ll get tired of this one any time soon.

We give Captain Flip 5 Swabbies out of 5.

And that’s Captain Flip, in a SNAP!

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The Family Gamers received a promotional copy of Captain Flip from Play Punk, via Flat River Games.

This post contains affiliate links, which do not change your price, but help support The Family Gamers.

SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?