Wouter & Ymke 
I’ll be honest, when I first saw Snorkeling, I expected something very light and maybe a bit forgettable. Cute fish, bright colours, small box. You know the type. But after a few plays, I realised there’s a bit more bite here than the cover suggests.
The theme is simple. We’re divers trying to stay underwater as long as possible. Everyone else at the table is trying to push us back up. That’s it. It’s not deep storytelling, and I mean that quite literally. It’s mostly an abstract number game dressed in coral and turtles. But the theme works well enough to frame what’s happening. When someone drops a zero on you and the round ends instantly, it does feel like you just ran out of air.
It’s a competitive card-shedding game with direct interaction. You play cards to a central pile to unlock the ability to mess with your opponents. And you will mess with them. That’s kind of the point. The first player to reach 12 points wins. Simple structure, short rounds, and usually a bit of table talk.
So yes, it’s accessible. But it’s not entirely innocent.
👥 2-6 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 15 minutes
📝 Designer: Ludovic Lepine
🎨 Artwork: Justine Vanhuffel
🏢 Publisher: Haumea Games (review copy provided by Geronimo Games)
Gameplay overview
The game includes 75 cards in five colours, with values from 0 to 4. There are three copies of each value in each colour. On top of that, there are six value 5 lanternfish cards.
At the start of the game, every player gets one lanternfish and places it face up in front of them. That’s your starting depth. The remaining lanternfish cards are set aside. Then everyone gets five cards from the shuffled deck. The rest of the deck goes face down, and the top card is flipped face up to form the central pile.
On your turn, you either play cards to the central pile or you don’t. If you do play, you have two options. You can play a card that is exactly one value higher than the top card of the pile. If the top card is a 4, it wraps around and a 0 becomes playable. Or you can play one or more cards of the same colour as the top card, regardless of value. As long as the colour matches, you can keep going.
Here’s the important part. If you played at least one card to the centre, you’re allowed to place exactly one card onto each opponent’s personal pile. The card you place has to be exactly one value lower than the top card of their pile. Colour doesn’t matter here. That’s how you push people closer to the surface. And yes, in the right situation you can hit multiple players in one turn.
After that, you draw one card from the deck.
If you managed to play all the cards from your hand, you get to take the top card from your own personal pile back into your hand. Unless it’s your lanternfish. That one stays. If you try to reclaim a lanternfish, you just draw an extra card instead. Also, you always need to start your turn with at least two cards in hand.
A round ends immediately when someone receives a value 0 card onto their personal pile. Everyone scores points equal to the value of the top card in front of them. Those points are added to their total. First player to reach 12 points wins.
Artwork and components
It’s a small box with 81 cards. That’s it. No tokens, no board, nothing else. And honestly, that’s fine. It’s meant to be portable.
The artwork leans heavily into the underwater theme. Lots of blues and purples, coral, fish, soft gradients. The lanternfish cards look darker and stand out nicely. The numbers are big and easy to read, which helps a lot in a game where you constantly check values across the table.
I like that the cards are clear. No clutter, no unnecessary symbols. You can see what’s going on from across the table. That matters in a quick game.
At the same time, I wouldn’t say the art elevates the game beyond its mechanisms. It supports it, yes. But it’s not the kind of production that makes you pause and stare. It’s pleasant. It does its job. And sometimes that’s enough.
Our experience
For us, Snorkeling was very easy to get to the table. Teach it in five minutes, shuffle, start playing. That part works well.
What stood out quickly is that access to the central pile is everything. If you can’t match colour or play the exact plus one value, you’re stuck. And if you’re stuck, you can’t attack. That means sometimes you just sit there hoping the pile shifts in your favour. I know that’s part of the design, but I guess not everyone will love those moments.
On the other hand, when things line up, turns can feel really satisfying. You play to the centre, then suddenly you can drop a card on two different opponents because their piles are vulnerable. There’s this moment where everyone looks at their top card and realises they’re in danger.
The reclaim rule is more important than it first appears. Emptying your hand to pull back your top card feels like catching your breath at the last second. If you don’t manage it, you can feel exposed for several turns in a row. We had a few games where someone got pushed down step by step and just couldn’t stabilise in time.
The round endings are sharp. A zero lands and that’s it. I mean, sometimes you’re mid-plan and suddenly the round is over. That can be funny. It can also be slightly frustrating. It depends on your mood and your position.
Player count changes the feel quite a bit. At two players, it’s tighter and more controlled. You can actually track what’s going on. At three or four, which we preferred, it feels interactive without becoming chaotic. At five or six, it becomes more opportunistic. You’re less in control, more reacting to what just happened.
And yes, it can be a bit mean. Not aggressively so, but you will target whoever looks vulnerable. If someone doesn’t enjoy direct interaction, this might not be for them.
Our thoughts
Structurally, Snorkeling is clean. The rules are straightforward, and there’s a clear flow. Play to the centre. Convert that into pressure. Try to manage your own pile.
I like the push and pull between playing for value with the plus one rule and clearing your hand with the colour rule. You’re often choosing between extending the sequence or improving your hand. It’s not complicated, but you can’t just switch your brain off either.
But let’s take a moment to be realistic. This is still a fairly abstract card game. The theme is charming, but mechanically it could have been numbers and shapes. If you’re looking for a strong thematic experience, this isn’t it.
It’s also quite sensitive to card flow. If the central pile doesn’t cooperate with your hand, you can feel passive. I wouldn’t call it broken, but it’s there. Some players will shrug it off. Others might get annoyed.
That said, as a small interactive filler, it works. It’s easy to carry, easy to teach, and short enough that even if someone feels targeted, it’s over quickly. I guess that’s the saving grace. You surface, score, reshuffle, and dive again.
Is it revolutionary? No. Is it fun in the right group? Yes, I think so. For us, it sits in that space of light but not mindless. A bit of timing, a bit of hand management, a bit of sabotage. Nothing too heavy. Just don’t forget to breathe.
If you’re curious but don’t own a copy, you can also try Snorkeling on Board Game Arena.
📝 We received a copy of the game from Geronimo Games.
