Matching cards gets up and out of its seat with Happy Salmon, a game all about clearing your hand by performing the actions on the cards when you pair up with others.
Happy Salmon is probably one of the simplest games that I’ve reviewed here over the years. In fact, I’m in danger of having this thing run on longer than the in-the-box instructions if I’m not careful. It’s a game that’s perfect for almost all ages, with the only restrictions being on mobility and the ability to understand the four icons (which also have names/words with them) which can be on the cards in your hand.
Set up is as simple as play. The box contains a handful of decks, with each deck containing 12 cards. The cards are evenly split between instructions: High Five, Fish Bump, Switch It Up and Happy Salmon. Players each take a deck, give them a shuffle and then hold them in a tight stack, the idea being that they’ll only be able to see the card on the bottom of the deck when holding them facing them.
Play, then, involves each player turning their deck toward them and reading off and/or gesturing the card they have in their hand. You find a person who has the same card, perform the interaction and then discard the card. In our case we threw the cards back into the box, but the game makes it clear that you just have to get rid of them. Play continues until somebody runs out of cards, and if there’s an impasse where nobody pairs up (only possible with four or less players) then a player may place their card on the bottom of their deck and use the next card.
As I said, it’s incredibly simple. The fun factor comes in the fact that it’s all simultaneous, and plays out like a race. You end up with people trading places while others attempt to high-five or fist bump over each other. It’s very fun, and a round typically takes less than a minute.
I’d love for a little more complexity, but I get the impression that you’d be burning through a bunch more cards were added in; although Happy Salmon appears to have friends out there in Funky Chicken and Monster Match — so there may be some room for chaos there. Either way, as a quick warm-up for physical activities, an ice-breaker or a kids party game Happy Salmon is an amazing board game to get people up and moving.
Happy Salmon is available now from Amazon.
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