SHALLOW REGRETS (2025)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	ARTIST	PUBLISHER
2-3	15 mins	Judson Cowan	Judson Cowan	ButtonShy Games

METHOD

This is the diet version of DEEP REGRETS.

Players take turns going fishing, slowly increasing the size of the fish they can catch, while hauling up some real oddities.

Each fish isn’t just points though. They come with powers, strange abilities that you’ll have to utilise to do better than your opponent(s).

And there’s also a foot.

POINTS OF INTEREST

One complaint I hear about the original game, DEEP REGRETS, is that it can sometimes feel like it outstays it’s welcome. It definitely has a lot of cards to get through, and it can feel slow going sometimes.

Enter ButtonShy Games. Joining forces with the designer of DEEP REGRETS, they’ve taken their 18 card modus operandi and made a quick and fun game that strips away all the excess and sees you just fishing

Between the players are six piles of fish. Each pile starts with three cards face down. Your turn will start with you choosing two face down cards to look at and, as long as you have enough hooks, you choose which one to catch.

Each fish has a catching cost in hooks. You start with zero (it’s okay, there are zero cost fish to catch), but some of the ones you add to your area will have a number of hooks showing. This is now your limitation.

And that’s it. Mostly. Pick up two fish. Catch one. Throw the other back. Then your opponent does the same.

But what of those interesting fish powers I mentioned. Well, that’s where the real gameplay comes in. Each fish has an ability; some that help, some that hinder. At the start of your turn, before you go fishing, you choose if you want to activate on of your unused fish. I say ‘unused’ because each ability is a one off. Some allow you to improve certain aspects of you current turn like picking up more cards or flipping the top card of each pile face up. Others allow you to interfere with you opponent, preventing them from doing stuff or outright stealing their best catch.

That’s right. This game is mean. Just because you’ve caught a fish doesn’t mean you’ll still have it, and it’s points, at the end of the game. You’d better watch out.

And don’t forget, like it’s bigger brother, not all fish are created equal.

SHALLOW REGRETS also splits it’s underwater organisms into ‘Fair’ and ‘Foul’. Foul fish can come with some pretty useful abilites, but get too many of them and you’ll likely receive minus points at the end. It makes deciding which fish to go after each turn a little more thinky as you weigh up the benifits and costs.

Of course, what shines the most in this game is the art. It was probably the biggest draw to the original game, and it’s perfect that the same artist (who is also the designer) came back to the ButtonShy version. His fish drawings are so interesting and quirky, each having their own personality. From the screaming Sea Monkey to the disgusting Rot Fish, each card draws the eye and distracts the viewer, in a the very best way.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

While I do like the abilities that all the fish have, each being useful in it’s own way, the constant threat of having those fish taken away means I’m usually using the ability the turn after I’ve caught them, whether it’s advantages or not. It can be quite frustrating to have a fish with a really useful power, holding onto it for the right moment, and instead having it taken and used against you. All of the work and none of the benifits.

With three fish causing a swap and another three fish exhausting your untapped fish, that’s a third of the base game that can take those abilities away from you. It becomes more ‘if’, not ‘when’.

Also, while I like the idea of trying to avoid the Foul fish to not get minus points at the end of the game, the penalty for not coming out on top of that little contest doesn’t really feel worth the worry. It’s a mere 2 points, which some of the fish can easily cover in their own points reward. I’ve lost games of this while not having the most ‘Foul’ cards, making the whole mechanic has felt pretty pointless.

EXTRA CONTENT?

There are currently two explansions available for SHALLOW REGRETS.

The first, LINGERING REMORSE, adds six new cards, each of which brings an ongoing abilitiy as opposed to a one use only power. These add things like limiting the size of fish you can catch to acting like a shield should an opponent target one of your proze catches. In my opinion, it’s a must have; we don’t play without it now. It just adds a little more meat to the games bones and extends the playtime a few more minutes.

There is also a seperate solo mode called The FISHER & THE FROD. Take on fan favourite Frod from the original game. It’s pretty good.

FOR 2-PLAYERS?

I’ve not played this at 3-player. It works perfectly fine with just two as a head to head fishing game.

– – CONCLUSION – – I bounced off of DEEP REGRETS, so it’s great that this more basic ButtonShy version scratches the ‘Regrets’ itch. The art work is outstanding, the abilities are equal parts fun and mean, and the whole game doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. It’s a shame that the expansion becomes a necessity to thicken the deck and take the edge out of losing fish so frequently. But overall, it’s fast become one of my favourite 18 Card games.

Review #0224