Mayfair Games Hey That's My Fish

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review




A quick, fun game of maneuvering , January 26, 2008
By J. R. Boress
I purchased this game to play with my wife after reading a postive "couples" review on Board Game Geek. I enjoy games that allow me to make strategic decisions. My wife enjoys games where she can make moves quickly. This game allows us to play with both styles, but the strategic decisions have definitely won out for me.

In the game, you begin with several penguins. You can move one per turn in a straight line, and can move as short or far as you want unless your path is blocked by another penguin. As you move, you pick up the tile that your piece was first standing on when your turn began. Each tile has from between 1 to 3 fish on it. These fish are added to your score. At the end of the game, the player with the most fish wins.
As the game progresses, the game board is eroded away as the tiles are picked up. If you play aggressively, you can box in your opponents and leave their pieces immobilized and useless.

You can only move one of your penguins per turn, so you must decide which move is the most beneficial. Also, you must decide whether to go for points while there are still 3-fish tiles on the board or whether to try to box in the other players.

While I don't have any children yet, I have read many other positive reviews from parents that play this with their 6+ year olds and enjoy it. I think this would be a good game to start your child on that is different from the dice or spinner luck mechanics of most children's board games.

Replayability is high because you are free to lay out the game board tiles in whatever pattern you would like. No two games are exactly the same. The drawback is that setting-up is time-consuming. Also, there's the possibility of losing some tiles, which would probably be more likely if you were playing with children. That's why I've dinged the durability in my rating.

So, in the end I would recommend this game as a light, somewhat abstract strategy game where positioning is very important. The mechanics are easy to learn and to understand. It should be enjoyable for both children and adults. I'm not excited about the game's theme, but the wooden penguin pieces are attractive, if simple, and the tiles get the job done.

I purchased mine from a merchant on Amazon and it arrived quickly and in great shape. As a testament to the game's appeal, I have recently seen it on the shelf of my local Barnes & Nobles, next to their more mainstream offerings and licensed moneywasters. So this game seems to have some mass appeal, as well, to both casual boardgamers and otherwise.



Hey! That's My Fish! Board Game, January 26, 2008
By Heidi C. Vandermolen (San Francisco, CA)
My nephews (ages 5 1/2 and 10) ADORE this game I sent them for Christmas. I trusted the reviews I read, which were all raves, and even thought the little one is younger than the recommended age (8+ and up), my sister says the whole family and even the neighborhood boys are having a blast playing it. My sister had never heard of it in Hawaii, so I'm glad I got this game because it was a slam dunk for this auntie. :-)



Fun game, even my four-year-old can play, December 15, 2007
By ACH (North Carolina)
This is a fun and quick game. The board consists of little hexagonal ice floes, which you remove as your penguin moves from them. Your penguins can only move in a straight line and cannot move over the holes so the trick is to not get stranded. The floes also have different numbers of fish on them. The rules are simple, even my four-year-old can play. But the strategy is a little more complicated so it doesn't get old.

I gave it four stars instead of five because the set up can seem a little tedious at times.




a quick, clever game, June 26, 2007
By J. Enszer
Funny name aside, Hey! That's My Fish! is a game that can require some serious strategy. The object of the game is to collect the most fish. Each tile has one to three fish on it, and a tile is claimed by moving your penguin-shaped piece off of it. The movement rule is that a piece can move in any one direction as far as desired, without "jumping" over another penguin or a hole in the ice, so strategic movement is important from the start. Often it becomes a game of trying to block off a portion of the pieces for yourself, most of the rest of the time, you're just trying not to let your penguins get stranded before everyone else's! This game is a unique combination of quirky and clever. It's easy to learn and quick to play (10-15 minutes usually). I highly recommend it.



Fun for the family, January 31, 2007
By E. Kelton
Hey! That's My Fish! is an excellent family game. My husband and I play this with our son, almost 7. We all enjoy it, and it's about even as to who wins the most. My husband and I also play board games with a group of adults about once a month and this game gets enjoyed then as well. It's quick, light-hearted and funny, yet requires strategic thinking. I highly recommend it!