Trains and Sail to India designer returns with fishing strategy title Isaribi

Hisashi Hayashi, the designer of Trains, Sail to India and Yokohama, has taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund his new game, Isaribi.

The game actually first appeared back in 2014, but has managed to now pick up the support of publisher Eagle-Gryphon Games for wider distribution.

In Isaribi, two to five players are Japanese fishermen attempting to make money from their haul. By catching clams, prawn, mackerel and sea bream, players can build up goods to sell at the market – but if they are beaten to the sale by their rivals, it may mean there is no demand and they lose out.

The currency, Ryo, can be invested in improved boats and fishing equipment, while other cards allow unsold fish to be preserved and flogged in later rounds. After five rounds, the fisherman with the most Ryo wins.

Isaribi takes around 45 minutes to an hour to play, and is described as being lightly strategic. The art is gorgeous and mimics traditional Japanese illustrations.

The box includes a game board, score track, player boards, boat tokens, money tokens, ability tokens, seafood tokens and cards for seafood, market, collaborator and special abilities.

$29 grabs a copy of the game and its stretch goals. The campaign will run until December 13th and has already raised three quarters of its $10,000 target.