Here at Card Gamer, we’re always impressed with the seemingly endless ingenuity of card game designers; not only are we often taken aback by games which take a minimalist approach, such as Classified Information, but the repurposing of standard card game components and familiar mechanics is always worthy of applause too.

River Rats (now crowdfunding on Kickstarter) falls into the latter category, using a standard deck of cards (plus two Jokers) to give players a co-operative, poker-based experience; players must work together to create the most powerful poker hands, in order to defeat the titular rodents at their own game.

It’s a very clever concept, very well executed, and with its variable player (and rat) abilities, based around the four suits of the standard card deck, it has a surprisingly strategic depth, and a wealth of options on every single turn. In our review of River Rats, we noted that “…it’s a really solid design, and even more impressive given that it brings such a strategic feel to what is, essentially, just a standard deck of cards.”

River Rats is now live on Kickstarter, and though the game can be played with a standard deck of cards (provided that you have access to the rules and the player aid cards), the themed deck adds a great deal of charm and flavor to the experience. That’s without mentioning that there’s also add-ons that can be pledged for, such as play mats (which I didn’t have access to for my review, and which will be extremely helpful during play!). You can head on over to Kickstarter now, and pledge for your copy on the River Rats campaign page.