A game that’ll fit in any purse or pocket, Shallow Regrets is a microgame from the masters of the form, Button Shy Games. Designed as a little brother to the Eldritch fishing game, Deep Regrets, is Shallow Regrets worth your time? Let’s find out!

What is Shallow Regrets?

Comprised of just 18 cards, Shallow Regrets is a game with a small footprint and even smaller packaging. Designed by Judson Cowan, who also created Deep Regrets, you’ll engage in similar activities when playing Shallow Regrets; that is, you’ll take turns catching fish with your opponents, some of which are Fair, and some of which are most definitely Foul, ghastly Eldritch things. Or maybe just a disembodied foot.

How to Play Shallow Regrets

You’ll first shuffle the 18 cards and deal them into six piles of three cards each, known as “shoals”. You’ll need to ensure that at least three of the six piles have cards with the smallest shadow on top, which shows that they’re fish of difficulty 0 or less. On your turn, you’ll choose two cards, one at a time, from one or more of the shoals. You then choose one to keep and one to “throw back”, and the next player takes their turn.

Note that you begin the game with 0 strength, and any fish kept (or “caught”) which have hooks will add those hooks to your strength level, allowing you to catch bigger, more valuable fish as you progress. Some fish have abilities which can be used once per game by rotating the card prior to fishing on any turn; they still retain their points values and skill bonuses, however. Each fish has a difficulty level in the top right, and a points value in the top left; the latter is used to determine how successful your overall fishing trip has been over the course of a game.

The game ends when all fish are caught, or if players don’t have enough strength to catch the remaining fish. The player with the highest points total, adding up all of the points on their caught fish (with the player who has the most Foul fish in their haul deducting two points from their final total), wins.

Is Shallow Regrets Fun to Play?

Like many releases from Button Shy Games. Shallow Regrets packs a surprising amount of gameplay into its tiny package. Offering a roughly 10 minute experience for 2-3 players per game, it doesn’t outstay its welcome either. The skill level system is cleverly implemented, balancing the risk of taking foul or lower valued fish with having higher strength available, and the abilities adds another layer to what could have been a much, well, shallower game (pun definitely intended there).

The biggest drawback I found was that the 18 card selection can make things a little limiting and repetitive, but with an extra set of cards to add (the expansion Lingering Remorse, adding a new type of ability with each of its fish) and even a solo mode expansion (The Fisher & the Frod) available, there are already new ways to deepen the game a little, or change the way it can be played, without adding much at all to its tiny size. It does serve as a great advert for Deep Regrets, which I’m now even more keen to play. Having succumbed to the creepy charm of fishing-based, horror-themed video game Dredge, which shares a lot of thematic similarities with Judson Cowan’s tabletop fishing games, Deep Regrets has now moved to the top of my wishlist, like an Eldritch beast being dragged from the depths.

The Card Gamer Verdict

You can buy Shallow Regrets from Button Shy Games.

Check out our other reviews of bite-sized games, such as Ninjan and The Game Chest.