The Perfect Wave Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review The Perfect Wave, a set collection game published by The Op. The Perfect Wave seeks to take a surfing theme and marry it with some accessible card play.

When I was growing up, I had a cousin who taught me to skimboard. If you don’t know what that is, you run and skim a board along the water that makes its way to shore. It’s a thin layer of water and runs out quickly. It was tough and I was never good at it, but it was fun and a great way to spend the summer. But surfing is a lifestyle. And those who love it, REALLY love it. 

I wondered, with all the crazy things like weather and sharks that people overcome for that adrenaline high, what’s the biggest wave someone’s ever taken on. And now that I’ve asked, I bet you’re wondering too. It’s 86 feet. A two-story house averages between 18 and 25 feet. Let that sink in. Even if surfing isn’t quite your thing, there’s still a way to experience it vicariously. 

In The Perfect Wave, surfers want to crush the sickest wave off the coast. But they need showmanship and gnarly tricks to become the Big Kahuna. Practically speaking, players are trying to play the longest string of cards on their boards, either matching the card played before it or increasing. Think of this as the wave’s height, getting smaller as it approaches the shore. On these waves, players can play tricks, a way to score bonus points if its criteria is met. These tricks and wave cards are played face-down and revealed at the end of the game. Additionally, the longer a wave is, the more points it’s worth. But there is a catch.

Players will only score their longest wave and must get their surfer out to sea to catch it. They’ll do this using “paddle out” cards or discarding a wax token. This does introduce a little wrinkle, however. Players won’t be able to play cards to empty spaces behind the surfer, only above them and out. On top of scoring the longest wave and any tricks that satisfy their requirements, players can also score points for