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Mermaid Rain

Mermaid Rain

2003·Keiji Kariya, Hitoshi Yasuda

3 - 6 players
45 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

From BoardGameGeek

Mermaid Rain is a Japanese game from the makers of Train Raider. Over five rounds, players try to collect five different types of goods by moving around the sea. The game uses two phases: first is the "surf predicting" phase where players play melds of cards in a Taj Mahal-type mechanic. The melds determine player order, selection of "wave tile", and give other benefits. In the second phase, "surf riding", players place their wave tiles on the board and then use cards to move through the sea on the waves to collect goods. The game is playable with English rules as the components are either language-independent or easily decipherable. Game Summary Setup: specific locations for subset of tiles, some face down; rest are to side, also face down. Deal out 7 cards (3 suits). Each round, players simultaneously select a card to play (max 5 cards total) -- choose the pass card to pass for rest of round. The resulting poker-style combinations give bonuses (VP, or special powers); the ranking gives you player order for the round. In order, select a face up sea tile (4 shapes, 2-3 hexes each, with one of 3 suits or wild). Then, in order, place the tile on the board and use some/all cards left in hand to move your mermaid around the board (playing card allows you to move mermaid to matching tile/space). Whenever on an island with token(s), look at face down tokens then add one of the tokens to your collection. At end of round, sea tiles with the darker color are removed from the board. Any mermaids on them are displaced to one of the unoccupied starting locations (player's choice). Then, deal 7 cards per player (max hand size 9) and repeat. Game ends after 5 rounds. Each player must discard 5 tokens (1 per symbol), or lose 5 VP per missing symbol. Then rank players' collections of sets of each type, awarding VP accordingly (rarer tiles, larger sets earn more VP). Most VP wins.

Mermaid Rain

Watch first

Review

The Purge: #4730 Mermaid Rain: The rain is coming and the mermaids are here7:40

The Purge: #4730 Mermaid Rain: The rain is coming and the mermaids are here

Purge Reviews

Purge Reviews

Watch it played

Mermaid Rain | LIVE2:23:57

Mermaid Rain | LIVE

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Get Gaymin'

Which Mermaid Rain video should I watch?

Mermaid Rain has 2 videos from 2 creators: 1 review and 1 playthrough. They date from May to December 2024.

For an opinion before you buy, start with "The Purge: #4730 Mermaid Rain: The rain is coming and the mermaids are here" by Purge Reviews. To see it played, watch "Mermaid Rain | LIVE" by Get Gaymin'.

If you like it, try Donut Shop, Rummikub, Pergamon or Seikatsu, which share several of its mechanics.

All videos

The Purge: #4730 Mermaid Rain: The rain is coming and the mermaids are hereReview7:40

The Purge: #4730 Mermaid Rain: The rain is coming and the mermaids are here

Purge Reviews

Purge Reviews

Mermaid Rain | LIVEPlaythrough2:23:57

Mermaid Rain | LIVE

Get Gaymin'

Get Gaymin'

Creators who cover this

All channels
Get Gaymin'
Get Gaymin'
1 video of this game
Purge Reviews
Purge Reviews
1 video of this game

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About Mermaid Rain

From BoardGameGeek:

Mermaid Rain is a Japanese game from the makers of Train Raider. Over five rounds, players try to collect five different types of goods by moving around the sea. The game uses two phases: first is the "surf predicting" phase where players play melds of cards in a Taj Mahal-type mechanic. The melds determine player order, selection of "wave tile", and give other benefits. In the second phase, "surf riding", players place their wave tiles on the board and then use cards to move through the sea on the waves to collect goods. The game is playable with English rules as the components are either language-independent or easily decipherable. Game Summary Setup: specific locations for subset of tiles, some face down; rest are to side, also face down. Deal out 7 cards (3 suits). Each round, players simultaneously select a card to play (max 5 cards total) -- choose the pass card to pass for rest of round. The resulting poker-style combinations give bonuses (VP, or special powers); the ranking gives you player order for the round. In order, select a face up sea tile (4 shapes, 2-3 hexes each, with one of 3 suits or wild). Then, in order, place the tile on the board and use some/all cards left in hand to move your mermaid around the board (playing card allows you to move mermaid to matching tile/space). Whenever on an island with token(s), look at face down tokens then add one of the tokens to your collection. At end of round, sea tiles with the darker color are removed from the board. Any mermaids on them are displaced to one of the unoccupied starting locations (player's choice). Then, deal 7 cards per player (max hand size 9) and repeat. Game ends after 5 rounds. Each player must discard 5 tokens (1 per symbol), or lose 5 VP per missing symbol. Then rank players' collections of sets of each type, awarding VP accordingly (rarer tiles, larger sets earn more VP). Most VP wins.

Designers

Keiji Kariya, Hitoshi Yasuda

Artists

Loïc Billiau, Hitoshi Yoneda

Publisher

Gentosha Education

Categories

ExplorationFantasy

Mechanics

Hand ManagementSet CollectionTile Placement
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