Take a casual stroll along the shore line and collect colorful treasures in Seashells from Kids Table Board Gaming, designed by Bruno Faidutti. Up to five players will criss cross the central board, gathering shells, sand dollars, messages in bottles, and fossils to claim victory at the end of the game. Grab a bucket and let’s hit the beach.
Naturally Colorful
Seashells is a game that immediately stands out on the table. The wooden shell components come in seven different shapes and colors, all of which really pop on the table. Players start the game with a unique shell card and color card along with a player board. These two cards give the players an additional lead for the shell/color depicted on the cards when counting majorities at the end of the game.
There are 64 locations on the central beach board where players will draft from each round. On your turn, you’ll move the bucket on the grid in the column or row on the central board. You can move it one direction as far as you’d like, picking up the token on the square that you stop on. Take the token and add it to your player board, matching it to the shell shape and color.
Seaside Treasures
Along with the seven different seashell types, you’ll also find three unique treasures on the beach.
Sand dollars can be collected and are worth a dollar (one victory point) at the end of the game.
Bottles can be collected and turned in on a future turn to take back-to-back turns. This is really helpful when you are able to line up the bucket in a specific row or column.
Fossils come in two halves and when put together, the whole fossil will gain you three dollars (victory points). Incomplete fossils are worth nothing at the end of the game.
Players are always watching which shell type and colors their opponents are collecting. It’s important to snag these specialty tokens whenever available since you don’t always have access to them on your turn.
Ruler of the Sand Castle
A game of Seashells comes to an end when a player can no longer gather an item in the row and column on their turn. Most of the time, the beach board is pretty empty by the end of the game. But, it’s also possible to force the end of the game by choosing rows and columns that have already been heavily picked through.
Once the game ends, players evaluate who has the most of each color and shell type going row-by-row and column-by-column. The person with the majority gets three dollars (victory points) and in the advanced scoring, second place will get one dollar. Players tied for first in this mode will only get two dollars and second place gets nothing. We didn’t play the simple scoring in the game since it pays out three dollars to everyone who tied for first place.
The gameplay in Seashells is very casual and scores are usually pretty tight in the games that we played. Turns move quickly around the table and it’s a game that is an easy filler to start or end a game night. While some gamers may feel like the gameplay is too light, I think they hit a perfect spot for anyone looking for a casual experience.
The components in the game are fantastic. Each of the seven shells types are chunky and well made. Everything in this game makes you think about a day at the beach.
There’s even an alternate way to play called “Stroll Mode” that we really like. Instead of placing the tokens into the central beach board, you’ll create a circle in the middle of the table. The bucket is still used as you select your piece. Now instead of a grid, you can move the bucket up to four token spaces around the circle, taking the piece you land on. It feels like the drafting mechanic that is used in Patchwork and it works really well. Once you’ve been around the circle three times, the game is over.
Final Thoughts
Kids Table Board Gaming does a great job of creating games that are accessible and welcoming to gamers of all skill levels. Seashells is a bright and chill game that fits the theme of experiencing a walk on the beach. The component quality and artwork from Christopher Ryan Chan helps bring everything together.
Seashells isn’t a deep gaming experience but it is a well built set collection game that will hit the table often. If you’re looking for a casual stroll on the beach, Seashells might just be the game you’re looking for.
Seashells is releasing at Gen Con 2026 and will be available at retail after the convention.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- A great color palette and visual style throughout
- Gameplay is simple and easy to jump into
- Having an alternate play mode adds replayability
Lows
- May not be enough of a challenge for some gamers
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
