Cute hermit crabs and octopi are finding new homes in discarded cups and bottles on the beach. Cup the Crab is a fun and tricky card game for three to five players that was brought to the US by 25th Century Games. Players are piling up points and timing out the perfect opportunity to score over the course of seven rounds.
Treasures on the Beach
Cup the Crab is a hand management game were players plan out what three cards they will take into each round of the game. All players are given seven identical cards. These are three crabs, two octopi, and two empty bottles. You’ll also have fourteen random cup cards with points printed on them from one to ten points.
The three cards you choose going into each round is so important. You’ll play each of these cards, in turn order, around the table. Cup cards can be added to any of the three columns that are being built in the center of the table. Each stack of cups are essentially a pile of points that can be claimed by either a crab or an octopus being added to a bottle.
Placing a crab inside a cup stack lets the player take all the point cards in that column, placing them in their score pile. Place a crab too soon, and you may only score a small amount of points. Wait too long before placing a crab, and another player might claim a valuable stack of cups for themselves.
A Home for My Crustation
The three crab cards you have are the most straight-forward pathway to gaining points. The octopus is a two step process and requires planning. Before an octopus can claim a stack of cups, it needs a bottle to live in. Once a bottle is placed on a stack, anyone holding an octopus can claim it when it comes to their turn. This leads to players sometimes going into a round with a single octopus, anticipating that someone will probably place a bottle during that round.
The bottle cards are devious because it stops other player from adding any new points to a stack of cups. Sometimes players will even cap a stack of cups with low points knowing that someone needs to claim it with an octopus, eventually.
Cup the Crab is all about reading the other players at the table and anticipating their next play. Once players get a game or two under their belt, the deeper strategies of the game start to make sense. Choosing a crab card in the first round of the game may be a great strategy as you grab points early on. Or it might backfire because everyone placed low point cards to start the game.
Final Thoughts
Cup the Crab is a game that I can’t get enough of. Trying to read your opponents and catch others off guard during a round is so much fun. The seven rounds of the game move really quickly. Each round brings a new strategy based on how many crab and octopi cards you have left.
This is a game where your position in the turn order around the table deeply affects the cards you choose. Cup cards will continue to build during a round and continue over into the future rounds if they aren’t claimed. If a stack of cups are in the double digits, being first in turn order gives you a great opportunity to claim those points.
Cup the Crab has easily become one of my favorite filler games. The speed of play, competitive gameplay, and replaybility is so good. With its small footprint and portable box, Cup the Crab is a great “on the go” card game for the whole family.
Cup the Crab is available at your local game store or on the 25th Century Games webstore today.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- Cute and colorful artwork throughout
- Reading other players at the table is a lot of fun
- Small footprint and quick gameplay
Lows
- Turn order in a round holds a lot of weight
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
