Hi again, it’s Bronwen, the TTRPG n00b. One of the games that stood out to me the most at Tabletop Scotland was Deep Regrets, which raised a whopping £637,077 on Kickstarter a wee while back (and is still accepting late pledges).
Girdy apparently missed it at the time, but I’m here to remedy that.
Created by Judson Cowan of Tettix Games, who I had the pleasure of meeting last weekend, the game is all about “reeling progressively more horrifying things out of the depths, managing your madness and pushing your luck at sea”.
Walking past the table, this instantly caught my eye, as it looked exactly like the sort of game I’d want to play. The bright colours, the nod to cthulhu, the frod… all of it, really. So, of course I had to learn more!
Turns out it’s a strategic horror fishing game for 1-5 players, aged 16 and up. It runs about 30 minutes per player. You must “decide what to eat, what to sell, what to mount, and how many regrets you’re willing to carry as you push yourself too far and spiral toward madness and a thrilling victory at sea… or an untimely end to your career.”
Here’s a video I managed to take whilst having various elements of the game explained to me:
Claiming to be “the most unsettling fishing board game ever created”, this is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and one that promises to be a whole lot of fun.
In fact, the one think I can think of that would make this game even better is Old Gregg and the Funk (who I’m assuming aren’t in the game, but you never know if Cowan happens to be a Mighty Boosh fan).
So, how do you play it? Here’s an official explainer:
In Deep Regrets, you’ll spend a week moving between sea and port, trying to pull in the most desirable creel of fish and fish-adjacent creatures. You’ll need to manage your energy, resources, and regrets and push your luck to pull in the best haul possible. At the end of the game, you’ll score the fish you have in hand, the fish you’ve mounted, and any Fishbucks you have remaining… and the player with the most regrets will lose their most valuable fish.
I also managed to find this extensive video covering things like the gameplay mechanics:
According to Cowan, there are already expansions in progress for the game, too, which is interesting.
So, to summarise, Deep Regrets is a fully-funded Kickstarter game I’m 100% sold on, it’s officially released in March 2025, and it’s entirely Girdy’s fault (as he’s the one on Kickstarter duty) for not spotting this sooner.
You can find out more about Deep Regrets, and late pledge to the game, via the Kickstarter page.
Have you backed Deep Regrets on Kickstarter? If not, might you (like me) be tempted to become one of the late pledges – or is it not your cup of tea?
