Jaws – The Game

Everybody knows the Steven Spielberg movie, Jaws! It’s the tale of a Great White Shark that terrorises the United States coastal town of Amity Island. To begin with, the mayor dismisses the attacks. Finally, police chief Brody, oceanographer Hooper and the eccentric Quint decide to hunt the killer shark.

Ravensburger and Prospero Hall are on a roll at the moment. Alongside Disney (and Marvel) Villainous, they’re releasing all the pop culture hits. Jaws is a one-versus-all kind of game, like Scotland Yard, Whitechapel, or Fury of Dracula. One to three players play as Brody, Quint and Hooper. Meanwhile, one player takes on the role of the villain-of-the-piece shark, itself!

Jaws is a game of two halves. The first ‘act’, the Amity Island phase, mirrors the first half of the movie. The board represents the island itself. The (player playing as the) shark attempts to nibble on tourists. The human characters, meanwhile, try to spot the shark and protect swimmers from attacks in the water.

For the second act, you flip the main board. Now you’re on board The Orca, Quint’s vessel. The ship is sinking, like the latter stages of Jaws. (Spoiler alert! But come on, everyone’s seen Jaws, right?) Now the humans have to battle the shark in a tense, tight stand-off. You’ll have to use action and strategy cards to both defend the poor Orca boat. At the same time, you’ll try to defend yourself from the relentless, hungry shark!

Character and event cards take centre stage, determining player abilities. They also create dramatic in-game actions for both the human characters, and the shark. If humans kill the shark, they take the victory. But if the player portraying the shark manages successful attacks on the Orca, they win! Think it’s safe to go back into the water? Not a chance! All you need is to start humming that famous John Williams soundtrack…

Player Count: 2-4 Players
Time: 60 minutes
Age: 12+