Sea Salt & Paper is a card game that’s about as clear as a foggy day on the open sea. It’s brought to us by Bruno Cathala and Theo Riviere, and let me tell you, it’s a game that’s had me flip-flopping all over the place.

Bruno Cathala should be a household name at this point. From 7 Wonders Duel to Five Tribes to Kingdomino to Mr. Jack Pocket and so much more, he’s produced many games that I’ve enjoyed, to the point where when his name is on a box, I take notice. Theo Riviere on the other hand, while having dozens of titles to his name, I’ve not experienced a single one.

Sea Salt & Paper is a bit like rummy, but it’s got a few tricks and twists up its sleeve. You draw cards, build a hand, meld cards, and aim to “go out,” all in the name of scoring points. Sounds simple, right? Sea Salt & Paper starts deviating from the norm by having two discard piles, one card in each at the start. On your turn, you can draw the top card from either pile or take a gamble and draw two cards from the deck, keeping one and discarding the other into either trash pile.

Once the cards are in your hand, they’re all searching for their partners. You can play a meld if you’ve got the appropriate pair, and you’re in the mood for a little special power. These special powers can change the tide of the game. Pairs of boats give you an extra turn, two crabs will let you fish around in the discard pile and sneak an extra card into your hand, fish will just pull the top card from the deck into your hand. The sharks and swimmers on the other hand will let you steal a card from your opponent’s hand, like a dastardly pirate.

But it’s not just about pairs and special powers; there are other cards in the game that’ll push you to collecting whole sets of cards. Sailors are worth squat on their own, but can make a pretty penny if you collect both of them. Shells and octopuses? Worthless on their own, but they get more valuable the more you collect. Penguins? Same story. And then there are these multiplier cards that offer extra points for these sets, pushing you even harder to ignoring the power cards and gathering the appropriate sets. Lastly, there are mermaids that score based on the number of cards in your most abundant colour. Oh, and they have this push your luck mind-boggling “shoot-the-moon, win-the-entire-game” effect that’s about as rare as a unicorn sighting.

So, what’s the name of the game? Score the most points, of course. When someone has at least 7 points on the board and in their hand, they can trigger the end of the round. They’ve got two choices. You can call STOP and end the round right then and there, and everyone scores the points in their hand. Or, you can shout LAST CALL and bet that your opponents can’t beat your score in one turn. If you win the bet, you score your cards and a colour bonus, while your opponents score only their colour bonus. If you lose the bet, your opponents score their card points, while you only score your colour bonus. After the round ends, all the cards are gathered, reshuffled, then you play again. First player to 40 points takes the crown.

Now, if all of these rules sounds like quite a mouthful for what should be a simple card game, that’s because it is! Sea Salt & Paper feels unnecessarily obtuse with it’s 9 different card types, 4 different powers, and 4 multiplier cards, all interacting with each other in different ways. The rules are as clear as a stormy night at sea, and the game doesn’t hold your hand.

My first play of Sea Salt & Paper felt dismal. It felt like I had no agency, the cards I got never seemed to work, and by the time I managed to get a single meld, someone ended the round. It felt like a random, muddy mess to me. Thankfully, I kept at it, and subsequent games revealed quite a bit of nuance that I completely missed on my first play. I realized just how much of a push-your-luck game Sea Salt & Paper really is. It gives you a dozen different paths and tries to lure you down each one of them. Holding melds in your hand is powerful, allowing you to capitalize on its full power, but you risk someone else calling a sudden end of the round.

One thing I haven’t touched on yet is the charming and gorgeous card art. Nearly every card features a unique origami vignette. It’s so utterly cute and calming that I can’t help but be relaxed and enjoy Sea Salt & Paper. I’ve said before, but pretty games bring people to the table. Even if someone is frustrated by the obtuse rules, gorgeous card art will keep players engaged, even if only to discover all the variety of fish that exist. And by the time the discovery has worn off, the rules feel much less obtuse.

Sea Salt & Paper is a beautiful game for calm moments. This is the deck of cards you should bring with you on vacation, or at the beach. It takes no table space, it’s attractive, and the nuance of all the card interactions allow you to play again and again, discovering new strategies every time. It’s worth summiting the learning curve, and makes for a great afternoon game with friends and family.