Deep Regrets: Bringing Dredge to the Tabletop

Overview of Deep Regrets

In 2023, a video game called Dredge resonated with many due to its narrative centered around trawling the seas for increasingly disturbing catches. One individual who was particularly inspired by this was Judson Cowan, a horror enthusiast and board game designer. He set out to create a cardboard version of the experience, blending theme and gameplay in a way that had not been seen before on tabletops.

The result is Deep Regrets, a game that has been thoroughly tested and evaluated to determine if it lives up to expectations and how it stacks up against other top horror board games. This article explores what’s included in the box, how the game plays, and where to purchase it.

What’s in the Box

Deep Regrets arrives in a compact box but is packed with content. Upon opening, players will find several small player boards, each serving a specific purpose. There's a main board to track fish at different depth levels, a port board for selling catches and upgrading the boat, an ocean madness board to monitor each player's mental state, and multiple double-sided boards for tracking game status. The sides are functionally identical, though one side features a more sinister-looking old sea dog, hinting at the game's dark tone.

The weight of the box comes from various card decks. These include three decks of fish, one for each depth level, a deck of "dinks" (small fish that can be gained when the main catch escapes), and decks of rods, reels, and supplies that can be purchased at port. The largest deck is the regret deck, which players draw from when they perform regrettable actions at sea. Additional components include custom dice shaped like fishing floats, wooden tokens, a metal fish coin used for resolving certain card effects, and a paper pad for tracking catches in the solo variant.

The visual design of the game is highly evocative, with all elements featuring art by the game’s designer. The inside of the box lid is also decorated, showcasing the artist’s talent in creating detailed and imaginative visuals that balance fun and creepiness perfectly. As players flip through the fish cards, the anticipation of seeing new ones or discovering hidden details becomes a major draw, adding to the replay value of the game.

Rules and Gameplay

Deep Regrets is typically played over six days, from Monday to Saturday. Each day begins with rolling a set of dice and placing them in the fresh pool. Players start with three dice but can gain more, which have higher numbers than the initial ones. The key decision each day is whether to stay at sea or head to port. Everyone starts at sea, so the possible actions while at sea are explored first.

Most turns at sea involve trying to catch fish. Each depth level has three card piles, known as shoals, with card backs indicating the size of the fish—small, medium, or large. Bigger fish generally require higher dice values to catch. Players choose which shoal to fish in and flip the top card. Some fish have special effects, such as the whiptail stingray, which allows rerolling one die. All fish have a value in "fishbucks" and a difficulty value. To catch a fish, players must spend dice equal to the difficulty.

This makes catching fish a calculated gamble, as it's possible to have insufficient dice to reel in a difficult catch. If unsuccessful, players receive a dink card as a consolation prize, often providing small bonuses like the shrimp, which reduces the difficulty of a fish by one. Not all fish are the same; some have significantly different values compared to their difficulty, while others can have positive or negative effects on players when caught. Fish come in two types: fair, representing normal, real-world fish, and foul, which includes body parts, repulsive mutants, and occult creations.

Despite the challenges, the process of catching fish is consistently enjoyable. There's the thrill of revealing new fish, the anticipation of matching dice rolls with difficulty, and the enjoyment of the artwork. Some fish have reveal effects that impact all players or alter the expected catching process. Players then face tough decisions about whether to spend multiple dice on a fish, whether to take it at all, or to sacrifice a die for the safety of drawing a dink instead.

Spending days at port allows players to sell fish for their value and purchase equipment. Rods, reels, and supply cards help improve fishing efforts, and players can also buy additional one-use dice to roll, enabling them to catch more challenging fish. However, players must be cautious with what they sell, as the value of unsold fish contributes to their final score. Players can also mount fish into one of three slots, multiplying their value by two or three in the top slot. Deciding which days to spend in port versus at sea is a crucial strategic choice, as players weigh the benefits of better fish to sell or mount against the potential for larger catches at sea.

Landing foul fish usually leads to drawing regret cards. Each of these cards has a numeric value between zero and three, along with a narrative tagline ranging from bleakly funny to seriously sinister. As players accumulate regret cards, they may become increasingly mad, which affects the value of fair fish, increases the value of foul fish, and raises the maximum number of dice allowed per day. While the number of cards is public knowledge, the values on them are not, and the player with the highest total value at the end of the game must discard one mounted specimen and its multiplier.

Dice aren't only used for catching fish but can also be discarded to fish in deeper waters, which have more difficult targets and a higher proportion of foul fish. This allows players to manipulate the overall strategic curve. They can save dice, stay in safe waters to maximize the value of fair fish, or dive into the depths to catch more disturbing abominations, hoping to avoid too many regrets. Players can also aim for a middle ground, adjusting based on other players' decisions.

On a tactical level, the game builds momentum toward the finale. Early fishing trips may be relatively simple, but as players gain dinks, equipment, and a collection of fish that can be eaten for immediate abilities, they can start looking for combo effects between different cards. This snowballs as players collect more cards, leading to spectacular fishing turns late in the game once they learn to spot them. However, each of these involves risk vs reward decisions, especially when eating a fish means losing its value. Once the regret deck runs out, additional regrets must be taken from other players, resulting in unpredictable turns.

While there are clear strategic and tactical choices in the game, it would be an overstatement to say they are the main focus. Fundamentally, Deep Regrets is a push-your-luck game where players hope for the best dice rolls, the best fish card reveals, and favorable fish-coin flips. Experience and planning help, but anyone at the table can win, with the hidden regret value being particularly punishing. This can make the game feel lengthy at high player counts, and hardcore strategy enthusiasts might find it too lightweight. However, newer players will enjoy the chance to win right up until the end.

Where to Buy

Deep Regrets can be purchased at various retailers, including Amazon, Game Nerdz, and Tettix.