Designers: Bruno Cathala, Théo Rivière
Publisher: Bombyx, Pandasaurus Games
Sea Salt & Paper is a game reminiscent of classic card games. Each turn, you either draw two cards and place one on either of two discard piles, or you take the top face-up card of either discard pile. As you do, you’ll play cards to gain additional cards, score points, or steal cards from your opponent. Just be careful: players with over seven points can end the round and score, or they can risk it and bet that they’ll outscore their opponents!
Sea Salt & Paper caught the Committee’s collective eye with its striking art. Perfectly arranged origami photographed made each card a compelling piece, to say nothing of its gameplay. Thankfully, the game has fantastic staying power for casual play, with simple rules and an easy-to-transport deck of cards. We’ll be playing Sea Salt & Paper for a while, yet, and as a result we’re happy to name it our 2024 Casual Games Winner!
What Our Committee Is Saying
This seemingly straightforward card game has a surprising bit of depth under its gorgeous origami-style art.
Ruel Gaviola
I find the simplicity of the gameplay elegant, and I really appreciate how back-and-forth the two-player game is. Simple card play plus push-your-luck is usually a recipe for success for me, so I’m always coming back to this one.
Eric Yurko
Photos courtesy of What’s Eric Playing?. All rights reserved.
The American Tabletop Awards 