Feed the Kraken

To set up the game, each player is secretly assigned to one of three factions: Pirates, Sailors, or Cultists. This is done by drawing a hidden chip from a bag, which determines their allegiance for the game. The game board is laid out, featuring a map with different zones, including a Pirate Victory zone, a Sailor Victory zone, and a central area for the Cultists. The ship miniature is placed at the starting position on the map.

The primary objective of the game varies depending on a player's assigned faction. The Pirates aim to navigate the ship to the Pirate Victory zone, located on one side of the map. The Sailors strive to steer the ship to the Sailor Victory zone, situated on the opposite side. Meanwhile, the Cultists' goal is to move the ship directly into the central area of the map, which represents their victory condition.

Each round, a Captain is chosen, who then assigns two other players to be the Navigator and the Lieutenant. These two players are secretly dealt navigation cards, which indicate different directions the ship can move. The Navigator and Lieutenant must then choose one card each, face down, to determine the ship's movement for that round. The Captain then reveals these choices, and the ship moves accordingly on the map, based on the combined navigation codes.

Feed the Kraken does not involve a traditional scoring system with points. Instead, victory is determined by one of the three factions successfully achieving their specific movement objective. The game is a social deduction game where players must deduce who is on their team and work together, often through deception and negotiation, to guide the ship towards their faction's designated victory zone.

The game concludes as soon as the ship miniature reaches any of the three designated victory zones on the map. Once the ship lands on either the Pirate Victory zone, the Sailor Victory zone, or the central Cultist victory area, the game immediately ends, and the faction corresponding to that zone is declared the winner. This creates a tense race across the map, with hidden agendas influencing every decision.