Tatsumi, a strategy board game from Adams Apple Games about dragons competing at sea for elements and good fortune, launches a new Gamefound campaign today.

In Tatsumi, players strategically maneuver their dragon around a 3D board representing the open sea. You’ll need to collect unique rings in order to fill your island board, in a race to score points. Players can also visit shrines and sanctuaries to build advantages over time, and block each other at sea.

Tatsumi supports 1-4 players for ages 8+, and via the official website, the designers mention inspiration from Azul, Century, Reef, and Splendor. I was also pleased to see the creatives mention Spyro, among other games, as an influence for the ring quest concept.

Board game fans will likely recognize Adams Apple Games for Planet Unknown, a planet colonization TTG that launched in 2022 to strong reviews. Its unusual pieces and board had some nifty surprises, and Tatsumi promises to continue surprising.

That seaboard is a real eye-catcher, and aligns with the “abstract” nature of the game. Tatsumi appears to have small, yet high-concept ideas that could produce a lot of tactical decisions out of a lightweight premise.

Generally, I’m not a big fan of point-based systems, but the ebb and flow of Tatsumi looks neat. Smoothness alone adds a lot of replay value, and there’s just enough depth here to intrigue me.

The artwork also has tremendous style. It’s always disappointing when box art outshines game components, or disagrees with them. So, I’m happy to see that Tatsumi’s boards, cards, and figures seem consistently stunning and thematic!

I’m looking forward to playing this one, so be sure to support the new Gamefound campaign, which is coming out later today.

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