Uk’otoa Review: A Critical Role High-Sea Adventure

The world of Critical Role is filled with monstrous and mythical creatures, and the sea leviathan Uk’otoa has been given an entire board game based around its mythos. In this flagship title by Darrington Press, gamers will take the role of sailors stuck on a boat being ravaged by the mighty sea creature. Utilizing card-based movement and a little luck, players will need to make sure their specific colored team is the last group standing while Uk’ota itself moves around the board lashing its tentacles in an attempt to destroy everything in its path.

To set up, 3-5 players randomly place the deck hexes one at a time to create the board, grab a faction token and corresponding meeples, and finally set the Uk’otoa miniature at the end of the line. What makes the game unique is that not only will players be controlling their own faction, but the factions of each of their neighbors. For example, in a 4-player game using red, yellow, blue, and green, the yellow player will also want to keep red and blue alive during the match. The game ends when one or two player-controlled colors are left on the board. If two factions survive the one player controlling both those colors wins, while if only one faction survives both players who control that color share the victory.

The cards in Uk’otoa are where the strategy lies. Every turn players may play one card, or multiples if they have duplicates, which will either move their faction sailors, push other factions away, move Uk’otoa , or unleash the leviathan’s tentacle to take out other players. Keeping track of three different factions at once and making choices that help or hinder neighboring factions takes a few games to get used to and the random card draws add a nice dose of luck to the game.

The components in Uk’otoa are a mixed bag. The leviathan miniature that comes with the game is beautifully detailed and a real stand-out piece that can be easily used in a real Dungeons & Dragons campaign. The art on the cards is also very well done with each card type providing its own unique art and smart iconography to easily discern what a card can do.

The deck tiles that make up the board are a different story, however. They are made of very thin cardboard which causes them to move around on the table – even with a gaming mat – messing up the board at the slightest touch. The idea behind this is obvious though, as the board is meant to be modular and feel different every time it’s played. The other glaring issue is the sailor meeples, which are made with a light plastic that causes them to constantly tip over when moved or placed. These little things really stand out when a game is as short as this one is, as half the playtime tended to be board adjusting and fixing a domino of meeples that tipped over. Although very cute, replacing these plastic meeples with the more classic stout wooden ones would have fixed this easily.

Overall, Uk’otoa is an enjoyable experience. The gameplay is short and simple enough to be a strong filler game in between longer, more strategic outings. The semi-cooperative nature creates a fun environment of teamwork and backstabbing, and the card play does a great job of keeping the game strategic and fun. Fans of Critical Role will be pleased with this easy-to-play board game outing.

Uk’otoa releases today, May 27th, 2021 at participating retailers. A copy of the game was provided for the purpose of this review.

About The Author

William Cennamo
(149 Articles Published)

William Cennamo has been the Game Guides Editor for Screen Rant since 2019. A creative writer all his life, it was only in 2018 that he really started to pursue his passion for the written word. Specializing in script-writing, William has written multiple short comedy sketches and taught “Intro to Comedy Writing” at the Stomping Ground Theater in Dallas, Texas.

When not writing William spends his time with his wife and two lovely daughters, usually playing a board game.

His mother thinks he’s funny but doesn’t care much for his language.

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