Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Still Wakes The Deep
Deep Regrets is a game that seemingly came out of nowhere. Brought to us by designer Judson Cowan and published by Tettix Games, the theme oozes eldritch fishing vibes akin to the video game Dredge (which is absolutely addictive—highly recommend). As someone who’s a fan of all things ominously eldritch, I had to cast my line and see what might bite. Through an impressive crowdfunding campaign, the game has reeled in quite a bit of buzz, including a micro version from Button Shy aptly named Shallow Regrets (with additional expansions!).
Immediately, the box art draws you in, along with the never-before-seen (at least by me) newspaper box wrapping. I had to do a double-take—it could easily be mistaken for a Christmas present wrapped by my aunt. Mix in the funky card art, tongue-in-cheek humor, and lure-shaped wooden die, and this could very well be one of the best-produced games of the year. But beneath the depths of beautiful presentation, is there a prize catch—or a sunken wreck? Grab your tackle box and let’s find out.
Deep Blue Something (What about Breakfast at Tiffany’s?)
Deep Regrets is played over several rounds, each representing a day in a weeklong sea expedition. Players aim to fish out prized catches to mount for points, while managing their madness (regrets) and navigating the oddities and obscurities lurking below.
At the start of each day, players decide whether to set sail or stay in port. However, they’re locked into that choice for the round (with the exception of a single-use lifeboat, which comes with an endgame penalty).
The port town is calm and idyllic—a chance for players to gear up for the next expedition. Fish can be sold for seabucks, which are spent at various shops. These shops offer extra dice, one-time supplies, or rods and reels that grant ongoing powers or discounts while fishing. Players can also mount fish into one of three slots on their board, scoring them with a 2x or 3x multiplier. Mounted fish are locked in (though, of course, some cards break the rules).
Out at sea is where the main action unfolds. Players explore three levels of “shoals,” fishing to their heart’s content. Different shoals offer different sizes and types of fish, both fair and foul, each with varying difficulty and point values. To catch a fish, a player spends dice equal to its difficulty, potentially using cards or abilities for mitigation.
Some fish trigger effects when revealed, others when caught. Fish can also be “eaten” (discarded) to activate effects. These effects can be beneficial, harmful, or just chaotic—like the tricky squid that, once revealed, is literally gifted to another player. The ocean also hides mysterious event cards that can shake things up.
Players continue taking actions until they pass, at which point they draw a “dink” card (often a discount or minor bonus) and keep drawing additional dinks if they’re still passed while others continue. A life preserver token also gets tossed around, offering a once-per-round discount.
Oh, the Sorrow and the Regrets
What begins as a seemingly harmless fishing game is riddled with regrets—literally. Dragging horrors from the deep isn’t great for your mental health and tends to resurface old traumas. Players gain and discard regret cards throughout the game, which move their tokens up or down a madness track.
The more regrets you have, the more dice you can hold. However, this also makes foul fish worth more points, and fair fish less. Even selling monstrous fish back at port earns you regrets (because apparently releasing eldritch horrors into the market is frowned upon).
Regrets might not seem so bad—I mean, who hasn’t done something regrettable? But spiral too far into madness, and you’ll pay the price. At the game’s end, the player with the highest value (not number) of regrets must discard their highest-scoring mounted trophy. This could mean up to a 27-point loss! And if the regret deck runs dry, players start stealing regrets from each other. The number of regret cards is always public, but their values stay secret.
Fishy Finale
The fishing expedition wraps up at the end of the week. Players tally their victory points from mounted fish, fish still in hand, and any modifiers from their position on the madness track. The most regretful player tosses their most prized fish back into the sea, to the envy of no one.
No Ragerts
It took a few plays to parse out how I felt about Deep Regrets. The production is top-tier, and the heavy theming is a strong hook. But under the surface, is the system solid?
Like all reviews, it depends on who you ask. I played multiple times, and opinions ranged from love to mild dislike. From a casual gamer’s perspective, the game shines. The push-your-luck mechanics and regret balancing keep things interesting, and turns are fast and simple. It’s accessible, and non-gamers will likely have a great time. I can’t name another game that plays quite like it, so points for originality.
Personally, I enjoyed it—but the novelty wore off after a few deep-sea voyages. The game lacks what some might call “gaminess.” I heard more than once, “It kind of plays itself.” Draw a fish, do the thing on the card. There isn’t much in terms of tough decisions. The push-your-luck aspect feels a bit defanged—thanks to generous mitigation, almost every fish can be caught with a decent combo of dice and cards. Even the spooky deep-sea fish rarely posed a serious threat.
By the end of most games, the shoals were nearly depleted, meaning players had seen most of the deck. Some interaction cards force swaps or passing regrets, but it’s mostly a solo boating trip. It’s a random game, but without the risk that usually makes that randomness exciting.
The box includes a solo/co-op mode, which is more of a cozy, “campaign-lite” experience. Players try to complete a discovery log over a week, upgrading gear along the way. Gotta catch them all, Pokémon.
Let’s go to the deep, deep, let’s go get away
Deep Regrets is a fun game—it’s not a forever shelf resident, but it makes for a breezy, quirky experience. The unique cards make each session feel fresh, and there’s enough charm to refill your tackle box and set sail again. It’s not meant to be deeply strategic, and that’s perfectly fine. After all, isn’t fishing supposed to be relaxing?
At the time of writing, there’s an expansion Kickstarter on the horizon that promises more “gaminess,” which the base game could use. I’m genuinely curious to see how that deepens the system.
The regrets may run deep in Deep Regrets, but the biggest one would be not giving it a try.
Deep Regrets details
- Designer: Judson Cowan
- Artists: Judson Cowan
- Publishers: Board Game Circus, Tettix Games, Ігромаг
- Release Date: 2025
- Player count : 1 - 5
- Age range : 14+
- Time range : 30 - 150 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Market, Push Your Luck, Re-rolling and Locking, Set Collection
- BGG Geek Rating: 7.82177 - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: 4.0.
- More articles about Deep Regrets.
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