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.
I realized long ago that publisher Itten has a library of games that balance precariously on a knife’s edge between Game and Novelty, often tipping towards the latter. They make fun, silly games that hinge on a hooky idea, games that often make a great first impression without offering anything for you to sink your teeth into, or even much of anything to gnaw on. Itten titles are often best as objects of appreciation, kooky displays of what creativity can lead to. My partner referred to them once as “coffee table board games,” a description so exact that I envy its creator.
The mileage you get out of any Itten game is by necessity directly proportional to how much mileage you get out of the hook, and how much you enjoy the presentation. The aesthetic of Crash Octopus, which looks as good on a table as any game ever has, has to be enough to hold your attention, because the game itself isn’t much. A game like Gravity 3 can only interest you if the very concept of a game made out of 15 small weights is enough to get you through the door. I am tempted to compare Itten to publisher Button Shy; they are each in their own way one of the hobby’s most consistently experimental publishers, though neither is feted as such.
In the case of Diver Go!, the hook is a scuba mask. This is a memory/set-collection game in which you blindly strive to collect the coins you need from a box. You’re given a short amount of time to look into the box, then the scuba mask—a chunky cardboard cutout—goes over your eyes, and your other hand gets to grabbin’. Some coins are cursed, and those are to be avoided as best as possible.
That’s really it. If the idea of looking at a pile of coins, holding up a mask, and grabbing for things appeals to you, then you’ll enjoy Diver Go! I don’t even mean that dismissively. It’s good, silly fun, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and as is typical for Itten, it’s a beautiful object. These guys really do know their production design. It’s a fun game to play with mixed age groups, or a group of children. Does it have staying power? Probably not.I’d even go so far as to say no. But Itten games aren’t for forever. They’re for “Oh, hey, have you seen this? Isn’t this neat? Can you believe this exists.” Sometimes that’s all you need. Set Diver Go! out on the table, and wait for someone to bite.
