There’s a “Jaws” Board Game That Lets You Play as the Shark. It Rules.

It serves as both a devilishly entertaining distraction from the moment and a topical allegory about the dangers of reopening your proverbial (and literal) beaches too soon.

By Matthew Singer

A board game based on a 45-year-old movie might not seem to have much to say about our current predicament, but the prescience of Jaws shows itself every time some governor in a cheap suit goes on television to argue it's safe to go back in the water, or the Baskin-Robbins, or the Hobby Lobby.

Ravensburger's 2019 tabletop adaptation of Steven Spielberg's immortal chomper also asks a relevant question: Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the cure? In this case, that means choosing to play either the shark or one of the ragtag trio out to stop it. (A single player can assume all three roles, making one-on-one games possible.)

The first part is set on a rendering of Amity Island, and plays out like a bloodier version of Battleship: As the shark, your goal is to clandestinely gobble up swimmers—score 2 points for finishing the job on Chief Brody's kid—while the other players use deductive reasoning to track your movements. That sets up Act 2, a tête-à-tête aboard the Orca, where the opposing sides take turns attacking one another via action cards and dice rolls, until either the boat sinks or Ol' Big Mouth gets blown to smithereens.

It serves as both a devilishly entertaining distraction from the moment and a topical allegory about the dangers of reopening your proverbial (and literal) beaches too soon. Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women, from a CDC-mandated distance!

BUY IT: Available for order at Target for $29.99.

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