Hermit

About this board game

Hermit is a puzzly beach-card game for 1–2 players that takes about 20 minutes to play. Help a sweet hermit crab named Hermie cross the shore and reach the ocean before the advancing wave makes the journey impossible.

To begin, create a shore of ten cards, each displaying three symbols. Hermie starts beside the shore, while the wave is placed on the eighth card—or the sixth card for a more difficult challenge. Players begin with a deck of six cards showing different symbols.

On each turn, play one card next to or overlapping cards already played. Your goal is to recreate the pattern shown on the next shore card. Succeed, and Hermie moves one step closer to the ocean. Every shore card passed this way is added to your deck, giving you more options for future turns.

• Match symbol patterns using cards placed beside or over one another.
• Manage a hand size of one or two cards, affected by the pattern you create.
• Watch the wave, which can make the journey shorter or longer.
• Win by moving Hermie onto the wave before your cards run out.

The symbols in your created pattern also determine whether the wave moves. If you fail to meet all the requirements, the wave moves farther away on every turn; the game ends if it passes the final shore card. You also lose if you run out of cards to play, so each placement matters.

Hermit began as a true solo game. Later German and Dutch editions added a duel mode, two-player cooperative rules, and multiplayer cooperative rules, with the latter requiring one copy per person. Whether played alone or with an opponent, Hermit turns a small set of cards into a tense race across the sand.