See creatures has a lot of wordplay and innuendo, as well as pop culture and science references! Here I’ll decode them for you, and all the other tiny details scattered through the deck. If you would like to print these at home as a trial deck please feel free to!
Card Facts: The number of points you get is at the top of the cards, this is also the number of cards you need to complete a creature (usually!) The cards effect is at the bottom, and at the very very bottom it tells you if your card is a solo or a top, bottom, or middle section by printing it in all caps. It also tells you how many parts you need, for example: TOP, middle, middle, bottom. Cards are all individually colour coded as well as having the name of the card/creature at the top.
Solos
Atlantis, Reference: “Queer as folk” to “Wet As Merfolk”. The model for the merfolk was picked for an androgenous appearance, with long hair and a muscular frame. Effect: + 10 points.
Tracking Tag, Reference: xxy to depict an intersex chromosome (keeping with the theme of embracing natures diversity) and 1312 stands for ACAB. Effect: Adds an extra point when laid with a multiple point creature. (at the same time!) Shuffle the spare tag with Atlantis and pick one blindly before adding it to the deck.
Poisoned Puffer, Reference: “The Game.” The game is not to think about the game, if you do then you’ve lost the game and you must announce to another person: “I just lost the game.” Its design is meant to suggest pollution. Effect: Roll for a six, if successful + 10 points and game over, the other fish in the decks have been poisoned. If the roll is failed, – 5 points. Players get only 1 chance to roll, and can do so at any point in the game.
Into The Mist, Reference: a dark comedy poem in a fan video made by Neil Cicierega that was weirdly relatable many years ago. Effect: You can counter any negative effect from other players or drawn cards by playing a guppy, no points and does not count as having laid a creature.
Jelly Skip, Reference: No reference, only awesome. Effect: You can pass negative effects from other players or drawn cards onto the next player. No points and does not count as having laid a creature. If enough Jellies are played during your turn negative effects can come back to you.
Net Profits, Reference: Word play on the capitalist notion of “net profits.” Effect: Pick any card you want from the discard pile, looking through the deck beforehand is allowed in casual games.
Hanging, Reference: No reference, just iconic! Effect: your plankton are young and fun and partied too hard the night before! Let them off the hook, eh?
All Mouth, Reference: I actually named this card (partially) after a local feminist production called “All Mouth, No Trousers”. Plankton are the natural meal of Tunicates. Effect: You can eat another plankton and gain your opponents point!
Sonar Boom, Reference: Human BS that disrupts sea life. Effect: Shuffle time!
The Few, Reference: The Rich 1% Dickholes that take and take and take more than they could ever need and don’t deserve. “Excellent” is a nod to Mr Burns! Effect: Take a point from an opponent when played, just remember who you’ve stolen from!
Revealing, Reference: Bit of a wink-wink nudge-nudge sex reference here! Effect: Lets you see two cards into the top of any deck, multiples can be played at the same time.
UFO, Reference: Aliens. (Did you picture the meme?) Effect: UFO is an instant card that takes 3 points off you imediately.
Gushing, Reference: The monarchy might be a joke, but their crimes are not. Don’t forget the awful things they do and get away with, with their bloated, sweating faces. Hydrothermal vents are a source of power in nature (just like the proletariat!) and provide great things! Effect: +2 points.
Whale Fall, Reference: Sciency stuff, when whales die they feed the ecosystem at the bottom of the ocean! Effect: Your last played creature has dies, unless you have a Jelly Skip or Into The Mist.
Creatures (Dolphin Deck)
Here I’ll decode each multiple point creature in it’s entirety! We’ll go in order of how many cards you need. Many, if not all, of the creatures in sea creatures don’t conform to human ideas of “natural biology or behaviours,” by which I mean cishet normativity. They are not meant to be 1-1 comparisons, just examples of how queer nature is.
Nudibranch (Noo-Di-Brank) Reference: Nudibranchs are a type of sea slug that are hermaphroditic, mixed sex characteristics are normal in nature. I also liked the scientific name Nudibranch and how it fits into the innuendo of the game. Effect: If a Nudi has already been played yours is worth double points (4).
Check out Ze Frank on youtube if you want a funny educational video about them!
Quickie The Squid Reference: The concept of “tops” and “bottoms” in queer culture, and quick shags. One of the first card I designed! Effect: You get to see the entire hand of the next player.
Mimicwhy Reference: Parrots are known for the ability to mimic speech, Mimicwhy’s power is mimicry of a creature effect. Mimiwhy is having an existential crisis about their identity, which is a total mood. Effect: Copy the effect of the last creature played.
Whale Killer Reference: Orcas, while closely related to whales, are classed as dolphins and are known to kill whales (among other creatures!) so it seemed like a good choice for a direct attack card. Effect: Play during someone else’s turn to kill the creature they’re laying and claim three points. It can also be played during your turn for no effect if you’re desperate to get rid of cards. (yes you still get the points!)
Shock Treatment Reference: Shock Treatment is the title of the Rocky Horror sequel, in which Brad and Janet never met Frank and are brainwashed by the media. A terrible yet utterly engaging film – definitely worth watching! Effect: The other players have been shocked and must drop one of their cards into the discard pile.
Sticky Fingers Reference: Sticky Fingers likes to shoplift because stealing from exploitative companies is praxis. Also, tentacles do the sucky-sucky grab, which is a type of sticky. For those amongst us with a more 18+ rated brain can probably think of other reasons fingers might be sticky! Effect: Swap two of your opponents cards with each other or the deck. (4 cards in total change positions).
