Get lost in Sanibel, a laid-back tile placement game from Elizabeth Hargrave, inspired by summer days on the beach hunting for shells. In the game, you move along the seashore collecting shell tiles and placing them in your bag, earning points based on how you arrange them on the bag’s grid.
Watch the ocean waves wash more shells on the shore for you to discover, take a break at the lighthouse where you’ll place special lighthouse tiles, and enjoy your journey with a satisfying collage of beautiful watercolor shells. This cozy meditative game offers the perfect combination of strategy and atmosphere to keep gamers, ocean-lovers, and everyone in between wandering back time and time again.
What was the inspiration behind Sanibel?
Sanibel is actually a game that my dad suggested. I grew up in Florida and spent a lot of time beachcombing with my family. One day, my father told me that I should design a game about seashell collecting, and I decided to run with the idea.
How did you translate the beach experience into a board game mechanic?
I knew that I wanted to blend the experience and feeling of walking Sanibel’s shoreline with engaging gameplay mechanics.
As players stroll along the beach, they have choices to make, from which shells to pick up to how they should arrange them in their bag. I really wanted to capture the calm theme of walking on the sand plus satisfying puzzle decisions.
Was accessibility a priority in designing Sanibel?
Yes, I did so very intentionally. Sanibel was designed so that it’s easy to learn but still offers strategic depth. When I was designing the game, I wanted it to be something that my dad, who isn’t your typical gamer, could play, but also something that more experienced players could play and have meaningful choices and decisions each turn.
How does Sanibel balance strategy with its relaxing, beach-like vibe?
At first glance, Sanibel seems to be a simple game about shell collecting, but as you get to know it, you learn that every decision about movement, which shells you take, and where you place them in your bag, matters for scoring. The calm theme paired with the thoughtful decisions is something that I wanted to offer in Sanibel as I find that the most interesting games are those that present multiple decisions to players on each turn, rather than one clear answer.
What do you hope players feel when they play Sanibel?
I want players to feel the sense of discovery and satisfaction that you get from a day of collecting shells on the beach. In Sanibel, it’s not just about collecting tiles, it’s about the experience of finding something you weren’t expecting and deciding how to fit it into your strategy.
Ages 10+/2-4 Players, available from this year. Contact a Hasbro Representative or licensed distributor for more information.
This article also appeared in Edition 20 of The Toy Universe Magazine
