Come Sail Away Board Game Review

When I was at Canada Plays 2025, one of the games I got to play was Come Sail Away, a really fun, puzzly game about placing passengers on a cruise ship. I was originally excited about this after Mike Delisio from The Dice Tower talked about it again and again, putting it on Top 10 lists, and more. I had requested a review opportunity for this one a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised when it was waiting for me at home when Canada Plays 2025 was over. Did the game live up to what I wanted it to be? Let’s take a look!

In Come Sail Away, players will be drawing, playing, and passing passenger cards, collecting passengers in various colors and placing them on their cruise ship. Passengers must be used from right to left or left to right on the card, and when placed on the cruise ship, must start in one room and then be placed one after another in adjacent rooms.

Each card will have a luggage bonus, which allows players to move their luggage token along the associated track, unlocking new rooms, the opportunity to move or draw new passengers for free, or earn victory points. Certain Passengers want to be placed in certain rooms, so properly planning where you will drop passengers off will be key to victory. You need to plan accordingly, though, because once a room is full of passengers, it’s turned over and no longer becomes and adjacent room for placing.

For me, Come Sail Away is like a giant puzzle, one that is ever changing depending on the cards you have in your hand. You’ll only ever have two options on your turn, and while generally at least one of them will work for your strategy, there are times when neither works. These moments, while few and far between, can be pretty frustrating, especially if you cannot place passengers in the correct rooms, resulting in disgruntled passengers that lose points.

But usually, there is a path forward regardless of the options in front of you – it’s up to you, though, to make sure you wisely place the passengers, getting room bonuses before other players, but also not blocking yourself off from options as the game progresses. I’ve had really good games of Come Sail Away and really bad games of Come Sail Away, but I’ve always enjoyed myself.

I think there is one reason for that – Come Sail Away plays so quickly. 12 rounds sounds like a lot of games to play, but with everyone playing simultaneously, it goes so quickly. And with only two options to choose from on your turn, it doesn’t take all that long for you to decide what you are going to do. We are always looking for quicker games to fill some time on board game night, and usually those games are simple card games. This feels like a nice, meaty experience, but one that plays so fast it counts as a filler game in my books.

If you are looking for something VERY accessible – my 10 year old easily plays this one – then Come Sail Away is a fantastic option for your next board game night. With great cardboard components and tons of unique, colored steeples, there is a lot to like in this experience.