INKtentions Card Game

INKtentions is a sneaky & strategic card game for 2–4 clever octopuses, ages 8+, playing in 20+ minutes. Bluff, bait, and outwit your rivals. Hide from predators, collect food tile sets, and unleash surprise punches with your eight-armed arsenal.

You are an octopus, the smartest invertebrate in the ocean. Secretly play cards, building the soon-to-unfold drama of the ocean depths. HUNT for nearby food or lay a trap with SHARKS for your rivals. Or strategically, PUNCH a card, moving it and making it someone else's problem!

Don't be too obvious with your "INKtentions" in this quick-to-learn game of wits.  

Theme & Story Time

Inspired by real marine behaviors, each creature's action mimics survival strategies in the ocean, from stealthy ambushes to inky escapes. 

As players dive deeper, fascinating facts and patterns emerge about marine life through collateral learning. It's not just gameplay—it’s a journey through the hidden drama of underwater ecosystems, where every move tells a story rooted in nature.

How to Play

On your turn, play one card...

...But timing is everything! Lay traps, dodge predators, and bluff your way to the best sets of food. You’ll need to read your rivals, decide when to strike, when to hide, and when to throw an unexpected punch. 

JUST LIKE IN LIFE: The most obvious octopus is often the one who gets eaten.

    HUNT to get some food. If it survives the round, gain a Food Tile!
    HIDE & HUNT is like HUNT but dodges SHARKS. However, you only get 1 of these.
    SHARKS bring danger to the cards to the right and left. You know it. They don't! 
    PUNCH to move a card to a new location. Relocate threats or disrupt well-laid plans. 
    OCTOBILITY to use an octopus power, potentially turning the tide in your favor. These tiles      are a first-come, first-served market. As players claim them, fewer remain. Wait too long          and get fewer choices. Act too soon and miss the full value.

Balance risk and reward—protect your octopuses while blocking your rivals. After a few rounds, the best food haul wins!

Plushies

Meet your new deep-sea sidekicks: plushies that double as finger puppets!
Use them to track the first player each round—or, more importantly, to silently judge your opponents. Nothing says 'bold move, buddy' like a plushie slowly shaking its head.

Fun Fact: Octopuses don't have tentacles! Arms are appendages with suckers down the entire length. Tentacles are long arms with tentacles only at the end. An octopus has 8 arms, but a squid has 8 arms + 2 tentacles.

INKtentions: Murky Waters - Expansion

Introducing INKtentions: Murky Waters—the shadowy expansion that stirs the waters and shakes up your strategies. For players who enjoy layered tactics and deeper strategy, Murky Waters brings new dangers and defenses. The sea just got smarter.

With the arrival of the cunning EEL card, the once-reliable HIDE & HUNT card is no longer a guaranteed safe play. Hiding in the rocks can now be dangerous as the 
HIDE & HUNT card has a nemesis! However, the EEL ignores HUNT cards. 

The INK card upgrades adjacent HUNT cards into a HIDE & HUNT. Now it is easier to dodge the jaws of hungry sharks in the open ocean. But it is a double-edged sword[fish], as now you are again hiding in the rocks where an EEL might target you! 

Pledge Levels