The new Kosmos two-player game The Reef seems not to have made a splash. Some find the game slow, luck prone, and lacking serious decision making. But for some reason both my wife and I have taken a liking to the game, perhaps because of its theme. After playing a few games we identified some problems and have some up with some variants.

1) The initial setup is modified as follows: a) Each player places a Reef in the first space (next to their boat) on their side of the reef. [This ensures that neither player will get off to a terrible start where their opponent can grab fish and they can't (from lack of a reef). By having to buy the Reef and not having the players start with one, the first player is less likely to get lucky and immediately grab a valuable fish or two! b) Each player takes a Clam and a Shark and 5 random cards, mixes them together and lays them out face up on their side of the reef (instead of taking 7 random cards). [This gives each play a roughly equal start, with some chance at controlling their environment.]

2) At the start of the game, 4 cards from the deck are turned face up and put aside (I call this the Tide Pool). When a player must refresh their side of the reef they have the option of taking a face down card or one of the 4 face up cards from the Tide Pool. The face up cards are replaced by drawing a card from the deck) as soon as they are taken. [This prevents one player from getting hosed by having their side of the reef filled with junk. It's possible that one player will receive a great set of cards, but in practice doesn't happen often.]

3) For those who have a poor memory, we display the discarded cards so they call all be viewed.

The game still takes a long time to play, but with more control of one's cards. and less junk, the gamc plays faster. In addition, there are more meaningful decisions to make. And the players are less frustrated because the lulls are reduced and the players have greater control. Still not a great game, but better; say 3 1/2 stars.