River Rats

cooperative poker

Work together to defeat the River Rats around the poker table.

At Spellenspektakel Utrecht 2025, I came across the 4 Suits Studio stand. There, I had the pleasure of meeting Robin Stokkel. He was presenting his game, River Rats. It was a small stand, but Robin's enthusiasm was truly striking. I also had the chance to chat with him briefly about the origin of this card game. You can find this at the end of this review.

Rating

Overall                         8
Story                            7
Game system             8
Design & art                8
Replayability              9

River Rats is a fast-paced cooperative poker game for 1 to 4 players aged 10 and over. It has a short playing time of 20–30 minutes.

Story

The ship's crew is challenged by the River Rats to a game of poker. Together, you'll take on the challenge. But watch out! Communication is limited. Will you manage to send the rats packing through good teamwork and strong poker hands?

Objective: The aim is to work together to be the first to inflict five points of debt on both River Rats. But be careful that the rats don't beat you and that you, as the crew, are the first to be assigned five points of debt!

Rules of the game

Some general points

In this game, you work together to build a stronger poker hand than that of the River Rat you're playing against. The player with the strongest poker hand at the end of the round assigns the five points of debt to the losing hand (either the River Rat or you as the crew).

For those not very familiar with poker, the different poker hands and their strengths are clearly explained in the rules and on the reference card included with the game's cards.

In addition, each River Rat has its own special ability and victory bonuses. The characters you play as a crew also each have a special ability.

Important! During the game, you are only allowed to communicate with each other to a limited extent. Players must not simply reveal what they have in their hand. Nor should you discuss which collective hand you wish to build. You are, however, allowed to have a joint discussion about the strategy you wish to adopt in that round.

The game consists of turns and various rounds.

A player's turn consists of one action. You can choose from:

  • drawing & playing;
  • using a joker. 

Drawing and playing  

Drawing a card: With this action, you top up your hand to 3 cards. To do this, you may choose from the following options:

  • take a card from the market and then replenish the market so that there are always 3 cards in the market;

or

  • draw a card from the face-down draw pile.

Playing a card: You play a card into the communal hand and then either:

  • - carry out the action associated with the suit (hearts, clubs, spades, diamonds) (suit action);
  • - carry out the action associated with your character's power if the suit matches that of your character.

Using a joker

Unlocking jokers:
During set-up, there are two face-down jokers. At the start of each turn, a card is placed face-up next to them. This card represents both the debt to be played for that round and the joker prediction. Depending on the value of the card, you must play a specific combined hand to unlock a joker. All conditions can be found on the 'Joker Prediction' player overview. Once the joker has been unlocked, it can be used to perform the 'use a joker' action.

When you play the 'use a joker' action, you take an unlocked joker and place it in the shared hand.

During the 'Comparing hands' step, you decide collectively what value and suit to assign to this joker.

Please note: You can only play 1 joker per shared hand. Once a joker has been played, it is removed from the game.

You continue drawing and playing cards until you have a shared hand of five cards. That marks the end of a round. This takes you to the next phase:

Comparing hands

In this phase, you follow these steps:

  • joker prediction;
  • revealing cards;
  • determining the best hand;
  • determining the winner;
  • clearing the table.

Joker prediction: First, check whether the shared hand meets the condition for unlocking a joker. If so, turn this joker face up.

Revealing cards: Turn over every face-down card from the River Rat's hand and the combined hand.
Determine the best hand: Make the best possible five-card combination for the River Rat. Set the remaining cards aside.

Determine the winner: The strongest hand wins. These rankings can be found on the player overview cards.

When the players win: Place the debt (the card that was also the joker prediction, plus any additional debt accumulated during the turn) face down on the active River Rat.

When a River Rat has accumulated 5 debt, the rat is defeated.

When the River Rat wins: Assign the debt to be paid to one of the players' characters. Once you have accumulated 5 debt, you are defeated and the River Rat triumphs.

In the event of a tie, the River Rat wins.

The River Rat is defeated in a round
If you have collectively defeated a River Rat (the River Rat has 5 debt on its card), you must carry out the following steps:

  • place the River Rat's debt on the discard pile;
  • turn the River Rat over. This indicates that it is no longer active. This face-down card now belongs to the active River Rat's hand;
  • apply the victory bonus you earn for defeating the River Rat. You can find this on the reference card;
  • the new active River Rat is turned face up. Read out the active River Rat's power. Then proceed to prepare for a new round.

Clear the board: Place the shared hand and the River Rat's hand onto the discard pile. If any jokers have been used, remove them from the game. Prepare for a new round and place the unused cards onto a discard pile.

Please note: The players' hands and the market remain in place.

If there are no more cards left on the draw pile, shuffle all the cards from the discard pile and form a new draw pile.


End of the game

The game ends immediately if one of the following situations occurs:

  • Both River Rats have been defeated: you win the game!
  • You, as players, are the first to reach 5 debt: you lose the game.

Content and design

The game comes in the standard deck of cards format, making it very easy to take with you on the train, to a café terrace or on a plane.

The artwork is by Rixt Weerschop. The graphics are playful and beautifully finished. The quality of the cards and illustrations is excellent.

The reference cards are clear and very handy. They can easily be kept next to you whilst playing.

The rules also explain a more challenging advanced and expert mode. This means the game has been well design for different skill levels which is a nice addition.

The included rulebook is compact and rather small. This is resolved by a QR code included in the rulebook, which links to a 'how-to-play' video and a digital version of the rules.

Also in the box

  • 52x playing cards; 
  • 2x jokers;
  • 1x rulebook;
  • 2x double-sided reference cards.

Conclusion

I really like the vision behind Robin's game development, which is why it's perfect for The Wolf Platform to shine a light on it. I find it remarkable that the game is accessible to everyone. You can always find all the rules on their website. "Even if you're on a tight budget, everyone has a pack of cards at home." – R. I think that's actually true.

The game mechanism for cooperative poker is well thought out and offers a fun way to sit round the table with friends. That said, the game is certainly just as entertaining when played solo.

The fact that each River Rat character has its own power, just like each player character, adds a nice dynamic to the table. Of course, as with poker, there's a significant element of luck, but thanks to the specific powers and colour-based actions, you can still influence that element to a considerable extent.
You can easily place the reference cards next to you; they're handy for people who aren't familiar with standard poker.

For me, the replayability is very high. Because cards are used and end up in the discard pile during the game, not all combinations are always possible. For people who are used to keeping track of the cards, this can be a bit confusing.

It's an ideal game to pop in your bag and is easy to explain, even when you're sitting in a pub. You can usually find a pack of cards on the bar.

A quick word about 4 Suits Studio

Robin Stokkel founded 4 Suits Studio in 2024. Before, in 2023, he and a friend had already come up with a game, Monsters of Loch Lomond, which was published by HOT GAMES.

Robin wanted to takea new direction, to do something completely different: to only develop games that can be played with ordinary playing cards. This was based on the idea that anyone should be able to play the game. "Even if you don't have any money, everyone has a pack of cards at home."

The game rules are always available online. This makes it accessible to everyone and allows you to try it out first before deciding whether to actually buy it. If you enjoy the game and still want to buy it for the artwork and theme, you'll receive a beautifully finished pack of cards and support this one-man business and initiative.

River Rats is published by 4 Suits Studio and is already available in shops. A new game is also on the way: Stamp Showdown. It's a competitive game where you have to collect sets and trade them on the market.

Text and photography: Esmeralda Wolf

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