Capture the Bald Yeti
Snow crunches under your boots.
You adjust your hat, tighten your grip on a trap that has definitely seen better days, and scan the treeline. Somewhere out there is the elusive menace. The Bald Yeti.
And you are determined to bring it in. But you are not alone.
Across the clearing, another hunter is grinning. Too confidently. Their trap is already set. Red chillies glint in the snow. A camera waits.
A goat bleats in the distance.
You tell yourself this is your expedition. Your moment. Your story to tell back at camp. But the mountain has other plans. And so do your rivals.
So the real question is not whether you can catch the Bald Yeti. It’s how many you can capture before someone else steals the glory…
Entry: before playing the game
First impression
‘The game looks amazing, is there a print-and-play version up for grabs?’
That was my first interaction with Kev Brett, the designer of Capture the Bald Yeti. The catchy humor of the game, paired with its brilliant artwork lured me to reach out. At the time, only the boxed version existed. A couple of days later, Kev reached out with the PnP version and shared that it would also be available as a pledge on Kickstarter.
Aside from the humor and the artwork of the game, what made me look twice was the way Kev was sharing stories on the Bald Yeti universe, through free comic books! Short, episodic strips that follow the hunters and the ever-elusive Yeti through their ongoing misadventures.
They are light, playful, and very much in tune with the tone of the game. Less lore dump, more character moments. It is a small touch, but it adds personality to the world beyond the cards. I had a blast reading them all.
A bit on the game
Capture the Bald Yeti is a competitive card game for 2 to 4 players. Each player takes on the role of a hunter trying to reach a target amount of Yeti Gold.
Players take turns playing cards to build their own setup and interfere with opponents. Hand management plays a role, with a maximum hand size of five cards and certain cards requiring immediate play when drawn.
To capture a Yeti, a player first puts a Trap into play. A Trap must remain in play for one full round before it can be used. Once active, the player may play a Red Chilli and place a Yeti card onto the Trap to capture it, earning two Yeti Gold in the process.
Cameras can also have a Yeti placed on them, earning one Yeti Gold.
Interaction comes through action cards that remove Traps, discard key cards, steal Yeti Gold, force missed turns, or initiate challenges between hunters. Defensive cards may be played in response to block specific effects.
The first hunter to reach the target amount of Yeti Gold wins.
All you need
Capture the Bald Yeti is card-driven and easy to get to the table.
The PnP version includes 94 cards. So that’s 11 pages printed double-sided. The build is straightforward, especially if you sleeve, but there is a fair bit of cutting involved.
You will also need Yeti Gold tokens. For a full four-player hunt, keep at least 24 tokens within reach. The target is 6 per player, and gold moves around often. It is better to have a few extra than to constantly recycle from the pile.
If you are planning a 1v1, have at least 20 tokens ready. The race stretches to 10, and the back-and-forth can swing quickly.
Each player builds a small area in front of them for Traps and Cameras, so you do need some table space. That said, nothing sprawls. Even at four players, the footprint stays contained.
If printing and cutting is not your thing, there is also a boxed edition available. If shipping works for you, that is the simpler route. Otherwise, the print-and-play build is very manageable.
Pick your hunter, shuffle, deal, and start hunting!
Entry: after playing the game
Findings
On point
There is no ambiguity in Capture the Bald Yeti.
You know what you are trying to do from the first turn. Set Traps. Protect them. Capture Yetis. And reach the target before someone else does.
The path to victory is not hidden behind layered systems or long-term engines. It is clear. Direct.
The same goes for sabotage. If you want to disrupt someone’s progress, the tools are right there in your hand. Steal. Remove. Freeze. Interfere. The action cards are explicit about their intent, and the cards themselves carry enough information that you rarely need to revisit the rulebook.
It is a compact design. Everyone at the table understands what is at stake.
What brings variety
Being a card-driven game, you are drawing every round. There is no way around it. The element of luck is present. What you draw shapes your options.
But the variety comes from what those cards actually allow you to do.
One turn you are placing a Trap and quietly preparing. The next, you might be triggering an Avalanche to force an opponent to miss their turn. You could unleash a Goat to eat a Red Chilli from someone’s setup, or swap hands with an opponent.
Even the Yetis themselves are not identical in function. The Bald Yeti Disguise can be used to bluff and disrupt. Defensive Hunter cards can be held back and played at the right moment to block an incoming action.
Because of this mix, no two rounds feel quite the same. Sometimes you are building. Sometimes you are protecting. Sometimes you are dismantling someone else’s progress.
A party game you’ve been looking for
I do not often sit down for competitive card games like this.
More often than not, I lean toward solo experiences with layered systems and longer arcs. Capture the Bald Yeti lives in a different space entirely. And yet, I had a genuinely good time with it.
Cause it thrives on interaction. On timing. On that moment where someone thinks they are safe, only to see their Trap dismantled or their Gold slip away. Those swings spark reactions. Comments. Laughter. It feels built for that kind of table.
Not every game needs to be heavy. Sometimes, you just want to see who walks away with the Yeti Gold.
Ideal player count?
My first plays were head-to-head. Later, I gathered a full table of four to see how the chaos scaled.
At two players, the game feels tighter. More direct. Every action lands squarely on the other person. That intensity works, but it also makes the disruption feel sharper.
At four players, the experience shifts quite a bit. The interaction spreads around the table. Momentum swings become shared moments rather than personal blows. The laughter grows with each unexpected Goat.Â
The chaos has room to breathe. The setbacks sting less. The table talk carries the game forward.Â
For me, four players is where Capture the Bald Yeti unlocks its full character. It feels more at home there.
It's here!
As I write this, the Kickstarter campaign has just gone live.
I’ve had Capture the Bald Yeti with me for more than six months now, and it has visited my table several times. It’s the kind of game I reach for when I want something light, interactive, and easy to bring out with friends.
I check in on the comics whenever a new one drops. The Bald Yeti universe has been a fun ride to follow.
If that sounds like your kind of table energy, it is worth a look.
Recommended items
Game Overview
Designer: Kev Brett
Artist: Kev Brett
Number of players: 2 to 4
Difficulty level: Easy
Rounds of gameplay needed to learn: 1 to 2 rounds
Game duration: 15-25 minutes
Available on: Kickstarter
Theme: Take that | Card game
Number of pages and color: At least 11 pages (color print)
Assembling difficulty level: Moderate. Cut and sleeve the cards.
Lamination: Not recommended.
Additional elements required: 20 to 30 tokens
Time to learn: Within 20 minutes
Travel-friendly: 10/10
Shelving friendly: 9.5/10
Rating from PnP Time: 8.5/10
Tas is a game designer and blogger based in Bangladesh, with the dream of exploring the world of games and introducing it to anyone new to it.
