With the aid of the Fisherfolk and clever cardplay, collect necessary aquatic critters to fulfil orders and collect sand dollars in this card-flipping, nautical themed game.

In Fishy Squishy Crusty Quirky, depending on your player count, your objective is to collect either 5 or 7 sand dollars which you achieve by completing orders, either labelled as "Standard" orders or "Catch of the Day" orders. This is done by fulfilling each card's unique requirements of point totals and specific collections of either fishy, squishy, crusty or quirky sea creatures. By utilising your limited action pool to fish up cards from the open ocean or steal revealed cards from your opponent's cards, players collect the necessary sealife required in the dishes that will grant them the points they need to succeed.

This game has a particularly unique mechanic where cards can not be flipped, resulting in players not being able to see certain cards in their hands, making them vulnerable to be snatched up by other players.