AQUATICA

OBJECTIVE OF AQUATICA: The objective of Aquatica is to be the player with the most Prosperity Points when the game comes to an end. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 to 4 Players  

MATERIALS: 1 Game Board, 1 Notepad, 31 Wild Mantas’ Miniatures, 27 Ocean Character Cards, 6 Double-Sided Goal Tokens, 16 Trained Mantas’ Miniatures, 24 Starting Character Cards, 8 King Cards, 4 Player Boards, 56 Location Cards, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Action Retrieval Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF AQUATICA 

As mighty ocean kings, the players attempt to bring glory and riches to their realm. Players will fight for locations, recruit characters, and complete a variety of golds to ensure that their realm is the strongest in the sea. Aquatica requires strategic planning in order to make the most out of every turn! 

SETUP 

To begin setup, place the board in the middle of the playing area. Shuffle the character cards, placing it on the lowest row of the board. The character’s row is then filled with the top six cards that are drawn from the deck. The location cards are then shuffled and placed in the middle of the board, using the top six cards to fill the row. All of the miniature game pieces are placed beside the board.  

Each player will place their boards in front of them, choosing a symbol to represent them throughout the course of the game. Once they have chosen a symbol, the player will collect the mantas and character cards that have their symbol on it. The last player that took a swim in the sea will become the first player in the game.  

The first player will get the first king card, the second player will get the next the second king, and so on so forth. Players may choose to draft kings in later games, but for the first few, the players should use this rule. The players will then gather their character cards and their king cards to form their hand. All player mantas should be oriented so that their effect is facing upwards. The game is then ready to begin.  

GAMEPLAY 

Beginning with the starting player, turns will rotate clockwise around the group. Players must complete one main action and additional actions during their turn. The players may choose to complete the actions in any order that they choose. Once they have completed their actions, the next player will begin their turn.  

The players may complete their main action by playing a character card from their hand and completing the actions found on their card. The players must complete any actions found on the card that they are able to. The only time a player is able to skip actions is if they are not able to complete them. The played card is then placed in the discard stack before the player begins to complete their additional actions. 

Additional actions consist of flipping mantas, which allows the player to perform the action of the manta before flipping it to its tired side. Another additional action allows the player to exploit depths, which is found on the left side of cards. By completing actions, the players will gain certain benefits, including prosperity points. The faster the player completes their goals, which are found on the board, the more points the player earns.  

Once they have completed the goal, the player will place their manta on the first unoccupied space. The player may not complete this goal again. The placement of the mantas determines how many points the players earn. The faster they are at completing the goal, the more points that they are able to earn. 

END OF GAME 

The game may come to an end in one of three ways. It may end once a player completes all four of their goals. Secondly, it may come to an end once the location deck becomes exhausted. Finally, the game may come to an end if the ocean character deck becomes exhausted. Once it comes to an end, the players will tally their prosperity points.  

Players earn one point for each character card that they have. They also earn points equal to the points shown on the goal track. The players will also tally their points from the locations found in their scoring pile only. Once the players tally their prosperity points, the winner can be determined. The player with the most points is declared the winner! 

Ellie Phillips
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