I love a good board game that is not only visually pleasing but something we can play together as a family when we want to. So, when I was offered the chance to receive a review copy of the game Aquatica from publisher Arcane Wonders, I couldn't say no! This ocean themed game can be played solo, or up to four players at once with games taking place between 30-60 minutes. The recommended age for this game is 14+ however, that is just a suggestion & as I usually say, younger children should be able to play just fine especially if they are already part of a gaming family. My eleven year old son plays this game without any issues.
During this game you will play as one of eight Sea-Kings competing to explore the ocean depths in search of resources for your clan. Along the way you'll be earning money, new characters for your deck, location cards and victory points of course. When you are brand new to the board game it suggests in the rule book that you play with Sea-kings numbered 1-4 when playing with a group of four people. I honestly would skip out on Sea-King number one and move onto Sea-king five instead. Why? He has a slight disadvantage that the player who receives him might not enjoy, but as you learn how to play the game you could come back to him without any issues. Out of the first four Sea-Kings, the first Sea-king doesn't really do as much as the others & the card requires you to discard him after using his power while the other three Sea-kings numbered 2-4 are allowed to stay in the other players decks to be re-used again. As you learn the game & are comfortable with the rules you can randomly assign Sea-Kings or let players chose who they'd like to play as. There are other sea-kings who are discarded after using their power, however most have a decent power to use.
The playing cards in this game are beautifully detailed, I love the location cards & looking at all the small details that went into each card. I also love the little manta ray playing chips! They are so cute. During the course of the game each player will get their own playing deck which matches one of the four player symbols along with a set of manta rays that also match that symbol. Everyone starts off with the same characters in their deck of cards & the same perks on the manta rays backs so that it is an even playing field. The only difference at the start of the game will be the power/ability on your Sea-king card as each has their own set of abilities they are able to do. Along the way you will be able to add additional crew to your deck which will in turn help you collect location cards.
There are also special goal bonuses you can aim for that will give you extra victory points at the end. For example one of the goals could be collect & place three location cards onto your mat, then the first player to reach that would place their manta ray in the goal area & collect the first victory point slot. The other players will also receive a chance to complete the same goal, however the end game victory points they earn will decrease as the completed player count increases. Meaning, the first to complete it would get ten victory points, while the fourth player to complete it may only receive four victory points so it helps to be the first! The rule book will let you know what requirements need to be met to trigger the end of the game & how to calculate victory points to find out who the winner is. Once you get the hang of the game & the luck of the location cards placed out during the first round games can go by rather quickly. Setting up the board game & then putting it away again at the end is also quite simple. This board game can be purchased on the Arcane Wonders website for $49.99 plus you'll find dozens of other fantastic board games worthy of adding to any board game collection.
✴ What do you think of the ocean theme of this board game?
If you want to find more great board games like Aquatica head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.
Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.
No comments:
Post a Comment