Aquatica | Board Game | Strategy Game for Teens and Adults | Family Game Night | Entertainment | Ages 14+ | 1-4 Players | 60 Minutes Playtime

My husband & I game...a LOT. This is a great addition! Very easy to get started. We like that you don't have to continually track resources-you use them with each turn. Also, this type of game where you don't know who won until the end is something we like. It keeps you motivated to keep trying and not give up!As with card games, it helps to know the card verbiage so as you play more, this is easier. Now, the strategy! You could have your next 2 or so moves figured out, and another player does something to mess you up! So, it's a game where you're constantly thinking, analyzing and evaluating your moves. It's also based on cards that you acquire...but you can select, unlike some games where it's a 'blind draw'...we like the selection.Very few minis...again, less to track!Our only complaint...the ink on the 'wild' mantas...it's just too dark. We will find a bright permanent thin sharpie to write over them. Other than that...well-designed and great replayability! Once you get the hang of it (by the 2nd game for us) it plays reasonably quickly for 2 people. Have not tried with more than 2 yet or the solo. We already want to try the Cold Water expansion (we own already), and just ordered the Reef today as we like it that much!!If you're new to gaming, this is a great, entry-level game with good mechanics!

Tom V. of the Dice tower channel on YouTube does an excellent review of this game and I would highly recommend you look at this if your on the fence.Below is my personal review.Fantastic engine builder and stunning beautiful artwork on the cards. This game is extremely simple to learn. I will probably use it as a go to game when children are running around because it doesn’t require a huge amount of attention but still engaging enough for competitive board gamers.Pros:Easy to learnArt work on the box and the cards are absolutely stunningThe manta tokens are really really nice (3D)Everything fits in the box very wellTruly 40min-1hr play timeCons:1. I wished there was more variety in the cards you can recruit.- Everyone starts out with the same 5 cards and then you start to buy different characters which gives it an asymmetrical note, however there are duplicates of the characters everyone can buy (about 2 each) and there are only about 10 or so different characters. The expansion to this game will help this but I still am left wanting more.2. The cards are a bit lacking in quality.- although many many many boardgames don’t have the same material of cards that this game does I wished they were a little sturdier. Especially the location cards. I can see the edges getting bent or damaged if someone doesn’t take card inserting the card into the player board. I bought card sleeves for the character card but the location cards are a different size of card so there’s not much that can be done to protect the thin material.3. The game could become stale after 10 or 15 times of playing- there isn’t a massive amount of depth to this game (pun intended) so for those looking for a drastically different game every time you won’t get it here. More character cards would solve this problem to some extent and there is 1 expansion with the hope of more.All in all I love this game. The cover is beautiful, the components are fantastic (with the exception of my high expectations for card material) and the game is easy to jump into. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone looking for a simple game that has elements of engine building and card and timing management.

We added both expansions, but I might buy a vanilla copy just to be able to play the base game without having to take all the expansion stuff out every time. It's a great game, not super hard, but also, engaging for the experienced gamer. I love the cover as well, easily in my top 5 game covers of all time and I've owned at least 500+ games. Unfortunately, not all the art in the game lives up to the box cover, In particular I find the location cards too different than the rest of the game's art for my liking and the characters are totally different than both that art and the cover.The coral reef expansion replaces the board, which also replaced the cover art with art that I found very inferior to the original, which is too bad.It's a great game though, accessible easy to play, quick to set up, fun decisions, makes it to the table often.

My kids (we play a lot of strategy board games) aged 9 and 12, were able to play with us as we learned. Lots of symbology/terms/grammar to learn to understand game play, so if you glaze over don't go for this. But we had fun playing, will play again, and hopefully better each time.

Would like to be able to order the 2nd version addition

Great game, can be played with two pretty well which is great.

This game is very easy to learn and highly immersive. It involves strategy which can be shared with friends or played solo. The artwork is great and the playtime is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, so it makes a fun little fill type game with your group or your family. The card keeper is unique and truly goes with this theme. After choosing your sea king you must strategize to gain the most points from a combination of the mantas and gaining points from conquering or purchasing locations. All of this with an underwater theme. This is definitely a gameboard essential.

I have only played the solo mode, and it's a really good game! I think that playing it with any number of additional people will improve the experience!