Oceans

Set-Up:
1. Place the Reef and the Ocean cardboard containers in the center next to each other. Place the Species boards nearby.
2. Shuffle the Scenario cards and randomly place 1 on the shelf below Ocean Zones 1 and 2. Ocean Zone 3 is the bigger
section on the right side. (Use cards Abundance and Fertile for the Reef variant, or if you just want an easier game.)
 Cards with Shark Teeth are more aggressive, cards with a diamond shape are more complex, and cards with a
Lightning Bolt are immediate Events.
3. Place the “Cambrian Explosion” card with the “Reef Variant” face-down into Ocean Zone 1. (With beginners, use Reef
variant side face-up.) Read both sides of this card as it will help “Phase 1” make a little more sense.
4. Shuffle the Surface cards and deal 6 to each player to form their opening hand. Place the deck face-down nearby.
5. Shuffle the Deep cards and flip 2 random cards face-up next to the deck. This is called the Gene Pool. (Don’t use Deep
cards with the Reef variant.)
6. Place 60 population (fish tokens) in a reserve area (game comes with a bag labeled “reserve.”) Set them aside for now.
7. Create the population supply for the game as followed… with 2/3/4 players, use 100/120/140 total population.
 Roughly divide the total population into 4 piles. Place a pile in the Reef, Ocean Zone 1, 2, and 3.
8. Reveal the top card from the Surface deck and place it face-up in the discard pile. In the bottom left of this card is a
“Migration number.” Move this many population from BOTH the Reef and Ocean Zone 1 into Ocean Zone 3 now.
9. Give each player a shield to hide their points during the game. (If you have the neat KS bags, use those instead.)
10. Choose a 1st player. Give out the point tokens as followed for these player counts. (Award these points at end of game.)
 2 players: 1st - 4, 2nd - 0. 3 players: 1st - 6, 2nd - 4, 3rd - 0. 4 players: 1st - 7, 2nd - 6, 3rd - 4, 4th - 0.

Game Flow:
o Oceans is played in turns, starting with the 1st player and going clockwise, until all 3 Ocean Zones are completely empty
of population. When this happens, put the 60 population reserve you set aside during set-up into Ocean Zone 3 and
keep playing until the last player has finished their turn. (See End Game for final scoring.)
o On a player’s turn, they will carry out 4 phases before the next player takes their turn – Playing Cards, Feeding, Aging,
and Drawing Cards.
o Refer to the included Reference guide for any questions on the 12 basic cards found in the Surface deck.
o Population and species boards are unlimited. If the population depletes after end game trigger, use substitute.
o Take note, in this game, the species boards don’t represent a real species, but a new quirky one you are inventing as you
play trait cards next to them. If you understand this concept, it makes the game easier to understand thematically.

Phase 1 – Playing Cards:

o If the Cambrian explosion hasn’t happened (see below), play 1 Surface Card from your hand (not a Deep card.) If the
Cambrian explosion has happened, play any 2 cards from your hand, one at a time, according to the following rules.
o When a card is played, you either MIGRATE population or you EVOLVE a species with the played card.
o Evolving a Species:
 Note: There is no limit to the number of species you can have in front of you.
 When you play a card in order to start a new species, take 1 species board and put it in front of you (fish
pointing away.) Place the new species board on either side or in between species you already have. (See below,
adjacency matters!) The new trait card will be paired with this new species board and be placed to its left. Once
a trail card is placed, it is active.
 If you want to add a trait card to an existing species, simply play the card with the other trait cards to the left of
the species board. A species may have multiple cards of the same trait, but 3 is the maximum number of trait
cards a species may have, unless a trait card allows for more.
 You are allowed to play trait cards to a species at its max trait number as long as the new card grants extra traits.
 At any time during this phase, you may remove trait cards from any of your species you wish. Surface cards go
in the discard pile, and Deep cards are removed from the game.
o Migration of Population:
 Instead of playing a trait card to evolve a species, you can discard a trait card to move population from 1 water
zone to another water zone. Water zones are the Reef, and Ocean Zone 1, 2, 3.
 The number in the bottom left of the trait card you discard is the Migration number. Move this amount of
population from 1 water zone to any other single water zone. If the zone you are migrating from has less than
the number you can move, only migrate what is there. Do not take extra population from another water zone.
Phase 2 – Feeding:
o Choose 1 of your species (only 1) and that species gets to eat. A species eats by either FORAGING for food in the Reef
or by ATTACKING another species, even another species owned by you!
o The Green circle on some trait cards represents “Forage” value and the red diamond represents “Attack” power. If a
species has no shown Forage value among all trait cards, it is understood to have 1 Forage. Same goes for Attack power.
o If a species has at least 1 “Ø” symbol in the green color on any of their trait cards, it means this species can never Forage
even if it has traits that give a Forage value. The same goes for Attacking.
o In order to Forage, add up all the green circle values of the foraging species and take that amount of population from
the Reef (and Reef only) and place each population token earned onto an empty space of the foraging species board.
o In order to Attack, add up all red diamond values of the attacking species and target 1 other species at the table (even
one of your own) and remove that amount of population from the targeted species. Add the removed population to the
attacker’s species board just as you would if you foraged.
 Some trait cards have a defense value at the bottom (turtle shell icon.) When a species is attacked, add up its
defense value, this value will “save” this amount of population from being removed by the attacker. Note – the
defense value doesn’t reduce the attacking value, just the amount of population lost.
 There is no default value for defense. If a species has no shell icons, it has 0 defense.
o A species can’t “forage” or “attack” unless it would take at least 1 population, and it must have at least 1 open space on
its species board. Population can only go on the fishbone space (overpopulation) if it is the only available space left.
o A species can’t take more population than allowed on their species board. (See Overpopulation below.)
o When foraging or attacking, a species must take its full amount, if possible. (Can’t take less to avoid overpopulation!)
o The term “Leeching” doesn’t mean Foraging or Attacking. It is an automatic trait.
o The term “Adjacency” refers to the species directly to the right and left of a given species. Keep in mind, the table acts
like a giant circle so my right-most species is adjacent to my right neighbor’s left-most species.
o The blue triangle refers to “Gain” value. When a species “gains” population due to something triggering anywhere at
the table, they take population equal to the gain value from Ocean Zone 1. When that runs out, take from Ocean Zone
2, then Ocean Zone 3. All “gains” trigger at the same time, but if need be, go in clockwise order.
o Overpopulation: After each feeding, resolve everything that triggers from this feeding and then check for
overpopulation. At this time, if a population token is on the fishbone spot (last space) of a species board, it
“overpopulates.” Any species that has this happens removes population until there is only 5 population left on the
species board. Place the removed population tokens in any 1 water zone.
 If the species you chose to feed during your turn overpopulations, and it still had additional feeding abilities
(such as Tentacled), it must end its feeding phase now. However, if another species overpopulations due to your
main species feeding this turn, it doesn’t stop your main species from feeding again, if it can do so.

Phase 3 – Aging:
o If the Cambrian explosion hasn’t occurred yet, remove 1 population from each of your species boards and place it
behind your shield (or place it in your point bag.) If the Cambrian explosion has occurred, removed 2 from each species.
o A species will go “extinct” if, right now, you go to remove the necessary population from a species and you can’t remove
the full amount. Remove the population you can from this species and place it behind your shield, then remove all trait
cards and the species board for this species. It no longer exists. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME A SPECIES CAN GO EXTINCT!
o IMPORTANT – If, after aging, a species has 0 population, it doesn’t go extinct because you were able to remove all
population necessary for aging. Make sure to get more population before the next Aging phase or else it will go extinct!

Phase 4 – Drawing Cards:

1. You may draw 1 Deep card (even if the Cambrian explosion hasn’t occurred yet – start preparing!)
 Either draw 1 Deep card from the 2 face-up cards of the Gene pool…
 Or draw 3 Deep cards from the deck, keep 1, and place the other 2 cards face-up on top of each Gene pool pile.
2. You may now discard any number of Surface cards from your hand. Can’t discard any Deep cards!
3. Draw from the Surface deck until the total number of cards in your hand is 6.
 If the Surface deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile.

Cambrian Explosion Card:

o When the 1st Ocean Zone becomes empty, the Cambrian explosion card that is located in this zone is removed and
placed for all players to see. If any population enters the 1st Ocean zone again, the Cambrian explosion is still in effect.
o (See Card) From now on, during phase 1, play 2 cards instead of 1 and during Phase 3, age 2 population from each
species instead of just 1. Also, players can now start to play “Deep” trait cards, unless playing the Reef variant.
Scenario Cards:
o When the 1st or 2nd Ocean Zone with a scenario card becomes empty, that scenario card will come into effect.
o If any population is placed back into an empty Ocean Zone with a scenario card, that card is deactivated.
 Blue cards are ongoing. As long as the associated Ocean Zone is empty, this effect will be active.
 Purple cards are immediate effects that occur whenever the associated zone is emptied.
o Even though scenario cards activate whenever the zone is emptied, make sure you resolve all trait card triggers (like
“gains” and “overpopulation”) before activating the scenario card.

The Deep:
o This deck of cards has no duplicate traits so it is not recommended with the Reef Variant (beginners.)
o Once the Cambrian explosion occurs, players may start playing Deep cards they have taken into their hands.
o You can play Deep cards like any trait card during Phase 1, however, if you play a Deep card as a trait to evolve a species
(not migrate,) you must pay a population cost from your score pile (behind your shield) equal to the Deep card’s migrate
number. Place this population payment into any 1 water zone.
o You don’t need to pay a cost when using a Deep card for Migration. Simply discard the Deep card from the game.
o Some of the promo Deep cards have a “lightning” symbol on them. These aren’t traits to play with species, but rather
events that still require a population payment!

End Game:
o Once all 3 Ocean Zones are empty of population, the End game is triggered.
o Immediately place the set aside 60 population into the 3rd Ocean Zone and continue to play until the last player in turn
order has gone (the player with the 0 token given during set-up.)
o Score points the following way:
 1 point for every population in your score pile (behind shield or in your bag)
 1 point for every population sitting on all your species boards currently
 Add the points shown on your point token given at the beginning of the game.
o Most points is the winner. Ties broken by the player with the most trait cards currently on all their species at this time.

5/6 Player Set-up:

o The KS version gives enough population to go up to 6 players.
o With 5 players, use 160 total population, and with 6 players, use 180.
o With 5 players, give tokens out as followed: 1 – 8pts, 2 – 7pts, 3 – 6pts, 4 – 4pts, 5 – 0 pts.
o With 6 players, give tokens out as followed: 1 – 9pts, 2 – 8pts, 3 – 7pts, 4 – 6pts, 5 – 4pts, 6 – 0pts.