10 Gallon Tank Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
  • Aquarium Cards per Player Count
• Gameplay
  • 1. Set Up the School of Fish
  • 2. Split School into Groups
  • 3. Take a Group for Your Aquarium
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Scoring
• Summary

Overview

2-5 players, 15 minutes, age 14+.

Components

• 85 Aquarium cards: 14 Guppies, 14 Discus, 14 Neon Tetra, 14 Angelfish, 14 Gouramis, 14 Mollies and 1 Treasure Chest card
• 3 Goal cards
• 1 Score pad

Setup

1. Separate the Aquarium cards from the Goal cards.

2. Remove Aquarium cards with a Player Count Number higher than those playing. Return those cards to the box.

   Note: All cards without a Player Count Number are included in every game (and the only ones used in a 2-player game).

   For example, if playing with four players, shuffle together all cards without a Player-Count Number and those with a 3+ and 4+. All cards with a 5 go back in the box.

3. To form the Aquarium deck, shuffle the remaining Aquarium cards and place them face down within reach of all players.

4. Randomly select one Goal card and place it face up near the Aquarium deck. Return the remaining two Goal cards to the box.

   • Players that meet the Goal at the end of the game earn 5 Points.

5. The last player who owned a fish is the start player for the 1st round.

You are ready to play!

Aquarium Cards per Player Count

Players	Cards	Total
2 Players	7 of each fish type (except Neon Tetras), 1 Treasure Chest	36
3 Players	8 of each fish type, 1 Treasure Chest	49
4 Players	11 of each fish type, 1 Treasure Chest	67
5 Players	14 of each fish type, 1 Treasure Chest	85

Gameplay

The game is played over a number of rounds based on the number of players.

Players	Rounds
2 Players	4 Rounds
3 Players	3 Rounds
4 Players	4 Rounds
5 Players	5 Rounds

Each round consists of three phases: Set Up the School of Fish, Split School into Groups, and Take a Group for Your Aquarium. After all three phases, the round is over. If it isn't the final round, the start player rotates clockwise for the next round.

1. Set Up the School of Fish

Draw cards from the Aquarium deck and place them face up into a square grid based on the chart below:

Players	Grid Size
2 Players	3x3 Squares
3 Players	4x4 Squares
4 Players	4x4 Squares
5 Players	4x4 Squares

2. Split School into Groups

1. The start player splits the grid of cards into two smaller groups. The group can be split horizontally or vertically, but must always be along a straight row or column. Carefully separate the two groups, leaving a space between.
2. Continuing clockwise, the next player chooses one of the groups and splits that group in the same manner as above.
3. Continue around the table until all players have split once.

Note: In a 4 or 5 player game: move to Phase 3 - Take a Group for Your Aquarium.

Note: In a 2 or 3 player game: after all players have split once, in reverse order (beginning with the last player and ending with the start player), repeat Step 2 so that each player splits a second time. Then move to Phase 3 - Take a Group for Your Aquarium.

3. Take a Group for Your Aquarium

1. The start player chooses a single group of fish and adds those cards to their hand.

2. Continuing clockwise, the next player chooses one group of fish and adds it to their hand.

   Note: In a 4 or 5 player game: move to Step 3.

   Note: In a 2 or 3 player game: after all players have chosen one group, in reverse order (beginning with the last player and ending with the start player), repeat Step 2 so that each player takes a second group of fish. Then move to Step 3.

3. Discard the remaining group of fish into a discard pile next to the Aquarium deck.

4. If this is the Final Round, the game is over. Go to Scoring!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Aquarium Cards that have been taken by players are not public information. Players may only see the cards they have collected, not see the cards in other players' hands.
2. After taking a Gourami, you may discard any other fish you've collected thus far. The discarded fish does not have to be from one you just collected.

Scoring

Each player earns points based on the type and quantity of Fish in their Aquarium.

• Molly: Each Molly is worth points as indicated on the card.
• Gourami: Each Gourami is worth 5 Points.
• Discus: The player with the most Discus earns 10 points. The player with the second most Discus earns 5 points. (All players that tie for the most or second most receive all of the respective points.) Players with zero Discus do not earn points.
• Guppy: Players with an odd number of Guppies earn 2 points for each Guppy. Players with an even number earn 3 points for each Guppy.
• Angelfish: Each set of three Angelfish is worth 9 points. Any that do not form a set of 3 are worth 0 points.
• Neon Tetra: Players earn points for the total number of Neon Tetras in their Aquarium.
  • 1 Neon Tetra: 1 Point
  • 2 Neon Tetras: 3 Points
  • 3 Neon Tetras: 6 Points
  • 4 Neon Tetras: 10 Points
  • 5 Neon Tetras: 15 Points
  • 6+ Neon Tetras: 21 Points
• Treasure Chest: The player with the Treasure Chest earns 7 points.
• Goal: All players who complete the Goal earn 5 points.

The player with the highest score wins.

Summary

Game Objective: Have the aquarium worth the most points after the final round.

Setup:

1. Shuffle the appropriate Aquarium Cards based on the number of players.
2. Choose a random Aquarium Goal Card.

Round Phases:

1. Setup initial school of Aquarium Cards
2. Players take turns splitting one group of Aquarium Cards into two groups
3. Players take turns taking one group of Aquarium Cards

Number of Rounds:

Players	Rounds
2 Players	4 Rounds
3 Players	3 Rounds
4 Players	4 Rounds
5 Players	5 Rounds

Size of Initial School (as printed in the Summary):

Players	Size
2 Players	4x4 Squares
3 to 5 Players	4x4 Squares

(The Gameplay section prints 3x3 squares for 2 players; the Summary table prints 4x4. Both are reproduced as printed.)

2-3 Player Game: Players Split and Draft Twice

4-5 Player Game: Players Split and Draft Once