Aquarium
Aquarium Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Create a wonderful aquarium and get rewarded with a whole bunch of shiny stars. Whichever player collects the most stars will be the winner!
Contents
- 108 cards, 50 coins (25 silver value "1" and 25 gold value "5") and these rules.
- Card types: Fish cards, Plant cards, "Feeding Time!" cards, Food Cost cards, Action cards.
Game Preparation
- Each player receives 3 gold coins (value "5") (place the rest of the coins to one side to form the bank) and each player receives 9 different action cards (used during Phase I and Phase II). Place any remaining action cards back in the box.
- The 4 Food Cost cards are placed in a separate deck to one side.
- Give each player one small fish (of a different colour), which they place face-up in front of them (so each player starts with one fish in their aquarium).
- Place the "Feeding Time!" cards to one side, and then shuffle all remaining cards (the plants and the fish) together well. Split the deck into 6 piles of approximately equal size (make 8 piles when playing with 2 or 3 players). Shuffle a "Feeding Time!" card into piles 2, 4, and 6 (and pile 8 with 2 or 3 players). After shuffling the even-numbered piles, stack them back into one Draw Deck, with pile 6 or 8 on the bottom, and pile 1 on the top. DO NOT SHUFFLE ANY MORE!
- When playing with 4 players, return the unused "Feeding Time!" card to the box.
- Place the Draw Deck in the centre of the table, leaving space for a discard pile.
- The player who can hold their breath the longest becomes the start player.
Gameplay
(Extra rules for the 2-player game can be found at the end of the rules.)
The game is played over 3 or 4 rounds (depending on the number of players). Each round ends after you have all fed your fish. The start player begins, and then players take turns in clockwise order.
Important: If there are no fish or plant cards in the MARKET at the start of your turn, you draw the top card from the draw deck and place it FACE-UP to form the MARKET.
When it is your turn, you have 2 options:
1.) Pass
If you are not interested in what is currently in the market, or if you need money, or if you have another clever plan, you can pass. You will now receive 2 silver coins value "1" from the bank. The top card from the draw deck is turned FACE-UP and added to the market. It is now the turn of the next player clockwise.
Very important: When there are 5 cards in the market then YOU CANNOT PASS. If you are not interested in these five cards, then they are all sent to the discard pile. You now reveal the top card of the draw deck, place it FACE-UP in the market, and decide whether to buy this card or pass anyway.
2.) Go shopping!
When the cards in the market appeal to you, you announce that you want to buy them. ALL OTHER PLAYERS now get the opportunity/power to influence the cards in the market (Phase I) and the price (Phase II). You always buy ALL of the cards in the market!
Phase I: What can be bought? (Influencing the market)
The other players now simultaneously choose one of their Phase I action cards and place it face-down in front of them. Starting with the player to your left, each card is now revealed and then executed one at a time. All actions of the played cards are MANDATORY and must be executed if possible to do so.
- "Pass" card: With this card, the player is choosing to "pass" and not influence the market. Caution: This "pass" card returns to a player's hand after he plays it.
- "Add a card" card (+ fish card): This card forces the active player to add the top card from the draw deck to the market. Caution: This card has no effect if there are already five cards in the market!
- "Remove a fish" card (- fish card): This card forces the active player to remove one fish (not a plant) from the market and place it on the discard pile.
- "Replace a fish" card: This card allows the player of the card to remove a fish (not a plant) of their choice from the market (place it on the discard pile) and replace it with the top card of the draw deck.
- "Exchange a fish" card: This card allows the player of the card to exchange one fish (not a plant) from their own aquarium with a fish (not a plant) of their choice from the market.
Phase II: How much will it cost? (Influencing the price)
The other players now simultaneously choose one of their Phase II action cards and place it face-down in front of them. These cards are all revealed SIMULTANEOUSLY and executed.
- "Pass" card: With this card, the player is choosing to "pass" and not influence the price. Caution: This "pass" card returns to a player's hand after he plays it.
- "+1" card: This card raises the price of the market by a cost of "1".
- "-1" card: This card lowers the price of the market by a cost of "1" (the price can drop to zero, but may never be lower than that). The player of the card immediately receives a silver coin from the bank.
- "x2" card: This card doubles the price of the market.
- "1/2" card: This card halves the price of the market, rounding up. The active player no longer pays the bank for the market cards, but instead pays the player of this card (if he decides to buy the cards).
The base cost of the market is the sum of all fish and plant values. To determine the final price, firstly, execute all of the "+1" and "-1" action cards, then the "x2" cards, and finally the "1/2" cards. Extra rules for the Phase I and Phase II cards (special situations) can be found at the end of these rules.
As the active player, you now have to decide whether or not to buy the market:
- If you choose to buy the market, place ALL of the cards into your aquarium and pay the final price of the market to the bank - or possibly to the player(s) that played a "1/2" action card. It is now the turn of the next player clockwise.
- If you choose not to buy the market, then your turn ends immediately and it is now the turn of the next player clockwise. Caution: don't add the top card from the draw deck to the market!
All the played Phase I and Phase II action cards (except the "pass" card) are kept in personal discard piles for the moment.
Feeding Time!
Whenever a "Feeding Time!" card is turned face-up from the draw deck, the game pauses IMMEDIATELY ... All of the fish are hungry, so all players must buy them some fish-food! Shuffle all four of the "Food Cost" cards and randomly draw one to find out the current price of fish food. The cost for feeding each fish is the current cost of fish food multiplied by the size of the fish (1, 2, or 3 ... Big fish eat more than small fish!). Each player calculates the cost of feeding his whole aquarium and pays this amount of money to the bank.
If you do not want to - or are not able to - feed all of your fish, then the fish you choose not to feed are sadly found floating on top of your aquarium, and must be discarded.
It is during feeding time that plants suddenly become important! For EACH plant in your aquarium, you are able to keep ONE fish alive for free, because the plant provides enough oxygen and food for any one fish.
After feeding your fish, you now get to take all of your Phase I and Phase II action cards back into your hand, and the "Feeding Time!" card is replaced with the next card from the draw deck. The game now continues ...
The Breeding Tank
The moment that you have 2 identical fish (same colour and same size) in your aquarium, you can choose (and you must choose at that moment) to move these 2 fish from your aquarium to your "personal breeding tank". To indicate this, the breeding pair are put in front of you, forming a cross. You no longer need to feed the fish in the breeding tank, however they will never return to your aquarium, and therefore will not earn you stars at the end of the game. Instead, they will earn you money! At the beginning of your turn (after a card is turned up, should your turn start with an empty market), you will receive 1, 2, or 3 coins depending on the size of the fish in your breeding tank - A new baby fish was born and sold to the pet store! Each player may only ever have one breeding tank with room for exactly 2 fish, but you may upgrade your tank by changing "little fish" into "bigger fish". Put the two fish that you remove from your breeding tank onto the discard pile.
The "Fishybank"
The "fishybank" is a fish with a special ability. This fish will also not get you any bonus stars at the end of the game, but will help you collect more money to spend during the game. For each "fishybank" in your aquarium you receive one extra silver coin when you choose to "pass" on your turn. However, your "fishybank" still needs to be fed!
End of the Game
The game ends after the third "Feeding Time!" card is drawn (or the fourth card with 2 or 3 players). All players must feed their fish this last time, and then the stars will be awarded to the best aquariums. All surviving fish will earn you stars (apart from those in the breeding tanks, obviously). The plants will bring you a few stars, and collecting certain combinations of fish can bring you a load more bonus stars!
The player with the most stars wins the game. In case of a tie, the player - of those tied - who has the LEAST money left over is the winner.
Counting the Stars
Each fish is worth its price in stars, as indicated on the cards.
If you get the right combinations in your aquarium, then you can earn a lot of bonus stars:
- Each "Trio" (same colour fish, in three different sizes) gets 3 Bonus Stars.
- The "Small Set" (four size 1 fish, one in each colour) gets 4 Bonus Stars.
- The "Medium Set" (four size 2 fish, one in each colour) is worth 8 Bonus Stars.
- The "Large Set" (four size 3 fish, one in each colour) gains a massive 12 Bonus Stars.
You also receive a number of stars according to the different species of plants that you have: 1 species = 1 Star; 2 species = 3 Stars; and all 3 species = 6 Stars.
Scoring Example
This aquarium has earned 22 stars:
- 12 Stars for the fish
- 3 Bonus Stars for the purple "Trio"
- 4 Bonus Stars for the "Small Set"
- 3 Stars for the 2 Plant species
- 0 Stars for the Breeding Tank
Detailed Rules for the Action Cards
- The effects of the Phase II cards are cumulative.
- Always deal with the "+1" and "-1" cards first, then of the "x2" cards, and finally the "1/2" cards.
- If 2 (or 3) players play the "1/2" card in the same Phase II, the market price is divided by 4 (1/2 x 1/2) (or by 8 (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2)) and the money paid by the active player is split between the two (or three) players (round up if necessary, with the bank paying any extra coins).
In case the game is interrupted for a "Feeding Time!" card while in the middle of Phase I, then all players will get their Phase I and Phase II cards back into their hands at the end of the feeding time, with the exception of those Phase I cards that are not yet revealed and still have to be executed - These will be lost until the next feeding time.
Extra Rules for 2 Players
All of the above rules for 3 and 4 players still apply.
For the 2-player game, take all of the Action Cards for the 3rd and 4th players and sort them into two "Influence Decks" - One deck consisting of 8 Phase I cards plus a "pass" card, and the other consisting of 8 Phase II cards and the other "pass" card. Put these two "Influence Decks" off to one side.
When a player chooses to buy the market cards, then his OPPONENT plays a face-down Phase I action card as usual, but will also play the top face-down card from the Phase I "Influence deck". Both cards MUST be executed if possible, and both cards are executed as if the opponent had played them. The action card of the opponent is executed first, and then the "influence card" is revealed and executed. Following that, the opponent now plays a Phase II action card from his hand, and then also plays the top face-down card from the Phase II influence deck. Turn both cards face-up at the same time and set the price of the market in the same way as normal.
All played "influence cards" are put into two different discard piles. If the "pass" card was drawn from either "influence deck", then it is immediately shuffled back into the deck from which it was drawn. After each "Feeding Time!", shuffle ALL of the played "influence cards" back into their respective decks.