Deep Shelf Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview of Key Concepts
  • Player Factions
  • Player Turns
  • Ocean Expanse Board
  • Player Docks
  • Units
  • Resources
  • Facilities
  • Technologies
  • Surface Storage
  • Exploitation and the Depth Dragon
  • Winning the Game
• Setup
  • Player Count Considerations
• Choosing a Starting Location
• Turn Structure
  • Taking Turns
• Exploitation Events
• Market Adjustment
• The Depth Dragon
• Extract Action
• Extracting Anomalies
• Move Action
  • Acceleration Networks
  • Scouting
  • Scouting Single-Use Resource Tiles
• Home Base Action
• Science Action
  • Technology
  • Global Resource Cost Reduction
  • Research
• Build Action
• Types of Facilities
  • Anomaly Storage
• Process Ore Action
• Ending the Game
  • Endgame #1: Complete Oceanic Research
  • Endgame #2: Environmental Collapse
• Faction Overview
  • Cogent Industrial
  • Meneswo Foundation
  • Living Ocean Group
  • Mobius Incorporated
• Resource Tiles Reference
  • Shallows
  • Deep
  • Trench
• Technology Tiles Reference
  • Level 1
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
• Endgame Scoring
  • Calculate Milestone Majorities
  • Calculate Personal Scoring Categories
• Reference

Components

Living Ocean Group: 1 Submarine miniature, 3 Crawler miniatures, 1 Submarine board, 1 Industry board, 18 Tubes, 7 Action cards, 4 Tracking cubes, 3 Scientist meeples, 1 Faction marker. 13 Facilities: 5 Extractors, 3 Worker Complexes, 2 Smelters, 2 Labs, 1 Green Tide Project.

Mobius Incorporated: 1 Submarine miniature, 3 Crawler miniatures, 1 Submarine board, 1 Industry board, 18 Tubes, 7 Action cards, 4 Tracking cubes, 3 Scientist meeples, 1 Faction marker. 11 Facilities: 3 Mobile Extractors, 3 Worker Complexes, 2 Smelters, 2 Labs, 1 Acceleration Loop.

Cogent Industrial: 1 Submarine miniature, 3 Crawler miniatures, 1 Submarine board, 1 Industry board, 18 Tubes, 7 Action cards, 4 Tracking cubes, 3 Scientist meeples, 1 Faction marker. 14 Facilities: 5 Extractors, 3 Worker Complexes, 3 Smelters, 2 Labs, 1 Planet Cracker.

Meneswo Foundation: 1 Submarine miniature, 3 Crawler miniatures, 1 Submarine board, 1 Industry board, 18 Tubes, 7 Action cards, 4 Tracking cubes, 4 Scientist meeples, 1 Faction marker. 12 Facilities: 4 Extractors, 3 Worker Complexes, 2 Smelters, 2 Labs, 1 Deep-Sea Observatory.

Game Boards and Punchboard Components: 1 Ocean Expanse board, 1 Research board, 1 Technology board, 54 Technology tiles, 4 Osmium Source Resource tiles, 18 Shallows Resource tiles, 22 Deep Resource tiles, 5 Trench Resource tiles, 10 Void Space tiles, 9 Anomaly tiles, 1 Score / Round Tracker board, 1 Deep Explorer token.

Wooden Components: 4 Victory Point (VP) tokens, 4 Market tokens, 1 Impending Collapse token, 1 Exploitation token, 9 Discount trackers, 30 Kelp cubes, 25 Raw Osmium cubes, 25 Refined Osmium cubes, 25 Raw Palladium cubes, 25 Refined Palladium cubes, 25 Raw Gold cubes, 25 Refined Gold cubes, 25 Slag cubes.

Other Components: 1 Rulebook, 1 Campaign book, 1 Depth Dragon miniature, 12 Exploitation event cards, 36 Campaign story cards, 4 Reference cards, 1 Shallows exploration bag, 1 Deep exploration bag.

Resource Dice: 8 Osmium dice, 8 Gold dice, 8 Palladium dice, 3 Kelp dice, 2 Cache dice.

Overview of Key Concepts

Deep Shelf is a game of deep-sea exploration, resource management, and technology development. Each player will direct 1 of 4 factions and work towards developing their own area of the ocean in order to extract resources and pursue their scientific goals before the end of the game is triggered.

Player Factions

Each player will pick or randomly choose 1 of 4 playable factions. Each faction has a Submarine Board, an Industry Board, 1 Submarine miniature, 3 Crawler miniatures, a unique deck of Action Cards, and a variable number of facilities. If a rule on a faction's component contradicts a standard rule of the game, the faction component always takes priority.

Player Turns

During a player's turn, they must play 2 cards from their personal set of Action Cards. When playing an Action Card, a player must carry out each step in the order in which they are written on the card. Each faction has a set of 7 Action Cards: 6 based on common actions, plus 1 unique Action Card that is unlocked by building that faction's Super Structure.

Ocean Expanse Board

The Ocean Expanse Board is where most actions take place. Each hex space is called a Shelf - Shelves will be explored over the course of the game as units move and scout. Players start in the Shallows section of the Board, but they may eventually expand to occupy the Deep and/or Trench sections.

Each Shelf may hold up to 4 resource tokens and any number of units, but only 1 facility may be built on any given Shelf. The dark spaces between Shelves are Tube Network spaces. Once a player has placed a Tube on a Tube Network space, no other player may place a Tube on that space.

Player Docks

At the start of the game, each player will claim 1 of the 4 Docks in the Shallows as their starting location. A player's Dock consists of 2 Shelves, and any time a unit is moved to a Dock, it must be placed in either of those 2 spaces. Units in a player's Dock may transport resources into that player's Surface Storage; resources purchased from the Market or received from events may be placed directly into Surface Storage or either Dock space.

Units

Submarines and Crawlers count as units. Units are capable of moving between adjacent Shelves, and may carry resources equal to their carry capacity. Submarines may move freely, but Crawlers require Tubes in order to move between adjacent spaces. A player's units may occupy the same Shelf as an opponent's units or facility, but they may not take resources from any Shelf that contains an opponent's facility.

Resources

Players will pursue 5 different types of resources during the game: Kelp, Osmium, Palladium, Gold, and Slag, which are represented by cubes of different colors: Kelp Cubes, Raw / Refined Osmium Cubes, Raw / Refined Palladium Cubes, Raw / Refined Gold Cubes, Slag Cubes.

Resources can be spent to build Tubes, Crawlers, and Super Structure facilities, as well as to develop new technologies. Most resources are extracted from Shelves during an Extract action. Extracted resources are always taken from the general supply and placed on the Board in their Raw form. Resources must either be placed on the corresponding Shelf, an occupying Crawler, or into the Cargo Hold of an occupying Submarine. Each resource occupies 1 space in a Cargo Hold, Crawler, or Surface Storage.

Players will also acquire Credits, which can be used to build facilities, pay for Extract actions, and purchase resources from the Market. Credits are primarily gained through the Process Ore action, and by selling resources at the Market. Unlike resource cubes, Credits do not occupy a physical location and are instead kept in a player's personal supply area.

Facilities

Facilities give the factions access to special abilities. When taking the Build action, a player may spend Credits to place a facility on a Shelf. Prior to building, that Shelf must contain a Resource Tile, and the player's faction also must have built a Tube Network leading from their starting Dock to the Shelf on which they plan to build. The player's Crawler or Submarine does not need to be present unless an opponent's unit is on that Shelf.

Technologies

Technology Tiles give the factions certain gameplay advantages, granting flexibility in how the game is played. Technology Tiles are developed during Science actions, and are slotted into specific areas of a player's personal Submarine Board.

Surface Storage

Each player's Submarine Board has a section dedicated to storing resources, called Surface Storage. Surface Storage is divided into 2 rows: the first row is available at the start of the game, while the second row may only be used if the player first acquires a Warehouse Technology Tile. Resources may be moved to Surface Storage by taking the Move action from their Dock or the Home Base action. Resources must be transported to Surface Storage before they can be sold at the Market or used for Science actions.

Exploitation and the Depth Dragon

As players extract resources and build certain facilities they will start to damage the planet, advancing the Exploitation Marker. If the Exploitation Marker ends on an orange event space, an Exploitation Event Card will be drawn and resolved, resulting in the movement of the Depth Dragon and adjustments to Market prices.

Winning the Game

The length of a game of Deep Shelf is variable - based on players' actions; a typical game will last 25-35 rounds. The game can end either through advancement on the Exploitation Track, or through advancement on the 3 Research Tracks. Once the end of the game has been triggered, each player, including the person who triggered the end-game, will take 1 final turn.

Players will score points based on how well they performed against their opponents in 3 key areas:

• Area majority ownership
• Number of Technology Tiles owned
• Position on the 3 Research Tracks

Players will gain additional points based on their personal performance in the areas of resource collection, wealth, score-multiplier Technology Tiles, and the final state of the game board with regard to revealed tiles and the position of the Depth Dragon.

The player with the most points wins the game!

Target Length: 90 min - 180 min | Ages: 14+ | Players: 1-4

Setup

1. Place the Ocean Expanse Board in the center of the play area. Note the 3 zones: Shallows, Deep, and Trench.
2. Place the 4 Market tokens on the third space of each Demand Track.
3. Place the Exploitation and Impending Collapse Markers on the "0" space of the Exploitation Track.
4. Shuffle the cards of the Exploitation Event Deck and place them on the corresponding space of the Ocean Expanse Board.
5. Place the Depth Dragon miniature on its designated starting space on the Ocean Expanse Board, with the red sides of its base facing toward the Docks.
6. Place all 18 Shallows Resource Tiles into the Shallows Exploration Bag. Place all 22 Deep Resource Tiles into the Deep Exploration Bag. Shake each Bag to ensure randomization.
7. Form a general supply of each resource type, including the Raw and Refined versions of each Ore. This includes Osmium, Gold, Palladium, Slag, Kelp, and Credits in denominations of 1, 2, and 5.
8. Form a general supply of each type of die: Osmium, Gold, Palladium, Kelp, and Cache.
9. Place the Research Board next to the Ocean Expanse Board, in a spot that all players can easily reach.
10. Place each Technology Tile on the corresponding space of the Research Board. Arrange stacks of similar tiles in ascending order of cost, with the lowest-cost tiles at the top.

The first row of Technologies (the horizontal row below the trackers for Gold, Palladium, and Osmium) should contain stacks of 4 tiles; the row below that should have stacks of 3 tiles, the next row stacks of 2 tiles, and the fourth row will contain single-tile stacks. For 2-player games, remove a tile from each third-row stack so that there is only 1 third-row tile in each column.

11. Stack the 3 Gold, 3 Palladium, and 3 Osmium Discount Tokens in ascending order (with "0" on top) in the corresponding boxes at the top of each Research Track on the Research Board.
12. Give each player all components belonging to the faction of their choice, as outlined in the components list on page 2 of this rulebook.
13. Place each facility on its designated Industry Board space. From left to right, these are: Extractors, Smelters, Labs, Worker Complexes, and each faction's unique Super Structure. Place Crawlers on the marked spaces in the top-right corner of the Industry Board; each player should place their Tubes next to their player board.
14. Each player must place 1 Tracking cube on the "0" space of the Upkeep Track, and then 1 more on each of the Research Tracks at the bottom of the Research Board.
15. Give each player 10 starting Credits and place 1 Kelp in a Surface Storage space of their personal Submarine Board.
16. Each player starts the game with 2 uncovered Dock Shelves. Place 1 Osmium Resource Tile at each Dock. If playing with fewer than 4 players, remove any unplaced Osmium Source Tiles from the game.
17. For each player, draw a random Resource Tile from the Shallows Exploration Bag. Place these on the remaining uncovered Dock Shelves.
18. For each Ore or Kelp Resource Tile drawn in the previous two steps, place a matching Ore or Kelp die into the recessed area of the Board adjacent to that tile. The value shown on the die must match the number displayed on the Resource Tile. (Example: Osmium 6, Gold 5, Palladium 5, etc.).
19. Place the 9 Anomaly tokens on the spaces at the top right of the Ocean Expanse Board. Sort them into columns based on type/color.
20. Randomize the 5 Trench Tiles and place 2 of them, face-up, on the 2 Shelves furthest from the Docks. The remaining Trench Tiles will not be used this game; returned them to the game box.
21. You are now ready to select starting locations!

Player Count Considerations

If playing with 4 players, all Shelves on the Ocean Expanse Board are uncovered. If playing with fewer players, use Void Space tiles to cover parts of the Board marked with the player-count icon. With 3 players, cover either the top or bottom portion of the board, but not both. With 2 players, cover the top and bottom areas.

Either the top or bottom sections may be blocked off; we recommend choosing the arrangement that is most convenient for all players.

Choosing a Starting Location

Each players must now look for their dock initiative number, which is the top number in the upper-left corner of each Submarine Board.

The player with the lowest number will be the first to choose their starting location. With all factions in play, the order will always be: Living Ocean Group (green), Menesewo Foundation (purple), Mobius Incorporated (blue), and finally Cogent Industrial (red).

When choosing your starting location, place your faction marker on an available Dock location, with your Submarine next to it (not on a Shelf). The first time your Submarine moves, it will move to either of your Dock spaces. Your Submarine will not leave the board after its first move.

Remember: in games with fewer than 4 players, not all Docks will be in play.

Recommendations for new players:

While Deep Shelf offers many paths to victory, we recommend that new players prioritize gaining certain resources for their factions, as these will best meet their early game needs.

Living Ocean Group (green) = Gold, Shipwrecks, Palladium

Menesewo Foundation (purple) = Anomaly Tokens, Palladium, Kelp

Mobius Incorporated (blue) = Palladium, Smokers, Gold

Cogent Industrial (red) = Gold, Palladium, Smokers

After placing your faction marker, place 1 of your Tubes on the Tube Network space between your starting Dock Shelves.

Once each player has chosen a starting location, compare play initiative numbers - these are located below the dock initiative number on each Submarine Board. For example, Cogent Industrial's Submarine Board shows a dock initiative number of 4, and a play initative number of 1.

The person with the lowest play initiative number will take the first turn of the game, followed by the other players in clockwise order.

Before taking your first turn, each player, in turn order, must now place 1 of their scientist meeples on 1 of the 3 improvement spaces located below the Market. If this is your first game, it is recommended that you choose Extract, but all choices are valuable once you are familiar with the game mechanics. For a full list of their effects, see page 17.

Incentives for Exploration: When choosing a starting location, consider your strengths, weaknesses, and what you will need to reach the Deep. While the Shallows can provide the majority of the resources you will need, exploration is rewarded with better tiles and more resources. Additionally, the first player to end their turn with a unit or building in the Deep will receive the Deep Explorer token, which provides 3 VP during endgame scoring.

Turn Structure

Taking Turns

In turn, each player will play 1 of the 6 basic Action Cards in their hand. The basic actions are Move, Extract, Process Ore, Build, Home Base, and Science; a player can unlock their unique 7th Action Card by building their faction's Super Structure.

To start, a player must place their chosen card into the "1st Action Card" space above their Submarine Board.

That player must complete each substep of the Action Card in the order listed. Then, the player must play another Action Card into the "2nd Action Card" space and complete each substep on that card in the order listed.

Complete the steps on each card in order. The second card played on a turn will be unavailable for the duration of your next turn.

If the 2nd Action Card contains a Power Action Step at the bottom, the player may optionally complete this step. Treat the Power Action Step as separate from the rest of the card; a player may play an Action Card purely for the Power Action Step, even if they are unable to carry out the rest of the card's substeps.

The exception to this is the Extract action, because upkeep costs must be paid before any other actions may be taken. In the event that a step on an Action Card cannot be resolved, skip that step and move to the next one.

After resolving both Action Cards' substeps, the player must slide their 2nd Action Card to the right, into the "Overworked" space. If there is already a card in the this space, the player takes it back into their hand - the card from the 1st Action Card space is always returned to the player's hand.

Before ending their turn, the active player must check the Exploitation Track. If their actions have advanced the Impending Collapse Marker, advance the Exploitation Tracker accordingly. If the Exploitation Tracker passes or lands on an orange Exploitation space, the player must draw and resolve an Exploitation Event Card.

Play continues in clockwise order around the table, with each player carrying out 2 actions on each of their turns until the end of the game.

Exploitation Events

When an Exploitation Event occurs, either through extraction or building certain facilities, an Exploitation Card must be resolved at the end of the turn.

The active player draws the top card of the Exploitation Deck and resolves the effect written on the bottom of the card. Then, the next player to the left must adjust the Market according to the arrows in the card's top-left corner.

After the Market has been adjusted, the player to the active player's right must move the Depth Dragon 0-3 spaces, as indicated on the card. The Depth Dragon may be moved in any direction, but it may not pass through the same space twice, or through any Shelf that contains a facility or unit.

Market Adjustment

When reading the Market adjustment area of an Exploitation Card, a green "up" arrow moves 1 of the 4 Market tokens 1 space to the left, while a red "down" arrow moves a Market token 1 space to the right. A double arrow moves a Market token 2 spaces in the appropriate direction. If possible, each arrow must be assigned to a different Market token. The player doing the adjustment may choose the order of all Market modifications, but if a modification is possible, it must be done.

Note: If any other option is possible, a player may not choose to use a price increase on a category that is at its maximum price, or decrease a category that is at its minimum price. If such an adjustment must be made, nothing happens - do not move the corresponding Market Token.

The Depth Dragon

The Depth Dragon is a neutral entity that players may control at various points in the game. It will move during Exploitation Events, and as a reward for advancing along the Zoology Research Track.

When moving, the Depth Dragon must pass through adjacent spaces that are unoccupied by any player units or facilities, and it may not end a move on an occupied Shelf. For each space the Depth Dragon moves, it may be rotated 1/6 of a turn in either direction. This rotation is not mandatory, and it may be done at any point in the Depth Dragon's movement. When possible, the Depth Dragon's full movement must be used - if its full movement cannot be used, the active player must move it to a Shelf within 1 hex of the Shelf on which it started the game. If moved in this way, the Depth Dragon may face any direction the player chooses. If all 7 of these Shelves are occupied, the Depth Dragon has decided to leave in search of open waters - remove it from the game.

• Any time the Depth Dragon comes to rest with one of its red sides facing a player's facility, that player's upkeep cost is increased by a maximum of 1 (even if 2 red sides face the same player's facilities). If the Depth Dragon later moves and a red side no longer faces that facility, that player's upkeep costs are reduced accordingly.
• If the Depth Dragon comes to rest with one of its green sides facing a player's facility, that player gains 1 Credit (to a maximum of 2 Credits).
• If the Depth Dragon moves onto a space that contains only resources, those resources are destroyed - return them to the supply.

Example: John, playing as Mobius Incorporated (blue) moves the Depth Dragon 1 Shelf from its starting position. Before moving, 1 of the Depth Dragon's red sides faced John's Mobile Extractor. After moving, 1 of the Depth Dragon's green sides faces John's Mobile Extractor. John reduces his upkeep cost by 1 and then gains $1. Unfortunately for Victoria, who is playing as the Living Ocean Group (green), 2 of the Depth Dragon's red sides now face her facilities. Victoria must increase her upkeep cost by 1.

Extract Action

The Extract action allows a player to extract resources from all undepleted Ore and Kelp Shelves where their faction currently has an Extractor and/or Submarine.

• During an Extract action, a player must first pay their current upkeep. If a player does not have enough Credits to pay their current upkeep, they may not take the Extract action. Upkeep costs are tracked at the bottom of the Ocean Expanse Board.
• The player extracts 1 resource for each Extractor and Submarine they have on each Shelf with an Ore or Kelp Resource Tile. Extraction is not optional. If a player's Submarine and Extractor are on the same Shelf, they will extract 2 resources from that Shelf.
• Players may not extract resources from Shelves controlled by an opponent.
• When extracting a physical resource (Ore or Kelp), the resource must either be placed on the Shelf, an occupying Crawler, or into the Cargo Hold of their occupying Submarine.
• Each Shelf may only hold 4 extracted resources. If a Shelf contains more than 4 resources at the end of the action, the active player must return resources from that Shelf back to the general supply until only 4 remain.

When extracting a resource, a player should determine if the Shelf contains enough resources to complete the action. The amount of resources that can be extracted from a Shelf is tracked by the value of the Resource Die on that Shelf. When extracting, reduce the number on the die by 1 for each resource cube extracted from the Shelf.

If the Resource Die reaches "0", immediately remove the die from the Board and flip the Shelf's Resource Tile to its depleted side. If the Resource Tile shows an Exploited symbol (warning symbol), immediately move the Impending Collapse Marker up a space on the Exploitation Track (max. 2 spaces/turn).

Any resources gained or extracted from a Shelf may immediately be loaded into one of your units on that Shelf. You may not extract more resources than remain on a Shelf. Any excess extractions are wasted, and result in no additional resource gain.

Note: A Crawler increases a Shelf's capacity by 2. Resources held by Submarines do not count against Shelf capacities.

Extracting Anomalies

Some Resource Tiles contain Anomalies, which represent strange or unusual elements of the ocean's ecosystem. When Resource Tiles with Anomalies are scouted and placed, set their Resource Dice to the number on the Anomaly Resource Tile as normal, then take the matching Anomaly Token and place it on the Shelf.

If a player occupies an Anomaly Resource Tile during an Extract action, they must extract the Anomaly before extracting any other resource from that Shelf.

When acquiring an Anomaly, a player may choose to discard one they have already gained (return it to the game box); the main reason to do so is to maximize set collection for endgame scoring.

When Extracting an Anomaly:

• Either claim the Anomaly token or return it to the game box. If the player has an unlocked Anomaly Storage space on their Industry Board (unlocked by building a Lab), they may immediately claim the corresponding Anomaly token by placing the tile on that space. Anomaly tokens of the same type (Ecology, Mineralogy, or Zoology) may be stacked to score end-game bonus points.
• If more than 1 extraction was carried out (for example, from a Sub and an Extractor on the same Shelf), gain the resources from the other extractions and reduce the tile's Resource Die accordingly.
• Regardless of if the token was placed in Anomaly Storage or not, immediately advance 2 spaces on the Anomaly's corresponding Research Track.

Move Action

The Move action will generate momentum for all units that the active player has built. Momentum can only be spent in the action step in which it is generated, and any unspent momentum is forfeited. Momentum may be spent to move a unit between adjacent Shelves, or between 2 Shelves that contain their faction's Acceleration Network facilities. The amount of momentum a unit gains may be modified by Technology Tiles, but at the start of the game:

• All Submarines start with 1 momentum.
• All Crawlers start with 2 momentum.

If a unit is at either of its faction's Dock Shelves, it may spend 1 momentum to Dock. When a unit Docks, it may move resources equal to its carry capacity from their Shelf or Cargo Hold into Surface Storage. If a unit has multiple momentum to spend, it may Dock multiple times.

Units may be moved through another player's Dock. Mobius may not move their Mobile Extractors into another player's Dock.

Submarine Movement

When a Submarine moves between Shelves, it may drop or pick up resources equal to its carry capacity (2 resources per Cargo Hold), as long as those resources are not controlled by an opponent. Resources on a Shelf with a facility are controlled by that facility's owner.

Crawler Movement

Crawlers move similarly to Submarines, with the following restriction: Crawlers may only move between adjacent Shelves if those spaces are connected by Tube(s) (regardless of color), or between 2 of the faction's Acceleration Network facilities. Crawlers have a carry capacity of 2.

Loading and Unloading Cargo

Whenever a unit moves, for any reason, it may pick up, rearrange, or drop a number of resources equal to its carry capacity. You may never pick up resources controlled by an opponent (held on a Submarine or Crawler, or on a Shelf with their facility). Note that Mobius' Extractors do not control resources on a Shelf shared with an opponent's facility.

Acceleration Networks

Acceleration Networks connect certain types of facilities, as designated by the Acceleration Network icon on their Industry Boards. When spending momentum, Shelves that contain a faction's Acceleration Network facilities are considered adjacent, thus allowing that faction's Submarines and Crawlers to move freely between those spaces.

• Cogent Industrial (red) has an Acceleration Network on their Smelters.
• Living Ocean Group (green) has an Acceleration Network on their Worker Complexes and Green Ocean Project.
• Meneswo Foundation (purple) has an Acceleration Network on their Labs and Deep-Sea Observatory.
• Mobius Incorporated (blue) does not possess an Acceleration Network.

Acceleration Networks are based on an experimental technology that allows for the rapid acceleration of large masses over long distances. The technology was first tested on land, but it superheated the vessels being transported, resulting in catastrophic damage. Testing moved undersea, where the ocean itself acted as a cooling system. Even though this greatly decreased potential speeds, deep-sea Acceleration Networks proved invaluable in safely reaching extreme depths.

While effective at allowing vessels and autonomous vehicles to travel great distances, this method of acceleration reduces crews to helpless passengers. To combat this problem, all Acceleration Networks must be equipped with launch and catch systems to safely control the arrival of vessels and their cargo.

Mobius Incorporated realized the potential of this technology, which they refined and altered for improved efficiency. Instead of a series of chained installations under the ocean, Mobius has committed to a single, massive Acceleration Loop facility that can launch ore directly to the surface at hypersonic speeds. Due to its extreme speed and launch pressure, Mobius' Acceleration Loop is not suitable for living organisms.

Scouting

After utilizing or forfeiting all momentum, the active player must scout with any of their units on unexplored Shelves - an unexplored Shelf is one that does not contain a Resource Tile.

When scouting, a player must check for Resource Tiles on their units' spaces. If all Shelves occupied by that player's units contain Resource Tiles, the scout is over. If any unit occupies an unexplored Shelf, they must scout.

When scouting, a player must draw exactly 2 Resource Tiles, no matter how many units they have on unexplored Shelves.

Note: This number can be modified by the Rapid Pulse Sonar Technology Tile, and/or by advancing on the Ecology Research Track.

The player must draw tiles from the Shallows and/or Deep Exploration Bags, based on the zone(s) occupied by their unit(s). If the player has units in multiple zones, they must declare how many tiles they are drawing for each zone before drawing them.

After looking at the Resource Tiles they have drawn, the player must choose one to place on a Shelf occupied by their unit. The player must continue to place tiles until they have run out of spaces occupied by their units, or they run out of tiles to place.

Note: Tiles may only be placed in their matching zone. A Shelf will remain empty if tiles for its zone are not drawn from the bag while scouting. That Shelf may be scouted again on a future turn.

Any unplaced tiles are returned to the appropriate Exploration Bag(s). If an Ore or Kelp Resource Tile was placed, place a corresponding Resource Die on the board in that Shelf's recessed die area, set to match the value on the tile.

Scouting Single-Use Resource Tiles

Shipwrecks

Shipwrecks are unique Exploration Tiles. A player whose unit ends its movement on a Shipwreck will receive an immediate resource reward. The player must choose between Credits or the indicated resource - if the Credit option is selected, the player immediately receives the corresponding amount of Credits. If the resource is selected, the player must immediately place those resources on the unit that currently occupies the Shelf, or on the Shelf itself.

After making a choice, the player must flip a single-use tile over to show that it has been depleted.

Crystals

Crystals are a rare and exotic resource with multiple manufacturing capabilities. When occupying a tile with a Crystal, the active player must immediately choose and claim an unclaimed Technology Tile that has a current Ore cost of 1 (taking global discounts into effect), for free.

If a player does not have space for a Technology Tile, they must still choose a Research Track to advance, and the Crystal gives no further reward.

Home Base Action

The Home Base action allows a player to move their Submarine to their Dock from anywhere on the Board, in order to deposit resources from their Cargo Hold into Surface Storage. These resources, and any existing Surface Storage resources, can then be sold as part of Market substeps.

The first step of the Home Base action is optional. It allows a player's Submarine to immediately pick up a number of resources from its current Shelf (without exceeding its carry capacity) and place the Submarine at their Dock. Any resources contained in the Submarine's Cargo Hold may be immediately transported to Surface Storage.

The second step of the Home Base action allows a player to interact with the resource Market:

Market Demand Tracks

The Market consists of Kelp and the 3 Refined Ores. During the Market substep, a player may resolve up to 2 Market transactions in any order or combination. Resources are bought and sold (from Surface Storage) at their current Market price, and whether buying or selling, each transaction must involve a single resource cube.

• When purchasing a Refined resource, move its matching Market token 1 space to the left.
• When selling a Refined resource, move its corresponding marker 1 space to the right.
• When carrying out Market transactions, a player may buy and sell resources in any order but they may never buy and sell the same type of resource on the same turn.
• A player may sell Raw Ore for 3 Credits - doing so will not impact the Demand Tracks in any way. A player may not purchase Raw Ore.
• Purchased resources may be placed either in Surface Storage or on a player's Dock Shelf.

Science Action

The Science action allows a player to develop new technologies and use their Labs to advance their progress in the 3 fields of oceanic research.

Technology Tiles alter the way factions work, and often grant new abilities that remain with a player for the rest of the game. A player may choose to develop any Technology Tile on the Research Board, but they must first pay its marked cost in Refined Ore. The Science action consists of 3 steps:

• Step 1: Discard 1 Kelp from any Surface Storage or any Shelf you control (one that contains one of your facilities; a player without Kelp may not take the Science action).
• Step 2: Develop up to 2 Technologies, paying for them with Refined Ore held in your Surface Storage.
• Step 3: For each Lab you have built, advance 1 space on a Research Track of your choice.

A Technology Tile is made up of a Cost (top corners), a Unique Ability (center), a Technology Type (right, indicating where to place the tile on the Submarine Board), and a Name (bottom).

Technology

Technology Tiles are organized by their primary resource cost: Gold, Palladium, or Osmium. Technology Tiles consist of 3 important sections: cost, description, and type.

A Technology's cost is indicated at the top of its tile, with the primary resource cost on the left side, and secondary resource costs on the right side of the tile. To claim a Technology Tile, a player must pay its resource cost in Refined Ore from their Surface Storage; secondary costs must also be paid unless global research costs have been reduced.

After paying for a Technology Tile, the player must slot it into a corresponding empty space (Hull, Propulsion, Robotics, Surface) on their Submarine Board. Once acquired, Technology Tiles are immediately available for use and their unique abilities will remain in play unless overwritten. If the player does not have any open Technology slots, they may overwrite an existing tile and return the overwritten tile to the Research Board.

Note: High Density Hull is the only Technology Tile that can never be overwritten or discarded.

Global Resource Cost Reduction

At the top of the Research Board are 3 Global Cost Reduction Tracks. Immediately after purchasing a Technology Tile, a player must place their spent resources on the spaces at the top of the corresponding track(s). If a resource is placed into colored space, remove that track's topmost Discount Token to reveal the current discount.

The example above shows discounts of 2 Gold and 1 Osmium.

In a 2-player game, do not place resources onto spaces with a "Skip Place" icon. Instead, place them on the next available space(s) of the track. If playing with 3-4 players, ignore the "Skip Place" icon and place resources on each space in order.

Whenever a player purchases a Technology Tile, its secondary cost is reduced by the amount of Ore shown on the appropriate Discount Token. The primary cost of a Technology Tile may never reduced by Discount Tokens.

Research

After carrying out the Research portion of a Science action, a player must advance 1 space on a Research Track of their choice for each Lab they have built. A player may advance multiple times on a single track, or split their advancements among different tracks, gaining any rewards their tracking token passes over or ends on. Basic rewards include Credits, Raw Ore, Kelp, victory points, and the ability to move the Depth Dragon. Only 1 player may occupy and gain the reward for the last space on each Research Track.

The third space on each track grants a unique, ongoing benefit. These rewards include:

• Ecology - When completing the scout step of the Move action, draw 1 additional Resource Tile.
• Mineralogy - When completing the Market step of the Home Base action, all Ore sells for 1 additional Credit.
• Zoology - Permanently reduce your upkeep cost by 1.

Example: Jane takes the Science action. After discarding her Kelp, she chooses to spend 1 Refined Gold from her Surface Storage to acquire the Improved Engine Technology Tile. This is the first Technology Tile purchased in the game, so she places the tile's Refined Gold cost onto the first space of the Gold track, which removes the topmost Discount Token. Jane does not have any Labs, so her Science action is complete.

John also takes the Science action on his turn. After discarding his Kelp, he chooses to make use of the Gold Global Discount on Palladium Track technologies. He first spends a Refined Palladium to acquire a Marketing Department tile - this adds a Palladium Ore to the Palladium Track, but it is not enough to unlock a Palladium Global Discount. He also discards a Refined Osmium to acquire an Advanced Pressurization tile, adding his Refined Osmium to the Osmium Track.

John has 2 Labs. He could split his research advancements, but he instead chooses to advance 2 spaces on the Mineralogy Research Track. This will give him 1 Credit and his choice of Raw Ore, which he hopes to refine and sell at a premium thanks to his newly acquired Marketing Department. He chooses to take Raw Gold Ore, as it is currently the most valuable resource in the Market.

Build Action

The Build action allows a player to place new facilities and Crawlers, and expand their Tube Network. The first step of the Build action is to spend Credits, Ore, and/or Kelp to build up to 1 facility on an explored Shelf that is connected to the active player's Tube Network.

Resource Costs: Slag, Raw Ore, Refined Ore, Kelp.

Resources spent for facilities, Tubes, or Crawlers may be spent from anywhere the player controls those resources. Players control resources held on their Submarines, Crawlers, Shelves that contain any of their facilities, or in Surface Storage. Resources not held by a unit or controlled by a facility may be spent by any player whose unit is on that Shelf during their turn. Ore of a more refined form may be spent in place of a lower form.

The first part of the Build action allows a player to pay Credits to build a facility, the cost of which is indicated on their Industry Board. A player that builds a facility adjacent to an opponent pays the reduced price (in orange) if applicable, and places 1 Slag on that opponent's adjacent Shelf (even if that facility was not built at a discount). If there are multiple valid options, the builder gets to choose which adjacent Shelf receives the Slag.

The Build action may only be taken on a Shelf that does not contain any other facilities, and is not part of an opponent's Dock. The Shelf must also be free of any opponent's units, unless the active player also has a unit there. Facilities may not be moved or destroyed, except by unique faction abilities or Exploitation events. All facilities will either increase or decrease their owners' upkeep costs. When revealing a corresponding icon, adjust the Upkeep Track immediately.

If there is an Exploitation icon next to the cost of the facility being built, the player must advance the Impending Collapse Marker by 1 space on the Exploitation Track (max. 2 spaces/turn).

The second part of the Build action allows players to build any combination of up to 2 (total) Tubes and/or Crawlers. A player may build a Tube or Crawler by discarding 1 Slag, or 1 Ore (Raw or Refined) from any location they control or any area that contains one of their units and is not controlled by an opponent. Tubes connect Shelves, allowing Crawlers to move between them.

A Tube may be built in an empty Tube Network space that is no more than 1 Shelf away from other Tubes belonging to the same faction. A Crawler may be built in any Shelf that contains one of the player's units or facilities. After placement, a Crawler may pick up a number of resources equal to its carry capacity (2).

Extractors and Smelters are built at a discounted price when placed adjacent to an opponent's building. Labs, Worker Complexes and Super Structures have additional resource costs which must be paid at the time of building. Raise or lower Upkeep immediately after building a facility.

Tubes function like tunnels between two Shelves. When building tubes, draw an imaginary line from the center of a tube to the center of an adjacent Shelf, then from the center to another edge of the same Shelf. Those edges are locations where you can build a tube.

Types of Facilities

Extractors

Extractors allow players to gather Ore or Kelp from their Shelf during an Extract action. If an Extractor is built on an uncollected Anomaly Token, its must collect that token before it can extract any Ore.

Smelters

Smelters allow players to refine Ore during a Process Ore action. Smelters also unlock the factions' special secondary actions. Building Smelters advances the Exploitation Track.

Worker Complexes

Worker Complexes reduce a player's upkeep costs, making their Extractions cheaper.

Super Structures

Each faction has a unique Super Structure. All Super Structures have an additional cost in the form of Ore, Refined Ore, Kelp, or some combination of them. While expensive, these structures unlock the factions' unique abilities and a faction's 7th Action Card.

Labs

Labs are special facilities that come with a Scientist meeple and grant permanent action improvements. When a player builds a Lab, they must immediately place 1 of their Scientist meeples onto 1 of the 3 improvement spaces located below the Market.

Up to two Scientists of the same faction may be placed on the same improvement space. There are no limits on different factions occupying the same improvement space. Once a Scientist has been placed, it cannot be moved.

For the remainder of the game, whenever a player carries out an action corresponding to the improvement, they gain the following benefit:

• Extract: When taking the Extract action, the player must extract 1 additional resource from a Shelf with an extraction-capable unit or facility.
• Refine: When taking the Process Ore action, the player must refine 1 additional resource on a Shelf where refinement is possible. The player also gains +1 Smelter for the purposes of all future Power Action Step triggers.
• Research: Advance exactly once on a Research Track when choosing this improvement. For the remainder of the game, when taking the Science action, the player must advance 1 additional space on a Research Track.

Anomaly Storage

When built, Labs unlock Anomaly Storage spaces. Each Anomaly Storage space may hold up to 3 Anomaly Tokens of the same type. During endgame scoring, players will gain victory points according to the number of Anomalies they have stored.

When gaining a new type of Anomaly, players may choose to overwrite a previous Anomaly Tile. If they do, return the replaced Anomaly Tile to the box.

Process Ore Action

The Process Ore action allows a player to generate Credits and convert Raw Ore into Refined Ore that can be used during Science, Home Base, and Build actions. Refined Ore in Surface Storage is also worth points during endgame scoring. For reference:

• Raw Osmium becomes Refined Osmium
• Raw Palladium becomes Refined Palladium.
• Raw Gold becomes Refined Gold.
• Slag becomes the player's choice of Raw Osmium, Raw Palladium, or Raw Gold.
• Kelp has no refined form.

A player gains 1 Credit at the start of a Process Ore action; they may then refine up to 1 Raw Ore currently in their Surface Storage. For each Smelter the player has built, they may then refine up to 2 additional Raw Ore that are on or adjacent to Shelves that contain any of their Smelters.

• When refining Ore on the Ocean Expanse Board, the Ore may be on the Shelf with the Smelter, alone on an adjacent Shelf, and/or on an adjacent Shelf that is controlled by the active player's facilities or units. You may not refine Ore that is on a Shelf controlled by another player.
• A Smelter increases a player's refining capability, regardless of its physical location. If a player has built 2 Smelters, they may always refine up to 4 Ore from spaces adjacent to their Smelters - even if the Ore is adjacent to only 1 Smelter.

Example: John has 2 Raw Osmium Ore and 3 Raw Palladium Ore.

He takes a Process Ore action, and his 2 Smelters allow him to process 4 of his Raw Ore into their Refined forms.

John also has a Scientist on the Smelter science space, allowing him to refine 1 more Ore during this action.

Ending the Game

A game of Deep Shelf can end in one of two ways: either by completing all oceanic research, or by environmental collapse. If both endgame triggers occur in the same game, the first triggering event will determine which player takes the final turn of the game. When the endgame is triggered, every player will have 1 last turn - the player who triggered the endgame will take the final turn of the game. When the final turn is done, the game is over and players can calculate their final scores.

Endgame #1: Complete Oceanic Research

The 3 fields of research in Deep Shelf are Ecology, Mineralogy, and Zoology. The end of the game is triggered as soon as a player marker occupies the last space of each Research Track.

Example: All oceanic research has been completed, with a Living Ocean Group (green) cube at the end of the Ecology Track and Meneswo Foundation (purple) cubes at the ends of the Mineralogy and Zoology Tracks. This triggers the end of the game.

Endgame #2: Environmental Collapse

Over the course of the game, players will inevitably advance the Exploitation Track as they build Smelters and deplete Resource Tiles; the endgame is triggered when the Environmental Collapse event occurs. Environmental Collapse occurs when the Exploitation Marker reaches the Collapse space that corresponds to the number of players.

• 2 Players: Environmental Collapse occurs at 10.
• 3 Players: Environmental Collapse occurs at 12.
• 4 Players: Environmental Collapse occurs at 14.

Faction Overview

Cogent Industrial

"The Deep Shelf Project is a fool's errand, but we are not fools. If the project fails, our competitors will be left destitute and their holdings will be ours to acquire. If the project succeeds, we will be a founding member of the most profitable venture in human history. The capital we invest today will bear dividends for centuries."

- Cogent Industrial, letter to shareholders

Cogent Industrial is one of the preeminent mining companies in the world. Over the last 35 years they have earned a reputation for setting up extraction operations that everyone else thought impossible. With this, however, they earned a reputation for having a complete disregard for the natural world and most of the people in it. Cogent is cold and efficient, and always looking for ways to maximize profit and boost efficiency.

While Cogent Industrial may seem an odd choice to work on a project meant to save the human race, they exemplify the notion of the ends justifying the means.

When playing as Cogent Industrial, you excel at expansion and have plentiful cheap facilities. Since your science options are limited and expensive, you should work to dominate area majority and try to maximize your resource scoring.

Unique Faction Overview

• Your submarine starts with 1 extra Cargo Hold.
• Build action: You may build 2 facilities instead of 1.
• Science action: You may only develop 1 technology instead of 2.
• Science Power Action Step: You may pay 4 Credits to advance 1 space on a Research Track. This cost is reduced by 1 Credit for each Smelter you have built.

Super Structure: Planet Cracker

• The Planet Cracker functions as a standard Extractor, but with added functionality. When taking the Extract or Planet Crack actions, the Planet Cracker extracts 1 resource from its Shelf as normal, along with a resource from an adjacent Shelf. The adjacent Shelf may be neutral, yours, or controlled by an opponent. You may not use this ability to extract the last resource from an opponent-controlled Shelf.
• Endgame scoring bonus: If the Planet Cracker has been built, Cogent gains 2 VP at the end of the game for every 3 facilities they have in play, rounded down.
• Planet Crack Special Action Card: Pay your current upkeep cost at a 1 Credit discount, to a minimum of 1 Credit). Extract resources with your Submarine and each Extractor.
• Planet Crack Power Action Step: Gain 1 Slag at Shelves that contain no resources, but are occupied by your Extractors. You may not gain more than 3 Slag with each use of this Power Action Step.

Meneswo Foundation

"The entirety of human knowledge is a blip on the grand cosmic scale. So many wonders have yet to be uncovered, and if humanity is extinguished because of our own shortsightedness, it would be the greatest of tragedies. We have reached a threshold that we cannot cross with our current level of understanding - to find our place in the future, we must renew our search for knowledge."

- Meneswo Foundation, Assembly of Minds Conference

The Meneswo Foundation is an exploration-focused group of scientists that have only recently entered the field of deep-sea extraction. Knowing that a tangible product would attract investors, the Meneswo Foundation began developing highly technical methods for mining resources in difficult locations. While they possess the capabilities for extraction and industry, in truth they are only in the business as a means of furthering their technological research and development.

The Meneswo Foundation came to the Deep Shelf project out of a place of curiosity - they could not pass up the opportunity to solve the puzzle of developing the technologies for such an endeavor, and the chance to explore a whole new world is a scientist's dream.

When playing as the Meneswo Foundation you should focus first on Research and developing new Technologies. Your overall extraction capabilities are expensive, so you should focus on building efficiently, rather than expansively.

Unique Faction Overview

• Move action: After scouting as normal, you may scout again at a Shelf adjacent to your Submarine.
• Your Surface Storage has a total capacity of 2 fewer resources.
• You may cover 2 of your Surface Storage spaces to accommodate 1 additional Technology Tile.
• Build Power Action Step: You may return one of your Crawlers to your Industry Board. If you do, place 1 Slag on the vacated Shelf and then extract 1 resource from the Shelf for each Smelter you have built.

Super Structure: Deep-Sea Observatory

• When built, gain 1 wild resource that must be used immediately to purchase 1 Technology Tile. You may spend additional resources as necessary.
• Additionally, you must place a Scientist meeple on 1 of the 3 improvement spaces below the Market.
• Deep Build Special Action Card: Choose to either scout any unexplored Shelf with a +1 scout modifier (draw 1 more Resource Tile than you would normally); or receive a 1 Credit discount on the next step. You may then spend resources to build a facility on an explored Shelf adjacent to any of your Tubes.
• Deep Build Power Action Step: For each Extractor you've built (max. 3), gain 1 resource reward listed underneath another player's tracking cube on a Research Track. You may choose a maximum of 1 reward from each track.

Living Ocean Group

"Humanity has been the dominant species on this planet for over 200,000 years, and we have failed in our sacred duty as its caretaker. For too long, humanity has violently twisted the world to suit our need and desires. Whether our future is on this planet or among the stars, we must overcome our crass, baser instincts and take steps to preserve what remains of the cradle of our civilization."

- Living Ocean Group, A Plan for Tomorrow

Living Ocean Group started as a non-profit organization dedicated to building awareness about the perils of exploiting the world's oceans. Over time, they went from a small activist group to a multinational extraction corporation in their own right. They have purchased land claims to mine rare resources, using soft extraction methods that allow natural ecosystems to survive, develop, and coexist with their facilities.

While the Living Ocean Group's primary goal is to save the ocean, they also believe that humanity deserves a second chance among the stars.

When playing as the Living Ocean Group, your strength comes from your ability to retrofit your Extractors into other types of facilities. This saves money and ensures that your facilities' Shelves are never wasted. Your abilities become much stronger as the game goes on, and your Super Structure grants you a unique scoring opportunity.

Living Ocean Group Unique Faction Overview

• Build action: You may replace 1 of your Extractors with either a Smelter for 2 Credits, or a Worker Complex for 2 Credits and 1 Kelp.
• Your Worker Complexes only reduce your upkeep cost by 1.
• Extract Power Action Step: If you have built a Smelter, build 1 Tube in a legal location at no cost. If you have built 2 Smelters, build 1 Tube and 1 Crawler in legal locations at no cost.

Super Structure: Green Tide Project

• When built, immediately place 2 Kelp on the Shelf where you built the facility. You may then optionally lower the Exploitation Track by 1 space.
• During endgame scoring, gain 1 VP for each Shelf that contains 1 or more Kelp and is not controlled by an opponent.
• Your upkeep cost is reduced by 1.
• The Green Tide Project is part of the Living Ocean Group Acceleration Network.
• Propagate Spores Special Action Card: Place 1 Kelp on each Shelf without Kelp that contains a Living Ocean Group Worker Complex. Your Submarine then gains 1 momentum to spend on movement or to Dock.
• Propagate Spores Power Action Step: You may pay 3 Credits to replace 1 of your Crawlers with an Extractor from your Industry Board. The Extractor must replace a Crawler on a Shelf without a facility. Place 1 Slag on an opponent's adjacent Shelf, as you would during a Build action.

Mobius Incorporated

"The boundary between science fiction and reality has been crossed so many times over the last two decades that it becomes hard to discern the difference. It was once written that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' We are on the cusp of a future where humanity is constrained only by will and imagination. Earth was just a stepping stone - Titan will be the next, but there are no bounds on our eventual destination."

- Mobius Incorporated, on Founding the Deep Shelf Project Trust

Mobius Incorporated is a highly regarded industrial group that specializes in advanced robotics and mobility-related research; they are responsible for the Acceleration Network technology that forms the foundation of the Deep Shelf Project. While Mobius' contributions to the world are many, they remain a fairly secretive company. Most of their workforce is robotized, and few people outside of their inner circle know the full capabilities of their technology.

Mobius is responsible for much of the technology employed in the Deep Shelf Project. Once the project is complete, they hope to lead the eventual colonization of Titan.

When playing as Mobius Incorporated, mobility is your greatest strength. As the only faction able to reposition its extractors, you will want to constantly shift your extraction efforts to capitalize on the resources you need, along with resources with high Market values. You have fewer structures than the other factions, making it difficult to compete in area majority scoring. Instead, seek strong victory point scoring in all other areas.

Unique Faction Overview

• Move action: After completing Submarine and Crawler movement as normal, you may move any of your Extractors up to 1 Shelf each, across any Tube. When doing so, your Extractors may occupy a Shelf containing any other facility, even if it belongs to an opponent. If you do so, your extractors lose the ability to extract until they move onto an uncontrolled Shelf. Your Extractors do not control resources when sharing a Shelf with an opponent's facility and may not move into another players dock.
• Home Base Action Step: Your Submarine gains 1 momentum for each Smelter you have built.

Super Structure: Acceleration Loop

• For an additional 2 Credits, this structure may be built on a Shelf that contains a Mobius unit, even if it is not connected to one of your Tubes (total cost: 8 Credits and 1 Refined Ore). When built, immediately extract 4 resources from the Shelf where it was built and place these directly into your Surface Storage.

• Supercavitation Special Action Card: Your Submarine gains 3 momentum, which you may use for movement or docking. If you spend fewer than 3 total momentum, you may scout the Shelf where your Submarine ends its movement as normal.

  After finishing your momentum step, up to 4 Mobius-controlled or neutral resources located in or adjacent to your Acceleration Loop may be moved directly to your Surface Storage.

• Supercavitation Power Action Step: You may move 1 of your built Extractors onto any Shelf that contains 1 of your Crawlers. When doing so, ignore all obstacles to the location, such as the Depth Dragon or a lack of Tubes.

Resource Tiles Reference

Shallows

• Osmium Source (x4) - Only available as a starting Resource Tile. Contains 6 Raw Osmium Ore.
• Standard Ore: Palladium (x4) - Contains 5 Raw Palladium Ore.
• Standard Ore: Gold (x5) - Contains 5 Raw Gold Ore.
• Smoker (x1) - Spend 3 fewer Credits when building a facility on this Shelf, to a minimum of 1 Credit. Single use.
• Kelp Source (x2) - Contains 6 Kelp.
• Shipwreck: Slag (x1) - When a unit ends its movement here, immediately gain $2 or 2 Slag, placed in the unit or on this Shelf. Single use.
• Shipwreck: Kelp (x1) - When a unit ends its movement here, immediately gain $2 or 2 Kelp, placed in the unit or on this Shelf. Single use.
• Ecology Anomaly (x1) - Advance 2 spaces on the Ecology Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the Ore indicated on the tile.
• Mineralogy Anomaly (x1) - Advance 2 spaces on the Mineralogy Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the Ore indicated on the tile.
• Zoology Anomaly (x1) - Advance 2 spaces on the Zoology Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the Ore indicated on the tile.

Deep

• Standard Ore: Palladium (x2) - Contains 8 Raw Palladium Ore.
• Standard Ore: Gold (x2) - Contains 8 Raw Gold Ore.
• Standard Ore: Osmium (x3) - Contains 10 Raw Osmium Ore.
• Deep Smoker (x2) - Spend 4 fewer Credits when building a facility on this Shelf, to a minimum of 1 Credit. Single use.
• Cache Ore (x2) - Contains 8 Raw Ore. When taking an Extract action on this Shelf, choose which type of Ore(s) you receive. Use the Cache dice to track any remaining Ore on this Shelf.
• Sickly Kelp Source (x1) - Contains 5 Kelp.
• Unstable Vent (x1) - The player who discovers this tile must choose its orientation. At the end of the game, facilities adjacent to this tile will score: Adjacent to 1 or 2 yellow spots: +1 or +2 VP, respectively. Adjacent to red spot: -1 VP. No player may build on this Shelf.
• Shipwreck: Gold (x1) - When your unit ends its movement on this Shelf, immediately gain $3 or 1 Refined Gold and 1 Slag, placed in the unit or on this space. Single use.
• Crystal (x2) - When your unit ends its movement on this Shelf, immediately choose and gain any Technology Tile from the Research Board with an adjusted Ore cost of 1. Single use.
• Ecology Anomaly (x2) - Advance 2 spaces on the Ecology Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the corresponding Ore.
• Mineralogy Anomaly (x2) - Advance 2 spaces on the Mineralogy Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the corresponding Ore.
• Zoology Anomaly (x2) - Advance 2 spaces on the Zoology Research Track when the Anomaly item is extracted. If you have a Lab, gain the corresponding Anomaly Token. Once the Anomaly has been extracted, this Shelf contains the corresponding Ore.
• Depth Dragon Burrow (x1) - When your unit ends its movement on this Shelf, choose to either gain $3 or move the Depth Dragon 3 spaces. Single use.

Trench

• Sunken City (x1) - If this Shelf is occupied by a facility during final scoring, that facility's owner gains VP equal to 2 plus half their current upkeep.
• Pure Ore Seam (x1) - The first time a player takes an Extract action on this Shelf, they must choose any 4 Refined Ore, placed in their unit or on this Shelf. Single use.
• Volcanic Pool (x1) - A player who controls this Shelf with a facility gains 1 additional Credit whenever they take a Process Ore action. If there is a facility on this Shelf, this tile is worth 2 VP at the end of the game.
• Submerged Mushroom Colony (x1) - A player who controls this Shelf with a facility pays 2 fewer Credits whenever they take an Extract action. This tile is worth 2 VP at the end of the game.
• Self-contained Biome (x1) - The first time a player extracts this Shelf, they immediately advance 1 space in each of the 3 Research Tracks (where possible). Single use.

Technology Tiles Reference

Level 1

Improved Engine: During a Move action, when your Submarine gains at least 1 momentum, it gains 1 additional momentum.

Rapid Pulse Sonar: When scouting during a Move action, you may draw 1 additional tile.

Warehouse: You may utilize both rows of your Surface Storage.

Surface Smelters: When taking the Process Ore action, refine 1 additional Ore in your Surface Storage.

Crawler Beacon: During a Move action, when you gain at least 1 momentum, your Crawlers gain 1 additional momentum.

High Density Hull: Your units may move into the Deep and Trench zones. Your may now build in these areas.

Level 2

Prefabrication: During a Build action you may build on Shelves that contain your units, even if they are not connected to your Tube Network.

Secure Cargo Hold: Your Submarine may carry 2 additional resources. During final scoring, gain 1 VP for each non-Slag Ore in your Submarine.

Marketing Dept.: When taking the Home Base action, gain 1 additional Credit during your Market Step for each resource sold. You may buy resources at a discount of 1 Credit.

Pulverizer Drill: Increase your upkeep cost by 1. Your Extractors may extract twice during Extract actions.

Crawler Ballast: Your Crawlers may move between Shelves during a Move action, regardless of the presence of Tubes.

Recyclers: (2 players) Gain 1 Slag at your Dock whenever the Exploitation Track increases. (3-4 players) Gain 1 Slag at your Dock after an Exploitation event is resolved.

Level 3

Powerformers: You may now perform Build actions in any order. You pay 1 fewer Credit for facilities, to a minimum of 1 Credit.

Fission Engine: During a Move action, gain an additional 3 momentum that can be divided among your units as you choose.

Restoration Hub: Immediately lower the Exploitation Track by 1 space. During endgame scoring, gain your choice of 2 VP, or 1 VP for each space remaining on the Exploitation Track.

Probe Bay: Immediately advance 3 spaces on the Research Tracks, divided as you like. From now on, whenever you gain an Anomaly Token, you may stack it with other Anomaly Tokens of any type and still gain its benefit for endgame scoring.

Nano Extraction: Increase your upkeep cost by 1. During Extract actions, your Crawlers may extract 1 resource from their Shelves.

Purity Refinement: During a Science action, reduce your total Ore cost by 1 (to a minimum of 1).

Level 4

(each Level 4 tile is worth a minimum of 1 VP on its own)

Systems Hub: During endgame scoring, gain 1 VP for each Research Tile on your Submarine Board.

Auto Surveyors: During endgame scoring, gain 1 VP for each non-depleted Ore Shelf that you occupy with your Submarine, Crawlers or facilities.

Metallurgy Dept: During endgame scoring, gain 1 VP for each Ore in your Surface Storage.

Science Dept: During endgame scoring, gain 2 VP for each Anomaly Token stored in 1 of your Labs.

Mobile Dwellings: During endgame scoring, gain 3 VP; your Crawlers count as structures when resolving Milestone scoring. (This tile is worth a total of 4 VP: 3 from the tile, plus 1 as a Level-4 tile.)

Maglev Boosters: During endgame scoring, gain 1 VP for each of your Crawlers and for every 2 Tubes you have built on the Ocean Expanse Board.

Endgame Scoring

After the final turn of the game, players' scores can be calculated, according to their performances in several categories - the reverse side of the Tile Reference Board may be used to track players' scores. After calculating all milestones and endgame scoring criteria, the player with the most points wins the game!

Calculate Milestone Majorities

1. Most structures in the Shallows of the Ocean Expanse Board:

   First Place: 7 VP Second Place: 3 VP Third Place: 1 VP

   In the event of a tie, sum the VP values of the tied positions and divide by the number of tied players, rounded down; each tied player receives that many VP.

2. Most structures in the Deep and Trench of the Ocean Expanse Board:

   First Place: 10 VP Second Place: 4 VP Third Place: 2 VP

   In the event of a tie, sum the VP values of the tied positions and divide by the number of tied players, rounded down; each tied player receives that many VP.

3. First player to end their turn with a unit or structure in the Deep section of the Ocean Expanse Board (the player with the Deep Explorer Token):

   Gain 3 VP

4. Player with the most Technology Tiles in each of the 3 Research Tracks (Gold, Palladium, Osmium):

   3 VP per track

   In the event of a tie, each tied player receives 2 VP.

5. Player highest on each Research Track (Ecology, Mineralogy, and Zoology):

   First Place: 2 VP Second Place: 1 VP

   In the event of a tie, divide appropriate VP awards evenly between all tied players, rounded down. Remember: Only 1 player may reach the last space of any Research Track.

Calculate Personal Scoring Categories

• Gain 1 VP for every 5 Credits you have remaining.
• Gain 1.5 VP, rounded down, for each Refined Ore in your Surface Storage.
• Gain 1 VP for each victory point marker that your tracking cubes have reached or passed on the 3 Research Tracks.

Gain VP for sets of Anomaly Tokens:

• 1 VP for a single Anomaly Token.

• 3 VP for a set of 2 Anomaly Tokens of the same type.

• 4 VP for a set of 3 Anomaly Tokens of the same type.

• Calculate any endgame score modifiers from Level 4 Technology Tiles, Deep and Trench Tiles, Green Tide Project, and Cogent Industrial facility bonus.

• Gain 1 VP for each green and uncolored side of the Depth Dragon that borders a player's facility, to a maximum of 4 points.

• Subtract 1 VP for each red side of the Depth Dragon that borders a player's facility, to a maximum of 2 points.

In the event of a tie, the victor is determined by the player who controls the most Ore on the Ocean Expanse Board and/or their Submarine's Cargo Hold (excluding Slag). If there is still a tie, the winner is the tied player who has the fewest facilities remaining on their Industry Board.

Reference

On Your turn:

1. Play a card to your First Action space. Carry out each line item in order. Ignore any Power Action steps. Raise Impending Collapse if applicable.
2. Play a card to your 2nd Action space. Carry out each line item in order including any Power Action steps. Raise Impending Collapse if applicable.
3. Return any cards in your 1st Action Space and Overworked column to your hand. Move the card in your 2nd Action Space to the Overworked column.
4. Check if the Impending Collapse marker is above the Exploitation marker. If so, raise the Exploitation Marker up to two spaces to match, then lower the Impending Collapse Marker if it is still higher. If the Exploitation marker passed over or ended on orange, resolve an Exploitation Event.

Exploration Tile Legend - Activate the tile by:

• Ending your move here.
• Building a facility here.
• Extracting here.

Common Icons

• Acceleration Network: The owner of buildings with this icon may treat the shelves where they are built as adjacent.
• Exploitation: When revealed or built, raise the Impending Collapse marker 1 space on the Exploitation track.
• Extractor - Extracts resources.
• Smelter - Refines resources. Empowers 2nd actions.
• Worker Complex - Lowers upkeep.
• Lab - Grants Scientist. Enables research advancements. Holds anomaly tokens.
• The Depth Dragon's origin, or move the Depth Dragon X amount of spaces.
• Victory Point. Calculated at the end of the game.
• Unlocked Improved Scouting. When scouting draw 1 additional tile.
• Unlocked Improved Market. When selling resources, gain +$1.
• Unlocked Improved Upkeep. Permanently lower Upkeep by 1.
• Ecology Science Track / anomaly token.
• Mineralogy Science Track / anomaly token.
• Zoology Science Track / anomaly token.
• Refined Ore.
• Raw Ore.
• Slag.
• Kelp.