- BGG rating
- 6.3
Abyss: Anglerfish
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #452
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Abyss
2014
Rules assistance for Abyss
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.3/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Abyss
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Abyss is a board game released in 2014 for 2–4 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Bruno Cathala and Charles Chevallier and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Push Your Luck.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Abyss: Kraken
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2015
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Abyss: Leviathan
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2018
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Abyss: Kraken & Leviathan
- 2–5 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2022
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Abyss: De Profundis
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2024
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- 2–4 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2020
About the game
The Abyss power is once again vacant, so the time has come to get your hands on the throne and its privileges. Use all of your cunning to win or buy votes in the Council. Recruit the most influential Lords and abuse their powers to take control of the most strategic territories. Finally, impose yourself as the only one able to rule the Abyssal people! Abyss is a game of development, combination and collection in which players try to take control of strategic locations in an underwater city. To achieve this, players must develop on three levels: first by collecting allies, then using them to recruit Lords of the Abyss, who will then grant access to different parts of the city. Players acquire cards through a draft of sorts, and the Lords of the Abyss acquired on those cards grant special powers to the cardholder — but once you use the cards to acquire a location, that power is shut off, so players need to time their land grabs well in order to put themselves in the best position for when the game ends.
Designers
Publishers
- Galápagos Jogos
- Rebel Sp. z o.o.
- MIPL
- Asterion Press
- Bombyx
- Pandasaurus Games
- Doit Games
- IGAMES
- Grimspire
- TTGames CZ
Questions and answers
Abyss supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Abyss is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Abyss for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Abyss has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Abyss belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Nautical. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Push Your Luck. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Abyss are: Bruno Cathala and Charles Chevallier. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Abyss as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.