- BGG rating
- 6.7
Ocean Crisis: Catastrophe
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,074
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Ocean Crisis
2019
Rules assistance for Ocean Crisis
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.3/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Ocean Crisis
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ocean Crisis is a board game released in 2019 for 2–5 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Chi Wei Lin, Hsien Pu Jan, and CHEN,JHAO-RU and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Variable Set-up.
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About the game
Ocean Crisis depicts a real life environmental disaster in which a million tons of massive plastic waste is poured into the ocean each year, causing ocean life to cease faster than ever before. Players are the defenders of the ocean and will do whatever it takes to stop the formation of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a.k.a., the Ocean Waste Island. On each turn, ocean waste occurs on rivers, along seashores, and within the ocean. All players co-operate and place their workers by choosing from two actions: waste clean-up or environmental activity. Roll a die to determine whether a piece of garbage is cleaned up, or place road tiles to launch an environmental activity. At the end of each turn, all garbage flows downstream along the river, and the ocean current board will spin randomly, bringing a piece of garbage from the ocean to seashores, or from seashores to the Garbage Patch! Environmental activities are mostly preventative measures, including adding a skill such as recycling or reusable products to a player, researching a certain type of garbage for waste reduction, or designing an ocean clean-up machine that can be sent out to clean ocean waste by itself. If players survive a six-turn bombardment of ocean waste without having the Great Pacific Garbage Patch form completely, the ocean crisis seems to be solved (for now), and players win the game together! Ocean Crisis also comes with six environmental side missions and scenarios for players to challenge, including dolphin rescue, sea turtle nesting, and shark defender, completing the full picture of ocean protection from an ecological point of view.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Shepherd Kit, Inc.
Questions and answers
Ocean Crisis supports 2–5 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 Ocean Crisis 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 Ocean Crisis for ages 8 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.
Ocean Crisis 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.
Ocean Crisis belongs to these categories: Animals, Children's Game, and Educational. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Variable Set-up. 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 Ocean Crisis are: Chi Wei Lin, Hsien Pu Jan, and CHEN,JHAO-RU. 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 Ocean Crisis 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.