- BGG rating
- 7.5
Oceans: 5-6 Player Expansion
- 5–6 players
- 60–90 min
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #646
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Oceans
2020
Rules assistance for Oceans
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 60–90 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.9/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Oceans
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Oceans is a board game released in 2020 for 2–4 players, 60–90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Dominic Crapuchettes, Nick Bentley, Ben Goldman, and Brian O'Neill and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Open Drafting.
Expansions
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,788
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Trekking the World: Second Edition
- 1–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2024
- BGG rank
- BGG #802
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Evolution
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2014
- BGG rank
- BGG #557
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Evolution: Climate
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2016
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,144
- BGG rating
- 6.6
Evolution: The Beginning
- 2–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2016
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,389
- BGG rating
- 6.7
HerStory
- 2–5 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,657
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Nature
- 1–4 players
- 30–45 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,569
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Bios: Megafauna
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2011
- BGG rank
- BGG #150
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Forest Shuffle
- 2–5 players
- 40–60 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2023
- BGG rank
- BGG #920
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor
- 2–5 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,775
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains
- 2–5 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2026
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,853
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Friese's Landlord
- 2–6 players
- 40 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2013
- BGG rank
- BGG #282
- BGG rating
- 7.6
La Granja
- 1–4 players
- 90–120 min
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 2014
About the game
Oceans is a stand-alone game in the Evolution series with over 120 works of art, 40 scenarios cards, and more than 100 unique trait cards. Oceans depicts the boundaries between the known world near the ocean’s surface, and the mysteries lurking in Earth’s deepest unexplored region. Enter a vast, underwater cosmos: a mysterious interconnected world of sharp teeth, glowing eyes, and black ink, where your survival depends on your ability to adapt to the unknown. The foundation of the oceanic food chain are billions of one-celled organisms called phytoplankton that capture the sun's energy through photosynthesis. Every other species in the ocean is a predator, each bigger than the next, all the way up to the dreaded Apex Predator. And even bigger than Apex Predators are enormous Whales that gently swim through the ocean scooping up everything in their path. This ecosystem mimics the known world near the surface. But there is more if you are willing to dive deeper. Oceans is an interactive engine builder, where players evolve their species in a continually changing ecosystem. Players must adapt their interconnected ecosystem to survive against the inevitable march of time (Aging), as well as a multitude of predators looking for food. During the first half of the game, players use traits from a deck of Surface cards to modify their species. These traits were chosen for their rich thematic interconnections, providing synergistic card play that mimics an oceanic ecosystem. The Surface traits bring stability to the game environment. During the second half of the game, players can use power cards from The Deep to disrupt the stability. With over 100 unique traits in The Deep, players will slowly discover game-altering traits over the course of many games. These traits were designed to evoke wonder and disbelief - to spark your imagination as you consider the fantastic synergies that are possible in Oceans. Additionally, there are 2 randomly chosen scenario cards that activate and deactivate at various points during the game. The scenario cards impact the basic tenets of gameplay, encouraging people to vary their play style and strategy each game.
Mechanics
Publishers
- Popcorn Games
- Ediciones MasQueOca
- Reflexshop
- Gameland 游戏大陆
- Grok Games
- Funforge
- Pendragon Game Studio
- TWOPLUS Games
- Schwerkraft-Verlag
- Rightgames RBG SIA
- North Star Games, LLC
Questions and answers
Oceans 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 Oceans is 60–90 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 Oceans for ages 12 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.
Oceans has a complexity rating of 2.9 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.
Oceans belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Educational. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Open Drafting. 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 Oceans are: Dominic Crapuchettes, Nick Bentley, Ben Goldman, and Brian O'Neill. 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 Oceans 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.