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- BGG #6,813
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- 6.7
Winterhaven Woods
- 1–6 players
- 15–20 min
- Complexity 1.6/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #14,994
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Open Ocean
2020
Rules assistance for Open Ocean
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 20–30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.3/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Open Ocean
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Open Ocean is a board game released in 2020 for 1–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Joel Bodkin and its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Open Drafting.
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About the game
As a budding marine biologist, you’ve traveled across the globe exploring the hidden wonders of the underwater world. It’s been your lifelong dream to study the vibrant ecosystems of the coral reef, and now you are about to start 3 days of uninterrupted underwater exploration! There’s only one problem, the day before you arrived, a typhoon hit the reef. All you can see now is one tiny coral, but hey, at least it’s a start! Most of the reef’s residents seem to have sought safety from the crashing waves out in the Open Ocean. They are just waiting for the waters to calm before returning home. Can you coax them back, and rebuild the reef into the vibrant ecosystem it once was? Open Ocean is a card drafting and placement game. The goal is to create the highest scoring combination of colorful creatures in your Reef! Each turn, Players: PICK a card from their current hand PLAY the card they picked into their Reef PASS the remaining cards clockwise to the next player Players are competing to collect creatures as they are passed around the table, and to attract additional creatures from the Ocean (as shared pool of cards in the center of the table)before their opponents do. Players can use special cards to snag specific fish from the Ocean or an opponent’s reef and turn the tides in their favor. At the end of three rounds players score points and earn bonuses for the type and placement of creatures they collected over the course of the game. The player with the highest scoring reef wins! -description from designer
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Featherstone Games
Questions and answers
Open Ocean supports 1–5 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 Open Ocean is 20–30 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 Open Ocean 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.
Open Ocean has a complexity rating of 1.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
Open Ocean belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Environmental. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Solo / Solitaire Game, 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 Open Ocean are: Joel Bodkin. 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 Open Ocean 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.