Aqua Board Game, Fun Strategy Game for Adults and Family, Thematic Oceanic Tile Placement Game, Ages 8+, 1-4 Players, 30-45+ Minute Playtime, Solo and Competitive Modes

Highly recommend. One of the better tile layers.

Our family enjoyed it!

Bought this game for my 7 yr old grandson. He loves it. We play family style, not using the expanded ecosystem points. I don't fully understand them, anyway. The game is sturdy and the illustrations are quite colorful and lovely. Some of the instructions could be clearer, as noted. Well worth the money.

This game is gorgeous, as you would expect with art by Vincent Dutrait. The puzzle aspect of building up your reef and adding small and large animals to it while trying to meet goals (that vary each game) is both brain-burning and enjoyable. Games are fairly quick with just 17 turns for each player. If you struggle with learning rules, Rodney Smith of Watch It Played has a great instructional video on Youtube for this game. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys strategic, beautiful tile laying games with a puzzle feel.

Aqua is a great game for anyone who likes nature-themed games, especially games that are easy to follow and not super complex. The first thing you notice about the game is the great artwork on the box. This same artwork is on all tiles and that makes this game very appealing. The box, rulebook and all the tiles are super high quality and don’t get ruined easily, even if you play this a lot.The game itself is super easy to learn and follow the rules. You can probably learn this in about 15 minutes with no problem since the rules are not complex. The game has a good rating so far and it has been completely welcomed in my game group as well.Gameplay:Aqua is a tile drafting and placement game for 1-4 players and lasts 30-45 minutes. It is a simple and quick game to learn and play but it is difficult to master with the requirements of placing tiles to gain small and large animals. On your turn, you are going to take a tile from the market area, place it next to one of your current tiles and then gain animals, if possible. You get the small and big animals if you have completed the required pattern of different types of animals in your area. It is a race to get the large animals since they are limited and even when there is more than one of a specific tile, the score goes from high to low.The creating habitats part is what makes the game challenging and it requires a bit of thinking and planning. You must create a hex of the same color with three different tiles which will allow you to gain the corresponding small animal. When you gain enough different small animals in a specific pattern, you can gain a large animal. After each round, refill the market and take turns again drafting and placing tiles. The game lasts until you run out of tiles. In addition to the base game rules, there are scenarios and achievements which players can play to add difficulty or variety.The mechanics for this game are end game bonuses, open drafting, pattern building, tile placement and variable set-up. If you like these mechanics in general, you would be likely to enjoy this game as well.Pros: 1- Good quality of game pieces. 2- Great artwork all over the components. 3- Low price for these many high-quality components. 4- High degree of replayability, given the nature of the game. 5- Easy to learn and simple scoring rules.Overall, I would totally recommend this game and give it a solid 5-star. I really enjoyed playing this for the first time and ready to go for more. I am surprised that this game is not more expensive with this high quality.

Aqua is such a fun and engaging board game! The oceanic theme is beautifully illustrated, and the gameplay is both strategic and family-friendly. It’s easy to learn but offers enough depth to keep things interesting. Whether I’m playing with friends or family, it’s always a hit. A must-have for any board game collection!

There is a lot to like about this board game. First, the artwork is beautiful! From the cover, to the insides of the box to the "chunky" tiles, this game oozes its aquatic theme. It is a tile laying game in the style of Carcasonne but with a lot of clever scoring options.The gameplay itself could not be any simpler. There is an elegant tile drafting process that enables each player to "grow" their coral reef system. But the complexity lies in the multiple ways in which endgame scoring takes place. To be competitive, the player must always be thinking several steps ahead as the tiles stack upon others following another set of rules. As a result, there are a lot of decisions that must be made every turn - each equally attractive. And, like any good game, there is an element of luck. Will the specific tile you are waiting for appear in the market? Or, will all of your planning be for nought if a certain tile doesn't appear?The game manages to offer a great deal in re-playability due to a wide assortment of ecosystem tiles (of which only 6 are used each game) as well as a few variant rules. The game does not overstay its welcome and actually ends a little too soon for my tastes! At first it seems as if the game will go on for a while, but it is quickly apparent that one doesn't have all that much time to create all of the scoring possibilities he/she might desire.The pad that is included with the game is excellent for methodically breaking down and keeping track of all of the aspects of a players end score. The rulebook is super clear and does a fantastic job of explaining the rules with large print and examples while remaining concise.There is an organizer included that makes storage of the various components easy, but while it is easy to assemble, it can be tricky getting it into the box without having it fall apart. That was perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game for me! I just wish that the pieces exerted a little more friction on one another so that the dividers could easily be transferred to the box. But, that is a minor complaint since it is a one-time battle.This is a clever little game that should satisfy casual as well as hardcore gamers alike. And, the Aquatic theme is not just pasted on. The game really does drip with marine spirit. Nice addition to my collection!