Welcome to Aqualin!

In this exciting game, your goal is to strategically arrange and connect the colored sea creatures to earn points. Let me guide you through the game rules so you can dive right in!

Components

Before we begin, let’s familiarize ourselves with the game’s components:

• Game board: This is where the action takes place. It consists of a grid with various sea creatures scattered around.
• Sea creature tiles: These tiles represent the different creatures in the game. They come in six different colors and shapes.
• Scoring tokens: These tokens are used to keep track of each player’s score.
• Game rules: You’re reading them right now! They provide all the necessary information to play the game.

Game Setup

Now that you know the components, let’s set up the game:

1. Place the game board in the center of the playing area.
2. Shuffle the sea creature tiles and place them face-down within easy reach of all players.
3. Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding scoring tokens.

Gameplay

Ready to dive into the action? Here’s how to play:

1. The youngest player goes first (lucky them!).
2. On your turn, you must do one of the following actions:
   • 1. Place a sea creature tile: Draw the top tile from the stack and place it on any empty space on the game board.
   • 2. Take a scoring token: Take a scoring token from the supply. You can only do this if you have placed a sea creature tile on your previous turn.
3. The game continues clockwise, with each player taking turns and choosing one of the two actions.

Scoring

Scoring in Aqualin is based on forming groups of connected sea creatures. Here’s how it works:

• A group consists of two or more sea creatures of the same color that are connected orthogonally (not diagonally).
• When you create a group, you score points equal to the number of sea creatures in that group.
• The larger the group, the more points you earn!
• At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Game End

The game ends when all the sea creature tiles have been placed on the game board. Now it’s time to count your points and see who’s the ultimate sea creature connector!

Are you ready to dive into the colorful world of Aqualin? Let’s get started and have some aquatic fun!

Hey there! Have you ever imagined what it’s like to swim among colorful sea creatures in a vibrant reef? Picture this: jellyfish gracefully gliding, starfish gathering in pairs, and so much more!

Well, in this game, you and I can recreate that magical experience. Our goal? To create the biggest schools of sea creatures before the reef gets filled up. Exciting, right?

Here’s how we dive into the action: we each try to form schools of the same color or the same animal type. The bigger our schools, the more points we’ll earn once the game ends. So, let’s aim for the highest score and claim victory!

Getting Ready

To set up the game, we need to place the game board, which is a representation of the reef, right between us. Then, let’s turn all the tiles face down and mix them up. These tiles depict various sea creatures, by the way. We’ll place this shuffled pile next to the game board – this will be our stockpile.

Next, let’s randomly pick six tiles from the stockpile. These tiles will be placed face up next to the game board, creating what we call the drafting pool. It’s from this pool that we’ll choose tiles to build our schools.

So here’s the deal: I need you to decide who’s going to collect schools based on color and who’s going to collect schools based on animal type – basically, who’s going to score points at the end for each type of school.

A school is a bunch of tiles that are next to each other and have either the same color or the same type of animal. The player who was in the ocean last will go first and take their turn.

How to Play the Game

Here’s how you play the game:

1. Move a sea creature
2. Place a new sea creature on the reef
3. Replenish the Drafting Pool

1. Move a Sea Creature

Important note: For the first turn, you won’t be moving any sea creatures since there aren’t any on the reef yet.

Before you choose a sea creature from the drafting pool, you have the option to move one sea creature already on the reef.

You can move the sea creature any number of spaces in its row or column, but you can’t go beyond the next sea creature or the edge of the reef.

For example: “Move a sea creature”

2. Add a New Sea Creature

Onto the Reef

Now it’s your turn to add a sea creature to the reef! You get to choose one from the group of sea creatures in front of you and place it in any empty spot on the reef. You can put it next to another sea creature if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Tip: To keep things organized, try putting sea creatures of the same type facing the same way.

For example: “Add a sea creature to the reef.”

Step 3: Add More Creatures to Choose From

Before I finish my turn, I grab a sea creature from the pile and put it face up in the group of creatures to choose from. Now it’s your turn to go.

Remember: If there aren’t any more sea creatures in the pile, I can’t add any more. But don’t worry, we keep playing until there aren’t any more creatures to choose from.

We take turns like this until all 36 spots in the reef are filled. Then it’s time to evaluate our work.

Evaluating Our Work

We figure out our scores based on the different schools of fish in the reef. During this evaluation, a sea creature can be part of a school of the same color and animal type at the same time.

In the underwater world, schools are like social groups of sea creatures. Picture a group of two or more creatures of the same type or color swimming together, side by side. It’s important to note that they must be right next to each other – diagonally adjacent tiles don’t count.

Now, when it comes to scoring, we want to keep all the sea creatures on the reef. To help you out, turn to page 1 for an overview of the different sea creatures. To begin, count all the schools of the same color separately. So, tally up the blue schools, the green schools, the pink schools, and so on. Next, do the same for schools of the same animal type. Count how many crab schools you have, how many fish schools, how many jellyfish schools, and so forth.

Here’s a handy table that shows you the number of points you’ll earn for each of your schools:

Note: It’s important to remember that a single tile by itself doesn’t count as a school and won’t earn you any points. If there’s a tie, the player who went second is the winner.

Here’s an example of how scoring works:

Let’s say I’m playing and I have schools of the same color. I assess my schools like this: blue (4 tiles = 6 points, 2 tiles = 1 point), green (1 point), pink (3 points), purple (3 points), red (3 points), and yellow (2×1 point). So, in total, I have 19 points.

Hey there, it’s me, Nina! I love playing this awesome game where I get to collect different animals. Let me tell you how it works. I count crabs for 1 point, fish for 6 points, jellyfish for 1 point, seahorses for 2 times 1 point each, starfish for a whopping 10 points, and turtles for 1 point. All of these points add up to 21, and guess what? I became the winner!

The Game Ends

I’m sure you’re wondering who wins this game. Well, it’s simple! The player with the most points is the winner. It’s all about collecting those animals and racking up those points! So make sure you keep your eyes open and grab as many as you can.

Ready for More?

Now that I’ve won, I’m feeling pretty confident. So, how about we have a rematch? But this time, let’s switch things up. The player who played with colors before can now play with animal types, and vice versa. It’ll be a whole new challenge!