Description
Three years in the making, Oceans is a stand-alone game in the award-winning Evolution series. With over 120 works of art, 40 scenarios cards, and more than 100 unique trait cards, Oceans is the most ambitious project North Star Games has ever tackled.
Theme
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 also includes a deck of 100 unique power cards called The Deep that represents the unknown. These powerful cards break the seams of the reality you've come to accept, ranging from astonishing things found in the ocean, to the fantastical Kraken or Leviathan.
Gameplay
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. With only 12 Surface traits, it’s easy to wade into your first game without being overwhelmed by new cards. 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.
The Evolution Series
Oceans is a stand-alone game in the Evolution series, but it's a vast departure from other games in the series. The turn structure has been simplified, the game play is much more forgiving, and the web of interconnections has increased dramatically. Whereas Evolution has the feeling of a traditional back-and-forth battle game like Magic: The Gathering, Oceans has the feel of an interactive engine builder where everything is interconnected, and where your engine must continually adapt to a changing environment.
Join the Oceans Discord community for rule questions, strategy discussions, and to get involved in future playtesting.
Rental Information
Game rental is charged per week (7 days) with a minimum rental period of 1 week and a maximum rental period of 8 weeks per booking.
Rentals are available for pick-up after 12pm the day after you place your order. If you require same day collection please contact us to discuss before placing your order.
Rentals must be picked-up and dropped-off in person at Crafted Coffee which is located at 121 Blenheim Road, Christchurch, 8025.
Crafted Coffee's standard opening hours are:
7am - 2:30pm Monday to Friday
10am - 2pm Saturday
Closed - Sunday
Hours may change on public holidays. You can contact Crafted Coffee on 03 348 4833.
A 10% discount will automatically be applied to all rentals taken for more than 4 weeks. Discounts can only be applied at the initial time of booking and can not be applied at a later point.
We do our best to ensure every game is complete and fully playable but if you do find anything wrong with the game that prevents you playing it please let us know as soon as possible. We are happy to refund any hire fees once the game has been returned. Please advise us if you wish to return a game. You are responsible for the game until it arrives back at Meepleopolis. We will refund or credit only once we have received the game and determined its condition.
If you buy from us the same game you rented within 7 days of the rental period ending we will apply a discount on the purchase price equal to one week of the rental cost. Discount will stack with your member discounts, no other discounts or promotions will stack with this discount. The purchase is dependent on stock availability for which we make no guarantees.
You are responsible for returning the rented game(s) on time - by the end of the rental period. Failure to return the rental on time will incur late return charges. Late return charges are set at 200% of the rental price paid for each week (or part of) of late return.
If some components of the game(s) go missing and can be replaced from the manufacturer you will be charged for these replacements, if required. Due to some manufacturer replacement policies, it may be necessary to replace the entire game should some pieces get lost or damaged. You acknowledge, understand and accept this risk. If you should receive a game where there are pieces missing then please notify us promptly.
By renting our games you are agreeing to provide proper care of the games and to return all games in the same condition as they were rented, at the end of the rental period. Responsibility of the rental remains with the customer from the time of receipt from pickup to the time of return. Please be sure all game equipment is accounted for at all times and protected from weather or other events that could damage the game(s).
In the event that the game is lost, stolen, damaged or abandoned during rental, you are responsible for paying the full retail price of an equivalent game. You will be able to keep the game that is damaged. You will not be able to rent any further games until these moneys have been paid in full.
If you do not return the game(s) rented or pay any funds required for lost game(s) / missing components and remain un-contactable, Meepleopolis Limited reserves the right to pursue the reclaim of the game(s) and / or money owing through all legal means. Any costs incurred by Meepleopolis Limited during this process will be on charged to you, the customer.
All games rented remain the property of Meepleopolis Limited at all times. Customers are not permitted to sub-rent games or use games in a commercial setting without the express approval of Meepleopolis Limited.
General terms and conditions apply.
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