Aquaria

To set up Aquaria, assemble the variable main board and randomly place action bonus tiles in its center. Each player receives an aquarium player board, four action dice in different colors, player markers, food cans, and micro-flora dials set to the correct starting values. Place the central card decks—including aquarium cards and lionfish cards—within easy reach, along with starting tiles, pearl tokens, and filter bonus tokens.

The main objective of Aquaria is to create and maintain a successful 1950s family aquarium. Players compete to attract visitors and score victory points by acquiring diverse aquatic species, feeding them appropriately, maintaining water purity with filters and aquatic plants, and managing their oxygen levels throughout the four rounds of the game.

Gameplay spans four rounds, with each round comprising four turns per player. On your turn, you place or advance an action die on the main board's action wheel, moving it clockwise to take the corresponding action. Actions allow you to draw and place aquarium cards, gather food cans, gain pearls, advance your oxygen track, or progress on encyclopedia and pet shop tracks to secure valuable bonuses and discounts.

Scoring happens primarily at the end of the game. Players earn victory points for accumulated pearls, remaining food and oxygen levels, completed card sets, and specific spatial arrangements on their aquarium boards—such as positioning clownfish adjacent to anemone cards or keeping aquatic plants properly balanced.

The game ends automatically after the completion of the fourth round. After final micro-flora triggers and resource conversions are resolved, players tally their points from all scoring categories to determine who built the most prestigious aquarium and wins the game.