Oceanic: A Cozy, Crunchy Deep Sea Strategy Game

Oceanic is a cozy-but-crunchy Euro-style tabletop game about exploring and preserving the underwater world. Collect and play marine life cards, feed the food chain in biomes like the Coral Reef and the Abyss, and adapt to an ocean where every choice ripples through a shared ecosystem.

Every session is packed with new combinations of marine life, forces of nature, and strategic possibilities. It’s replayable the way the ocean does it: abundant, surprising, and full of new interactions surfacing every time you play.

In Oceanic, the food chain is dynamic and communal. Food tokens are shared, not personal. Place food on a hex and anyone can use it, just like a real ecosystem where your “helpful” plankton bloom might become someone else’s perfectly timed feast. The strategy comes from timing, forecasting opponents’ needs, and deciding when to feed the ocean now versus setting yourself up for later.

Oceanic uses biome hexes with five color-coded edges that make placement intuitive and thematic. Each player connects to the ocean through their unique edge of each hex, so you can clearly see where your influence touches the ecosystem.

Movement in Oceanic is a journey. As you advance around the ocean gyre, you gain more food resources and unlock claim opportunities on biomes. Every round becomes a balancing act between patience and ambition: move now for momentum, or stay put and perfect your ecosystem before the current carries someone else into your favorite spot.

Seed the ocean with plankton, then watch the food web come alive. Upgrade food into krill and fish to satisfy larger predators, but choose carefully—every resource you add to the ecosystem can be claimed by your rivals as well.

Spend food from the ecosystem to introduce marine creatures into their natural habitats. Each species you establish earns points, while also helping you build a thriving and interconnected ocean.

Harness ocean currents by adding plankton and playing powerful marine life cards. Advance farther along the Gyre to gain more cards and resources each round. Reach key destinations before your opponents to claim valuable biomes and expand your influence across the sea.

Tropical Fish provide bursts of momentum. Play them to extend your turn with an additional action, allowing you to chain together powerful plays and execute your strategy at the perfect moment.

Adapt to an ever-changing ocean by playing Environment Cards. Shift conditions, create new opportunities, and turn the tides in your favor with the power of nature itself.

Invest plankton to unlock achievements worth substantial points. Be the first to complete an achievement and claim its rewards—but move quickly, because your opponents are pursuing the same goals.

Watch how it's played ⬇️

The ocean is bigger than ever. This expansion deck adds a wave of new marine species to the Ocean Deck, bringing greater variety, replayability, and strategic depth to every game.

It also introduces species-based Objective Cards, challenging players to build thriving ecosystems around specific groups of marine animals and unlocking exciting new paths to victory.

At the start of the game, each player receives a hand of Prehistoric Creature cards, from modest hunters to colossal apex predators. As marine life fills the ocean's ecosystems, opportunities emerge to unleash these ancient beasts for valuable victory points.

But there's a catch. Hidden within the deck are Extinction Events, and every one revealed brings disaster. Each time an Extinction Event strikes, players must discard one of their prehistoric creatures.

Will you secure points early with smaller creatures, or hold out for a massive payoff from the ocean's greatest giants? The Prehistoric Seas Expansion adds a thrilling push-your-luck element, dramatic late-game objectives, and some of the most legendary creatures ever to rule the seas.

NEW TIERS ADDED!

• 🤿 Scuba Divers & Ocean Lovers: Get pro-level insights or a personal greeting for your dive buddy.
• 🔬 Aspiring Marine Biologists: Give a student an unmatched dose of inspiration from a legendary explorer.
• 🎒 The Next Generation: Surprise your kids, grandkids, or even an entire school classroom with a custom educational message they will never forget!

(After the campaign closes, a survey will be sent to collect your specific question or shout-out details.)

Get everything included in the All-In Explorer Tier, including your exclusive, personalized video message from world-renowned aquanaut and ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau—plus two extraordinary collectibles that connect you to his history-making underwater adventures!

🪙 A Mission 31 Brass Challenge Coin --This is no ordinary commemorative coin. It celebrates Mission 31, Fabien's record-breaking 31 days living and working underwater in the Aquarius underwater research station.

Even more special? These brass challenge coins come from Fabien's personal collection!

It would make an epic first-player token for Oceanic—or, if you'd rather keep it pristine, a distinguished collector's piece commemorating an incredible chapter in ocean exploration history.

📚 A Signed Fabien Cousteau Expeditions Graphic Novel -- You'll also receive one of three graphic novels, personally signed by Fabien:

• The Great White Shark Adventure
• Journey Under the Arctic
• Hawai'i Sea Turtle Rescue

Which one will you get? It's a mystery! Each tells a different ocean adventure, and you'll discover which one is yours when your reward arrives.

🌊 A Truly Unique Collector's Package

With the personalized video, a signed graphic novel, and a Mission 31 coin from Fabien's own collection, the All-In Aquanaut Tier brings together a personal experience and tangible pieces of ocean exploration history.

Limited to just 20 All-In Aquanaut rewards!

Upgrade your game with premium wooden components, including screen-printed food tokens, ocean-themed meeples, and a first-player token. Built to last and shaped around the creatures of the sea, these tactile upgrades make every turn feel more immersive as you build your underwater ecosystem.

Take your love of the ocean wherever you go with three vibrant 4" vinyl stickers featuring the mandarin dragonet, green sea turtle, and whale shark. Perfect for water bottles, laptops, notebooks, and more. A fun way to show your support for the incredible world beneath the waves.

Show more of your love for the ocean with a 4" embroidered patch featuring the mandarin dragonet—the colorful face of Oceanic and the creature featured on the game’s box.

Featuring some of the most rare and curious creatures in our oceans.
(This was a promotional item for the Kickstarter prelaunch.)

Your card will be charged when the campaign ends. We will then use the funds raised on Kickstarter to manufacture the game and deliver your chosen rewards directly to you (shipping info will be added later).

Note this timeline is an estimate. Unforeseen circumstances in manufacturing, shipping or world events may cause delays.

Please note that the shipping rate estimates provided above are only approximations for our different pledge levels. The price estimates also do not include any add-ons you may have selected, which could result in an increase in cost.

The final charges for shipping and sales tax or VAT (where applicable) will be calculated and collected through our Pledge Manager after the end of our campaign and closer to our shipping date.

Important: we are unable to ship to Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, South and Central America, Turkey. Due to high rates of packages going missing in some countries, we will not re-send games if they go missing to the following countries: Pakistan and Nigeria. Israel may have additional fees due to dangerous handling being imposed by couriers to the region.

Are you a retailer interested in stocking Oceanic? We love FLGS and Brick & Mortar! We would love to see Oceanic in physical stores around the world. If you are a retailer and want to purchase Oceanic, please fill out the form below. We will contact you after the Kickstarter campaign. ⬇️

Hi, I’m Jason! I’m a high school teacher by day and a creator by night (if by “night” you mean early morning).

I live between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, in the beautiful country of Nicaragua—where I proposed to my wife on the volcanic island of Ometepe. (It erupted a week later, but I had nothing to do with that.)

As a kid, I was fascinated by the natural world, spending my days wandering through fields and woods and my evenings watching nature documentaries. I’ve always lived near water, from the freshwater shores of Lake Michigan to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. And after earning my scuba certification, I discovered a whole new world beneath the surface—one that has held a special place in my heart ever since.

I poured that fascination and love of the sea into Oceanic. But I wanted to make more than a game that simply looked like the ocean. I spent countless hours researching the animals and ecosystems featured in the game, making sure the facts were accurate and the ecosystems reflected the way these creatures actually interact. At the same time, I spent countless more hours playtesting, revising, and balancing the game to make sure the experience was as engaging and satisfying as possible.

I hope Oceanic has something for both kinds of players: those who love the natural world and want to discover something new, and those who simply love a great game.

I hope you enjoy exploring this underwater world as much as I enjoyed creating it.

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