Ivan Tuzovsky on Marta's BG Corner

Cold Waters: Where Aquatica Truly Shines

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

If you haven’t played the base game yet, I recommend reading my Aquatica review first. Cold Waters is an expansion and builds on everything the base game introduces.

Today I want to share my thoughts on Aquatica: Cold Waters, the first expansion for Aquatica. Does it add something meaningful, or is it just more of the same? In my experience, it genuinely makes the game shine.

Game Overview

Aquatica: Cold Waters is a 2020 expansion for Aquatica, designed by Ivan Tuzovsky and published by Cosmodrome Games. It extends the game to up to 5 players and introduces several optional modules that you can mix and match as you see fit. The expansion adds new Ocean Characters, new Locations, new Kings, new Mantas, and a brand new game mechanic, the Tribes, that replaces the Goal Tracks entirely.

Aquatica: Cold Waters

What’s in the Box

The expansion is modular by design. You don’t need to add everything at once, you can pick and choose which modules to include. Here’s what it brings:

New Locations: A fifth location type, Frosty Depths, joins the four from the base game. These work the same way as existing locations but introduce two new depth effects: one that forces all other players to flip one of their ready mantas, and one that lets you copy an effect from any visible Depth on another location on your board. The new locations shuffle seamlessly into the base game deck.

Player Borad and New Location

New Characters: Six new Ocean Characters join the roster, bringing a new twist: the Delayed Effect. Some of the new characters have an additional power shown on the left side of the card in a purple box. This effect activates at the start of your next turn, if that card is still on top of your discard pile. It adds a new layer of planning, now you’ll think carefully not just about which card to play, but about what you want sitting on top of your discard pile for your next turn.

New Kings: Three new asymmetric King cards offer fresh starting powers and expand the variety of the Advanced Mode.

Tribes: This is the module I’m most excited about, and the one that changed the game the most for me.

The Tribes Module

When you play with the Tribes Module, the Goal Tracks are replaced entirely by a Tribe board. Instead of racing to complete Goals, you now recruit wild ocean tribes that offer their skills to anyone who can pay for them.

Tribes Expansions Setup

Eight Tribe cards are drawn randomly at the start of the game, four Level I and four Level II, and placed face up on the Tribe board. To recruit a tribe you use a Recruit action, pay the base cost in coins plus one extra coin for each manta another player has already placed there, and then place one of your Trained Mantas on that tribe card permanently. That manta is gone for the rest of the game, so managing your manta resources becomes a whole new puzzle.

There are two types of tribes. The dark blue Level I tribes give you an ongoing bonus you can use once per turn, plus fixed Prosperity Points at the end of the game. The light blue Level II tribes give you an immediate bonus when recruited, plus end-game points based on a specific condition. Choosing which tribes to pursue, and when to spend your precious mantas on them, creates a whole new layer of strategy on top of the base game.

Solo Mode

The Tribes Solo Mode is where I had the most fun with this expansion. Instead of competing against the Ichthyanders, you compete against yourself across six difficulty levels, each with its own Sea Royalty title, from Little Mermaid at Level 1 all the way to Poseidon’s Son at Level 6.

Your goal is simple: recruit all eight tribes before the game ends. The game ends when either the Location deck or the Ocean Character deck runs out, and since the solo setup uses only 20 locations drawn at random (4 from each type), the clock is ticking from the very first turn.

The real challenge is managing tempo. You need locations to generate resources, but scouting through the location deck too quickly brings the end closer. You need characters to recruit and to generate coins, but cycling through the character row depletes that deck too. And you only have 4 mantas to spend on tribes, every placement is permanent, so you need to be deliberate about which tribes you pursue and in what order.

I tested the first two difficulty levels and had a great time. The puzzle of balancing tempo, manta management, and tribe recruitment is genuinely engaging and meaningfully different from the base game solo experience.

My Experience

played Cold Waters with all modules active simultaneously, and none of them significantly increase complexity or add too many extra rules. The only module I didn’t test was the base game Goals with the new Goal tokens, since when using the Tribes module the Goals are replaced. I haven’t tested the expansion in multiplayer yet, but I imagine the tribe competition between players adds a great deal of tension, especially around the most valuable tribes.

My Rating

Note: 9 out of 10

Cold Waters is an excellent expansion that adds real depth without overcomplicating what made the base game enjoyable. The Tribes module in particular transforms the game into a richer, more challenging puzzle, especially in solo. The new characters with Delayed Effects add a welcome strategic dimension, and the new locations integrate smoothly. If you enjoyed the base game, this expansion is an easy recommendation.

Final Thoughts

If you loved Aquatica, Cold Waters is a natural next step. The Tribes module alone is worth the expansion, it refreshes the game completely and makes the solo experience significantly more challenging and rewarding. I’d suggest trying the base game a few times first to get comfortable with the core mechanisms, and then diving into Cold Waters when you’re ready for more.

There is also a second expansion, Coral Reef, which I haven’t had the chance to test yet. From what I’ve read it introduces new mechanics around reef tokens tied to the character market. If I get the chance to play it, I’ll definitely share my thoughts!

Your Turn

Have you tried Aquatica: Cold Waters? Which module is your favourite, Tribes or Goals? And if you’ve played the solo Tribes mode, how far have you gotten with the difficulty levels? Come share your thoughts on Mastodon.

Videos

Aquatica: Cold Waters Expansion Review - Tantrum House review

Aquatica: A Kingdom Beneath the Waves

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Are you ready to dive into the depths of the ocean? Today I’m taking you to Aquatica, a game where you’ll raise treasures from the deep, one depth at a time, through a mechanism that is as tactile as it is clever.

Game Overview

Aquatica is a 2019 release for 1–4 players, ages 14+, with a playtime of 30–60 minutes. It was designed by Ivan Tuzovsky and illustrated by Irina Kuzmina, Andrew Modestov, Oleg Proshin, Artur Varenyev, and Marat Zakirov, and published by Cosmodrome Games. The French version is published by Gigamic.

Aquatica box

Theme

In Aquatica, you take the role of a mighty Sea King ruling over one of the Great Kingdoms of Aquatica, an entire civilisation of Sea-folk living among sharks, whales, corals and creatures of the deep. The kingdoms have exhausted their resources and are now forced to explore the Ocean Depths in search of new ones. Each faction is vying to become the most prosperous realm beneath the waves, and to do that you’ll need to explore new locations, recruit powerful characters, and complete goals with the help of your loyal mantas. The underwater world is rich, mysterious, and beautifully illustrated, and it really pulls you into the theme from the first card you play.

How to Win

The winner is the player with the most Prosperity Points at the end of the game. The game can end in three ways: a player accomplishes all 4 Goals and places their mantas on the Goal Track, the Location deck runs out, or the Ocean Character deck runs out. When any of these happens, every player takes one more turn before counting points.

You score Prosperity Points from three sources: the locations in your Scoring Pile (each worth a different amount), the points shown above your mantas on the Goal Tracks (the earlier you complete a goal, the more points it’s worth), and 1 point for each character card remaining in your hand, not in your discard pile, so managing your hand wisely matters right until the very end.

Gameplay

On your turn, you play a character card from your hand to perform its effects, exploring locations, recruiting new characters, or using your mantas for bonus effects. The real magic is in the combos: with the right setup, a single turn can chain into a long sequence of actions that feels incredibly satisfying.

The heart of the game is the location mechanism. When you acquire or conquer a location, paying in Coins or Power depending on the action, you take it from the main board and slide it into one of the five slots on your personal board so that the top Depth appears in the circle. To exploit a Depth and gain its resource or trigger its effect, you slide the card up one step, which covers that Depth under your board and gives you access to the next one. Some Depths are empty and blocked, you can’t simply slide past them, you’ll need a specific Raise effect from a character card or manta to move through them. When all Depths are covered, the location is fully risen. You then use a Score action to move it to your Scoring Pile and claim its Prosperity Points at the end of the game. Note that a fully risen location gives you no points unless you score it!

Setup for 1 player

Player Board details

Components

The components in this game are a real treat. The character cards have original, atmospheric designs, and the stack of location cards is large enough to keep the game feeling fresh, and covers four distinct location types: Shark Bay, Sunken Ships, Ocean Volcanoes, and Decayed Civilizations, each with its own flavour. The plastic mantas, one set per player plus the wild ones available during play, are beautifully sculpted and feel satisfying to handle.

But what I love most are the personal boards. The three-layer design isn’t just pretty, it’s functional, supporting the card-sliding mechanism in a way that feels unique and tactile. Every time you slide a location card into your board and start raising it Depth by Depth, there’s a little thrill to it.

Components

Solo Mode

The solo game follows the same rules as multiplayer, but you compete against a virtual rival called the Ichthyanders. The pressure mechanic is simple: every time you play the Matrona card or perform a Scout action, you place one of the Ichthyanders’ mantas on a Goal Track. Once all their mantas are placed, you take one final turn and the game ends. The Matrona allows you to recover all of your mantas and take all your discarded cards to your hand, a powerful tool, but one you have to use carefully since each use advances your rival. It’s a simple but effective mechanism that keeps you on your toes without overcomplicating the solo experience.

At the end of the game, the Ocean Council awards you a Sea Monster title based on your score, from the humble Blobfish at 30 points or less, up through the Sea Serpent and the Leviathan, all the way to the mighty Kraken at 91 points or more. It’s a small touch, but a charming one that gives you something to chase beyond just your own previous score.

My Experience

I’ve played Aquatica multiple times in solo mode, and it’s become one of those games I reach for when I want something engaging but not exhausting. The rules come back to me quickly after even a long break, setup is fast, and a game is done in around 30 minutes, which means I tend to play 2 or 3 games in a row before putting it away, because the repetition only starts to creep in after that. The location deck is large, but the character cards are more limited, so variety comes mostly from how you build your combos each run.

During play detail

My Rating

Note: 8.5 out of 10

Aquatica is a relaxing, beautifully illustrated game with a pleasant tactile quality that makes it a joy to play. The hand management and open drafting are well implemented, the combo-building is satisfying, and the solo mode adds just the right amount of pressure without overcomplicating things. It loses a small fraction for the limited character variety, but it more than makes up for it in atmosphere and replayability in small doses.

Board at the end of the game

Final Thoughts

If you enjoy hand management card games with beautiful illustrations and enjoy discovering action combos, Aquatica is absolutely worth your time. It’s not an expert game, I’d place it firmly in the family and gateway category, and I can easily imagine introducing it to someone who enjoys games but doesn’t play very often. It’s accessible, quick, and genuinely lovely to look at. Don’t let its lightness fool you though: there’s real decision-making here, and a well-executed turn feels very rewarding.

Your Turn

Have you played Aquatica? Do you prefer it solo or with others? Come share your thoughts on Mastodon.

Videos

Aquatica - How To Play - Video form Whatch It Played
Aquatica - Tutorial & Full Playthrough - Video from Getting Games with great Tutorial

Ivan Tuzovsky on Marta's BG Corner

Cold Waters: Where Aquatica Truly Shines

Game Overview

What’s in the Box

The Tribes Module

Solo Mode

My Experience

My Rating

Final Thoughts

Your Turn

Related Links

Videos

Aquatica: A Kingdom Beneath the Waves

Game Overview

Theme

How to Win

Gameplay

Components

Solo Mode

My Experience

My Rating

Final Thoughts

Your Turn

Related Links

Videos