And the award for the coolest meeples goes to… Aqua Garden! Featuring wooden sharks, turtles, clownfish, and more, this Kickstarted game is a collector’s dream.
Aqua Garden is more than the sum of its meeples though. Each player has their own aquarium, and must move around a central board to acquire new fish to place in their tanks. However, it’s not as easy as picking up any old fish – you’re competing for the most points, so must plan your combos accordingly…
Aqua Garden is a game of strategy. The way player turns work means that if you zoom ahead to grab a rare fish, you might find yourself waiting a long time for your next turn as the other players catch up; the player at the back always goes first, which can be used to great advantage.
There is certainly strength in pacing yourself, weighing up your desperation for a whale shark over having maybe two or three extra turns. I learnt this the hard way when I rushed ahead and waited 15 minutes for the others to catch up – taking it slower has its merits (and makes the game more fun), but finishing first also means you get the first turn in the next round.
We have played just the base game so far, but there are already a handful of expansions that introduce even more fish varieties. I like that switching up the fish each time could offer so much replayability, as each fish has a different set of scoring rules (e.g. using different quanities of oxygen, or requiring a tank with certain other fish).
This is a colourful, easy-to-learn game that is great for families or groups looking for that speedy 30 minute filler. Thematically, I think it tackles its subject matter in a new and creative way that I haven’t seen before, and it’s a joy to bring to the table. The only thing I would change is I would improve the quality of the card used for the aquariums – they seem to fall short compared to the other components.
