Tabletopia - Guards of Atlantis II · published
If you've already explored every mechanic of the bird sanctuaries in Wingspan and the vineyards of Viticulture, prepare for a new dive from the masters at Stonemaier Games. The company has unveiled Finspan: Sharks & Reefs, an expansion that makes the base game's marine ecosystem even deeper and more dynamic.
Over the course of a 45-60 minute competitive experience for 1-5 explorers aged 10 and up, players must strike a balance between cultivating fragile coral reefs and managing dangerous predators. Colorful coral formations can now be developed at each of the three dive sites on your ocean board. Maintaining a healthy reef is crucial, as it allows you to play powerful reef fish, activate their multi-stage abilities, and earn valuable victory points by the end of the game.
Counterbalancing the peaceful life of the reef are sharks with their intimidating new abilities. Their arrival in the ocean causes groups of young fish to scatter, allowing new schools to form in entirely different locations. Predators also leave behind food that other fish can consume, creating fresh strategic opportunities within your underwater food chain.
The struggle in Finspan: Sharks & Reefs between growth and danger is reflected through new board elements. At the start of the game, the Twilight Zone is completely covered by coral reef overlays. To help this fragile biome expand, a diver may discard an egg, a young fish, or a card during a Dive action to place a coral token. Each of the three dive sites can hold up to six coral tokens.
Corals are the key to building a powerful card engine. They are required to play reef fish into the Sunlight Zone, where certain species need one or two corals before they can be introduced. Corals also unlock enhanced secondary effects on the expansion's new multi-stage fish abilities. At the same time, sharks trinoduce a controlled element of chaos by forcing groups of young fish to disperse and create new schools elsewhere while leaving food behind for other marine life. At the end of the game, harmony within your ocean will be rewarded: each coral is worth 1 point, while fully completed reef columns grant additional bonuses of 6, 8, or 5 points.
The expansion adds new tactical layers to engine building. Pay close attention to coral icons: single-colored symbols tie an effect to a specific location, while multicolored icons allow it to be used at any dive site. The range of available actions has expanded as well. Fish can now attract other species with specific characteristics directly into your ocean or consume smaller prey from your hand by tucking it beneath a card.
Strategy in Finspan: Sharks & Reefs also revolves around new achievement tokens that reward players for collecting fish with unique traits, including electric discharge, bioluminescence, and active electroreception.
Unlike the multiplayer experience for up to five players, solo play pits you against the Nautoma artificial intelligence. This virtual opponent has no ocean board and does not place cards into columns. Instead, its behavior is driven by a dedicated decision deck. Nautoma gathers resources, converts eggs into young fish, and eventually transforms them into schools. To score achievements, it relies on the values shown on its special cards and the placement of its divers.
For those seeking the ultimate challenge, the expansion introduces the Ravel mode. In this format, Nautoma tracks your progress and gains bonus points at the end of each week based on fish located in a specific column of your ocean board. You can reduce this penalty by placing fish into specially marked rows, turning solo play into a demanding spatial puzzle.
Finspan: Sharks & Reefs delivers exactly what players hope for from a great expansion. It doesn't disrupt the familiar structure of the game or burden it with unnecessary complexity. Instead, it builds naturally upon existing mechanics. Coral reefs create new long-term objectives, sharks introduce unexpected tactical opportunities, and every session gains additional variety. For fans of the base game, it feels like the next natural step in the evolution of the ocean ecosystem.
Who Will Want to Explore the New Depths of the Finspan Series?
Fans of the base game Finspan.
Players who enjoy engine-building strategies.
Lovers of thematic games focused on nature and wildlife.
Solo players looking for a fresh challenge.
The coral gardens continue to grow. Predators patrol the depths. And new discoveries await where no explorer has ventured before. Dive into the expanded world of Finspan: Sharks & Reefs, build a thriving reef, and uncover new wonders of marine life on Tabletopia.