Dive into Underwater Intrigue

The Island looks like paradise. But under the waves, fierce competitors struggle for every inch of the reef. In Benthos, players take the role of corals and algae as they compete for control of a Caribbean reef.

Use reef creatures — from Stoplight Parrotfish to voracious Coral snails — to eat opposing corals or algae and gain control of the ocean floor. Unleash hurricanes, overfishing, mass coral bleaching and deadly Vibrio infections. Even coral's microscopic symbionts can be brought into play, harvesting sunlight to fuel coral growth.

Learn Real Reef Science

Benthos is perfect for people interested in marine biology who also appreciate deep and strategic games! Designed by the Zaneveld Lab, coral reef researchers who helped lead projects like the Global Coral Microbiome Project, each game mechanic has been carefully tailored to represent real ecological interactions between creature on the reef - and the complex influences that humans have on this unique underwater world.

Strategy notes in the rules share reef science that gives a leg up in gameplay!

You can learn more about the science behind Benthos here

Lavish Art

Benthos showcases the fierce and alien underwater worlds revealed by reef science, with lavish art from 2024 Friday Harbor Artist-in-Residence Aly Stuart.

Dynamic Gameplay

In Benthos, change is the norm. A coral-devouring Bristleworm you don't deal with now may be larger next round, and might even reproduce.

Should you eat it now with a Queen Triggerfish? Or is it more important to use Ancestral Knowledge to develop Awareness on the local island to empower later efforts to use Radical Decarbonization and combat irreversible Global Warming?

Gameplay Details

Benthos is a deckbuilding game. You start with only coral or algae in your deck, but can add reef creatures, microbes and events. Each round players draw 4 cards and use them to play volleys of similar actions. Many cards represent creatures and are played around a central Island. Creatures placed onto the reef grow in biomass over time through photosynthesis or by eating prey. Creatures that get large enough reproduce, drawing you an extra card. Because abilities often have special effects on nearby cards where you place each card matters.

Players must manage playing Corals, Algae, or Creatures onto the reef; growing cards already there to eat rivals and try to reproduce; and recruiting better cards for their decks.

As the game progresses, human settlements on the island begin to grow, providing powerful new cards to chose from, like Nutrient Pollution that supercharges Algal Growth or Coral Replanting which adds young corals to the reef each turn. Over the course of play changes due to the society on the island — growing reef awareness, expanding villages, or global carbon emissions — will shift your options and unlock powerful new cards!

Finally, playes who fall behind have a chance to improve their deck for future turns using the powerful Turn the Tide action.

See a Video Overview of the Rules & Learn more about the Science of the Benthos at our website: Benthos

Free Print & Play Rules

Want more? The full rules and print-and-play cards are available to download for free from this page!