Benthos

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 struggle for supremacy on a Caribbean reef.

Use reef creatures — from parrotfish to voracious coral-eating snails — to gain control of the ocean floor. Unleash hurricanes, overfishing, mass coral bleaching and deadly Vibrio infections. Even corals microscopic Symbiodinium allies can be brought into play.

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.

Benthos showcases the fierce and alien underwater worlds revealed by reef science, with lavish art from 2024 Friday Harbor Artist-in-Residence Aly Stuart. It is offered at-cost as an outreach project of the Zaneveld Lab & the Global Coral Microbiome Project, which uses DNA sequencing to study the evolutionary history of microbes associated with some of the more than 1400 species of reef-building corals.

Game Mechanics:

Benthos is a deckbuilding game. You start with only coral or algae in your deck, but can add reef creatures and 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

After the third turn, 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 carbon emissions — will shift your options and unlock powerful new cards.

Finally, playes who fall behind have opportunities 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