SPLASH
DOWN
AN OCEAN EXPLORING CARD GAME
CONTENTS
INTRO
Ahoy traveler! Welcome aboard the Shadow of Endurance, a replica ship based on Ernest Shackleton's pioneering vessel. We're setting sail for the Antarctic waters -- hope you brought a camera and attentive gaze. This adventure will be full of animals that breach the ocean surface.
As seafaring guides, we like to up the stakes from time to time. Every trip includes a contest that challenges passengers to spot animals along the way and log them in a ship journal. Creatures earn different points based on rarity, from common species like Krill and Crabs to uncommon species like the mighty Blue Whale. The passenger who logs the highest scoring animals will have contributed the most sightseeing value to the trip, and thus earns the title of Breach Master.
Obtaining this title will not be easy! Animals don't surface predictably and your shipmates are looking for sneaky ways to claim your discoveries for themselves. It's all light-hearted fun until we enter the depths of the deck, where sea monsters dwell and environmental degradation is seen.
Think you have what it takes to win the battle of the breach? It's time to play Splash Down!
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COMPONENTS
Splash Down has 89 playing cards and 1 reference card. We recommend looking through the deck before playing for the first time, then starting with the quickplay version to learn the basic rules through experience. Once the flow makes sense, there are several rules variants to spice things up.
30 WHALE CARDS
These are defined by a half (left or right) tail. When correctly paired together, a full whale is formed, and a two-digit point total is revealed in the corner. Species: Minke (x4), Humpback (x4), Sperm (x4), Fin (x4), Right (x4), Sei (x4), Bowhead (x4), Blue (x2).
4 ENDGAME CARDS
These are distinct because of their red and white design and corner X symbols. They cannot be played intentionally, but if any of them are exposed by rule, the game immediately ends. Types: Monster (x1), Warming (x1), Spill (x1), Waste (x1).
29 NON-WHALE CARDS
These are defined as single cards that belong to a species set and contain a “5” or “?” in the upper right corner. Note how most non-whales share a color with a whale. Species: Krill (x5), Crab (x5), Seal (x5), Seabird (x4), Squid (x4), Penguin (x4), Orca (x2).
26 ACTION CARDS
These are distinct because of their black and white design and action-oriented text. Players elect to use them strategically to affect the game. Types: Breach (x5), Block (x4), Study (x4), Scavenge (x4), Net (x3), Steal (x3), Current (x3).
OBJECTIVE
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Be the player with the most points on the table when the game concludes. This player earns the title of "Breach Master." See scoring for more details. There are 2 ways the game can end:
ANY 1 ENDGAME EXPOSED
This condition only happens if a player causes it to surface during the game
ALL 5 BREACHES PLAYED
Eventually, this condition will happen, but an endgame card may be exposed first
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QUICK PLAY
Sort through the deck and remove the following cards from play: 4 Endgame, 4 Study, 4 Bowhead, 2 Orca, 3 Net, 2 Blue, and 1 Breach. Temporarily pull out the remaining 4 Breach cards, shuffle the deck, deal 4 cards to each player, and shuffle the Breach cards back into the deck. Breaches are scoring cards and cannot be held in any player’s hand. Place the deck in the center of play. Players may pick up and look at their cards.
REMOVED CARDS
DRAW
PILE
PLAYER 1
SCORING
AREA
PLAYER 1 HAND
PLAYER 2
SCORING
AREA
PLAYER 2 HAND