Celebrate World Ocean Day, one fish card at a time
World Ocean Day, marked globally on 8 June, is a reminder that the ocean is a living system, full of movement, beauty, danger and delicate balance. It’s also, rather wonderfully, the setting for one of the most elegant nature-inspired boardgames on the table right now: Finspan.
Finspan casts players as marine researchers exploring the Sunlight, Twilight and Midnight Zones of the world’s oceans. In the game, players discover fish, lay eggs, hatch young and form schools, building an underwater ecosystem. For those who want to know more about the ocean and its underwater creatures, Finspan will reward their curiosity.
It’s this blend of gentle strategy and marine wonder that makes Finspan feel especially fitting for World Ocean Day. The game asks players to look beneath the surface, to pay attention to ecosystems, and to find joy in the extraordinary diversity of ocean life, one beautifully illustrated fish card at a time.
Finspan: Sharks & Reefs
That sense of wonder expands even further with Finspan: Sharks & Reefs, the new expansion that brings coral reef habitats and powerful shark abilities into the game. Players can nurture colourful reefs in each of their ocean’s three dive sites, unlocking fish abilities and scoring bonuses, while sharks introduce fresh strategic possibilities by scattering schools of young and leaving behind food scraps that other fish can consume. The expansion includes 75 new fish cards, five starter fish cards, reef overlay mats and wooden coral tokens.
“Finspan works because it turns ocean life into something people can explore together, and with Sharks & Reefs, there is an added sense of discovery and urgency,” says Philip Galliford of Solarpop.
This World Ocean Day, Finspan and Sharks & Reefs offer a fitting way to mark the day.
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