Naéco
Naéco Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game contents
When you open the box, you should find:
- This rulebook, packed with information about the seabed.
- 4 Player tokens.
- 110 cards:
- 2 Score cards.
- 5 Surface cards, representing the view of the horizon from the research vessel.
- 16 Scientific Objective cards: 4 per research level (-1, 0, 1, and 3). These cards are described on page 12.
- 8 Exploration Start cards (2 green, 2 yellow, 2 pink and 2 purple).
- 4 Priority Observation cards.
- 7 Empty Pile cards.
- 64 different Species cards (16 per depth). The shade of blue and the position of the bubble symbolise the four depths.
- 4 Observation Mission expansion cards.
Species card (front): 0, 1 or 2 of the following attribute symbols, and the depth at which the species lives (shown by the bubble on the card). The four attribute symbols are:
- Insufficiently known
- Well known
- Endangered
- Least concern
The card value is the position of the species in the food chain: 4 is a predator of 3, which feeds on 2, itself a predator of 1. The back of the card represents an unpopulated area with no species.
Aim of the game
You will be exploring various ocean areas, symbolised by Species cards, with each player playing cards to form a tableau known as their "Ocean".
This is a competitive game: whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.
You score points by advancing your research, observing balanced biodiversity in the regions explored and making priority observations.
Setup
Each player picks a colour. Put your Player token on the first Surface card (with the value -1) and place your 2 Exploration Start cards in front of you as shown.
- Sort the 5 Surface cards in ascending value order, and place them in a row in the middle of the table, between the players.
- Place a Scientific Objective card face-down above each Surface card, taking care to match their values. Reveal the -1 card only. Leave the other 12 cards face-down.
- Shuffle the Species cards and deal 3 to each player. With the remaining Species cards, form 6 draw piles with 8 (face-up) cards in each, plus a final pile containing the left-over cards, as in the example below. Slide an Empty Pile card under each of the 7 piles.
Give each player 1 Priority Observation card. Look at your own card but keep it secret.
Gameplay
The last player to have swum in the ocean begins the game; play then proceeds clockwise.
You always start and end your turn with 3 cards in hand.
On your turn, you must add a card to your Ocean, following these rules:
- The played card must be orthogonally adjacent (i.e. to the left, to the right, above or below) one of the 2 Exploration Start cards or another card already in play.
- Cards can only be played at the depth shown on the card. This means you can have a maximum of 4 rows of cards, with the depth bubbles in each row neatly aligned (and positioned on the right of each card).
- Cards may be placed above or below another card with any value.
- You can play a card to the left or right of an existing card with a difference in value of +1 or -1 (for example, you could play a 2 next to a 1 or a 3, but a 4 can only be played next to a 3): predators are always placed next to their prey.
- You can play a card face-down to create an unpopulated area with no species. On your next turn, you will be able to play a card of any value next to an unpopulated area.
- Played cards can never be covered, flipped or moved until the end of the game.
Next, draw the top card from any of the draw piles located to the left of or below your Player token on the surface row. On your first turn, this means you can always choose between the leftmost 4 draw piles. The permitted draw piles are shown in white on the Surface card under your Player token.
On their first turn, Green plays a card with a value of 3, respecting the depth criterion. Then they refill their hand (to 3 cards) by drawing a card from one of the 4 draw piles permitted by their token's position in the Surface row.
Make ground-breaking observations!
As soon as your Ocean fulfils the scientific objective shown above your Player token, move your token rightwards onto the next card in the Surface row:
- If you are the first to reach this card, flip the Scientific Objective card above it to reveal a new objective.
- Then draw a card so that you have 3 in hand again. Note that you now have an extra pile to choose from.
- If you fulfil 2 or more scientific objectives during your turn, move your token to the right by the corresponding number of Surface cards, unlocking access to multiple new draw piles.
Special case: If you reveal a scientific objective that your Ocean already fulfils, immediately move your token onto the next Surface card.
See page 12 for a description of each objective. (The objective descriptions are printed on page 10 of the rulebook.)
End of the game
The game can end in two ways:
- When a player's token reaches the rightmost card (value 5) in the Surface row (their research has made sufficient progress).
or
- A particular number of draw piles have been exhausted, revealing their Empty Pile card:
- 2 piles in a 2-player game;
- 3 piles in a 3-player game;
- 4 piles in a 4-player game.
This means that all players have completed their exploration!
All players then play one final turn before counting their scores (including the player that triggered the end of the game, who will therefore be the last to play).
Scoring
Research progress: Remove your Player token from its Surface card and place it on the score track, in the space matching the Surface card's value.
Observed biodiversity: If your Ocean contains at least one species with each of the 4 values (1, 2, 3 and 4), score 4 points per card with the least represented value. Move your token forward the corresponding number of spaces on the score track.
Example: All 4 values are present in my Ocean, and I have 2 species with the least represented value, so I score 2 x 4 = 8 points.
Priority observations: For each attribute symbol, the player with the most symbols of that type in their Ocean scores the related points on their Priority Observations card. If 2 or more players are tied for the majority of a given symbol, they each score the points shown on their Priority Observations card. Move your token forward the corresponding number of spaces on the score track.
Example: As my Ocean contains more Well known and Insufficiently known symbols than the other players, I score 3 + 1 = 4 points!
(Note: the per-symbol point values are printed on the Priority Observation cards themselves, and are not legible in the rulebook artwork; they are not reproduced here.)
Whoever has the highest total score wins the game!
In the event of a tie, simply celebrate together! After all, the more people enriching our scientific knowledge, the better.
Description of scientific objectives
The objectives are grouped by research level. The printed English page shows the following objectives:
Level -1 (dark-green starfish icon):
- 3 species one above the other, regardless of their values.
- 2 species with the same value, one above the other.
- 2 species side by side.
- 2 species with different values, one above the other.
Level 0:
- 3 species side by side.
- 3 species with the same value, anywhere in the Ocean.
- 4 species one above the other, regardless of their values.
- 4 species forming a square, regardless of their values.
Level 1:
- 1 predator surrounded by 2 prey species: 1-2-1 or 2-3-2 or 3-4-3.
- 1 prey species surrounded by 2 predators: 2-1-2 or 3-2-3 or 4-3-4.
- 1 unpopulated area (face-down card) sandwiched between 2 species to the left and right. (The English print is cut off after "to the"; the wording "left and right" is completed from the official French livret.)
- 1 unpopulated area (face-down card) sandwiched between 2 species above and below. (Completed from the official French livret.)
Level 3:
- 2 columns of 4 species, in which no cards with the same value are vertically adjacent.
- 3 columns of 4 species, regardless of their values.
- At least 8 species in the 2 shallowest depths, regardless of their values.
- At least 8 species in the 2 greatest depths, regardless of their values.
Variants
Sea Shepherd France variant
Unscheduled missions appear from time to time. Who will rise to the challenge?
When setting up the game, deal 3 Species cards to each player. Then shuffle the 4 Sea Shepherd France Mission cards into the remaining Species cards and form the draw piles in the normal way. During the game, a Mission card will sometimes appear on the top of a draw pile. When it is your turn to draw, you may take the Mission card and place it in front of you, then draw a Species card so that you always have 3 in hand.
At the end of the game, you score bonus or penalty points for each Mission card in front of you, depending whether or not you successfully accomplished the mission!
- Nyamba: Score points if you observed 1 or 2 turtles, but lose 2 points if you observed none. (The mission card shows 1 turtle = +2, 2 turtles = +5, no turtles = -2.)
- Dolphin ByCatch: Score 2 points per dolphin observed, but lose 2 points if you observed none.
- Ocean Killers: Score 3 bonus points if you observed a balanced food chain at the greatest depth (i.e. value 1, 2, 3 and 4 cards arranged in order from left to right or from right to left). Otherwise, lose 3 points.
- Raging Winds: Score 3 bonus points if you observed a balanced food chain at the shallowest depth (i.e. value 1, 2, 3 and 4 cards arranged in order from left to right or from right to left). Otherwise, lose 3 points.
Solo play variant
The game is set up and played as normal, with the following adjustments:
- Whenever you draw a card to restore your hand to 3 cards, discard the top 2 cards (or one card if there is only one left) in the next draw pile that still has cards in it. (When you draw from the final pile, discard the top card(s) in the first pile.)
- The game ends when your token reaches the final card in the Surface row or when 2 draw piles are empty. Then play one final turn.
- At the end of the game, compare your priority observations against those on all the discarded cards.
Aim for the highest possible score and rate your performance using this scale:
- < 11 points: Stick to books... fieldwork is clearly not for you.
- 12-17 points: Still a bit wet behind the ears...
- 18-23 points: Some promising observations.
- 24-29 points: Your findings are invaluable!
-
30 points: Fantastic! The work of a true ocean expert.
Quick reference (Help)
Your turn
-
Add a card to your Ocean, respecting the following 3 installation rules:
- the Species card must be orthogonally adjacent to a card already present,
- the card must be placed at the correct depth,
- 2 cards side by side must always have a value +1 or -1.
You can place a card face down, and on a future turn, place any value next to it.
-
Choose a card from an authorized draw pile (below or above your token on the surface line).
End of the game
Either when a player reaches the 5th Surface card; or when there are as many empty draws as there are players.
Rating
You score the points corresponding to the final position of your token.
If your Ocean contains at least one species of each of the 4 values (1, 2, 3 and 4), then you score 4 points for each card of the least represented value.
For each pictogram, the player whose Ocean has the most pictograms of this type marks the associated points on their Priority Observations card. If several players are in the majority with the same number of a given pictogram, then all score the respective points mentioned on their Priority Observations card.
The player with the most points wins.