Pocket Aquarium
Pocket Aquarium Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Aim of the Game
To create the most harmonious aquarium, with fish of the same species swimming together and with all of the aquarium's features in the right place.
Components
18 cards: 12 Fish (4 of each of 3 species), 4 Special, 1 Fish Food and 1 Chips the Cat.
Aquarium Set Up
Set aside the Fish Food and Chips cards.
Shuffle the other 16 cards, flipping some over as you do so, and deal them out to form a 4 x 4 grid (4 rows and 4 columns). This is your aquarium.
If any of the fish are swimming upside down (bubbles in the bottom half of the card) rotate those cards 180 degrees (don't flip them) so that the bubbles are in the top half.
Chips's starting position depends on the initial positions of the aquarium cards:
- For each school or shoal of 3 fish or more, move Chips one card distance.
- If the Snail is in left or right hand column, irrespective of which way it is facing, move Chips one card distance.
- If the Pump is in the top left or top right corner, irrespective of which way it is facing, move Chips one card distance.
- If the Plant is in the bottom row, move Chips one card distance.
You're now ready to play.
Fish Cards
Each Fish card shows a single fish. The cards are double sided with the fish swimming in the opposite direction on the other side.
Each fish has an action as shown in the bottom corner of the card.
You will be trying to organise the fish into schools and shoals:
School: 2 or more fish of the same species are connected and are all swimming in the same direction.
Shoal: 2 or more fish of the same species are connected but not all are swimming in the same direction.
A school will score more points than a shoal with the same number of fish.
Examples of a school and Examples of a shoal are shown on the rules sheet. Diagonally adjacent cards are not connected.
Special Cards
Special cards are marked with an 'S' in the top corner. They are double sided with everything facing in the opposite direction on the other side.
Three of these cards will need to be in certain positions on the grid at the end of the game in order to have a chance of winning. The possible positions are shown in the top corner of each card:
Filter Pump: must be in either the top left corner or the top right corner, depending on which way the pump is facing.
Aquatic Plant: must be in the bottom row.
Freshwater Snail: must be in either the left hand column or the right hand column, depending on which way the snail is facing.
Note: The fish shown on these cards are purely decorative.
The remaining Special card shows Harlequin Rasboras. This card can be in any grid position at the end of the game and will score points depending on the schools and shoals it is swimming next to (see Scoring).
Place Chips the Cat
Place Chips directly above the first column of cards.
During the game Chips will move clockwise around the outer edge of the aquarium, as shown in the following diagram on the rules sheet.
On Each Turn
On each turn:
- Either flip a card or use a card's action.
- Move Chips one card distance.
Flip a Card
Flip the card so that the fish is swimming in the opposite direction.
Note that, by flipping a card, its special action may also change direction.
You may not flip a card that is in the same row or column as Chips.
Use a Card's Action
The action is shown in the bottom corner of the card. For example:
- A row of four cards with an arrow beyond the end: slide all the cards in the row (or column) one card space in the direction shown. The card * that moves off the grid is placed at the other end of the row (or column) to fill the gap created.
- A dotted-line arrow pair around a card: swap the card with one of the adjacent cards (orthogonally or diagonally as indicated by the dotted lines).
- A card with arrows to all four corners: swap the card with any corner card.
You may not use the action of the card used on the previous turn.
You may not use the action of a card that is in the same row or column as Chips. However, other cards affected by the action may be in the same row or column as Chips.
If an action indicates a card position off the grid then ignore that position.
Once per game you may feed the fish. This takes 2 actions (therefore 2 turns):
- Place the Fish Food card directly above one of the four columns (it cannot be placed if Chips is there!).
- On your next turn swap the top card of that column with any of the three cards below it. Then discard the Fish Food card.
Move Chips
Move Chips one card distance clockwise around the outer edge of the aquarium.
Game End
As soon as Chips has completed its journey around the aquarium (and is therefore once again above the first column of cards) the game ends.
Scoring
If any of the Special cards are not in their correct positions then you lose the game.
Otherwise, the largest school or shoal of each fish species scores points (if there are two of the same size then only one of them scores):
School: 4 fish = 9 points, 3 fish = 6 points, 2 fish = 4 points
Shoal: 4 fish = 7 points, 3 fish = 5 points, 2 fish = 3 points
The Harlequin Rasboras card scores for each school or shoal that it is adjacent to (not diagonally) as follows:
- 2 points per school if the Rasboras are swimming in the same direction
- 1 point per school if the Rasboras are swimming in the opposite direction
- 1 point per shoal
Total up the points scored.
End of Game Scoring Example
The example on the rules sheet shows: all 3 Special features in their correct positions; a school of Angelfish (3 fish) scoring 6 points; a school of Discus (4 fish, in an L-shape) scoring 10 points; a shoal of Guppy (4 fish) scoring 7 points; and the Harlequin Rasboras scoring 2 points for being adjacent to the school of Discus (and swimming in the same direction) and 1 point for being adjacent to the shoal of Guppy. Total score: 26 points, "not quite a win (water pity)".
Source discrepancy (not corrected in the transcription): the printed scoring table gives a 4-fish school 9 points, but the printed example labels its 4-fish school of Discus as scoring 10 points. The example's total of 26 uses the 10. The table is transcribed as printed; the designer's intent is not confirmed by the source.
How Harmonious Is Your Aquarium?
| Score | Result |
|---|---|
| < 28 | You lose (water pity) |
| 28–30 | Commenda-bubble |
| 31–32 | Fin-tastic! |
| 33 | Purr-fect! |