Fintastic Sea – Plenty of Fish in This Card Game

In Fintastic Sea, you and your fellow players hop aboard a scientific research vessel, heading out to explore the deep blue. Your mission is to gather marine life and build ecosystems that actually thrive. It’s all about releasing fish into the ocean at the right time and in the right place, to earn environmental points as you go.

To score well, you need to keep an eye on two types of objectives. There are public goals that everyone can see, shown by special fish cards, and private goals revealed only to you, represented by your secret fish cards. Throughout the game, you’ll try to align the fish you collect with these goals in the best way possible.

👥 2-4 players, ages 10+
⌛ Playing time: 30-60 minutes
📝 Designers: Mahmoud Abdelwahab & Xue Cui
🎨 Artwork: Xue Cui

🏢 Publisher: Pektis Studio (preview copy provided)
Check out the Gamefound campaign by clicking here

Gameplay Overview

Everyone starts with three ocean cards in hand and one secret fish card. At the beginning of the game, two special fish cards are placed face up on the table. These public objectives apply to all players and stay in play until the very end. The game is played over six or eight rounds, depending on the number of players. Each round has two phases: the voyage phase and the wave phase.

The voyage phase begins with players taking turns one at a time, playing fish cards into the shared ocean grid. On your turn, you either play a fish card or pass if your hand is empty. The grid begins around coral cards, and its size depends on the player count. With two players, it starts as a three-by-three grid. With three or four players, it’s four-by-three. Every fish card has to be placed orthogonally adjacent to another card already on the grid, whether that’s coral or another fish.

When you place a fish, it may trigger its ocean ability. These vary depending on the fish and might let you draw cards, push fish around the grid, or interact with the discard pile in useful ways. After placing a fish, you might also trigger the food chain rule. If the fish you played has a higher strength number than one of its adjacent neighbours, you can catch that weaker fish. Caught fish can either be added to your reserve or placed directly into your active ecosystem.

Each fish type also comes with a reserve ability. You can activate these by discarding two identical fish from your reserve. These abilities allow you to perform extra actions such as drawing cards, catching fish from specific locations, or even gaining new secret fish cards. There’s no limit to how many fish you can keep in your reserve, and you’re free to use these abilities multiple times during your turn.

You can only work on one open ecosystem at a time. It can hold up to ten fish cards, along with as many secret fish cards as you like, as long as each one is different. You’re allowed to close your ecosystem early if you feel it’s complete or if it fits your strategy. Once it’s closed, it’s set aside for scoring at the end of the game. After that, you draw a new secret fish card and start building your next ecosystem.

When all players have passed, the wave phase begins. A wave card determines the direction of the ocean current, and all fish in the grid shift one space in that direction. Coral stays put, so any fish that would move into a coral space are blocked and remain where they are. Any fish that end up three or more spaces away from a coral card are discarded. After that, new fish cards are added to any empty spots next to coral. The wave card is rotated to show the direction for the next round, and each player draws three new ocean cards to prepare for the next voyage.

At the end of the final round, players score all of their closed ecosystems. Points are awarded based on how well you’ve met the public goals and the private ones from your secret fish. Scoring conditions usually involve sets of fish that share the same type or size, runs of consecutive strength numbers, or specific combinations like odd or even values. The player with the most points is declared the winner, and presumably the most successful marine researcher on board.

Game Info

Fintastic Sea is a card game for 2 to 4 players, with a playtime of roughly 30 to 60 minutes. It’s suitable for players aged 10 and up. The game is designed by Mahmoud Abdelwahab and Xue Cui, and comes from Pektis Studio, the team behind Wanderlust: Discover the World. The game is heading to Gamefound on 10 June, and we had the chance to dip our toes in early with a prototype copy.

A Closer Look at the Components

The copy we received was clearly a prototype, with hand-cut cards and a few rough edges, but even so, it gave us a strong sense of the game’s visual direction. Fintastic Sea leans into colour and character. The illustrations are playful and full of personality, but never overcomplicate what you need to see. Each fish is painted in a lively style, with bright backgrounds that make it easy to spot different species and sizes at a glance.

Icons showing strength, size, and abilities are placed consistently across the cards, which helps with readability once you know the system. Coral cards are especially easy to pick out and give the grid a warm focal point. The wave card is simple but cleverly designed, making it obvious which way the current is flowing each round. Special and secret fish are visually distinct too, so you’re not fumbling around during setup or scoring.

It’s a clean, engaging design that supports the gameplay rather than distracting from it. Despite being entirely card-based, the game looks neat on the table and never feels cluttered, even when the ocean starts to fill up.

Easy to Learn, Fun to Tinker With

One of the game’s strengths is how approachable it is. The core rules are quick to grasp, and most of the complexity comes from the choices you make, not the rulebook. There are a fair number of icons, especially on your first play, but you’re given a clear reference sheet that makes things easier, and by round two or three everything starts to click.

The gameplay revolves around spatial thinking, hand management, and timing. It’s not just about placing a fish, it’s about deciding when and where, and what kind of ripple effect you can create. The movement of the ocean current asks you to think a step further, as do the reserve actions and secret fish scoring. It’s puzzle-like, but in a chill, satisfying way. There’s enough here for hobby gamers to chew on without overwhelming more casual players.

More Than Just a Light Filler

Despite its small footprint, Fintastic Sea surprised us with how much game it packs into each session. It may look cute and colourful, but there’s a lot of depth hiding under the surface. Many turns feel like little puzzles, especially when you’re chaining together an ocean ability, a food chain catch, and a reserve action all in one go. If you manage to line things up just right, closing an ecosystem and starting fresh with a new secret fish feels incredibly rewarding.

Reserve actions in particular are fun to play around with. They’re free to use and often create new tactical paths, whether that’s catching specific fish or giving you a new goal to chase. If you’re the type of player who likes thinking three moves ahead, this game gives you plenty of chances to line things up.

Strategic Depth in a Tight Package

Knowing when to close your ecosystem is one of the most satisfying decisions in the game. Sure, you can wait until you’ve filled it with ten fish, but sometimes it’s better to cut it short and start fresh. Drawing a new secret fish can unlock new scoring routes and help you shift direction when the ocean doesn’t give you what you hoped for.

During our plays, the reserve ability that lets you draw a new secret fish card was a player favourite. It gives you a clear goal to chase and can turn a mediocre round into a great one. Secret fish feel meaningful, and the decision to add one to your ecosystem often changes your whole approach.

How It Plays at Different Counts

We tested the game at both two and three players and found both worked well, but offered slightly different experiences. At two, the game feels more measured. You’ve got more room to plan and predict your opponent’s moves. It’s easier to control the grid and set up longer-term plays. At three, the ocean becomes more reactive. The ocean grid changes more quickly, and you’re forced to adapt, which keeps things lively but also a bit more chaotic.

Regardless of player count, the combo-driven nature of the game really stood out. Sometimes a single fish card is all it takes to set off a flurry of actions when timed right, and we often had turns where someone started with one simple move and ended up catching multiple fish, activating reserve effects, and closing an ecosystem in the same breath. It’s one of those games where a well-played turn feels genuinely clever.

Final Thoughts

We found Fintastic Sea to be both clever and fun to play. What looks like a simple little card game turns out to have much more going on beneath the surface. It finds a nice middle ground between light rules and meaningful choices, with a strong focus on timing, combos, and spatial decisions.

It plays especially well at two, where the pacing is smooth and strategic. But even with more players, the shifting ocean makes sure things don’t become too predictable. It’s a great pick for anyone who enjoys puzzly, tactical games that don’t take hours to teach.

That said, players who prefer very structured or predictable games might find the shared grid a bit too fluid. The ocean doesn’t always cooperate, but that’s part of the charm. It encourages flexibility and rewards players who can adapt and make the most out of a changing situation.

If you enjoy games where every turn gives you something interesting to think about, and you don’t mind a bit of current sweeping your plans sideways now and then, Fintastic Sea is absolutely worth a look. If you’re curious to explore the game for yourself, the Gamefound campaign goes live on 10 June.

📝 We reviewed the game using a prototype copy kindly provided by Pektis Studio.