When my kids were somewhere around 4 and 5–about 2019 or so–my son wanted to learn about oceans. Being the connected, gameschooling homeschool mom that I am, I knew that North Star Game Studio (the designers of the Evolution games) had a new game out for beta testing. I found where I could download Oceans for free.
I printed it out, but there were a TON of pieces, so it sat on our game shelf, just pages in a folder, for 2 or 3 years. I finally got it cut out and laminated before we moved into the bus, and it’s been hanging there, unplayed. Until yesterday (as of this writing). We got it out and played, well, some of it. Did I mention this is a complex game? We have Evolution: The Beginning, so understood the rough concept, but Oceans is more complicated than the junior version of their Evolution game.
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Further complicating matters is that we have a beta version. It’s not quite the same as the version that’s available for sale today. I also think I might have different versions of the directions versus the pieces.
Even the Beta Version is a lot of Fun!
However, all that aside, Oceans was a blast! Once we got the hang of it, we loved it, and only put it away because we had other things we had to do. So many games (I’m looking at you, Catan, Boss Monster, and Munchkin!) seem to end right as they get fun. But not Oceans; we had a lot of game left and I really wanted to continue. I can’t wait to play it again!
Oceans helps teach a bit about evolution, niches, and food chains. It’s definitely a resource management game. Resource management games are great for lots of executive functioning skills. Knowing what needs to be done, when to do it, and how to do it, are hard skills for a lot of our society. But games like Oceans can make them more fun to learn.
Oceans has so Much to Teach Us
Oceans, like the Evolution games, has a function where some species attack other species. We’ve had an agreement in our family for quite a while that we only attack our own species, even though that’s not in the rules. However, most of us struggle with sportsmanship to varying degrees, and this house rule really helps keep the peace. When you use your own predators to keep your own populations in check, it’s not nearly as frustrating as when someone else comes in and destroys your species. However, if you follow the rules as published, Oceans can be really good for practicing good sportsmanship.
Even the beta version of the game has beautiful cards!
Overall, if your family has an interest in ocean life, this game is totally worth the high purchase price. For my family, I’m glad I was able to find it free. I do want to play the published version in a game cafe someday.