Ark Nova: Marine Worlds Expansion Review
boardgamequest.comI previously reviewed Ark Nova for Board Game Quest. I gave it 5 Stars. I REALLY enjoy the game, and I still do. It remains in my Top 5 games of all time.
At the end of my review, I mentioned that an expansion, Aquarius, was in development. Fast forward two years, and I have Aquarius, renamed Marine World, in my grubby little hands.
If you like Ark Nova, will you like the expansion? Ye …I mean, read on to find out!
Marine World adds the following to Ark Nova (in parentheses are the number of additional components included to replacement elements from the base game):
Expansions can be hit or miss. I want an expansion that extends the replay value of a base game I already enjoy, like Terraforming Mars: Prelude, for example. I do not want something that muddies up the experience I already enjoy, like Terraforming Mars: Turmoil, for example. Marine World is PERFECT for me.
Right off the bat, all the new cards include a seahorse symbol so I can EASILY identify the expansion cards if I want to remove them (which I never will….) Also, the new content fits in the base game box. Huzzah!
38 replacement cards are included to update cards that needed power changes due to the contents of Marine Worlds, or needed updated icons, such as all animal types. In addition, they added a new symbol for “different continent types, even though “there is no new continent[s] in this expansion”. I wonder why they changed that icon…
Each action has four unique alternate Action cards included in Marine World, totaling twenty new alternate Action cards. If you add these to your game, there will be a quick draft during setup. Players will draft 3 new Action cards, of which they will keep two. The two cards that are kept will replace the original Action cards. When the draft is completed, you will have two alternate Action cards and three original Action cards. These alternate actions are powerful!
For example, one of the Animals Action cards will reduce the cost of the first animal you play by
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