A is for Abyss

by Asmodee/BOMBYX

This one has been on my wish list for ages. I'm glad I waited for the 5-year anniversary edition, because the box is so pretty. I decided to support our local game shop (Phoenix Fire) and purchased this one along with 9 other games 😁 during their B4G1 sale earlier this month. Anyway, let's get into it!!

Players: 2-4

Time: 30-60 minutes

Ages: 14+

Theme: Underwater Civilization

Mechanics: Set Collection, Push Your Luck, Etc.

Abyss is an underwater diplomacy game where your goal is to recruit different sea factions and then use those loyalties to purchase Lords for your realm, who in turn, control locations. Some Lords and locations are more valuable than others, and may be more valuable to you than your opponents, or vice versa.

It's quick to learn and it plays well with 2 players. 2-player games last only 20-25 minutes once the rules are down. Each turn a player has a choice of only 3 basic actions, which keeps things on the simple side (there is also one optional action, which we did not use at all, and one mandatory conditional action). I suspect that the bidding/auction portion of the game would be more exciting with 3-4 players.

We definitely enjoyed this one. Interesting theme and the art within is just as gorgeous as the box art.We've decided to name this one a "gateway game"-- good for introducing potential new gamers to the world of obsessive board gaming.

We played two games and scored as follows:

B = 89, D = 61 (I beat him)

D = 91, B = 83 (He beat me)

Our rating: 8/10 - We really liked it and would suggest it for future plays.