Pyramid Review
Nautilus
Published By Mayfair Games, Inc.
Designed by Brigitte and Wolfgang Ditt
Art and Graphics by Franz Vohwinkel
Developed and Edited by TM-Spiele
Full-color boxed set; $49
Components
106 cardboard counters (discovery, Atlantis, victory point, and first player); 41 cardboard modules; 60 plastic researcher figures; 12 plastic sub figures; 80 plastic module markers; mounted mapboard and mounted ruins of Atlantis board; 4 special orders cards; 80 Nemo bills (play money); 4 player mats
Mayfair has a number of hits under its belt, but for those who tire of another iteration of railroad games or exploring Cataan, their latest release heads for the second-to-last frontier. Nautilus is a colorful and fanciful board game of undersea exploration.
The object of the game (designed for two to four players) is to score the most points through research done in the Underwater City and discoveries made on the ocean floor. Players start with a selection of researchers, submarines, and an allowance of Nemo, the game's currency. They will use researchers to delve into technology, subs to explore the ocean, and Nemo to pay for it all. The board depicts a section of the seabed, with the shallower Lagoon in the middle extending deeper into the Slope, the Deep Sea, and the Abyss. Scattered throughout this area are facedown discovery tiles, containing sea life, lost treasures, ocean currents, and even the ruins of the city of Atlantis.
The Underwater . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: January 17, 2003
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