Like its namesake, Coral Reef is simple to appreciate but it’s challenging to master.
What is Coral Reef?
The aim of coral reef is to re-create the beauty of a diverse and thriving coral-based ecosystem. Coral Reef is a card drafting game, each player beginning with ten cards containing a range of organisms found in the ecosystem. They each choose one and place it in front of them in a 5x4 grid, before passing the remaining cards to the next player. When all the cards are gone, the process is repeated with ten new organisms. The game is all about placement though, with the winner scoring points for placing organisms where they flourish – for example groupers score points for each adjacent krill. Players score extra points for having a balanced ecosystem that embraces biodiversity, so hoarding all the octopi is not going to win you the game (or any friends!).
Is it fun?
The game is one of those wonderful ones where it takes minutes to learn how to play but forever to master. The game is all about relationships and balance. Firstly, each of the cards in your blooming ecosystems has a specific condition on which it scores points – such as the coral reef scoring three points for one, but only if it is on the bottom row (makes sense) and the crab gets two points for each plankton in the same row – they can only walk sideways after all!
As well as your own emerging ecosystem, you need to keep an eye on everyone else as, for example, having the most plankton at the end of the game scores you a whopping 12 points. The need for balance is key in securing the victory, with players gaining bonus points equal to the lowest score they have in producer, prey and predator organisms. All of this happens while the pool of cards you must choose from decreases, making the game very strategic and every single ecosystem unique.
Is it educational?
The game tries to balance a simplified version of the ecosystem into the game mechanics and design, for example clownfish score points for coral and plankton adjacent to them in the ecosystem, which they hide in and eat respectively. At the back of the instruction booklet there is a full description of the Great Barrier Reef – the inspiration for the game alongside details of the organisms found there. These are constructed very much with the younger audience in mind, providing interesting facts, like all clownfish are born male and, in a group, the dominant individual will be female.
Conclusion
A colourful and simple game to learn, but its depth and complexity make it hard to master. The games are quick to play and with so many possibilities every game feels different. It is a small box perfect to pack in your suitcase for your next holiday (or conference attendance!).
Details
- Age 8+
- 2-6 players
- 15-20 minutes
- Genius Games
- Dr Louise Robinson is Lecturer in Forensic Biology and Dr Ian Turner an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching, both work at the University of Derby
