How to Play

Abyss

2-4 players 30-60 min 7.3 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete to control an underwater city's throne by strategically collecting allies, recruiting powerful Lords, and claiming territories. Through card drafting and careful timing, you'll build combinations of Lords whose special abilities help secure strategic locations. Victory requires balancing when to use Lords' powers versus sacrificing them for territorial control.

Published 2014

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the board

Put the game board in the center of the table

Prepare Exploration cards

Shuffle Exploration cards and place them face-down on the track at the top of the board

Prepare Lords deck

Shuffle Lord cards and place them face-down on the Lords track at the bottom of the board

Prepare Location tiles

Shuffle Location tiles and place them face-down near the board, then reveal the top tile

Prepare Loot cards

Shuffle Loot cards and place the face-down deck next to the Location tiles

Prepare Monster tokens

Shuffle basic and expansion Monster tokens and place them face-down in two stacks near the board

Remove Threat track

Put the Threat track back in the box and place the Border board next to the main board

Prepare Leviathan cards

Shuffle Leviathan cards and place the deck next to the Border

Spawn first Leviathan

Roll two dice, reveal a Leviathan card, place it at the location indicated by the dice, and put a life marker on top of its card

Place common components

Put key tokens, white pearls, black pearls (nebulises), Kraken figurine, wound markers, Deep Slayer figurine, and life markers near the board within reach of all players

Distribute starting resources

Each player receives a container, one Crab ally with value 1, and 1 white pearl

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Optional: Conspire at the Court

Spend 1 or more white pearls to add a new Lord to the empty rightmost Court space (cannot use nebulises for this action)

*Choose one of three mandatory actions

Explore the Depths

Reveal Exploration cards one at a time, placing them on empty spaces from left to right

After exploration ends

Place unsold allies on their corresponding face-down Council stacks; Krakens go to any stack you choose

Request Council Support

Take all face-down cards from one chosen Council stack into your hand

Recruit a Lord

Pay the cost shown in bubbles (large bubbles indicate required races) and the number below them

Take Control of a Location

(Any moment during your turn, automatic when gaining 3rd key) Discard 3 keys and take 1 revealed Location OR 1-4 face-down Locations and choose one (place others face-up beside the board)

Martial Law

Maximum hand size is 12 cards