Seastead, the spiritual sequel to post-apocalyptic board game Flotilla, forces its opponents to play fair
Share and tear.
Work with a rival to collect and share resources in Seastead, a two-player board game set in the same universe as Flotilla.
As the last human survivors living on the floating remains of human civilisation, Seastead has players fishing out wreckage from the surrounding ocean and splitting it between them. The sea is ripe with scraps that players can use to build and trade with. However, being greedy isn’t allowed - even in a competitive environment - so players will need to carefully pick and choose between their findings.
Each turn, players can decide to either dive for resources below the ocean’s surface or use any existing resources to construct a building on their player mat. Should a player choose to dive, then they draw two resource cards and pick which one they want to keep, with the remaining card going to their opponent. Having to live on a collection of floating islands made from wreckage means that space can get tight, so players will need to build quickly if they want to stay ahead of their rivals.
The four flotilla tiles in the main board space provide whichever player who builds on them with additional bonuses and benefits that can help them during the game. These tiles are also double-sided, with entirely unique abilities displayed on each side, forcing players to quickly decide which bonuses they want to go for.
Although not a direct sequel, Seastead is set in the same world as 2019’s post-apocalyptic board game Flotilla - one of the best board games of last year - in which players find themselves having to explore the flooded Earth. During the game, players can choose to either go sinkside - which means searching for valuable resources whilst avoiding toxic radiation - or skyside, enabling them to use their resources to construct different buildings to expand the flotilla. Charlie took a look at Flotilla last year and found it to be one of 2019’s most unique and remarkable experiences.
Seastead has been designed by a different creative team from Flotilla, with Ian Cooper - creator of intergalactic civilisation game Ascending Empires and beginner board game Taktika - and Jan M. Gonzalez taking the wheel.
The upcoming board game is being published by Wizkids, the company behind Flotilla as well as the latest edition of horror board game Fury of Dracula and hardcore deckbuilding game Mage Knight.
According to ICv2, the release date for Seastead is set for sometime in October 2020, with the game costing $29.99 (£24).