Seastead with Captain Calico Critter and Diving in the Sea
Travel to a flooded world where solid ground to build on is limited and diving provides a lifeline in Seastead.
When Flotilla came out, both my husband and I enjoyed the strategic gameplay. It was actually one of the last games we played when we could get together with our game group. At 3-5 players, it wasn’t going to get to the table at all. Then Seastead came along with a rather hidden solo mode! Today was all about heading out to sea for diving and building.
Game Overview
Game Name: Seastead
Publication Year: 2020
Designers: Ian Cooper and Jan M. Gonzalez
Artists: Bartek Fedyczak, Gong Studios, and Jennifer Tatti
Publisher: WizKids
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The box is quite misleading since the solo mode is entirely hidden and this looks like a purely 2-player game. It’s about building and diving in order to score more victory points than the solo opponent. Not exceptionally deep, like the sea, but I was excited to give it a whirl!
First Play
May 2, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
May 2, 2021
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
47
Game Area
24" x 18"
Low Score
35
Surprising Pieces
Dual-layered boards and very thematic wooden buildings and ships were not what I expected! These added a nice way to enjoy the setting and flooded world.
Each type of building provides a different bonus ranging from a ship, specialist, or port tile. The order that each type is built can be very strategic for extra victory points.
However, I was already starting to feel disconnected from the theme while setting up the play area.
I enjoyed this as a 2-player experience, though, so I figured I simply needed to get back to playing!
Part of the Flotilla
There are 4 total hexes like this one to represent the entire area. Nothing too complicated, although it takes a little time to understand what all of the iconography means.
Perhaps it’s only my own quirk, but the resource in the middle of this hex tile looks like the Roman numeral I.
In actuality, it’s metal. Never have I been able to shake this! I still see arrows when I see ports, too. I think that settles it. Just me being silly and not an actual issue. Ha!
The goal is to pay for buildings in different areas. Points and special abilities are available at each location.
Hiring the Captain
Maybe I was losing the theme somehow, so I decided I needed to hire a thematic captain. It didn’t take long!
Bow tie? Check. Good balance? Sure. Ha ha! This fancy cat was all set to manage my fleet and steer the impossibly tiny fleet. Apparently, Calico Critters can be too big!
This was the highlight of my session, as will be evidenced later on. It was kind of a shame that the theme didn’t feel like it was as present as it might have been.
I reread sections of the rulebook to try to understand how the mechanics tied into the game world. Tenuous, at best.
Who’s the Boss?
Naturally, the solo opponent couldn’t just be this nebulous personality known as the Boss. Nope: It was this very confident mouse! She was in charge of all the flotillas.
I don’t mean to sound critical, yet the placement of the solo mode at the back of the rulebook with the need to flip back for the main rules was more than frustrating.
This is a fairly simple set of rules, but it took me some time to understand what was going on.
The Boss would simply place buildings occasionally, so I had to build faster. And… That was the challenge.
Diving in the Depths
Resources to construct the buildings have to come from somewhere, and that’s where the dive action comes in.
A stack of cards represents the findings of each dive. I could choose one side, while the solo opponent received the other set of resources. Interesting… Or was it?
Those solo opponent resources were placed on the corresponding flotilla hexes. With 2 or more resources on a space, a building was immediately placed.
I had to take any options with a wild resource, yet it was easy to look for other ways to collect resources.
A Diverse Cast
In the original Flotilla, card management with all sorts of characters and survivors provides a very tense experience. So interesting, too! The choices are quite in-depth.
Here, the artwork is familiar but used in the form of specialists. Up to 4 may be hired over the course of play.
Each may only be activated once, save for a few rare instances. I love the diverse cast of characters! Always nice to see all different sorts of people represented in a game.
Used in the right way, these specialists can either provide end-game victory points or unique bonuses.
Dominating the Sea
My first attempt actually resulted in a tie. It was mainly because I misunderstood how the solo opponent would score. 20 points plus 3 points per building. Oh, easy!
This was a little bit of a letdown. I reset and promptly won by an enormous margin. All I needed was my cat captain and some ships to provide building discounts.
Everything was very mechanical and strayed so far from my multiplayer experiences. It was far too easy.
With 2 players, this can work nicely. But I have to wonder if the solo mode was tacked on at the last minute.
Into the Sunset
The nice components weren’t safe, though. I caught this pair pilfering a little bit of everything as they raced away!
Was the ship facing the right direction? No idea. I told you this little mouse was confident, so maybe she decided that backwards sailing was precisely her calling.
The premise behind this game was so very promising! It felt like the original was stripped down to almost nothing, though, and turned into a completely different game.
Granted, I can see how this might work for the right audience. My husband and I will continue to play!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 35-35 and 47-29 (1 Win and 1 Loss)
To avoid harping on any negatives, things ended peacefully enough with the Calico Critters calling a truce and sharing a victorious day! They really did make this a lot of fun. Perhaps the solo mode didn’t resonate with me, but we can’t all love everything. I still see plenty of positives and appreciate the work that went into the game. The next time you see a cat with a bow tie or a mouse sailing backwards, you’ll know where they came from!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
3
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
3
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- The box insert is very useful and includes a space for every component for efficient setup and cleanup.
- All of the components are high quality, particularly all of the custom wooden buildings and ships.
- Each character uses unique artwork with a lot of diversity both in terms of the people themselves and roles.
- Play time flies by since the solo opponent doesn’t take a turn and requires practically no upkeep during play.
- There are a number of ways to earn victory points that can present interesting decisions from turn to turn.
- Resources are extremely limited, so choosing how to progress must take discounts and bonuses into account.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Although the solo opponent is simple to run, it presents a very mechanical set of rules that isn’t interesting.
- There is an optimal path to victory that is easy to figure out and can be used every time to earn a victory.
- Despite the theme and world being vastly intriguing, there is nothing to tie the game mechanics back to them.
- The rulebook requires flipping back and forth to understand the main rules and solo mode exceptions.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 30 points.
Score at least 40 points.
Win at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Seastead? I was hoping it would be a great experience since I love the concept and have enjoyed my multiplayer plays. Have you had any disappointing solo plays lately? At least all wasn’t lost with a visit from the Calico Critters. I’ll continue to try new games that are languishing on my shelves. There are bound to be ones I love!
I’m also not fond of the “solo mode appendix” style of rulebook layout – I’d much rather have it in a sidebar, or boxes next to the main text. (And I’ve written several – particularly where a game has a bunch of rules introduced in expansions, I’ve rewritten them all to put everything together into a sensible order.)
I like your idea! So many times when I pull out a game I haven’t played in months or years, I have to relearn it and this involves a lot of flipping around. One of the ways I sometimes learn new games best is to rewrite the rules for myself. Sounds odd, yet that’s how I retain more information. Seems like a good plan to try to do something like what you’ve suggested to have around. Much easier to get into a game with less page flipping!