Nauticus (2013)

About this game

Harbor life, merchant ships, and boxes full of valuable goods in the heyday of the Hanseatic League – this is the setting for Nauticus from designers Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. Each player runs a shipyard and tries to assemble ships of various sizes in order to ship goods with those same vessels. Time is short as each action can be executed only once per round, assembly of the masts and sails must be precisely coordinated, and the goods can be shipped only when the ship is complete. Thanks to the customized action wheels, everyone is always involved in the game's rapid sequence of actions. Whoever builds the biggest ships and ships the most valuable goods will be the winner in the end.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 3.0/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.