Endeavor: Deep Sea
 Board game box of Endeavor: Deep Sea | |
| Designers | Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray |
|---|---|
| Illustrators | Fahed Alrajil and Maruša Gorjup |
| Publishers | Burnt Island Games and Grand Gamers Guild |
| Publication | 2024 |
| Genres | Board game |
| Players |
|
| Playing time | 60–120 minutes |
| Website | https://www.burntislandgames.com/endeavordeepsea |
Endeavor: Deep Sea is a strategy board game for one to four players designed by Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray and published jointly by Burnt Island Games and Grand Gamers Guild in 2024. In the game, players take the role of heading an independent research institute with the goal of developing sustainable projects and preserving the fragile balance of marine life.[1]
Endeavor: Deep Sea is designed by the same team that designed Endeavor (2009) and Endeavor: Age of Sail (2018).[1]
History
[edit]After publishing Endeavor in 2009, New Zealanders Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray had set towards creating another board game built on the foundations of Endeavor. De Visser and Gray designed Endeavor: Deep Sea for one and a half years.[2] A Kickstarter campaign for the game was launched in 2023 by the game's publishers, Burnt Island Games and Grand Gamers Guild.[3] Endeavor: Deep Sea was published in 2024.
In 2026, Endeavor: Deep Sea was the featured game at Wellycon in Wellington, New Zealand.[4]
Gameplay
[edit]
Players represent an institute of oceanographers doing research and conservation work. Players can compete competitively, cooperatively, or solo.[5] By heading an independent research institute, players have the goal of developing sustainable projects and preserving the balance of marine life. The gameplay includes recruiting a field of experts and using their abilities to explore new locations, researching dive sites, publish ecological papers, and launching conservation efforts.[1]
Across six rounds in the competitive and cooperative modes, players must lead their marine life specialists by making them travel, sonar, dive, conserve or journal in order to score points.[6] In the solo mode, the number of rounds extends to seven.
Endeavor: Deep Sea has 10 different missions for players to elect from in any of the three player modes.[6]
Reception
[edit]Aggregate reviews
[edit]As of June 2026[update], Endeavor: Deep Sea has an average rating of 8.2 out of 10 on BoardGameGeek.[1]
Critical reviews
[edit]Justin Bell of Meeple Mountain rated the game 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying he "struggled to see what others have experienced in their appreciation for the design." He appreciated the map variability, the passive bonuses awarded to opponents who did not take part in certain Journal card actions, the included recruit storage tray, and the game's ease of onboarding new players.[7]
Andrea Champagne of Board Game Quest rated Endeavor: Deep Sea 5 out of 5 stars, noting it was "definitely worthy of being Kennerspiel des Jahres". Champagne praised the game for pulling everything together into something that is "near-perfect whole; the art, the theme, the thematically driven actions." She praised the iconography, theme guides, and how the game can be played in every iteration (competitive, co-operative, and solo) with the same ruleset.[8]
Dan Hinkin of Gaming Trend rated the game 95 out of 100 praising it for its easy to pick up rules which lead to "more strategic gameplay the more you get the game to the table." He praised the replayability with the game having 10 different missions available as well as multiple game modes. He also noted pros as being the beautiful artwork and colours invoking ocean exploration and the ease of learning the game. Hinkin noted two cons as being that the game has "some warpage on player boards after some time" and missing player aides for symbols.[6]
Tuukka Määttänen of Finnish board game news website Lautapeliopas praised Endeavor: Deep Sea for its nice sense of progression, suitable milestones, and rewards. Määttänen praised the marine exploration theme and how it shines through the game's components. Määttänen also appreciated the fact that there is no plastic at all in the game, and how attention has been paid to environmental values.[9]
Matt Thrower of IGN listed Endeavor: Deep Sea as one of the 15 best co-operative games of 2026.[10]
Sales
[edit]Following Endeavor: Deep Sea's win at the Spiel des Jahres in Germany in 2025, the game's sales increased to tens of thousands.[11]
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Game | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Spiel des Jahres | Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseurs' Game of the Year) |
Won[12] |
| 2024 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Origins Awards | Best Heavy Strategy | Won[1] |
| 2025 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Gra Roku | Advanced Game of the Year | Nominated[1] |
| 2025 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Deutscher Spiele Preis | Best Family/Adult Game | Nominated[1] |
| 2024 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Golden Geek | Medium Game of the Year | Nominated[1] |
| 2024 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Golden Geek | Best Thematic Board Game | Nominated[1] |
| 2024 | Endeavor: Deep Sea | Board Game Quest | Best Strategy/Euro Game | Nominated[1] |
Gallery
[edit]
Character cards
Dive tokens
Player board
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Endeavor: Deep Sea". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Judd, Olivia (25 July 2025). "Canterbury board game creator scores big win". Star News. Allied Media. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Meehan, Alex (4 August 2022). "Endeavor: Age of Sail series is diving underwater for its latest entry". Dice Breaker. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Morris, Deborah (29 May 2026). "Wellycon 2026: A long weekend of dice and drama at board game convention". The Post. Stuff. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Kiwis take home top board game award". Radio New Zealand. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Hinkin, Dan (8 January 2025). "Endeavor: Deep Sea review – The sea is calling you to explore all she has to offer". Gaming Trend. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Bell, Justin (15 July 2025). "Endeavor: Deep Sea Game Review". Meeple Mountain. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Champagne, Andrea (17 March 2026). "Endeavor: Deep Sea Review". Board Game Quest. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Määttänen, Tuukka (31 August 2025). "Endeavor: Deep Sea - lautapelin arvostelu". Lautapeliopas (in Finnish). Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Desatoff, Sam; Thrower, Matt (27 February 2026). "The Best Cooperative Board Games to Play as a Team in 2026". IGN. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ Gooch, Carly (13 September 2025). "Kiwi mates create board game selling 'tens of thousands' of copies in Germany". The Press. Stuff. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Aktuelle Preisträger 2025". Spiel des Jahres (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2026.
External links
[edit]
- Endeavor: Deep Sea at Burnt Island Games
- Endeavor: Deep Sea at BoardGameGeek