Bruise Cruise

👤 Players: 2-4

⏰ Time: 30-80min

The year is 2042. Due to The Unfathomable Events of 2037, madness reigns across the cruise industry. The four remaining cruise lines now pursue market share through warfare. As a result, cruises are more popular than ever, because everyone is nuts (also due to The Unfathomable Events of 2037).

The "cruise" part: as the Admiral (formerly CEO) of a cruise line, you must send out your fleet of ships to navigate the treacherous waters of the Caribbean, dock at various tourist traps, and return to your home port. The "bruise" part: rival cruise lines are out to destroy your fleet via missiles, torpedoes, and maniacal passengers that live to raid other ships. The Admiral who finds the best balance between cruising and bruising will win.

Bruise Cruise is a hexagonal map-based, turn-taking strategy game with relatively simple rules that lead to complex outcomes.

2-4 players control a fleet of up to six ships using a hand of multi-use cards. 82 Action cards allow each player to sail, dock at ports, or acquire weapons or life preservers (the currency of 2042; they literally preserve your life). 18 “Unfathomable” cards allow players to do truly Unfathomable things, such as warping their ships to the Shady Offshore Bank or Warlord Island.

(Each Action card also features flavor text that teaches you strange and amusing facts about the ports and countries you’ll visit during game play.)

Victory points are scored for docking ships at ports, firing weapons at your competitors, and returning ships to their home port after they have completed their cruises. The game ends when the cards run out, though there are a few endgame rules that make the end particularly intriguing and encourage taking big risks.

A 2-player game between experienced players will take about 30 to 40 minutes. A 3- or 4-player game will take between 50 and 80 minutes. Recommended for players aged 14 and up, though 11-13 year-olds with board game familiarity will do just fine.