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Atlantis Rising (Second Edition)

Atlantis Rising (Second Edition)

#682BGG ↗

2019 · 1-7 players · 120min · weight 2.46 · 5,342 ratings

port: no portdifficulty: Easy
BGGv4 widev4v4 deepSources1Rules cardCandidate0.609Deep dive
Bayes
6.85
Users rated
5,342
Owned
9,933
Wishing
3,422

At a glance — v4 wide

Controlled-vocabulary primitives + 8-axis MDA aesthetic vector. Vocab v1.

Core loop (micro)

Place a worker on a flooding tile to roll resource dice, then draw a misfortune card that floods shoreline tiles and possibly loses the worker.

MDA aesthetic vector (0–3)
Sensation
1
Fantasy
2
Narrative
2
Challenge
3
Fellowship
2
Discovery
0
Expression
0
Submission
1
Mechanic-interaction primitives (5)
  • [3]push_your_luck_escalation— “Workers placed close to the shoreline are more rewarding, but are more likely to be flooded
  • [3]escalating_threat— “every turn each player draws a misfortune card that will flood certain locations — race_against_island_loss
  • [2]action_blocking— “shrinking_action_board — island sinking reduces available worker placement spaces
  • [2]cascading_failure— “coop_worker_placement — misfortune event deck, race against island loss
  • [2]variable_player_powers— “variable player powers — deploy citizens, each with unique role across homeland

Translation candidate

Composite fit_score = bayes×0.30 + wish×0.18 + compress×0.17 + difficulty×0.20 + headroom×0.15.

bayes_norm×0.300.321
wish_norm×0.180.905
compress_norm×0.170.000
diff_norm×0.201.000
port_headroom×0.151.000
fit_score (total)0.609= 0.609
Difficulty reasoning

Co-op puzzle with shrinking board and dice-based actions adapts well; small enough state for mobile.

Closest loop translation
none yet

Rules card

Synthesized from sources below. Readiness: draft-ready. Confidence: 0.67.

Readiness

draft-ready (confidence=0.67, rules=0.65, fun=0.70). BGG rank: 682; year: 2019; weight: 2.46; playtime: 120 min

SourceQualityRoleNote
llm_memory0.65draft synthesissonnet-self-rated-7

Core Loop

Cooperative worker-placement set on the sinking continent of Atlantis. Players are leaders of Atlantean factions trying to build the Cosmic Gate to escape before the island fully sinks. Each round: (1) players take turns placing workers on action spaces across the island; (2) a Misfortune card is revealed which floods specific tiles, removing them from play; (3) workers on flooded tiles may be lost or saved depending on their placement; (4) action spaces resolve (gather resources, build gate components, research, etc.).

Action spaces have a "danger track" — placing on a tile where the water level has risen requires rolling dice; on a failure, the worker is lost or no resource gained. As tiles flood, available action spaces shrink, putting pressure on the team. The center of the island holds the Mystic Tower and the Cosmic Gate. Players must collectively gather specific resource sets to build gate component cards, ultimately completing the gate.

Turn Structure and State

  • No manual/BGA/transcript source is present; card relies on memory plus BGG context.
  • BGG description anchor: The isle of Atlantis, your home, is sinking. Will you be able to save your people in time? Atlantis Rising is a co-operative worker placement game in which you must work together with up to six other players to deploy citizens across your homeland, gathering resources in order to build a cosmic gate that can save your people. Workers placed close to the shoreline are more rewarding, but are more likely to be [...]

Win Condition and Arc

Players win by completing the Cosmic Gate (gathering and assembling all required gate components) before Atlantis fully sinks (all key tiles flooded or a flood marker reaches its end). Arc: early abundance with safe placements, mid-game scrambling as tiles flood and dice rolls become essential, late-game desperate plays to push the last component.

Decision Primitives

BGG mechanisms: Cooperative Game, Dice Rolling, Push Your Luck, Solo / Solitaire Game, Variable Player Powers, Worker Placement, Worker Placement, Different Worker Types

Memory-derived primitives:

  • Cooperative worker placement
  • Dice-roll success on increasingly endangered action spaces
  • Modular shrinking board (tiles flood and are removed)
  • Resource conversion → component-card completion
  • Asymmetric player roles (different starting bonuses/abilities)

v4 controlled primitives: push_your_luck_escalation, escalating_threat, action_blocking, cascading_failure, variable_player_powers

Why It Is Fun

Visceral cooperative tension as the board literally shrinks. Each Misfortune flip is dramatic. Asymmetric roles give meaningful player identity. Higher player counts (up to 7) make it a strong team-coop choice.

Friction and Failure Modes

  • Treat Sonnet-memory edge rules as draft until confirmed by manual, BGA, or transcript.
  • Needs at least one stronger rules authority before final extraction use.

Translation and Design Hooks

  • Use this card to ask: which primitive carries the fun if theme/licensing is removed?
  • For iOS, look for short-session compression, clear state visualization, and a digital-only twist.
  • For new tabletop design, look for the tension source and decide whether to preserve or invert it.

Edge Rules and Gotchas

  • Each tile has a printed water level threshold; once the water rises above that level, the tile is gone and can't be re-used.
  • Workers placed on a tile that floods this round may be rescued by special abilities or lost.
  • Atlantean Power cards or one-shot artifacts can manipulate the flood deck or grant rerolls.
  • Some role abilities let you place after seeing the misfortune flip; others let you redirect floods.
  • Second Edition refines the rulebook, adds new role/wonder cards vs. first edition; the Cosmic Gate components are puzzles requiring specific combinations.
  • Players can place multiple workers on the same tile, gaining cumulative effects but risking losing several at once if it floods.

Sources Used

[
  {
    "kind": "llm_memory",
    "path": "data/llm_memory_sonnet/248490.md",
    "quality": 0.65,
    "note": "sonnet-self-rated-7"
  }
]

Sources (1)

Inputs to rules-card synthesis. Click any pill with ↗ to open the original source.

LLM memory0.65

BGG tags