2024 · Industry / Manufacturing
Salton Sea
Players run competing geothermal companies extracting brine from a salty lake to obtain lithium and build an energy business. On each turn a player places one of four engineers on action spaces to perform industrial (explore, drill, extract, process, repair), commercial (sell, acquire and execute contracts) or management (research, buy shares, develop projects, finance) actions. Production, processing and contract execution generate points while research and company development unlock new capabilities. Multiple routes score points — exhausted land, completed contracts, short-term objectives, corporate growth and research all contribute to victory. Plays 1–4 players, about 120 minutes.
- Players
- 1–4 best 2
- Playing time
- 120 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 3.9 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Art
- Publisher
Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 179
- Plays logged
- 252
- Players
- 2h 17m
- Average play
- 140
- In collections
- 7
- On wishlists
7.5/10
from 41 Ludoya reviews
Very dry, complex engine builder that takes a long time (too long) yo become fun to play.
- Base -
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
If I place an engineer on an action space, is that space blocked for everyone until the round ends?
Yes — when you assign an engineer to an action space that space is blocked until the end-of-round return phase; placing additional engineers increases the action’s strength (pp. 10, 14).
How do I pay with action/money cards — do I get change or special effects?
You pay by discarding $1/$3/$5 action cards to meet costs and you do not receive change; some action cards also grant discounts or modified effects when used (p. 15; see action-card lists pp. 34–36).
Can I sell to more than one corporation in a single Sell action?
No — a Sell action targets one corporation, though you may sell up to three product units to that corporation in the same action and you gain the stated cash/VP while advancing its value track (pp. 22–23).
How do contracts work — when do I take and when do I resolve them?
You acquire contracts to your board and execute them by placing an engineer and paying the required product units to receive money/VP/shares/etc.; contracts are removed or resolved during the end-of-round procedures (pp. 24, 12).
What happens when I use the Drill action — does it cause damage or 'freeze' the drill?
The Drill action lowers the drill and applies rock damage along the drill track; certain track spaces trigger freezing or multi-layer effects as indicated on the drill track (p. 17).
Do I need a plant to process brine into lithium or geothermal, and what are the values?
Yes — processing requires a working plant; you can convert brine into lithium (base $6) or geothermal/energy (base $4), with optional bonuses available (+3 lithium or +2 energy) when meeting their conditions (p. 20).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Salton Sea with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.