# Salton Sea

Salton Sea is a board game for 1–4 players. It plays in 120 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 7.5 out of 10 by 41 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $28.99 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–4 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 120 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.9 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2024
- **Categories:** Industry / Manufacturing
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Worker Placement, Contracts, Income, Solo / Solitaire Game, Stock Holding, Investment
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.5 out of 10, from 41 reviews
- **Owned by:** 140 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 179
- **Unique players:** 252

**Designers:** David Bernal

**Artists:** Amelia Sales

**Publishers:** Devir

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 28.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/salton-sea/ |
| Atomic Empire | 31.99 $ | https://www.atomicempire.com/Item/346199 |
| Miniature Market | 31.99 $ | https://www.miniaturemarket.com/salton-sea-devsalton.html |
| 401 Games | 38.95 $ | https://store.401games.ca/products/salton-sea-pre-order |
| Mathom | 27 € | https://mathom.es/es/otros-juegos-de-tablero/54056-salton-sea-8436607942610.html |
| Juegos de la Mesa Redonda | 23.96 € | https://juegosdelamesaredonda.com/15726-salton-sea-castellano-8436607942610.html |
| Travelling Man | 22.99 £ | https://travellingman.com/products/salton-sea |
| Zatu Games | 22.99 £ | https://zatu.com/products/salton-sea |
| Magia de Tinta | 26.95 € | https://www.magiadetinta.com/es/juegos/7420-salton-sea-8436607942610.html |
| Hyggeonkel | 224.95 kr | https://www.hyggeonkel.dk/produkt/salton-sea |
| Ludifolie | 30.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/22134-salton-sea.html |
| The Mastermind | 35 € | https://www.the-mastermind.be/bordspellen/salton-sea/ |
| Spielezar | 37.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/salton-sea |
| Spelexperten | 459 kr | https://www.spelexperten.com/sallskapsspel/strategispel/salton-sea.html |
| World of Board Games | 459 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/salton-sea |
| Alphaspel | 459 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/216650-salton-sea |
| Fantasiapelit | 42.9 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_231538 |

## Similar games

- [Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders](https://www.ludoya.com/games/city-of-the-big-shoulders)
- [Nippon: Zaibatsu](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nippon-zaibatsu)
- [Stephens](https://www.ludoya.com/games/stephens)
- [Barrage](https://www.ludoya.com/games/barrage)
- [Underwater Cities](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities)
- [Kanban EV](https://www.ludoya.com/games/kanban-ev)
- [Nucleum](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nucleum)
- [Tycoon: India 1981](https://www.ludoya.com/games/tycoon-india-1981)
- [Skymines](https://www.ludoya.com/games/skymines)
- [Men-Nefer](https://www.ludoya.com/games/men-nefer)
- [Sweet Lands](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sweet-lands)
- [Vinhos: Deluxe Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/vinhos-deluxe-edition)

## Rules questions

### 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).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/salton-sea)
- [Salton Sea in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/salton-sea)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402663)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._