# Underwater Cities

Underwater Cities is a board game for 1–4 players. It plays in 80–150 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 7.8 out of 10 by 128 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $58.99 (United States).

- **Players:** 1–4 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 80–150 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.6 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2018
- **Categories:** City Building, Industry / Manufacturing, Card Game, Science Fiction, Nautical
- **Mechanics:** End Game Bonuses, Network and Route Building, Worker Placement, Income, Turn Order: Claim Action, Solo / Solitaire Game, Hand Management, Turn Order: Stat-Based
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.8 out of 10, from 128 reviews
- **Owned by:** 212 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 839
- **Unique players:** 644

**Designers:** Vladimír Suchý

**Artists:** Uildrim, Milan Vavroň

**Publishers:** Delicious Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardhaus Games | 58.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/underwater-cities/ |
| Milan Spiele | 14.5 € | https://www.milan-spiele.de/underwater-cities-insert-p-27203.html |
| Svet deskovych her | 1099 Kč | https://www.svet-deskovych-her.cz/produkty/6675/podmorska-mesta |
| Zatu Games | 42.99 £ | https://zatu.com/products/underwater-cities |
| Spielezar | 62.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/underwater-cities |
| Alphaspel | 779 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/100382-underwater-cities |
| Uplay | 74.95 € | https://www.uplay.it/it/gioco-da-tavolo-underwater-cities--edizione-inglese-.html |
| Fantasiapelit | 75.2 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_192370 |
| Game Ninja | 999 kr | https://www.gameninja.no/produkt/underwater-cities/ |
| Nexus | 12995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/underwater-cities/ |

## Expansions

- [Underwater Cities: New Discoveries](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-new-discoveries)
- [Underwater Cities: Biodome Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-biodome-promo)
- [Underwater Cities: Data Era](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-data-era)
- [Underwater Cities: Mini-expansion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-mini-expansion)
- [Underwater Cities: Cooper & Flexible Friend Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-cooper-and-flexible-friend-promo)
- [Underwater Cities: Federal Priority Promo Cards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-federal-priority-promo-cards)
- [Underwater Cities: MvM Island Facility Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-mvm-island-facility-promo-card)
- [Underwater Cities: Building Box Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities-building-box-promo-card)
- [Underwater Cities: Ibiza Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/-166)

## Similar games

- [Barrage](https://www.ludoya.com/games/barrage)
- [Ultimate Railroads](https://www.ludoya.com/games/ultimate-railroads)
- [Nippon: Zaibatsu](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nippon-zaibatsu)
- [Le Havre](https://www.ludoya.com/games/le-havre)
- [Nucleum](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nucleum)
- [Everdell: Collector's Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/everdell-collectors-edition)
- [Russian Railroads](https://www.ludoya.com/games/russian-railroads)
- [Fields of Arle: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/fields-of-arle-big-box)
- [Luthier](https://www.ludoya.com/games/luthier)
- [Cooper Island](https://www.ludoya.com/games/cooper-island)
- [Galactic Cruise](https://www.ludoya.com/games/galactic-cruise)
- [Salton Sea](https://www.ludoya.com/games/salton-sea)

## Rules questions

### Do disconnected cities or buildings produce, need feeding, or count for final scoring?

No — structures and cities that are not connected to your network do not produce, do not consume kelp at Production, and do not count during final scoring (pages 6, 8, 9).

### Can I pay biomatter instead of steelplast or kelp when building tunnels, buildings, or cities?

Yes — when building a tunnel, building, or city any part of the cost that requires kelp or steelplast may be paid with biomatter instead (page 6).

### When exactly do I have to discard down to 3 cards?

You must discard down to 3 cards at the beginning of your turn and at the beginning of each new era; at the end of your turn you draw 1 card and the official discard decision is made at the start of your next turn (pages 8–9).

### If my card matches the action slot, can I resolve the card and the slot in any order, and can triggered effects interrupt that order?

If the card color matches you may choose to resolve the card effect before or after the slot action, but you must fully resolve one set (card effects) and then fully resolve the other (the slot action); any new triggered effects that occur must be resolved immediately when they trigger (pages 5, 7–8).

### How do action cards work — when can I use them and how many can I have?

Action cards are claimed cards that provide extra actions usable only when you use an action slot or a card effect that permits using an action card; each action card can be used once per era, and you are limited to four action cards total (your Personal Assistant counts as one) (page 5; see also page 7).

### What happens if I don't have enough kelp to feed all my cities at the end of Production?

First spend all kelp; for each remaining unfed city pay 1 biomatter, and if you still have unfed cities you must pay 3 points per city (cities not connected to your network require no food) (page 9).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/underwater-cities)
- [Underwater Cities in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/underwater-cities)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/247763)

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