Released in 1971 by Cadaco, The Undersea World Game encouraged players to look to the sea to stock their aquariums.
GAMEPLAY
No reading was required to play the game once players were familiar with the straightforward rules. This made The Undersea World Game a great option for young players who could rely on simple recognition and matching of the ocean life on the spinner with those in the “ocean”.
Four cardboard bands representing aquariums and one larger band representing the sea were set up at the beginning of the game. Each of the bands had a tab on one end and a slot at the other that fit together to form an enclosure. The aquariums were placed at the four corners of the moulded box tray. The sea enclosure was placed at the centre and the fish were placed inside.
Players took turns spinning and acquiring fish for their aquariums. The spinner card had an inner and outer circle illustrated with the fish. Players hoped the spinner would land on a fish still available in the sea so they could add it to their aquarium. They could choose the fish in either the inner or outer circle. If neither fish was available, the next player took their turn with the spinner. If it landed on the single blank square the player could take any fish from the sea.
The winner of the game was the player with the most fish in their aquarium when the final fish was taken from the tray.
IN THE BOX
A complete game included 16 plastic fish, four cardboard aquariums, a moulded plastic sea base, and a spinner. The game instructions were printed on the underside of the box top. The following aquatic life were represented in the game: blue shark, banded butterfly fish, flying fish, porcupine fish, mudskipper, surgeon fish, orange butterfly fish, squid, seahorse, ruby goldfish, koi, swordfish, angel fish, dogfish shark, sawfish, and crocker.
IN POPULAR CULTURE
The underwater world holds an allure for many people. This has resulted in the production of consumer products to capitalize on the mystery and fascination of what lies under the surface. Here are just a few of the toys and games that captured our attention: Sea Hunt Underwater Adventure Game from Lowell Toy Mfg. (1961), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Seaview Submarine Set from Remco (1965), The Game of Jaws from Ideal (1975), The Sinking of the Titanic from Ideal (1975), and JAWS: The Board Game from Ravensburger (2019).
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