Endeavor: Deep Sea Deluxe Edition

We had loved the original Endeavor, Magister Navis, enough to play it five times in six months—an almost outrageous number for our group, where competition for table time is fierce. We more or less passed over the deluxe reprint because the old tight euro, the one where knives came out, seemed to have been modernised into a more feel-good “let’s all unlock things” experience. That is not inherently bad; I simply want a game to squeeze me a little.

In Deep Sea, the session is built on a map generated by the players themselves, so the board is never quite the same. That gives it a pleasantly abstract feel and keeps things lively from game to game, as we explore and open up options in a different setting each time.

The scenarios affect both scoring and how tight or relaxed the interaction becomes. And that is where my problem lies: its overall doctrine remains, in the most emphatic way, “let’s all have a good time.” In the introductory scenario, we all unlocked everything and nearly maxed out everything. A little blocking, a little pressure, some sense that somebody is ruining my plans? Not really.

I did not have a bad time, and I recognise that the changing map and scenarios can keep it fresh. But if I put it on the table again, it would only be with people who already know it and with one of the later, harsher scenarios. In its basic lesson, Deep Sea is so eager to give us everything that, by the end, I was bored.