Game Objective

In Deep Regrets, you and other fishermen compete to catch the most valuable fish during a week at sea, while dealing with your Regrets and managing your Madness. The game ends after six days, and the player with the highest score wins. However, whoever accumulates the highest Regret Value at the end of the game must discard one of their mounted fish, which can affect their victory.

Setup

Player Setup

• Each player receives a Fisherman Board (side of their choice), a Fishbucks Marker (set to 0), 3 Player Dice, 2 Reference Cards, 1 Can of Worms Card, and 1 Lifeboat Card.
• The first player is the one who had the "most regretful day."

Port Setup

• Place the Port Board on the table.
• Set the Day Tracker to Monday (normal game) or Tuesday (quick game).
• Place 4 Equipment Dice in the market (randomly drawn from the bag).
• Shuffle 10 Regret cards per player to form the Regret deck.
• Organize the Rods, Reels, and Supplies decks in the market.

Sea Setup

• Shuffle the fish by depth (Depth I, II, and III) and form three Schools for each.
• Leave space for the Graveyards (where discarded fish go).

Game Flow

Each day has four phases:

1. Start: Advance the day tracker, pass the first player marker, and resolve day effects (e.g., Thursday/Saturday: players draw an extra die).
2. Update: Players roll dice and decide how many to place in the Fresh Pool (limited by the Maximum Dice on the Madness tracker).
3. Declaration: Players announce whether they will stay at Sea or go to the Port.
4. Action: Players take turns acting until they pass. The last active player gets 2 extra actions at sea or 4 at the port.

Actions and How to Play

At Sea

• Fish: Choose a school, reveal a fish, pay dice equal to its Difficulty, and capture it. If you fail, pay 1 die and draw a Dink.
• Abandon Ship: Use the Lifeboat to go to the port immediately (but increase your Regret Value at the end).

At the Port

• Sell Fish: Earn Fishbucks (value modified by Madness). Foul fish make you draw 1 Regret card.
• Mount Fish: Place a fish in a slot on your board to multiply its value at the end.
• Buy Items: Purchase equipment or equipment dice in the market.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the sixth day. Calculate:

• Fish in hand: Base value modified by Madness.
• Mounted fish: Value modified by Madness and multiplied by the slot (x2 or x3).
• Fishbucks: 1 point per $1.

The player with the highest Regret Value (sum of cards +10 if they used the Lifeboat) discards their most valuable mounted fish before final scoring.

Tips to Win

• Bigger fish are worth more: They have a better value/difficulty ratio but are riskier.
• Control your Madness: High levels increase the value of Foul fish but reduce that of Fair fish.
• Use the Life Preserver: Reduces fish difficulty or port costs, but pass it on to avoid accumulating regrets.