Scope: Burnt Island Games’ standard base box. Competitive and group cooperative sessions last six rounds; solo play lasts seven. Uncharted Waters is a separate expansion.
Endeavor: Deep Sea is a scenario-driven game for one to four players in its standard edition. You lead a research institute, hire specialists and send vessels across a modular ocean. The scenario sheet sets the starting map, Impact board and goals, so read it before choosing an opening.
1. Choose a scenario and mode
The base game provides scenarios with different setup and endgame goals. Each can be played competitively, cooperatively or solo. Cooperative play uses its additional setup, setbacks and goal thresholds; solo follows the cooperative rules with a seventh round. For a first game, follow the rulebook’s scenario setup rather than importing a tile or goal from another mission.
2. Recruit, supply and ready your team
At the beginning of a round, recruit one Specialist. Reputation determines which tier you can take. New specialists often boost an attribute or Impact immediately. Inspiration then determines new discs available for effort; Coordination determines how many discs you may retrieve from occupied specialists during Motivate. A specialist left with a disc cannot be activated again until freed or otherwise readied.
Ingenuity increases vessel capability and can unlock more vessels. The four attributes are Reputation, Inspiration, Coordination and Ingenuity. Advancing them improves actions now and contributes to final scoring.
3. Take turns in the activation phase
Players take turns until they pass. To activate a specialist, place a disc from your Staging Area on one with an empty activation circle and perform the indicated action or actions. Some specialists offer a choice between actions; others allow several in one activation. Certain action types also require another staged disc to place on the ocean board.
To use an action at a zone, you normally need a vessel there and the corresponding action symbol at that location. Travel positions vessels, Sonar reveals ocean, Dive gains research, Conservation places its contribution, and Journal publishes findings. Resolve each action fully before the next, especially when an activation grants more than one.
4. Follow the scenario and score
New zones create opportunities for all players, but the scenario’s goals decide which types of presence or work are valuable. In competitive play, final scoring includes attribute tracks, Impact spaces, scoring Journals and tier-5 Senior Specialists, mission goals and leftover Research plus staged discs. The dedicated scoring guide gives the exact order and tie rules.
In cooperative or solo play, the group instead checks how many of seven possible goal thresholds it met at the end; the chosen difficulty determines how many are needed.
Continue with planning tips or the game and edition hub.
Source
Burnt Island Games: official game page and rulebook, checked October 2, 2026. Standard box and solo rules are identified separately.