Set the tide
Roll the tide die and move your boat along the crescent route.
A dusk-to-dawn board game
Catch the glow.Own the tide.
Big Bass Bonanza: Midnight Tide is a twilight fishing race where every lantern changes the route. Build a glow-lure hand, answer a Night Call and make the last cast before moonrise.
Walk the moon routeSee the call deck2–4 crews25–40 minAges 10+
THE NIGHTLY SIGNAL · Every lantern space offers a choice.Fictional tabletop concept
Crew ledger
Pick a boat. Pack a little courage.
Before the moon route opens, every crew chooses a boat pawn and receives a Lantern token. It is more than a marker: spend its light at the right moment and the whole tide can shift.
Boat pawnMove through the cove and own your chosen route.
Lantern tokenHold it for one rule-breaking rescue.
Glow lureMatch it to calm water for a stronger cast.
Moon markKeep it in the ledger until sunrise.
The moon route
No property. Just water with a memory.
Take the inside bend for quick Lure cards, drift through the dark channel for Moon Marks, or wait at the glassy cove for a bigger fish. The board is a loop of decisions, not a street of rent.
- Lantern buoys
Draw a Night Call or bank a Glow Favour. - Moon currents
Drift forward, hold your boat, or trade a lure. - Quiet coves
Attempt a careful catch without an event. - Last light
Trigger the final moonrise round.
Weather event
The storm buoy rings for everyone.
When a crew reaches the coral buoy, turn the Weather tile. It might pull every boat one space, dim a lantern or give the last crew a surprise cast. The whole table reads the same weather — then chooses its own answer.
Storm rule: keep your lantern token to ignore one forced drift, or spend it to draw a fresh Glow Favour.
A tide turn
Four beats. One bright choice.
Unlike a long property game, each turn leaves room for the next player. The tension lives in choosing when to burn a lure and when to wait for better light.
Read the glow
Resolve the lantern, current or quiet-water symbol beneath your boat.
Cast or hold
Play a Glow Lure now, or keep it for the last stretch of water.
Pass the light
Bank a catch, clear a Night Call and hand the lantern to the next crew.
Night Call + Glow Favour
Little cards. Big shifts in the water.
Land on a Lantern Buoy to draw a card. A Night Call stays with you until you complete its fishing objective. A Glow Favour is played once to bend the route at the right time.
Table limit: hold no more than two unfinished Night Calls and one Glow Favour. A new card means a hard choice — complete, play or release one.
Night Call · Bay whisper
Lantern at Low Water
Catch any fish from a Quiet Cove after moving exactly two spaces. The bay only speaks to a patient boat.
REWARD · +4 Moon Marks
Glow Favour · tackle
Bluefire Lure
After a failed cast, discard one lure and make a second cast before the next player starts their tide turn.
REWARD · BANK YOUR ORIGINAL ROLL
Catch card · trophy
Moon Bass
Bank this only after a matching two-lure cast in a Quiet Cove. It is the bright fish every crew claims to have seen.
REWARD · 7 MOON MARKS
Glow Favour · cache
Lantern Tackle
Open the cache after another crew spends its lantern. Draw one lure and one Night Call, then choose which to keep.
REWARD · REFRESH YOUR HAND
Follow the Silver Wake
End a turn on two different Moon Currents, then draw a Catch without spending a lure.
+2 MARKS + 1 CATCH
Borrowed Starlight
Move one space after another boat passes you, but do not resolve the new space.
PLAY ONCE, THEN DISCARD
Dockside cache
Gear is a story you can play.
The dockside cache holds the smaller pieces that make a turn feel personal: tide dice, lure pairs, gold tokens and the lantern you have been saving since the first bend. Nothing is decorative — every piece is a possible decision.
CACHE RULE · trade one token for one open Lure card before the final round.
Moon mark ledger
Win the night without rushing it.
Moon Marks are not just for big fish. Thoughtful routes and finished calls count too, so a careful crew can still beat a lucky leap.
Quiet Cove catch2
Current catch3
Completed Night Call4
Last Light Bass9
Most unused lure pair+2
Moonrise finale
When the last lantern dims, cast once more.
The first crew to reach Last Light does not immediately win. Finish the round, count Moon Marks and let every qualifying crew make one last cast for the luminous bass.
Start the night route