Selfish/Shipwrecked Edition

Selfish: Shipwrecked Edition, released in 2023, is, as of the time of this writing, the most recent game in the Selfish lineup.

This version casts the players as castaways on the Isle of No Return, where all doesn't seem above board. Players will need to escape the island and swim six spaces to the safety of the rescue raft - but with rations running low and the sharks hungry, that's easier said than done. As the players swim to the raft they must navigate and outwit treacherous shark-infested waters, violent hurricanes, colossal sea monsters - and worst of all, each other - to try and get to the raft first.

The goal of the game is to be either the first player to reach the raft, or the last player left swimming when all others have perished.

Game Equipment

The game comes with the following equipment:

Five Castaway cards. These represent the playable characters - all of them play identically.
Two waypoint strips - these are long pieces of paper with ocean illustrations and a beach at one end. They provide a guide to movement during gameplay.
42 Ocean cards. These are played onto the field as players move and provide effects that can help or harm the players.
- The Ocean deck contains two Shark cards, which move during gameplay and can devour rations and players.
78 Game cards. These provide players with actions to perform on their turn.
- Included in the Game cards are 48 Ration cards - 38 single, ten double. These are Shipwrecked Edition's critical resource - if a player runs out of rations and cannot play any when required, that player dies and is out of the game.
One Raft card. This card is the goal.

Setup

To prepare the game:

Each player selects a Castaway card. The selected Castaway cards are lined up in a horizontal line.
The two waypoint strips are placed on either side of the Castaway cards, beach end down.
The Raft card is placed in the centre of the playing field, just above the waypoint strips.
From the Game deck five Ration cards - four single, one double - are dealt to each player.
Four extra cards are dealt to each player.
The remaining Game cards are shuffled and laid face down next to the playing field as a draw pile, leaving room for a discard pile.
The two Shark cards are separated from the Ocean deck and placed face up near the Game deck.
The rest of the Ocean cards are shuffled and laid face down as another draw pile, again leaving room for a discard pile.
One player is selected to take the first turn, then play proceeds clockwise.

Basic Gameplay

Each player's turn is divided into three steps, as follows:

Step One: Draw a Game Card

The player draws a Game card from the draw pile and adds it to their hand. If the Game draw pile runs out, reshuffle the discard pile into a new draw pile.

Step Two: Play an Action Card

In this step the player may play Action cards from their hand as they like. Action cards have dark strips at the top and bottom, and have instructions for effects that will help that player. To play an Action card, the player follows the instructions written on the bottom of the card, then places the card into the Game card discard pile. A player may play as many Action cards from their hand as they like during their turn.

Step Three: Float or Swim

In this step the player must decide whether they want to float and stay where they are, or swim one space towards the raft.

If the player decides to float, they must discard one Ration card and leave their Castaway card where it is.

If they decide to swim, the player must discard two Ration cards and move their Castaway card one space forward. Next the player must draw an Ocean card from the Ocean draw pile and place it face up in the space their Castaway card just vacated. They then follow the instructions on the Ocean card, which can have either positive or negative effects. If the Ocean card features a shark icon, the shark moves (explained in the next section).

If a player is moved backwards into a space occupied by an Ocean card, the Ocean card is discarded. A new Ocean card will replace it when the player again moves forward from that space.

A player can also be moved by an Action card, following the same rules.

If a player is in the unfortunate situation where they have to play a Ration card, but do not have any on hand, that player dies and is out of the game. They must discard all of their Game cards, and then flip over their Castaway card to reveal their waterlogged corpse on the back.

Sharks

Let's face it - this couldn't be a castaway-themed game without hungry sharks prowling the waters.

Around half of the cards in the Ocean deck have a shark icon in the top-right corner, which depicts a white shark fin on a red circle. When an Ocean card with a shark icon is drawn for the first time in the game, one of the two Shark cards will be placed directly behind the player who drew said card. The shark does not move - this turn.

The second shark can only be added to the game if the "Feeding Frenzy" Ocean card is drawn whilst a shark is already in play.

Shark Movement

If a shark icon Ocean card is drawn whilst a shark is already in play, the shark moves, according to the following instructions:

Every player selects one of the Game cards in their hand.
These Game cards are then flipped over, one at a time. Each of the Game cards has a compass pointing in one of four directions - north, east, south or west.
As each card is revealed, the shark moves one space in that direction, even if the space does not have an Ocean card. If the shark cannot move any further in a specific direction, that movement is disregarded.
Once the movement is complete, the Game cards used are discarded.

Caught by a Shark

If at any point during its movement, the shark lands on a Castaway card, that player must immediately discard one Ration card to avoid being eaten by the shark. If either shark eats some rations, their movement ends even if there are cards left to move by.

If a player moves onto a shark, whether by discarding rations or by another player, they must also discard one Ration or get eaten. The shark will remain in that space until its next move.

If a player does not have any Rations on hand to feed the shark, the shark devours them and they are out of the game.

Winning the Game

The winner of the game is either the first player to swim six spaces and reach the Raft card, or the last player left swimming after everyone else dies.

Ocean Cards

Excluding the Shark cards there are forty Ocean cards, with the following effects:

Ocean cards
Name of card	Number in deck	Effects
Calm Waters	10	Nothing happens - there's nothing to "sea" here.
The Kraken	6	Sea beast ahead! The player must discard one Ration card.
Ocean Debris	5	The player draws one Game card and adds it to their hand.
Shark Bait	4	I guess it's every castaway for themselves. The player moves one of the sharks directly next to another player.
Freeloader	3	The player moves the player in the last place forward one space. If this is a tie, one tied player is selected to be moved. Then the player who drew this card draws a Game card.
Vortex	3	The player switches places with another player (excluding players in the raft).
Hurricane	3	Batten down the hatches! Every player discards one Game card and draws two more to replace it.
Island Calling	2	The player is lured towards the island by a mysterious sound and current, and moves backward one space, discarding the Ocean card of the space they move into.
Davy Jones' Locker	2	Yo ho ho! The players draws two Game cards.
Raft Drifts	1	Thank the oceans! The Raft card is moved one space closer to the players.
Rip Current	1	Go with the flow! The player who drew this card advances one space forward for free.
Feeding Frenzy	1	An extra shark is added on this card's space.

Action Cards

There are 30 Action cards in the Game deck, with the following effects:

Action cards
Name of card	Number in deck	Effects
Pirate	5	Shiver me timbers! The player looks at an opponent's hand, then steal one card.
Surf's Up	5	The player moves one space forward, then moves an opponent of their choice one space backward.
Lost	5	The player selects one of their opponents' cards at random to be discarded.
Freestyle Sprint	4	The player advances one space forward for free.
Dive	4	The player may use this card to block the effects of another Game card being played against them. Other players may still be affected. This card can only block Game cards - Ocean cards cannot be blocked.
Rogue Wave	4	Wipeout! The player moves another player backward one space.
Message in a Bottle	3	The player steals two Rations from another player.