A first look at Meltwater

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I now have several Hollandspiele games, none of which I've actually managed to play yet. Meltwater, A Game of Tactical Starvation will be my introduction to Hollandspiele.

My original intention was to play a solo game to learn the rules, but I never got much past setting it up and punching in the turn sequence.

However, a friend had some time to drop for a game, so I set it up for us.

It's an interesting game. The mechanics are not quite stripped to the point of abstraction, but it's pretty close. I suspect a pretty decent abstract game could be derived from the existing rules and map.

As usual, we screwed up a couple of the rules, which resulted in my "sure win" turning into a sure defeat, but that's fine, we expect that when we play new games. We declared it a draw anyway, and decided we'll be playing it again.

This is close to the end of the game, red actually loses from this position if I recall correctly:

Meltwater near the end


It seems appropriate to use the Basic Setup for a first, solo learning game. Conveniently, this setup is also illustrated in the rules booklet. Per my usual habit, here's a turn sequence to help keep track of which side is playing, and in which phase.

Turn sequence

FACTION Starvation Phase

  • Ignore on first turn
  • Flee to friendly
  • Defect to enemy/neutral
  • Starve to death

FACTION Action Phase

Spend up to 4 actions:

  • March
  • Transport
  • Threaten*
  • Pressgang*
  • Attack
  • Militarize (require all 4 actions)

*blocked by enemy soldiers

FACTION Doomsday Phase

  • Resolve Doomsday card
  • Add radiation
  • Add refugees
  • Reveal new card

Turn 1

US Starvation Phase

  • Ignore on first turn
  • Flee to friendly
  • Defect to enemy/neutral
  • Starve to death

US Action Phase

Spend up to 4 actions:

  • March
  • Transport
  • Threaten*
  • Pressgang*
  • Attack
  • Militarize (require all 4 actions)

*blocked by enemy soldiers

US Doomsday Phase

  • Resolve Doomsday card
  • Add radiation
  • Add refugees
  • Reveal new card

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