A first look at Meltwater
Tags
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:
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