Winter
Winter Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 18 Cards
- 18 Tokens (9 of each color)
- Rulebook
Setup
Shuffle all the cards and stack them into a deck with the snowflakes hidden. Reveal the first card and place it on the table. Whoever is going to play first (chosen at random) reveals another card and plays it next to the first.
Before starting their turn, the second player chooses the snowflake colors each of you will play with, light blue or dark blue, and each player takes the corresponding tokens. After this decision the second player may take their turn as normal, following the rules below. The game continues, moving through the freezing and thawing phases, with both players alternating turns until the end of the game.
Phase 1 - Freezing
This is the starting phase of the game. On their turn each player must choose one of two possible actions:
- Place a card
- Place a token of their color
Then the other player takes their turn. The freezing phase ends when, during a player's turn, the deck of cards runs out because the last card has been placed on the table. This begins the thawing phase, and the next player starts the second phase of the game.
Phase 2 - Thawing
On their turn each player must choose one of three possible actions:
- Move a card to another position and place at least one token of their color
- Remove a card from the table
- Remove a token of their color
This phase continues until the end of the game.
End of the Game
The game ends when one of the players has removed their last token. The winner is whoever has kept at least one of their tokens in play.
Placing Cards and Tokens
Cards have four snowflake sections, light blue for one player and dark blue for the other.
Cards are PLACED next to other cards, in the same orientation (they can be rotated 180° but not 90°) and touching at least one snowflake section.
Tokens are PLACED on top of the center of a square formed by four snowflake sections of the same color.
Moving and Removing Cards
For a card to be MOVED or REMOVED it must not have any token on it.
Cards can only be MOVED during the thawing phase, and only if doing so makes it possible to form at least one new square of four snowflake sections in the color of the player moving it. The player will then IMMEDIATELY PLACE one of their tokens ON EACH of the new squares of their color formed by moving that card.
When a card is REMOVED it is discarded from the game and cannot be used again during the match.
When a token is REMOVED it is placed back with the rest of that player's available tokens.
Keeping the Lake Connected
At the end of the freezing phase the 18 cards will form one connected group of cards and tokens. During the thawing phase, if a player MOVES or REMOVES a card and the group of cards becomes disconnected, all the cards and tokens of the group that contains fewer cards are REMOVED from the game. If the groups are the same size, the player whose turn it is decides which one to discard.
Credits
- Authors: María Blasco and Enrique Blasco
- Illustration: Carlos Ureta (Meeple Foundry)
- Graphic design: Meeple Foundry
- Edition: David Esbrí
Winner of the Cardboard Edison Award 2021.
Match Record
The rulebook includes a score sheet for recording repeated plays: write your names under the color you played with, and note your result in the scoring table for each match.