THE MELT — Quick-Start Rules

The Goal

Be first to reach the Glory target: 20 / 22 / 25 (2P / 3P / 4P).

Check at end of your turn. First past the line wins.

The Core Idea

Every card is double-sided. The blue side is Frozen (play from hand). The cream side is Melted (permanent passive in your Ice House).

Melting a card = transforming it. You don't lose the card — it becomes a permanent upgrade. Your deck shrinks. Your empire grows.

Card Types

Worker Tool Storage Trade Route Wild Event

Many melted passives trigger off specific types. Wild cards count as all types (but only 1 for counting).

Three Currencies

Crowns — Buy cards from Market. Lost at end of turn if unspent.
Contracts — Secondary currency. Contracts are held in your hand as cards. Drawn from melting (1/card) and following (1/Follow).
Glory — Score. Permanent. Never goes down (except attacks).

Spending Contracts (Your Turn Only)

4 Contracts → +1 Glory (repeatable)
3 Contracts → Melt +1 this turn (once)
3 Contracts → Draw +1 this turn (once)
2 Contracts → -1 cost on your next buy (once)
4 Contracts → Protected from Glory loss until next turn (once)

Your Turn

1. Collect

→

2. Draw

→

3. Play

→

4. Buy

→

5. Melt

→

6. Cleanup

Collect: Gain resources from all melted passives.

Draw: Draw 5 cards (+Draw Bonus, max +3). Shuffle discard if deck empty.

Play: Play any/all cards from hand. Resolve Frozen effects. Crowns are temporary.

Buy: Buy 1 card from Market (pay Crowns). Goes to discard. Events (cost 0) go to hand and can be played immediately.

Melt: Flip up to 2 cards from hand to Melted side. Place in Ice House. Draw 1 Contract per card melted.

Cleanup: Discard hand. Lose unspent Crowns. Contracts are held in your hand as cards.

The Melt (Key Rules)

Ice House: Starts with 5 slots. Melted cards expand it.
Melt Limit: Base 2. Ice Tongs makes it 3. Tudor's Empire makes it 4.
Full House? Demolish a melted card (remove from game) to make room. You choose which.
Per-melt Glory: Effects like Sawdust Bag and Tudor's Fleet grant +1 Glory when you melt — but only once per turn, not per card.
Per-melt Contracts: Always draw 1 Contract per card melted. No cap.

Follow (3–4 Players Only)

When another player plays a card, you may discard 1 card from your hand. Draw 1 Contract. Once per card played. No Follow at 2P.

Thaw Bonus (3–4 Players)

Lowest Glory player gains +1 Crown and Draw +1 at start of each round. Self-correcting.

Setup

Starting Decks: Each player: 7 Farmhand, 4 Ice Cutter, 3 Snow Shovel, 1 Apprentice = 15 cards. Shuffle.
Market: Lay out Base cards by tier. Add Draw Bonus cards. Set Events aside (always available).
Era Reserve: Sort Era cards into 5 groups (color-coded). Place near Market, NOT in it.
Chronicles: Shuffle 12 Chronicle cards face-down.
Contracts: 30 Contract cards as a shared deck. Everyone starts with 0.
Play Area: Ice House (left, 5 slots) + Discard Pile (right). Glory tracking. First player: who last touched real ice.

Starting Deck at a Glance

Farmhand (×7): +1C frozen / +1C/turn melted (Crew Quarters)
Ice Cutter (×4): +1G frozen / +1G/turn melted (Ice Yard)
Snow Shovel (×3): +2C frozen / +1 slot melted (Foundations)
Apprentice (×1): +1C frozen / Draw +1, +1C/turn melted (Foreman's Eye)

15 cards total. You'll draw 5 per turn, so ~3 turns to see your whole deck.

The Era System

Reveal a Chronicle at the start of each round (every other round at 4P).
Each Chronicle belongs to an Era (I–V, color-coded). That Era's Market cards become available.
When a different Era's Chronicle appears, the previous Era's unsold cards are removed.
2 same-Era Chronicles in a row? Cards stay. Only the effect changes.
Permanent Chronicles (VI, XII) last the rest of the game.

4-Player Simultaneous Play

At 4P, all players Collect and Draw simultaneously. Then Play+Buy+Melt one at a time. Saves ~5 minutes.

Market Tiers

Tier 1 (Cost 2): Ledari, Pike Pole, Ice Saw, Channel Marker
Tier 2 (Cost 3): Breaking Bar, Horse-Drawn Sled, Ice Tongs, Sawdust Bag, Small Ice House
Tier 3 (Cost 4): Wyeth's Plow, Ice Elevator, Horse Team, Brewery Contract
Tier 4 (Cost 5–6): Norway–London (5), Tudor's Fleet (6), Sawdust Insulation (6), Knickerbocker Co. (5)
Legendary (Cost 7–8): Tudor's Empire (8), Yakhchal (7)

Draw Bonus: Ice Plow (2), Calked Horseshoes (3), Ice Chisel (4), Branike Ledarny (5), Master Surveyor (5), Wenham Lake Ice (7)

Copy Counts by Player Count

Tier 1: 4 / 5 / 6 copies
Tier 2: 3 / 4 / 5 copies
Tier 3: 3 / 4 / 5 copies
Tier 4: 2 / 3 / 3 copies
Legendary: 1 / 2 / 2 copies
Draw Bonus: 2 / 3 / 5 copies
Era: 2 / 3 / 3 copies each
Events: 3 / 4 / 4 copies each

(2P / 3P / 4P)

Events

Warm Winter: Opponents lose 2G (1G at 2P). Draw 2 Contracts. Returns to Market.
Saltpetre Experiment: Trash any 1 card from hand or discard. Returns to Market.

Events cost 0, go to hand when bought, can be played immediately, cannot be melted.

Game End

Ends when a player reaches the Glory target at end of their turn. That player wins.

Ties: Fewest total cards (deck + discard) wins. Still tied? Most Contracts wins.

Market empty: Game ends at end of round. Highest Glory wins.