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Description
Every winter, the lake freezes over. It won’t last long, so we have to play as soon as possible, trying to dominate the frozen parts of the lake before everything unfreezes and we lose everything. In order to win, choose key spaces wisely before your rival does, and control them. Show that the cold never bothered you.
In Winter, two players compete to be the player with the most chips of their color on the lake at the end of the game. The game is divided into two phases. In the first, the freezing phase, players will create the frozen lake in a contiguous form using their snowflake cards. They’ll also attempt to secure zones in which they’ve managed to group four snowflakes of their color using chips. In the second phase, the unfreezing, they’ll undo the creation by moving and retrieving their cards and chips of their color. At the end of the game, the player with the most chips on the table is declared the winner.
Winter is an abstract game for 2 players ages 8 and up. Games last 10 minutes in which good decisions are everything. This is a reissue of the 2016 edition with all new mechanics.
Winter was the winner of the 2021 Cardboard Edison Award. It’s the first of a series of the 4 Seasons series that will continue later with Autumn, Summer, and Spring.
Year Published
2022
Featured Videos
Playthrough
Winter - Playthrough & Review
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 7 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video SbrlyPF8NKQ
Chairman of the Board top_10_list at 6:19 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8053 · mention_pk 128568
Click to watch at 6:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- tight resource economy
- engaging interplay of movement and resource gain
- cool twists like limited resources and potential payoff for depleting stacks
Cons
- complex for casual gamers
- can be punishing with resource scarcity
Thematic elements
- fruits and numeric resources on a rondelle
- abstract resource management with contract fulfillment
- tactical, mechanism-driven
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- contracts for points — cash resources into completed contracts for scoring
- Rondel — move pawns on a rotating dial to harvest different resources
- rondelle (dial) resource system — move pawns on a rotating dial to harvest different resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- there aren't that many euros that do take an hour or less
- tons of different ways to win this game
- it's a very nice looking game you know nice fantasy feel
- this has a very distinct gamer; nothing else like this in my collection
- Ra has one of the best time-to-depth ratios I've ever seen
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video iP287jdzHJo
Board Games Hitting My Table general_discussion at 0:43 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6399 · mention_pk 94388
Click to watch at 0:43 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Tactical and very puzzle-like
- Modular board adds variability and tempo shifts
- Engaging timing and standoff moments
Cons
- Two-player dynamics can feel jarring at times
- Requires careful tracking of resources and movement
Thematic elements
- Resource gathering with timing and standoff elements
- Windmill-centered resource management
- Abstract, puzzle-like
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Movement driven by opponent presence — The number of spaces moved from a spot equals the number of people on the spot you just left.
- Resource collection from spots — Landing on a spot yields resources based on type and the current occupancy of that spot.
- Stockpile dynamics — Stockpiling too many resources can backfire if the supply runs dry.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is one of many games i'm talking about here that i did purchase at the uk games expo
- i think i can give it a 7 out of 10
- it's a very neat game
- it's multiplayer solitaire with a race aspect
- one of the all-time classics
- this is a very well-rounded game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video S5x3IB7U84E
Foster The Meatball a Channel top_10_list at 11:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6136 · mention_pk 18162
Click to watch at 11:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Very on-theme winter vibe
- Compact and easy-to-learn
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Winter vibes and survival
- Winter-themed gameplay
- tactical, set-collection-like with seasonal flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Pattern/set collection and map interaction — Build patterns or sets with winter motifs to gain advantage
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- winter is coming okay winter is oh shoot
- there's a game called winter this one's perfect good God
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 6rga2FEKCjM
Chairman of the Board top_10_list at 15:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5319 · mention_pk 122521
Click to watch at 15:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- high accessibility with a surprising depth
- clear teach with meaningful decisions from the start
- colorful components and theme
Cons
- may feel a bit light for heavy euros to some
- requires good table presence to manage components
Thematic elements
- resource collection and contract fulfillment
- gateway Euro with bright, accessible aesthetics
- easy to teach with deep decision space
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Contract fulfillment and scoring — cash in resources against contracts and pursue point bonuses
- donkey tokens and timing twists — timing and release of tokens add strategic depth
- Rondel — move puppets on a circular track to collect fruits/points
- Rondell (wheel) mechanism — move puppets on a circular track to collect fruits/points
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- an absolute blast to play
- this is up there with those classics
- clearly elegant and tightly designed
- it’s a pure two-player gem that should hit higher on the radar
- the box art is a little bit misleading and it makes it look boring, but the gameplay is far from that
- the game hits so many checkpoints
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video JvkwOM-4FVE
OFPG Voices general_discussion at 11:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3217 · mention_pk 9451
Click to watch at 11:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- compact, quick play
- clever take-that interaction
- presents a neat duel feel
Cons
- tight player count may limit replay value
Thematic elements
- snow, competition, take-that drafting
- winter landscapes with snowflakes
- abstract two-player duel
Comparison games
- Parks
- Cascadia
- Earth
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- token manipulation — On each turn players manipulate tokens and cards to disrupt opponents.
- two-player drafting — Two players draft cards to create clusters of colored snowflakes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Be kind to others who love the same things or want to explore those different things.
- Design games and refine games as much as possible; practice makes you better.
- There’s almost no downtime in Earth; you’re always doing something.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video rtZb6svD6Ms
game_recommendations at 0:28 sentiment: positive
video_pk 770 · mention_pk 121312
Click to watch at 0:28 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Heartwarming
- Complex survival scenario
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Zombie Survival
- Post-apocalyptic Colony
- Faction Management
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Faction Management — Players lead survivor factions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- me and my skellies want to tell you about five spooky games to get you in the spirit
- don't get tricked into having a gameless Halloween
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _i9dV1OtO9I
Before You Play playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 99 · mention_pk 253
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- tight, tactical two-player puzzle with meaningful choices on every turn
- short playtime (roughly 10 minutes per round) and compact footprint, great for fillers
- elegant melt/freezing mechanic that creates momentum shifts
- high interaction and momentum swings; very satisfying when you set up a win
- portable, small-box presentation with accessible rules
Cons
- can require a larger table area to visualize the lattice as it grows
- melt phase can be brutal; early outer-building mistakes can be punished harshly
- the luck of the draw in the freezing phase can influence early setup
Thematic elements
- Snowflake placement and strategic melting; competitive control of a shared evolving structure
- A wintery lattice of snowflakes on a table, where players construct and then watch their lattice melt away.
- abstract/technical with a light thematic frame
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- blocker_strategies — Players can place or relocate cards to block opponents and prevent forming new squares; bridges can become locked and melt later.
- counter_tokens — On your turn you either place a counter on a completed square or place/move a card to extend your lattice; counters are how you win when the freezing phase ends.
- end_condition — The winner is the last player with any counters on the board after all others’ counters have melted away.
- freezing_thawing_phases — The game has a freezing phase (placing cards) and a thawing phase (moving/removing cards and placing tokens) that drives the endgame.
- move_or_remove — In the thawing phase you may move or remove cards, or remove your own counters if no other legal move exists.
- Physical Removal — In the thawing phase you may move or remove cards, or remove your own counters if no other legal move exists.
- tile_placement (card placement) — Players place cards to form a lattice; cards must be oriented vertically and can be staggered to create adjacent connections.
- two_by_two_lattice — The objective is to form squares of your color (2x2 blocks) on the lattice.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's quick playing and how strategic and mean it can be
- we're basically going to be building out a lattice formation of these snowflakes
- the last counter token on the board remaining is going to be the winner
- I love this game so much
- the second phase is where the true game is
- it's so tactical
- I didn't know what to expect
- if this game isn't already out it will be out soon
- it's a cute little game
- it's a very small box line
- the end of my snowflake game I can see the writing on the walls
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7