# Watershed Transition Cards v0.1

Print one card per transition. Each card has the same four-part structure:

1. **Prompt** — what the table considers;
2. **Action** — what players do;
3. **Delta** — the shared ledger change;
4. **Trace** — what gets remembered.

## 1. Ocean

**Prompt:** What is already being held together?  
**Action:** Place the starting marker on Ocean and name one resource already present.  
**Delta:** `Memory +1`  
****Trace:** Record the starting condition.

## 2. Evaporation

**Prompt:** What must leave its current form to become available elsewhere?  
**Action:** Move one token from storage into the air.  
**Delta:** `Energy -1`, `Flow +1`  
**Trace:** Record what was released.

## 3. Clouds

**Prompt:** What can be gathered without being owned yet?  
**Action:** Combine two players' released tokens, or two named needs, into one cloud.  
**Delta:** `Channels +1`  
**Trace:** Record the temporary alliance.

## 4. Precipitation

**Prompt:** Where does the gathered potential become a consequence?  
**Action:** Choose where the cloud lands: soil, stream, or reservoir.  
**Delta:** `Pressure +1`; apply the destination effect.  
**Trace:** Record who or what receives the rain.

## 5. Soil Surface

**Prompt:** What can absorb the first impact?  
**Action:** If players choose care, place the water in Soil; otherwise add one Pollution.  
**Delta:** Care: `Groundwater health +1`; neglect: `Pollution +1`.  
**Trace:** Record the choice and its cost.

## 6. Streamlines

**Prompt:** What path is already easier than forcing a new one?  
**Action:** Connect two locations with a channel line.  
**Delta:** `Flow +1`, `Channels +1`  
**Trace:** Draw the route.

## 7. Creeks / Rivers

**Prompt:** What can move together now?  
**Action:** Move one token or condition along a connected channel. Another player must acknowledge the move.  
**Delta:** `Flow +1`; if blocked, `Pressure +1`.  
**Trace:** Record the handoff.

## 8. Lakes / Reservoirs

**Prompt:** What deserves to be held for later?  
**Action:** Store one token in a reservoir. A reservoir may hold up to three tokens.  
**Delta:** `Reservoirs +1`, `Flow -1`  
**Trace:** Name the future use of the stored water.

## 9. Groundwater

**Prompt:** What remains active even when no one can see it?  
**Action:** Move one reservoir token beneath the mat, or restore one damaged groundwater marker through a care action.  
**Delta:** `Memory +1`; restore: `Groundwater health +1`.  
**Trace:** Record the hidden support.

## 10. Return

**Prompt:** What has changed because the water was allowed to move and be held?  
**Action:** Read the trace aloud, return the active marker to Ocean, and keep the trace.  
**Delta:** `Cycles +1`; if `Pollution >= 3`, the cycle is compromised.  
**Trace:** Write one sentence beginning, “Next cycle, the watershed needs…”

## First prototype condition cards

Use no more than one condition card per transition during the first playtest.

### Heat Dome

The next Precipitation action adds `Pressure +1`. Players may spend one Energy to prevent the extra pressure.

### Open Channel

The next Streamlines action may connect three locations instead of two, but the player must explain why the route is already available.

### Contaminated Runoff

The next Creeks / Rivers action moves Pollution with the water unless a Soil Surface care action has been completed first.

### Deep Recharge

The next Groundwater action restores `Groundwater health +2` instead of +1, but the reservoir loses one stored token.

## Prototype end state

A first play ends after one complete Return. The table then answers:

- Did the watershed move?
- Did storage help movement or stop it?
- What became visible only because the trace was kept?
- Which card needs a clearer action?

Do not add victory points in v0.1. The first test is about whether the hydrological loop is legible and meaningful.