Dutch Blitz Review

Dutch Blitz is a solitaire-esque card game in which players simultaneously compete to score the most points by quickly playing cards to shared, central piles. Continue reading our Dutch Blitz review to learn more about this exciting, fast-paced game.

Dutch Blitz Overview

Dutch Blitz is a game for 2 to 4 players in which you’re trying to score the most points by playing your set of cards to the central play area.

During a round, players simultaneously add cards to this area until one player empties their Blitz Pile.

Players then tally the number of cards they’ve played to the central area and subtract points for cards left in their Blitz Pile.

If a player has reached 75 points, they win the game. Otherwise, players collect and shuffle their cards to begin a new round.

Dutch Blitz Cards

Dutch Blitz comes with 160 numbered and colored cards, divided into 4 player decks. Each deck has a unique design and color on its card back: green pump, red carriage, yellow pail, and blue plow.

Here are some Dutch Blitz cards showing the 4 colors, 2 symbols, and the different deck designs.

The front faces of the cards are in 1 of the game’s 4 colors — red, blue, yellow, or green — and have a number between 1 and 10. All the yellow and green cards feature a Pennsylvania Dutch girl, while the red and blue cards have a Pennsylvania Dutch boy.

How To Play Dutch Blitz

Setup

To begin, you choose 1 of the 4 player decks to use for the entire game.

Shuffle your deck of cards and deal 3 faceup in front of you to an area known as your Post Piles. These Piles serve as a holding area where you can play cards in descending order until you’re able to play them elsewhere.

After setting up the Post Piles, count out 10 cards from your deck and place them to the right or left of your Post Piles.

These 10 cards form your Blitz Pile; when any player has played all the cards in this Pile, they’ve “Blitzed” the other players and the round ends.

A game of Dutch Blitz set up for 2 players. Note that in a 2-player game, there are 5 Post Piles instead of 3.

Finally, take your deck’s remaining cards in hand and hold them facedown.

Gameplay

There are no turns in Dutch Blitz; on the signal to start the round, all players simultaneously play cards to various Piles until one player “Blitzes” (plays all the cards in their Blitz Pile).

There are multiple areas to which players can play, but they may only play 1 card at a time, using only 1 hand.

During a round, you want to play as many Blitz Pile cards as possible since any remaining at the end of the round subtract from your score.

You also want to play cards to the central play area, or what is known as the Dutch Piles.

Dutch Piles

At the start of the game, there are no cards in the central area of play; rather, players will be the ones to start the Dutch Piles.

If you have a visible “1” card on any of your Piles, you must play this card to the central play area. This begins a Dutch Pile.

The bottom player has a green “1” card on their Blitz Pile, so they must add it to the central play area, beginning a new Dutch Pile.

Each “1” card forms a new Dutch Pile to which ALL players may play by following these rules:

The card must match the color.
The cards must be in ascending order (e.g., a “2” card is played on a “1”).

The bottom player can now play their green “2” from their Post Pile to the Dutch Pile.

You can play to the Dutch Piles using the top card of your Blitz or Post Piles. However, you always have 3 Post Piles (or 5 with 2 players), so any empty space in your Post Piles area is refilled with the top card from your Blitz Pile.

Playing their Post Pile card created an empty space that the bottom player will now fill with the top card of their Blitz Pile (a yellow “10”).

Wood Pile

If you can’t make a legal move and play from your Blitz or Post Piles, you may count off 3 cards from the deck in your hand and turn them face up so that only the top card is showing. This begins your WoodPile, yet another source from which you can play cards.

You may repeat this step — counting off 3 cards and placing them on top of your Wood Pile — as often as you need. If you ever run out of cards in hand, pick up the Wood Pile, but do not shuffle it.

Turn the deck over so the numbers are facing down and start all over again (counting 3 cards, etc.).

The bottom player has no legal moves, so they count out 3 cards and flip them face up. The top card is a blue “4.” They still have no possible moves, so they’ll count out 3 more cards and hope for something better.

Playing to Post Piles

You can play on your Post Pile cards to get more cards out of your Blitz and Wood Piles. To do so, you must follow these 2 rules:

Cards on the Post Piles must be in descending order (e.g., “7” on an “8”).
Cards must alternate between boy and girl.

The bottom player plays the red “9” from their Blitz Pile to the yellow “10” Post Pile. They could then play their green “8” on the “9” if they wanted.

The cards on your Post Piles should be splayed slightly so that the number and color of all cards are visible. However, only the bottommost card is available to play.

End of Round and Scoring

Remember, this course of play is happening simultaneously for all players, so you need to be quick and keep your eye on everything that’s going on.

When any player has played the last card in their Blitz Pile — it doesn’t matter if it’s to a Dutch or Wood Pile — they shout “Blitz!” and the round stops immediately.

Then, all the Dutch Pile cards are flipped to their design side. You score 1 point for every card you played to Dutch Piles (you can easily tell which those are based on your deck’s design).

You lose 2 points for each card still in your Blitz Pile. (No points are awarded or lost for Post and Wood Pile cards.)

The red player scored 12 points for playing to Dutch Piles but lost 6 points for the 3 cards remaining in their Blitz Pile. They scored a total of 6 points this round.

If a player has reached or exceeded 75 points, they win the game. If not, each player gathers all the cards from their deck and a new round begins.

Dutch Blitz borrows a lot of its framework from Solitaire (or Klondike) — and if you’ve ever played Double Solitaire, then Dutch Blitz will feel even more familiar. Nonetheless, it is a fun and exciting game on its own.

Now, let’s be clear, there isn’t much depth to Dutch Blitz; it’s a simple card game. The only real point of strategy is knowing how to use your Post Piles and balancing shedding cards while being mindful of not tying up important ones.

Even still, it is a lot of fun to play. The speed of each round adds tension and makes the game more exciting.

The thrill you get when you have that 1 perfect card that triggers a cascading effect of cards to play from your Blitz Pile is so satisfying.

Be Forewarned

Firstly, Dutch Blitz isn’t for everyone; the simultaneous play and the speed at which each round progresses might leave players feeling frustrated and upset.

This style of game — many players playing cards quickly to a shared area — can also be dangerous.

I have witnessed all sorts of finger injuries (scratches from long nails, sprained fingers) caused by enthusiastic players playing Dutch Blitz.

Lastly, the ruleset is needlessly complicated. Dutch Blitz is such a simple game that most people can jump into it and start playing after a quick teach — but only if you have someone to teach you.

There are also some good videos out there, so I’d recommend those over trying to learn the game from the rules.

Taken from the rules. All this text simply says, “Each player gets 1 point for every card they played to Dutch Piles and loses 2 points for every card left in their Blitz Pile.”

Final Thoughts

Dutch Blitz is a simple game, but it does its job well. If you’re looking for an exciting, fast-paced card game that builds on Solitaire’s ruleset, then Dutch Blitz is the way to go.

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