How to play Keelhold

A visual guide · Start with your first crate

Your goal

Load the cargo. Keep her level.

Choose where each crate goes. Match cargo to ship it out, while keeping your barge from leaning too far.

01One crate. One choice.

You are holding the next crate in the queue. Tap or click a hatch, or press its number from 1 to 7, to stow it there. The game advances when you place a crate.

Start with the centre

Hatch 4 sits over the keel, the centre line of the barge. A crate there adds no tilt, but the hatch still has limited space. The two outer hatches open after the first voyage.

Read the projected trim on each hatch before choosing. It shows the result of the whole turn, including any shipment.

02Read the crate

Symbol = cargo · Number = weight

Crates with the same colour and symbol match even when their numbers differ. Grey iron ballast does not form a lot. It leaves only when other cargo ships from its hatch.

03Three matching crates ship a lot

1. Complete the match

Add a third crate of the same cargo type to a hatch. The matching crates do not have to sit together. Later Big Orders need four.

2. The whole hatch empties

The crane takes the lot and every other crate in that hatch, including mixed cargo and iron ballast. All that weight leaves at once.

04The farther out, the stronger the tilt

Compare one weight 2 crate in three places

These are three separate choices on a calm barge. Hatch 4 adds no trim, hatch 5 adds 2 to the right, and hatch 6 adds 4. Hatches left of the keel pull left instead.

Shipping changes the balance too. Empty a right hatch and the barge swings left. Lean toward the hatch you are about to empty, so the lift brings you closer to level.

05Watch the trim needle

Green · Safe

Inside the trim limit. Keep an eye on your next shipment.

Amber · Listing

Past the line. Your next crate must bring her back inside.

Red · Unavailable

That placement is not offered. Choose another hatch.

A full, closed, or jammed hatch cannot take a crate.
If there is no safe place for the next crate, the run ends.
Wind adds its own lean. Rush ribbons count down in turns, not seconds.

06Plan the next two crates

Check the queue before placing the crate in your hand.
Prepare two hatches almost ready to ship. Consecutive shipping turns build a chain.
Heavier lots and outer hatches earn more. A level finish and recovering from a list can add bonuses.
Reach the voyage’s shipping quota to call at port. Cast Off continues into a harder voyage; End Run finishes with your score.

The drawings are teaching examples. Use the live hatch previews for your current cargo, wind, and voyage rules.

Play Keelhold