Freshwater Fly is the second standalone game in a series from designer Brian Suhre, which integrates modern game mechanics with the surprisingly rich and unique world of fishing. In Freshwater Fly you encounter a fast-flowing mountain stream full of fish, armed with only a rod, reel and a selection of flies. To catch fish and earn valuable achievement points, you must carefully execute a series of tactical maneuvers while following a thoughtful and evolving strategy.

Start by studying the ever-changing outcome in the current, and tie on a fly that suits your target fish at just the right time and place in the river. Then choose to cast upstream to let your fly drift with the current and get extra fish on your line, or take your chances with a precision cast for the perfect catch. In either case, it's wise to cast close to rocks to improve your skills and discover new fishing techniques, while stocking up on finesse for the next challenge. Your reel, which physically spins, offers you different bonuses as you reel in your line, depending on how aggressively you choose to fight the fish you've hooked. Applying resistance will negate the fish's power, but using your momentum can give you a unique action that perfectly prepares you for your next cast.

Freshwater Fly is essentially a dice drafting and set collecting game. Each turn, you select a die from the dice pool and assign it to an action related to the specific fishing maneuver you want to perform. Higher dice values ​​usually give you more powerful actions, but collecting lower dice totals can get you free turns. The dice you select also unlock or multiply various bonus actions that you can use to solve the most stringent fishing puzzles in unique and rewarding ways.

The fish and fly sets you collect will help you achieve personal and communal goals, but to win you must focus on those goals that overlap in the most valuable ways while not lagging behind in your overall fishing catch. The game ends when a single player catches a seventh fish, achievement points are awarded, and the winner is declared.