Solo Variant
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2019 5:58 am
The Solo Scenarios are a good representative of the game; however, I always kind of felt that something was missing. So I have been playing around with the Solo Scenario: Alone in the Black, adding this, trying that. And I have come up with a semi-simplified automata as an add-on to any of the scenarios, although a couple of them are challenging enough without this.
So basically it’s a reference card. Here is the basic premise, you can use the Buccaneer ship
( 1 
1 
1 
) or make a pile of your extra ships. Put one each of the skill tokens (only skills) into a draw bag. You then decide how many other ships will be included, and then deal ships out for the number. So for instance the first game play with 1 Solo ship, during the ready phase, you will draw a token from the bag and that skill token will govern what the ship and actions will do for the turn. So for the Admin token, it will gain a Cargo token and the Admin token you drew. In the resolution phase the solo ship will try to complete a contract using the tokens on the ship AND the capability icons (if it posses any) and collect Victory Points 
. For an easier ship, it must also resolve complications 
on the contract 
it has tokens to resolve. If it is unable to complete a contract , then leave all of the capability tokens and the skill token on the ship. Once a contract is completed, removal all the tokens. The skill token will either go back to the bag or you will need to replenish it from the token stock. So in essence the solo ship will act like a second player with its AI on the card.
Also, if you decided not to use the Buccaneer ship , pay close attention to the ship status. A Broadsword Solo ship is a beast to compete with. If the Solo ship gets to 20 , you lose the game. Since the Solo Ship cannot go bankrupt and can engage in a piracy action against you, you may also retaliate; however, the Solo ship does not have crew and cannot be permanently destroyed.
Any token I haven’t defined I make the solo ship take a piracy action instead.
> Admin: Cargo token
> Social: Passenger token
> Combat: Military Token
> Medicine: Passenger/Military Token
> Psionic: Piracy +1AV
> Science: Survey Token
> Starship Operation: Cargo/Passenger Token
> Tech: Cargo/Survey Token
> Underworld: Piracy +1AV
> Jack: Remove one complication from the pursued contract as if it had been successfully resolved.
Anyway, would love to hear what you guys think. And keep flying the Mains.
So basically it’s a reference card. Here is the basic premise, you can use the Buccaneer ship
( 1 1 1 ) or make a pile of your extra ships. Put one each of the skill tokens (only skills) into a draw bag. You then decide how many other ships will be included, and then deal ships out for the number. So for instance the first game play with 1 Solo ship, during the ready phase, you will draw a token from the bag and that skill token will govern what the ship and actions will do for the turn. So for the Admin token, it will gain a Cargo token and the Admin token you drew. In the resolution phase the solo ship will try to complete a contract using the tokens on the ship AND the capability icons (if it posses any) and collect Victory Points . For an easier ship, it must also resolve complications on the contract it has tokens to resolve. If it is unable to complete a contract , then leave all of the capability tokens and the skill token on the ship. Once a contract is completed, removal all the tokens. The skill token will either go back to the bag or you will need to replenish it from the token stock. So in essence the solo ship will act like a second player with its AI on the card. Also, if you decided not to use the Buccaneer ship
, pay close attention to the ship status. A Broadsword Solo ship is a beast to compete with. If the Solo ship gets to 20 , you lose the game. Since the Solo Ship cannot go bankrupt and can engage in a piracy action against you, you may also retaliate; however, the Solo ship does not have crew and cannot be permanently destroyed.Any token I haven’t defined I make the solo ship take a piracy action instead.
> Admin: Cargo token
> Social: Passenger token
> Combat: Military Token
> Medicine: Passenger/Military Token
> Psionic: Piracy +1AV
> Science: Survey Token
> Starship Operation: Cargo/Passenger Token
> Tech: Cargo/Survey Token
> Underworld: Piracy +1AV
> Jack: Remove one complication
from the pursued contract as if it had been successfully resolved.Anyway, would love to hear what you guys think. And keep flying the Mains.