When playing solo, the rules are the same with only a few differences. You play against a basic simulated opponent called "The Machine". Rather than choosing a set of colored dice to use, you must use 4 white dice.
Setup
Set up the game as normal for one player. Also deal out a number of blueprints face up to form The Machine's starting compound. The number of blueprints depends on how difficult you want your opponent to be. It is recommended you start with 3 cards for medium difficulty.
| Difficulty: | # of starting cards: |
|---|---|
| Easy | 2 |
| Medium | 3 |
| Hard | 4 |
| Very Hard | 5 |
If any of the dealt cards are Monument type cards (gray in color), discard them and continue dealing until The Machine has the desired number of cards that are all non Monument cards. The Machine may build Monument cards later in the game but cannot begin with any in play.
The Machine's Compound: The Machine's compound is always grouped by card type/color (production / utility / training / special / monument).
Game Play
Your Turn
You will play the market phase and the work phase as normal by yourself. Once you've finished both phases, the opponent takes a turn.
Some of the contractors in the game can affect your opponents. In the solo game, ignore any instructions that give resources or cards to opponents.
The Machine's Turn
The Machine begins their turn by rolling dice. Grab one die of each color (red, blue, purple, yellow, and green) and roll all of them at the same time.
Market Phase
Take a look at the green die to determine The Machine's marketplace action:
1, 2, 3, or 4: Take the corresponding blueprint (1 = left-most blueprint, 2 = 2nd from the left, etc) from the marketplace and add it to their compound.
5: Reveal the top card of the blueprint deck and add it to their compound. Also, discard all blueprints in the marketplace.
6: Reveal the top card of the blueprint deck and add it to their compound. Also, discard all contractors in the marketplace.
After performing The Machine's action, refill the marketplace.
Work Phase
Take a look the values of the remaining red, blue, purple, and yellow dice to determine whether The Machine is manufacturing any goods. Each colored die corresponds to a card type.
The red die corresponds to the red Training type cards. The blue die corresponds to the blue Production type cards. The purple die corresponds to the purple Special type cards. And finally the yellow die corresponds to the yellow Utility type cards.
For each die, if the value is equal to or lower than the number of corresponding cards in The Machine's compound, then The Machine successfully manufactures a good. Note that as The Machine's compound grows, they become increasingly more likely to be able to manufacture goods each work phase.
Example Work Phase: The Machine manufactures 2 goods because the blue and purple dice are equal to or lower than the number of cards of the same color in The Machine's compound.
The red and yellow dice do not score because they are higher than the number of cards of those colors.
End of the Game
As a player, you may trigger the end of the game as normal (reminder: 12 goods or 10 cards in your compound).
However, the Machine may only trigger the end of the game by manufacturing 12 or more goods. Once the game end is triggered, one more round is played.
Scoring
Scoring for you is the same (reminder: goods + prestige). To score for The Machine, count all their goods and 1 point for each card in their compound (regardless of prestige value).
Then add 1 additional point for each Monument type card in their compound. If you earned more points than The Machine, you win!
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