Founders of Gloomhaven can also be played as a solo game with a few extra rules.


Setup

Select a race and set up the game as normal, collecting all of the components listed on page 3, except without the voting tiles or the "Income" action card used in a two-player game.

Note that some racial actions will make the game easier than others:

  • Easy: Orchid, Quatryl

  • Medium: Savvas, Harrower, Aesther

  • Hard: Human, Vermling

  • Very Hard: Valrath, Inox


In a solo game, the player controls all eight resources, so selecting resources is not necessary, but the rest of the game setup should be performed, ending with placing the player's race's resource onto any numbered grey space. The game difficulty will also be affected by where this resource is placed:

  • Normal: Left section e (thematic map) or any location of the symmetric map

  • Hard: Right section f (thematic)

  • Very Hard: Middle section g (thematic)


Also place two fleeting influence below the middle building card h in the proposal offer and place two lasting influence below the right building card i.




Game Play

The game will consist of seven cycles of playing through your hand of cards, with a vote on the building offer at the end of the first six of these cycles. By the end of the seventh cycle, all prestige buildings must have all their resources delivered or the game is lost.

Taking Actions

As normal, a card can be played face up to perform its main action, or a card can be played face down to perform a basic action. Since there are no other players, no follow actions are performed after a main action is performed.

If a standard action card is played face up, it is discarded as normal. However, if an adviser action card is played face up, it is removed the game. An adviser action card can still be played face down for a basic action and not be removed from the game.


Call to Vote

As soon as all other cards in hand have been played, the "Call to Vote" card is played. Immediately collect income and then decide which prestige building from the proposal offer is placed on the board.

The left card can be placed for free, but to place either of the other cards, the amount of influence under the card must be paid, keeping in mind that two fleeting influence is equivalent to one lasting influence. T

he costs start at two fleeting influence for the middle card and two lasting (four fleeting) influence for the right card, but every time a prestige building has all of its resources delivered, place a fleeting influence below the middle card and a lasting influence below the right card, increasing the amount needed to be paid.

Whichever building is placed, the player always decides where it is placed, following the normal restrictions. Instead of being discarded, the leftover building cards in the offer are shifted to the left, and one new card is dealt to the right space. After each Call to Vote, any remaining fleeting influence the player has is lost, as normal.

Building Progress

As soon as a prestige building tile is placed on the board, before any connected resources are delivered to it, place a neutral claim token on it. In addition, at the same time, place a neutral claim token on all prestige building tiles that still need resources delivered.

Any time a resource is delivered to a prestige building, remove the neutral claim token if it is present. When a Call to Vote occurs, any remaining neutral claim tokens must be removed by paying the influence cost under the right card in the proposal offer for each one.

If the player is unable to pay this cost, the game is lost. In this manner, the player should ideally be delivering at least one resource to each incomplete prestige building each cycle.


End of the Game

At the end of the seventh cycle of playing cards, the "Call to Vote" card is not played. If any prestige building does not have all of its resources delivered, the game is lost.

Otherwise, the game is completed and end game scoring occurs as normal. You can use your final score as an indication of how well you performed.




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