Noctiluca can also be played as a solo game, where the tranquility of the pool has been disrupted, and you must rescue as many noctiluca as you can before they are scattered by the troubled waters.

The solo game follows all the rules for the multiplayer game, with the following changes:

Setup

Use the numbered board side. Place the black die near the board. Take only six pawns; set the other six pawns aside.

Instead of separating the jar cards into multiple piles, shuffle them together and place them near the board as a single facedown deck.

Place the first player marker on the center space, with the arrow pointing toward the purple section of the board.

Game Play

You take the first turn. Take your turn as normal. If you would pass noctiluca dice because you cannot place them, instead place them next to the black die, in the tempest. You will lose points for each noctiluca die you "passed".

Whenever you would take a new jar , instead draw the top two cards from the deck, choose one to keep, and place the other facedown on the bottom of the deck.

The Tempest

After each of your turns, the tempest descends upon the pool, startling the noctiluca and sending them scattering into the depths.

1. Discard the top card of the jar deck. Place the topmost point token from the stack matching the card color (gold, brown, or red) next to the black die in the tempest.

2. Check which section of the board the arrow is pointing to, then roll the black die. Remove all noctiluca dice from the space corresponding to the number rolled, returning them to the box lid.

   
   
   

3. Rotate the first player marker in the direction indicated by the direction of play to point toward the next section in that direction.

End of the Round

At the end of the first round, do not remove pawns from the board. Take the six set-aside pawns; you will use these pawns during the second round, while the pawns you placed during the first round will block you from using those shores.

Flip the first player marker; the arrow rotates in the opposite direction during the second round.

End of the Game

Add up your score, resolving majorities as in the multiplayer game based on the point tokens you have and the point tokens in the tempest.

If the majority of point tokens of a color are in the tempest, place the facedown point tokens of that color in the tempest.

Then, you lose points equal to the value of the point tokens in the tempest. You also lose one point for each noctiluca die in the tempest. If you have a final score of one or higher, you win! Otherwise, you lose.

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