Setup

Use the one to two player game board. Use the front side of the production wheel (the one whose numbers go 0, 2, 3, 4, )..

Use all 41 buildings in the Ireland variant. In the France variant, remove the Carpentry, both Grapevines and the C-Quarry from the game (represented by the crossed-out 1 on the cards). These buildings are not used in the solo game.

Place the Start buildings into the display. Place the A through D building cards onto the spaces intended for them around the edges of the solo game board. Add the joker to the rest of the goods indicators on the space with the "A" symbol.

Remove the grapes and stone indicators from the game entirely. Turn the district and plot piles upside down. (So the most expensive landscapes are on top are the first ones that can be bought).

Game Play

When you play the solo game, you start with nothing. You do not receive any starting goods.

Otherwise, the game is played following the rules of the two player game. (Take two actions after each rotation of the production wheel). When the production wheel is rotated while a goods indicator is on space 10, it is not pushed along. Instead, it is removed from the game entirely.

The Neutral Player

The neutral player is a special feature of the solo game.

• The neutral player also gets a heartland with a Farmyard, a Cloister Office and a Clay Mound. He does not receive any moors or forests.

• Place the Builders' Market onto the upper left hand space of the neutral player's heartland (represented by the N on the card).

• Give the neutral player 2 lay brothers and 1 prior of the same color.

• Whenever you want to use the building function of one of the neutral player's buildings, you must pay 1 coin to the general supply. Place one of the neutral player's clergymen onto the chosen building. You decide if it will be the prior or a lay brother. The cost increases to 2 coins as soon as the Winery or the Whiskey Distillery is built. The cost is indicated by the starting player marker. (As with the two to four player game, you can choose to give a present instead of paying the 2 coins).

• At the start of each settlement phase, you must place all remaining buildings in the display onto the neutral player's heartland.

• Building Rules For The Neutral Player:

  Since there won't be enough room on the heartland for all of the buildings that the neutral player will build, you may overbuild any unoccupied buildings (including basic buildings). You may overbuild more than once. You may only overbuild cloister buildings with other cloister buildings, and you may only overbuild non cloister buildings with other non cloister buildings.

  Additionally, you must ensure that all cloister buildings are adjacent to at least one other cloister building. You do not need to worry about Coast, Plains, Hillside or Mountain space restrictions (upper left corner of the cards); these do not restrict building. (Only the neutral player gets to ignore these building restrictions).

• As soon as the neutral player has finished building, you may use one of the newly-built buildings. Outside of your regular game turn, place the neutral player's prior onto the chosen building. The neutral player's prior must be available or you cannot perform this action. (You may not choose newly-built but immediately overbuilt buildings).

  You must pay the work contract price for the neutral player's prior.

  This work contract price is often forgotten.

• At the start of each turn (regardless of whether there was a settlement phase or not), check to see if the neutral player gets all three of his clergymen back (remember to check for yourself as well).

A round with a settlement phase

1. Return your or the neutral player's clergymen should all three have been used.
2. Rotate the production wheel.
3. The neutral player builds all remaining buildings.
4. Optional: Place the neutral player's prior onto one of the newly-built buildings. Pay the work contract price for this.
5. This may result in the neutral player now getting all three clergymen back.
6. Carry out the settlement phase.
7. Carry out your normal game turn.

Unlike settlement phases A through D, in the last round (settlement phase E), step 7 takes place between steps 2 and 3 instead. (The neutral player's building and the settlement phase only take place after your turn. This is similar to what happens in the multiplayer game).

End of the Game

The game ends after this last settlement phase. The goal of the solo game is to reach 500 points. This is slightly easier to achieve in the Ireland variant.

Continue Reading