Solo and Automa
Add an automated rival with its own draft and scoring rules.
Setup
Use the interactive setup for one human plus the Automa: two total players for dice quantities. Prepare the Automa board, 28-card deck, three Ships, four track markers and Governor. The same opponent can join a multiplayer game; count it in the total setup count.
Draft before the Anchor
The Automa always drafts first, before the human Anchor holder. Take the colour shown on the back of its top card, using the arrow to choose the highest or lowest available face. Choose freely among equal eligible dice. If that colour is absent, discard cards until a colour is available. Reshuffle its deck when exhausted.
After each Automa draft, reveal the next card’s front. On its pictured Harbor tile, place the die in the first empty matching slot clockwise from the top edge. If none matches, use the first empty slot clockwise. If the tile has no empty slot, use the Smuggler’s District and give the Automa one Smuggler’s token.
The Automa receives no Harbor benefit. Discard its revealed card, then advance its matching-colour track by one. Resolve the icon reached; resolve a connected neighbouring-track icon only once both tracks reach its threshold. Repeat through the regular two-die draft.
Automa actions
The Automa ignores resource costs and performs no Actions-phase turn.
| Icon | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Ship | Take a displayed Ship matching the Governor’s top colour, then bottom colour, then any colour. Prioritise the largest valid size. If all three docks are full, retire the smallest Ship, retaining it for scoring. A free Colonist immediately crews Strength if that space is empty. |
| Building | Take a displayed Building in top Governor colour, then bottom colour, otherwise the one nearest the Administration Office. |
| Person | Apply the same colour/display priority as Buildings. No housing limit. |
| Colonist | Crew an empty Strength space, prioritising larger Ships; otherwise keep the Colonist free. |
| Prestige | Take the indicated amount. |
The Automa does not activate acquired cards’ abilities. Card-effects answer.
Voyages
Before Voyage, dispatch all its docked Ships. Resolve each against cumulative Pirates in its normal position order:
- Stronger: continue right if another segment exists.
- Equal: trade; gain twice the segment’s Prestige, no Coins, and discard its leftmost Demand tile.
- Weaker: return immediately to its dock, taking no damage.
At the third segment, use the normal restriction against continuing beyond the board. This application is discussed in the Automa voyage thread.
After every Voyage, return all Automa Ships directly to their cards. They do not spend later turns sailing home. Return-timing clarification.
Automa scoring
Add its Prestige tokens, printed Prestige on acquired cards including retired Ships, endgame Building bonuses, one Prestige per unspent Smuggler’s token, and one Prestige per two cards matching either Governor colour. This differs from a human’s one-of-each colour pairs.
Sources
English rulebook v1.2, pp. 19–20 and the linked rule discussions.