by NinjaTweak
Thank you! I probably should have led with this somewhere in my intro, but my 2 main goals in this project are to create a printable .pdf and/or .doc to explain the new rules using the existing components (not to inject several new components that players would have to custom make), and to keep all mechanics of the game as closely tied to its journey-theme as possible.The most complexity I would tolerate is having "quick references" for each player that allow them to keep at hand any rules that are unique to them. It remains to be seen what bits and pieces will work best.
I am competent enough with scanning what I have available, and I can photo edit it to keep its look almost as professional as the original.
Moving on to other major categories of rule changes:
2) In my opinion, movement needs to make more thematic sense. The rulebook provides a historical benchmark: travelers pass by 53 stations in a mode or average of 14 days. Realistically, one would have enough time to stop at every station at that pace. This just didn't lend itself well to gaming.
What seems the most plausible to me is that these stops are characterized by their activities. Some of these activities, like painting, can be reasonably expected to take considerable time. Other activities, well, we can suspend our disbelief why one would spend so much time on them.
The board is actually laid out very well for the 2-5 player mechanic. There are no 4 consecutive stations that lack at least 1 off-road stop, so the game lends itself well to the assumption that one can pass by 4 stations in 1 day, completing the journey in 14 days if the inns represent unique cuisine and not sleep.
What needs to be said, though, is that no player should ever be permitted to advance beyond 4 stations. Essentially, doing so is spending one's time traveling and not stopping to do anything. So to reiterate, this rule change is probably the simplest of all: the player farthest from the destination looks at the next 4 unoccupied stations and must stop at one of these. The inn still remains a required stop.