by designer78
Just tried this variation myself. First of all, thanks for writing this up. I enjoyed my time. Was looking for a solo experience that didn't have a combative feel to it for a change. Here was my experience with this variant, first time out:Overall, it seemed pretty easy to score high. I randomly drew Chuubei as my traveler, and randomly began in 2nd position. I relatively easily completed all three panoramas and earned all bonus cards except the "bather." I got 1st place in donations, after having donated only 2 coins total. The two dummies only ended up donating 1 each. My grand total was 106 points. I did roll high on the average, so the dummy players left me with a lot of free spaces, but still...
I would suggest the following:
a) no bonus cards awarded for finishing a panorama, since these bonuses are simply meant to offset the score for multiple players accomplishing the same thing. Alternatively, since this is a speed issue, perhaps change it to bonus card only awarded if you complete the panorama within the first X opportunities. So the mountain would be within the first 3 (or 4) chances.
b) increase the requirements for the endgame bonuses. My suggestions are:
.....Gourmet: at least 8 coins (average 2 per inn)
.....Bather: at least 4 cards (more than half the opportunities on the board)
.....Chatterbox: at least 4 cards (more than half the opportunities)
.....Collector: at least 7 items (average 1 per village)
c) Temple bonus (regardless of relative standing) only awarded if you've donated at least 6 coins (average 1 per temple).
I make these suggestions based partly on statistical reasoning, but also on my experience with the multi-player game and a general "feeling" of how difficult it is to earn these bonuses.
My two cents. Thanks very much for starting this thread and offering this variant!
~Geoff