Any chance this game will have solitaire rules?

Don't count on it. I'm sure some fan made ones will pop up eventually.

Isn't deck building not the true solitary game one has with such games? Anyway, I would like to see the game change enough so that playing against a story would be nice, maybe use some ideas that have been introduced in the siege games to the core game.

That may be the only thing that I thought AEG did well. The Siege sets were tons of fun.

I would like to hear more about this Solitaire option

I would call that an extremely outside chance. CCGs and LCGs are social games at their core. Other than goldfishing to test your deck, I just can't see enough of an appeal to make a "single player" version that was actually a game you sat and played by yourself. This is coming from an obsessive goldfisher too.

Yeah the only way to play L5R as solitaire is gold fishing.

Yeah the only way to play L5R as solitaire is gold fishing.

I know that given the choice to have an "amazing" single player cardgame or a "really good" or even "pretty darn good" two (or more) player game, I'd pick the second every time and a dozen times on Sunday.

Yeah the only way to play L5R as solitaire is gold fishing.

I know that given the choice to have an "amazing" single player cardgame or a "really good" or even "pretty darn good" two (or more) player game, I'd pick the second every time and a dozen times on Sunday.

Agreed. I gold fish aggressively as well with my decks but I enjoy that social interaction.

Oh yeah. I would recommend Kami/Celestial format. Very fast.

Oh wow! We used to call it "le 4/5" because presumably it was started by a French player. It was great great great as a thought experiment and lots of fun with infinite access to the cards (like with online clients). I had no idea that it had been rewritten to work in later editions. Fun memories. I don't think I ever had better than a 50-50 win ratio, but it satisfied the combo player in me.

Yeah the crabs at their forum have a page up that details it: http://www.crabclan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4773

As for solitaire. All I can truly suggest is when I gold fish I make a proxy version of the deck I want to beat. It takes more time but its good if you want to try and understand an opponent's deck and how to best deal with it.

I used to pick up night audit shifts at the hotel I worked for when there were emergencies. I was told I could literally do anything I wanted to do to stay awake during the night since I was doing a huge favor for them. So I played full games of L5R against myself for hours at a time sometimes. It was either act insane or go insane from 5 hours of silence at a time.

Couldn't they adapt some of the Lord of the Rings mechanics to make solitaire/co-op scenarios?

Couldn't they adapt some of the Lord of the Rings mechanics to make solitaire/co-op scenarios?

Its FFG so if they wanted to, they could. They are mechanically tweaking it so a means to solitaire L5R isn't out of the question if they added it to the game.

I used to pick up night audit shifts at the hotel I worked for when there were emergencies. I was told I could literally do anything I wanted to do to stay awake during the night since I was doing a huge favor for them. So I played full games of L5R against myself for hours at a time sometimes. It was either act insane or go insane from 5 hours of silence at a time.

Well, you did actually go insane you know

FEAR THE DARK SWORD OF BITTER LIES!

There was an early Imperial Herald article that laid out rules for an L5R bot that you could build and do dry runs against. Dry runs was a good name for it, as playing across the table from another person with all the social interaction is just so much more fun. I am not sure where you could get a copy of that now, not to mention it would be so out dated.

Shinjo Yosama

Isn't deck building not the true solitary game one has with such games?

this is my thought as well. after my playgroup died, i was in denial and clung to the notion that i would find another one, and spent a lot of time first building real decks, then building increasingly preposterous ones, and truthfully i think i enjoyed that period of my engagement with the card game as much if not more than the times when i was actively playing in a cuthroat competitive environment and had to keep all my decks tuned to the latest and greatest meta. theres something really freeing about a deck not having to be consistently good. it lets you have a lot more fun with it. at least for me. it may not be for everyone. i enjoy making theme and gimmick decks.

Why play a social game solo? I'll never understand that.

And with online tools/programs to play with other people around the globe, lack of playgroup is hardly a justification anymore either...

Why play a social game solo? I'll never understand that.

And with online tools/programs to play with other people around the globe, lack of playgroup is hardly a justification anymore either...

It's a thing. FFG has a fair number of coop/solo games, including an LCG, so there's a component of their fan base that want every game to be coop/solo, or at least have a coop/solo mode. I imagine some people enjoy the puzzle aspect, but I won't presume to guess at motives beyond that.

I really noticed it spring up when Star Wars actually started as solo/coop and switched to PvP, but that might actually be a result of Star Wars being the first LCG after their actual coop LCG (LotR). It's also quite possible it's just the first time I noticed that level of interest, and that it'd been lurking on the CoC and AGoT 1.0 boards all along, but I don't know.

*shrug* I'll chalk it up to modern times love for non-social interactions. Instead of going for a coffee, we chat on facebook, instead of going out with someone and looking to the landscape, we take a selfie of the landscape and instagram it, etc etc.

Why play a social game solo? I'll never understand that.

And with online tools/programs to play with other people around the globe, lack of playgroup is hardly a justification anymore either...

as far as the online tools go, it really depends on why you play the game. if you're a pure competitive player, then sure, the online tools are fine. but i was a storyline and social player from the start. not having the face to face interaction takes a lot of the fun out of the game.

as far as the online tools go, it really depends on why you play the game. if you're a pure competitive player, then sure, the online tools are fine. but i was a storyline and social player from the start. not having the face to face interaction takes a lot of the fun out of the game.

I agree re: the social aspect. Playing games with friends loses a bit online. Even in heavily competitive tournaments, there are still regulars in any area you'll get to know. Some will be friends, some rivals. To say nothing of traveling to a big tournament as a team. Online play loses a lot in this regard, IMO.

Why play a social game solo? I'll never understand that.

And with online tools/programs to play with other people around the globe, lack of playgroup is hardly a justification anymore either...

as far as the online tools go, it really depends on why you play the game. if you're a pure competitive player, then sure, the online tools are fine. but i was a storyline and social player from the start. not having the face to face interaction takes a lot of the fun out of the game.

I agree with you wholeheartedly - my intent was just to point out that alternatives exist. The possibility of using chat/IM programs counters the problem a bit, but nothing replaces (IMHO) the face-to-face interaction.

Its called deck testing by yourself...

Also making a online platform for the game totally defeats the purpose of going out to see people.

If I wanted to play cards online, I'd just do it properly and play one of those new mmorpgs or those wonderful card tab games with a lot of pretty pictures of girls on them.

I think single player L5R could work but it needs special rules and probably special decks (think Lore of the Rings LCG). I can see the solitaire game revolving around specific scenarios and historical events. There's even room for more of a cooperative L5R under those circumstances.

I opened my box of old Imperial Heralds, and yes in Volume 2, Number 2 on page 13:

THE L5R ROBOT

Solitaire Rules for Legend of the Five Rings, By Ryan S. Dancey

There was some introductory text to attempt to sell you on the idea. It was a full page long, and I have no desire to re-type it here. I will start with:

What You Need

Because the Robot is designed to play in a crab stronghold, you will need to get a Crab starter deck. You will also need a stack of Basic Set (Imperial, Emerald, or Obsidian Edition) cards to build the Robot from. Most of the cards are commons, but a few are uncommon, and one rare (Inheritance). Since the Robot is designed to teach and entertain, do not worry about using a copy of Occupied Terrain as a "proxy" for the Inheritance if you need to.

Here is the deck:

Dynasty Cards

Hida Amoro x3

Hida Sukune x3

Ginawa x3 Medium

Heichi Chokei x3

Mirumoto Daini x3

Blacksmiths x3

Iron Mines x3

Small Farms x3

Jade Works x3

Glimpse of the Unicorn x1

Inheritance x1

Unexpected Allies x1

Fate Cards

Naginata x3

Light Infantry x3

Infantry x3

Oath of Fealty x3

Superior Tactics x3

Deadly Ground x3

Contentious Terrain x3

Frenzy x3

Charge x3

Rallying Cry x3

Ring of the Void x1

OK: You've built the Robot, now here is how you play it. You draw the five cards for the Robot's hand, and you will be playing them when it is legal to do so. During the Robot's turn play all fate cards that can be legally played during the Action Phase. The Robot will attach followers to the unit with the highest force to which they are legal targets.

Each turn the Robot must attack a single province. The Robot selects targets in this order of preference

1. The province holding the personality with the highest force

2. The province with the highest gold producing holding

3. If all provinces are face down roll a die four, the Robot attacks the corresponding province.

After the attack, if there is a legitimate threat of counterattack the Robot will use Rallying Cry if able. The Robot does not defend, it uses its Stronghold to grant +3 province strength, as long as this is sufficient to protect the province. If not the Robot loses a province.

During Dynasty Phase the Robot makes purchases in the following order:

1. Crab Clan Personality

2. Jade Works

3. Iron Mines

4. Other Personality

5. Other Holding

In the event of a duel the Robot accepts duels where it has higher or equal Chi to the challenger, all other challenges are declined if possible. If the Robot has the advantage in the duel by 3 Chi or more, it will strike immediately, otherwise it will focus the highest value from its hand once, then strike.

This is obviously not verbatim, but should give the general jest. It is obviously dated as the Herald it appeared in was released in 1997. If this gives you some ideas on how to build a solo play test deck great. I believe that was the original author's idea for writing the article.

Have fun, and Utz, BONZAI!!

Shinjo Yosama