Coloma Solo Rules

Hey there! Let’s dive into the rules for playing Coloma solo. When I say “you,” I mean you, the awesome player. And when I mention “it” or “Shade,” I’m referring to the automated opponent. Now, there’s also a third piece, called “Buster,” which works just like I’ll explain in a moment. Cool? Cool.

Before we get started, there are a couple of extra things you’ll need for the solo game:

• 4 wagon movement cards
• 1 coin (heads/tails)

Setup

Alrighty, let’s set up the board, which is pretty much the same as when playing with two players. First, you’ll need one pioneer piece for yourself. Then, grab another piece for Buster, and one more for Shade. Who’s Shade, you ask? Well, no one really knows! It’s a mysterious opponent who’s ready to pounce on any mistake you make!

Oh, and here’s a little tip: to represent Shade on the board, you can use parts from a different color, just to keep things clear.

Now, let’s create a supply area for Shade and give it its supply:

• There are 12 Dudes
• There are 5 Camps (and 1 more Camp on Event 5)
• There is The Sheriff Badge (it is the start player)
• There is 1 Horse (Shade can have up to 4 Horses)
• The game will only collect gold, Barrels, Horses, Hotels, and Rivers.
• Place a wagon for Shade on Coloma on the Frontier Map.
• Shuffle and place face-down the deck of four Wagon-movement cards/tokens, one each for Hangtown, Georgetown, Folsom, and Auburn.
• Return any other player parts to the box (it does not need a deck, player board, etc).

Game Play

1. Before your turn, shuffle all 5 Buster cards and reveal 2 cards from Buster’s deck as in the 2 player game, laying out the 2 revealed cards on the table side by side (where Buster will not go).
2. Place your own pioneer.

When it’s my turn to play as Shade in the game, I have a choice between two cards. I can flip a coin to decide which one to pick: heads for the card on the left, tails for the one on the right. Whichever card I choose, I’ll place Shade’s pioneer on the corresponding location. It’s important to note that Shade will never go to a place where Buster is already located.

Once Shade’s pioneer is in place, I’ll carry out some actions depending on where Shade ended up. If Shade gets the BOOM from the Signpost, I’ll need to refer to the adjacent Site’s BOOM rules.

Now, let’s talk about Shade’s actions at each Site.

Site 1:

– Common action: Shade gains 1 gold.

– After that, Shade scores 1 point for each gold missing from the board’s supply. To calculate this, I count all the empty spaces in the 2-player gold area, and Shade gets 1 victory point for each empty space.

That’s how Shade’s actions work on Site 1.

Important Note: Shade holds onto its gold until the end of the game, and only spends it during Event 5. Keep this in mind as you read on.

Boom: For every Barrel in its supply, Shade earns 2 points.

Site 2

Common: Shade can claim a River or Bridge (and gain victory points for them).

If Shade can claim a Bridge, it will. But it first needs to have a River tile for each Bridge. Follow these rules:

1. If Shade doesn’t have a River, it takes 1 River tile and earns 8 victory points.
2. If Shade has a River tile, it claims the top Bridge from the board. It then discards the River tile and earns 12 victory points.

Additional Notes: If there are two bridges in the same row, Shade will claim the leftmost one. Unlike you, Shade doesn’t have a limit on the number of Rivers or Bridges it can claim, so it can get more than four of each in a game.

Boom: When you see the word “Boom,” it means that something exciting is about to happen! Pay attention because it’s going to repeat the action we just talked about, but with a few extra rules.

Note: If Shade decides to Boom, it can create a powerful combo by using a River and a Bridge, among other things.

Site 3

Common: This action is pretty common. It involves Shade building a Hotel and gaining 6VP (Victory Points). Shade will take one Hotel from the board and put it in its own supply with the face-up side showing.

Note: If there are no more Hotels available, Shade simply gains 6VP without taking a Hotel.

Boom: If Shade chooses to Boom, it will score 6VP just like it would if it had built a Town Building card.

Site 4

Common: This action is all about moving Shade’s Wagon. Shade has a special deck of four cards or tokens – Hangtown, Georgetown, Folsom, and Auburn. Shade will randomly draw one card and move its Wagon to the corresponding location. After that, the cards will be shuffled.

Note: If the card Shade draws matches the place where its Wagon is already located, the Wagon stays put.

Boom: If Shade decides to Boom, it will score 3VP for each Horse it has in its supply. That’s a lot of Victory Points!

Site 5

In the game of Coloma, I have a special ability called Shade. I can place a Camp in any Frontier Land that is next to my wagon. But there’s a catch – if my wagon is still in Coloma or if I already have Camps in all the Frontier Lands, I can’t take this action. So timing is key!

I also have another ability called Boom. With this ability, I can fill a row at the Shootout with my gunmen, who are taken from my supply. However, I have a strategy – I always choose the row that has the fewest spaces left to fill. For example, if there’s a row with only one space left, I will fill it by taking one Dude from my supply. But here’s the thing, if I don’t have enough Dudes to fill a row, I can’t take this action. It’s all about making the most of what I have!

Now let’s talk about Barker #image.jpg

Barker is another character in the game, and he has his own special ability. During the game, Barker gains 1 Horse. But there’s a limit – if Barker already has 4 Horses, he can’t gain any more. So it’s important to keep track of how many Horses Barker has!

Boom: When I use a Boom card, I get to take the leftmost available Barrel from the board. It also tells me how many outlaws I can capture at the Shootout.

Note: When I get a Barrel, I keep it face down in my supply.

Events

As I play Shade, I don’t pay attention to most events. However, I do care about Event 5:

1. If I have 2 or more gold, I can spend 2 gold to gain 6 victory points.
2. If I have 1 gold, I can spend 1 gold to gain 3 victory points.

Note: If I don’t have any gold, I don’t pay attention to this Event.

Shootouts

When it’s time for a shootout, Shade and the three dummy gunmen in the row each get their own scores. Unlike the dummies, I actually get victory points based on my score.

Note: If Shade has to take a penalty, I ignore it. After a shootout, I have to discard all of my used gunmen from the game, no matter what happened during the shootout.

Final Scoring

Hey there! Let’s talk about Dudes Shade and the Gold Rush challenge in this game. So, I need to tell you a couple of important things. First, I want you to count how many Dudes Shade has left in its supply. You see, some of them have already been used in Shootouts. Now, here’s how you score the Hotels. Just like with your own Hotels, you get 1 Victory Point (VP) for each Dude Shade has. But hold on, there’s a maximum of 6VP per Hotel card, so keep that in mind.

Now, let’s move on to the Frontier Map. You know the drill, right? Well, it’s the usual way to score Shade’s Camps. You get 3VP for the first Camp, and it goes up from there: 6VP for the second, 10VP for the third, 15VP for the fourth, and a whopping 21VP for the fifth Camp. Nice!

Gold Rush – An Additional Challenge

If you want to up the challenge, I’ve got an idea. Here’s what you do:

Setup: Place a Camp for Shade at Event 2. That’s where it all starts.

Play: During every Event 2, Shade gets 2 gold. Yep, that’s right. Extra gold for Shade.