Introduction Admiral Zheng He: Sailing Alone is a small, solitaire expansion consisting of just 18 cards and 4 pages of rules, much of it historical background.
You as a Trader must contend against three other Traders who play effectively, but using simple rules.
You must also contend, for the first time with Pirates and Ambushes, that can arise at particular ports without notice. Voyager beware!
You can even add these events to the multi-player game if you wish.
Important note: This is not a standalone game, but requires the Admiral Zheng He base game to play.
Strategy Guide Drafting
Of course, when drafting Trade cards you will always endeavor to get
the most value you can, just as in the base game. You will look not
only at prices, but also at whether the associated Commodities are
likely to gain or lose value in the near term, based not just on
which way their prices are directed, but on whatever information you
can glean from face up Price cards.
When choosing among equal or nearly equal values it can be
wise to draft Trade cards that differ from those you already hold.
When possible, it's also good to take more cards rather than fewer.Diversification can both provide larger gains and help avoid loss in value.
Travel
The travel decision is always fraught with difficulty
as the fleet may not want to go where you wish. But to the extent
that you are able, in the first half of the game try to travel so as
to improve the values of your Trade cards, in the second half to
improve the values of the Commodities you have collected.
But at the same time, travel also so as to collect the commodities
you most want. Having a monopoly confers double value while
dominance gives 150%. Yet with three opponents it will be
impossible to win all the auctions. Hence it becomes important to
pick your spots. If you are ready to win auctions when your chosen
Commodities are available and then can keep the fleet away from such
ports until you are ready to once again bid competitively, you will
go a long way to achieving a high score.
With this in mind, some Commodities are more collectible than
others. Fauna, for example, can be found nearly everywhere so it's
difficult to keep them out of the hands of the opponents, though
it's nice to collect the giraffe. But items such as Incense,
Medicine, Resin, Spices, Textiles and Wood, are limited to fewer
ports and therefore may facilitate collection from a monopoly point
of view.
Bidding
It might also be a good idea to refrain from bidding in the first few
auctions. Frequently, just after you acquire them, Trade card
values have not changed very much. Thus, using them right away
means that you're bidding against the virtual players at roughly
equal strength. However, if you keep Trade cards long enough, often
they will grow to high levels while the recently acquired cards
of the opponents may be mediocre or even of low value. Another way
of looking at it is that if you wait a few turns, you build up a
large bank of diversified resources that you can then use
selectively, when each is at its peak, thereby gaining a sizable advantage.
When you have a choice between Trade cards that are tied in value, you can
bid using those whose prices are headed downward predicting that those
pointing upward are more likely to gain in value sooner.
In deciding when to start bidding, there's no time as good as being
the first or the last bidder. As the first bidder you win the
inevitable ties, and as the last, you know exactly how much you need
to bid and can make the most economical bid possible.
When choosing whether to bid on a particular lot, consider whether
it's above or below average. For example, since cards come in sizes
1, 2 or 3, a lot that consists of a 1, a 2 and 3 is entirely
average. However, a lot having sizes 2, 2 and 3 is well above average
and more deserving of your attention.
In the end you will multiply the number of Commodities with its
price so consider too where the price currently is and where it is
likely to go with the ports remaining. This becomes easier to
determine as the game nears its finish.
Tactics
Probably obviously, keep the possibility of Ambush and Pirates in
mind as you travel about. There are times when visiting their
locations is safe, or relatively so, but other times where you could
end up undoing all your hard work. On the other hand, if the game
hasn't gone the way you like so far, perhaps an early attack could
be helpful as a way of reducing opposition holdings so that you can
achieve more monopolies.
Sometimes you really want to go to a particular port, but the fleet
has other ideas. In this case, if it really helps enough, it can be
worth it to attempt to divert them, even though it strengthens the
opposition for the auction.
Think carefully about the Maldives. Although it's very flexible in
terms of being able to reach a large number of destinations, it
also means that once you get there it can be difficult to go where
you want afterwards.
As the game goes on, you might have a very good idea where the fleet
is likely to go next. If all other things are equal, try to predict
it so that you can win the Tiebreaker token. It can be quite useful
in winning an auction cheaply.
The last turn's last auction is difficult to win, so try to steer
the fleet away from any commodity you care about on that turn. On
this turn you may prefer to try instead to improve the
values of the Commodities you have collected.
For a western seas strategy, the port of Jidda plays an important
role as it is both difficult to reach and offers distinct
Commodities. In the east, it's difficult, but good to visit Brunei
to receive the bonus trade cards that make subsequent auctions
easier to win. The goods at Brunei and Champa, and Wood in general,
are good to collect in this part of the sea.
Published 8 August 2022.
Created:
Sat Aug 6 22:38:53 MDT 2022
upandawaygames.com
