Solo

[gamer3213000]

Does any one else have trouble beating the solo play in 14 turns??? I am a fairly experienced player but have not even come close to beating it and I had some pretty good corps.
Is there some tricks may be I am not doing from standard play???

[Narcissistic Cannibal]

Solo is completely different from regular games since you don't need victory points. It requires some time to adjust to it.
Probably it's obvious, but you can concentrate on just plant and heat production. Events that raise global parameters by two and actions that let you draw additional cards are very helpful.

[chaney]

Figure out where you are typically coming up short, and focus more on that.
Figure out where you are doing plenty, and don't put so much into that.
That's the simple advice.

Heat needs a lot of steps, early heat production will help.
Events that terraform tend to be decent bargains (with some exceptions.)
Standard Technology will make it cheaper to do any Standard Projects you find necessary.
The cards that let you place Oceans as an action can be a good value if not very late in the game.
The cards that turn Power into Oxygen can be a good value.
Don't worry about VP.
Buffing TR can be a good value if very cheap early on, or a poor value if struggling toward the end.
Don't be afraid to save money for the next turn if no good values are offered.

[arzamas]

You know exactly when things will end. You are in control of the entire means of increasing TR (directly on cards, heat, O2, water, buffer gas) but you can only get 42 TR by just terraforming Mars. Cards that give you TR should be considered worth at least $14, if not $16. Heat is the the longest process, but also one of the most common.

In your calculus, keep in mind things like $14 will get you the same as 8 earned heat. If you invest turn 1, playing micromills for 1 heat production, that will net you 11 heat and earn you $3 back assuming turn 9 you convert the heat to TR. The cost to play the card, $3, is in addition to the $3 to buy it, which means you get 1.35ish TR for $3 ($6 invest, $3 earned by +`1TR for turns 10, 11, and 12, 3 extra heat). By comparison, $14 on heat turn 1 gets you $11 and 1TR. The very early micromills is slightly better, but that advantage drops quickly.

Comparatively, 1 energy production will earn you only 2 dollars assuming turn 10 you convert to heat and you don't spend the energy on anything. But as chaney points out, cards that use energy to generate TR effects are often good investments, so long as the cost of having the card (minus income, say) compares well with using the same money directly on TR.

[gamer3213000]

Okay thanks guys, follow up, would you want to stay with one of the better corps like the heat or green extra production or go standard where you start with 10 cards instead??

[AronFJenks]

Originally posted by gamer3213000:

Okay thanks guys, follow up, would you want to stay with one of the better corps like the heat or green extra production or go standard where you start with 10 cards instead??

I don't think you have a choice. Solo is played with a corporation (not beginner corporation) and Corporate era. Additional rule adjustments apply if playing with Preludes and/or Colonies.

[chaney]

To the idea of starting with 10 random cards, it seems likely to be a bad value. So many cards won't help in solo - pure attack cards and pure VP cards for example.

Consider the big money corps. Cards can have high value, and a mountain of cash can give you a great start. Or save it for a later generation when you do get some good cards. Soletta is a card that often is poor value in multiplayer, but if you can play it early in solo, it delivers a lot, so if that is an option, it might push you to a particular corp too.