CDG Solo System Pack #2
CDG Solo System Pack #2 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1.0 Overview
The CDG Solo System is a revised implementation of Stuka Joe's CDG solo method, and streamlines two-handed solitaire gameplay by decreasing turn-to-turn overhead and maintenance. At the beginning of each Side's turn, you will roll a Fate Die to determine which of the five cards are available for play. Typically two or three cards are available, but the final decision of which card to play is ultimately yours. This method of play increases narrative immersion as the great battles of history unfold on your tabletop.
The CDG Solo System is not a bot and cannot be played against. Instead, it provides two Card Displays to help organize your play space and limit your decision space as you control both sides.
Therefore, it is compatible with most two-player card-driven strategy games. The following rules summary provides an introduction to the system, general guidelines for play, and game-specific Playsheets covering a handful of GMT's most popular titles. If desired, the rules and principles in this rulebook can be applied to nearly any CDG.
2.0 Components
The CDG Solo System includes:
- 2 Card Displays
- 1 Six-Sided Custom Die
- 4 Markers for the Cards Remaining Track
- This Rules Summary
- 7 Playsheets
2.1 Card Displays
Each Side's hand is managed via their Card Display. The displays are designed to reveal a limited number of options at any given time. Each display has five card slots that are labeled with the letters A-E and a Cards Remaining track that monitors the maximum hand size and remaining card plays available.
2.2 Cards Remaining Track
The Cards Remaining track is centered at the top of the Card Display. The marker with a down arrow, which reads "Max Hand Size," represents the number of cards that a Side draws at the top of the game's Strategy Phase. The marker, which reads "Cards Remaining," represents the current number of cards that each Side has available for play. At the beginning of each Strategy Phase, the Cards Remaining marker is reset to the Max Hand Limit.
If a card is played for any reason, slide the Cards Remaining marker one step to the left on the track. If playing a card leads to an immediate card draw, do not slide the marker.
2.3 Fate Die
The Fate Die is a custom six-sided die which is rolled to determine which cards from the Card Display are available for play. Each face of the die depicts a combination of letters and symbols that pertains to one of the six options noted on the Results Chart found on each Playsheet. Only the symbols on the top face are considered after each roll. The !! result on the C< face of the Fate die isn't used in these first seven Playsheets, but it is included on the die to allow the system greater flexibility going forward.
2.4 Playsheets
Playsheets are single sheets of rules, front and back, that contain all of the game-specific rules needed to use this system. These include a listing of die result rulings and modifications to the CDG Solo System that are necessary to meet the demands of unique game rules. Rule references in the playsheets refer to the game's rulebook, not to the CDG Solo System rules, unless otherwise noted. Rules and explanations provided in a Playsheet supersede this rules summary in situations where the two are in conflict.
3.0 Standard Setup
Set up the game normally, but before drawing cards for the two Sides, find the corresponding Playsheet and place it near the game board for frequent reference during play. Consult the Playsheet for setup instructions. Most CDGs follow the standard setup explained below. But, some CDGs require additional setup modifications and are designated as Standard+. Playsheets with a Standard+ setup have a "modified setup" section that explains the differences.
3.1 Setup Card Displays
Set up the two card displays near the game board. Then, check the Playsheet for Max Hand Size. Place the Max Hand Size marker above the corresponding number on each Side's Cards Remaining track. Place the Cards Remaining marker on the track below the other marker. In cases where Max Hand Size changes throughout a game, further instructions will be included in the Playsheet.
3.2 Setup First Hand
This step is handled differently depending on whether the CDG you are playing has a single or shared draw deck OR a Side-specific draw deck, referred to below as a dual deck CDG.
3.2.1 Single Deck CDG
Place the shared draw deck off-board near the card displays. Then deal a single card to each card slot face-down alternating between the two card displays. No matter the hand size, only five cards are placed in each card display, one card in each slot.
3.2.2 Dual Deck CDG
Place the Side-specific draw deck in the C slot of the corresponding card display. Then deal one card face-down to each open card slot (A, B, D, and E) from the draw deck in slot C. No matter the hand size, only one card is placed in slots A, B, D, and E.
3.2.3 Flip Cards in Slots A and B
Finally, no matter whether the game is a single or dual deck CDG, the cards in slot A and slot B are flipped face-up on each Card Display. The background color of A and B's labels are white to help you remember that the cards in these two slots start face-up at the beginning of the game.
4.0 Standard Turn Procedure
In all CDGs, the normal sequence of play is followed. In the phase where cards are played, often called the Strategy phase or similar, determine which Side will start the round (consult the Playsheet if necessary) and then alternate between Sides following the turn procedure below. The following turn procedure explains how to determine which options are available for the Active Side, but does not tell you which card to select. When more than one option is allowed, the final decision is yours. As the player, it should be your goal to play each side as best as possible.
DESIGN NOTE: The CDG Solo System is not a solitaire bot and will not explicitly select a card for you. Instead, the Fate Die limits the allowable options, but two or more cards are often available for selection. When there are multiple valid options, the final decision must be made by you.
4.1 Roll Fate Die
If a Side has one or more Cards Remaining, roll the Fate Die and consult the Result Chart on the Playsheet. If the Cards Remaining marker has reached zero, then the Side has exhausted their hand for the round, and play proceeds to the other Side. If neither Side has Cards Remaining, the Strategy Phase is over. Proceed to the next phase in the sequence of play.
4.2 Consult Result Chart
After rolling the Fate Die, consult the Result Chart on the corresponding Playsheet to see which cards are available for selection. When multiple face-up cards are available for selection, the decision of which to play is made by the player. Face-up cards in both displays can be legally considered for strategic deliberation, but, unless otherwise noted in the Playsheet, only face-up cards from the Active Side's card display may be selected to play.
4.3 Play Selected Card
After selecting a face-up card from the display, play the card following the guidelines given by the Result Chart on the Playsheet. Typically, this means playing the card for any allowable purpose according to the game's rules of play. Generally, a single card is played each turn.
When the result of the Fate Die roll is associated with one or more of the card slots labeled A-E, you may play any one of the permitted face-up cards for the Active Side's event or for any other allowable purpose dictated by the game's rules of play.
When the result of the Fate Die roll directs the player to play a face-up event card, the event card must be a legally playable event for the Active Side and may not be played for the operations value unless it is also the lowest valued operations card face-up on the Card Display.
When the result of the Fate Die roll directs the player to play the lowest valued face-up operations card, the player consults the operations value on each of the face-up cards and must select the lowest. In cases where there are two or more cards tied for the lowest operations value, the player may choose between them.
After playing a card, move the Cards Remaining marker one space down the Cards Remaining track for that Side.
Example of Setup for Washington's War. Setup: Standard. Max Hand Size: 7. Draw Pile: Single Deck.
4.4 Discard Card
After playing the card, check for any text on the card that may dictate an alternative action (e.g. That the card should be removed from the game or that the draw deck might need to be reshuffled). If there are no further instructions printed on the card, discard the card to an off-board discard pile. If playing a dual deck CDG, be sure to keep the discard piles separate. If a card's text requires a reshuffle of the draw deck, be sure to complete the reshuffle before proceeding to the next step.
4.5 Refill Card Slot
The final step in the standard turn procedure is to refill the now empty card slot. To do so, draw a card from the draw deck and place the card face-down in the slot. Note: Be sure to consult the die Result Chart on the Playsheet. Whether you play the card face-up or face-down to the empty card slot can vary across games. After refilling the empty card slot, play alternates to the other Side and begins with rolling the Fate Die (4.1).
Definitions
- Active Side: The faction whose turn is currently in progress.
- Card Display: The play mats that display each Side's hand (see 2.1).
- Cards Remaining: The number of card plays a Side has available to them (see 2.2).
- CDG: Card-Driven Game.
- Fate Die: The custom six-sided die used to determine available options for play (see 2.3).
- Result Chart: The chart printed on a Playsheet that provides game specific instructions to resolve each face of the Fate Die.
- Side: Term used throughout these rules to refer to the factions typically played by different players.
- Strategy Phase: This is the game phase, typically found in a CDGs sequence of play, wherein play alternates between Sides playing their hand of strategy cards. In some games it is referred to as the 'Action Phase'.
- Playsheet: Game-specific rules addendum (see 2.4).
1960: Making of a President Playsheet
Setup: Standard+ Max Hand Size: See Modified Setup for Details Draw Deck: Single Deck
Fate Die Result Chart
C or Lowest Face-up CP Card AND !!
- If not already face-up, flip the card in slot C.
- If the Active side has at least 1 momentum, the !! triggers and 1 momentum is played to activate the first allowable face-up event in the discard pile.
- Play card C OR the lowest-valued face-up CP Card in slots A, B, D, or E for any allowable purpose.
- If there are multiple lowest-valued CP cards, choose which one to play.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
Face-up Event Card or Lowest Face-up CP Card
- If there is only one or no face-up card(s) in the display, flip any one face-down card face-up until there are two face-up cards.
- Play any face-up Event card OR play the lowest-valued face-up CP card for any allowable purpose.
- If there are multiple lowest-valued CP cards, choose which one to play.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
A, B or C
- If not already face-up, flip all face-down cards in slots A, B and C.
- Play card A, B or C for any allowable purpose.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
A or B
- Flip any face-down cards in slots A and B. Play card A or B for any allowable purpose.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
C, D or E
- If not already face-up, flip all face-down cards in slots C, D and E.
- Play card C, D or E for any allowable purpose.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
D or E
- Flip any face-down cards in slots D and E.
- Play card D or E for any allowable purpose.
- Fill in the played card's slot from the draw deck (face-down).
Modified Setup
1960: Making of a President uses a unique Turn and Phase sequence that dictates when and how cards are allowed to be played and supersedes the effectiveness of the Cards Remaining and Max Hand Size markers, which are not used for this game. Skip 3.1 in the Standard Setup procedure. All other setup instructions apply.
Game-specific Modifications
Momentum Markers
Momentum markers are accrued per the standard rules and can still be spent to prevent an Event Card that was played for CP from being triggered.
Spending 2 Momentum to Preemptively Prevent an Event
As per the standard rules, if the Active Side has at least 2 momentum markers when a card is selected to be played for its CP, 2 momentum markers may be spent to discard the card face-down after the CP have been used. Discarding the card face-down will keep the other side from being able to select this event when spending momentum to trigger an event.
Spending 1 Momentum to Trigger an Event
The !! result on the fate die provides the Active Side the opportunity to trigger an event. When !! is rolled AND the Active Side has at least 1 momentum marker, they must spend 1 momentum marker and play the top-most eligible event of the discard pile. The played card is then moved to the bottom of the discard pile. An event is considered to be eligible if the Active Side's Candidate Icon is depicted on the card. Debate cards aren't eligible after the debate phase. It may not be the best move, but politics don't always make sense. If there isn't an eligible event, the !! part of the die roll is not resolved.
On very rare occasions, due to the rules above, an Active Side may end up triggering the event of a card that they played previously for the CP. Not only is this legal, but required if it is the the top-most eligible card in the discard.
Momentum Phase - Issue Shift
The Side with the most media support cubes will prioritize shifting the left-most issue, that they are leading, left.
If they are already leading the left-most issue OR they are not leading in any issue, they will prioritize shifting the left-most opponent-led issue, with the most opponent support, right. In all other cases, no shift will occur.
Campaign Strategy Phase
During the Campaign Strategy Phase, one or two cards are selected to be added to each Side's Campaign Strategy Card Stack on the board from those that are face-up on their respective Side's Card Display. Afterward, refill now empty Slots with face-down cards from the Campaign deck.
It is possible to have more cards face-up on the Card Display than can be selected. If this is the case, choose one or two OR use the Random Card Selection Chart to select which card(s) move to the Campaign Strategy Card Stack from those that are face-up.
Alternatively, it is possible to have not enough cards face-up during this phase. If this is the case, automatically select any face-up cards—replacing them with face-down cards—and then use the last row on the Random Card Selection Chart to select which card(s) move to the Campaign Strategy Card Stack from those that are face-down.
The Debates - Turn 6
After determining initiative, take each Side's Campaign Strategy Card Stack, shuffle it, and place each card face-up in slots A-E on the Card Display covering the cards that are already there. These top cards are the Debate Cards.
During the Debate! step, the candidates take on a life of their own, randomly establishing strong platforms or making weak arguments as they see fit. For each of the five-card play turns, roll on the Random Card Selection Chart and then play the Debate Card in that slot from each Side's Card Displays to their appropriate spots on the debate display. Then, when necessary, slide the Debate Cards left on each Card Display before rolling for the next card play.
Once an issue is won, resolve the win as usual and then remove all Debate Cards whose Debate Icons match that of the issue just resolved. Then, if necessary, slide the Debate Cards left on each Card Display before rolling for the next card play this time using the row corresponding to the highest number of Debate Cards in either Card Display. If a slot without a Debate Card is rolled for one Side, then the right-most Debate Card on the Card Display is played.
When the debate is over, shuffle the played cards and discard face-up.
Election Day - Turn 9
The Election Day turn plays out as normal with one exception. The Election Day Events cards, if any, are shuffled and then randomly resolved one at a time.
Card Modifications
Candidate Card
The Candidate Card is special because it is always an additional option as long as it isn't exhausted, no matter which result was rolled on the Fate Die. In other words, after the Fate Die is rolled and any cards associated with the result are flipped face-up, the Candidate Card may be played instead of the options given by the Fate Die result.
When the !! is part of the Fate Die result, it triggers before a card is played. Therefore, the !! can happen regardless of whether the Candidate Card is chosen to be played.
Gathering Momentum Cards (#14-17)
A Gathering Momentum card may never be placed in the Campaign Strategy Card Stack. Therefore, if it is face-up in the Card Display during the Campaign Strategy Phase, ignore it during selection. If it is randomly revealed, roll again until you get an eligible card and then flip any randomly revealed Gathering Momentum card(s) face-down.
Discard and Redraw Cards
Campaign Headquarters (#53), "A New Frontier" (#57), A Low Blow (#94)
When an event gives the option to discard and redraw cards, the Active Side may discard, from left to right, any face-up card on their Card Display and then replace each card with a face-up card from the Campaign Deck.
Retrieve From the Discard Cards
Nelson Rockefeller (#27), The Great Seal Bug (#29), Tricky Dick (#58), Adlai Stevenson (#66)
When an event gives the option to retrieve a card from the discard pile, both face-up and face-down cards in the discard pile may be selected. The selected card fills the Slot just vacated by the played card face-up. Be sure to maintain facing for any card that isn't selected.
"Lazy Shave" (#34)
If played, this card allows the Kennedy Side to, once during the debates, ignore the randomly selected card and pick a different card from their display.
Kennedy's Peace Corps (#81)
When this card's event is in play, each card played by the Kennedy Side is discarded face-down for the remainder of the turn.
Political Capital (#91)
When played, flip all cards in Nixon's Card Display face-up, then discard up to two cards and replace the now empty Slots with face-down cards from the Campaign Deck.
Reshuffling
When required to reshuffle the discard pile due to depleting the Campaign Deck, discard all face-down cards from both Card Displays, shuffle the discard pile to form the refreshed Campaign Deck, and place a face-down card in each empty slot on each display.
Random Card Selection Chart
| # of Face-up Cards | 1d6 Random Determination |
|---|---|
| 1 | No Roll |
| 2 | 1-3, 4-6 |
| 3 | 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 |
| 4 | 1-4 (re-roll 5 & 6) |
| 5 | 1-5 (re-roll 6) |