Great Western Trail Automa 1.

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by Wil Gerken

Under the inspiration of Morten Monrad Pedersens Viticulture Automa, I thought I would take a stab at
creating an Automa deck for Great Western Trail.

My goal with this deck was to try to mimic what other players do in a multiplayer game such as placing
buildings, buying cattle cards, taking objective cards, and claiming station bonuses. I also wanted to avoid
having to do any bookkeeping for the automa opponent (no money, no hand of cards, no having to think out
their turn, etc). The end goal being to keep it as fiddly free and simple as possible so I could focus on my own
game yet still have an opponent mucking with things.

If you can help with some playtesting to refine this, that would be greatly appreciated. Once we feel its
working, Ill add some art so its not just a simple black and white deck.

Setup

Choose a color for the dummy player and give them a name. I call my opponent Brisco.

Set up a standard game for two players with the following modifications:

Shuffle the automa deck. Brisco will use this deck instead of the players cards.

Create a point pile for Brisco and place Briscos starting objective, purchased cattle, and any gained
objectives throughout the game in this pile

Do not give the Brisco any money. Brisco will never earn money or spend money. This is simply to
eliminate the bookkeeping.

Brisco always goes first which also means you start with 7 coins.

Brisco begins at the start of the trail. You can start your first move wherever youd like just as in the
standard 1st turn rules.

Gameplay

On Briscos turn, simply turn over the next Automa card and do as it says.

If Brisco advance into Kansas City, do the following:

Step 1, 2, and 3 - Play as usual. Your choose what to place.

Skip steps 4 and 5 as Brisco doesnt have a hand of cards.

Place a disk from Briscos player mat. The first disk should be placed in Colorado Springs. Place all
subsequent disks to the right of the last disk you placed. For example, first disk in Colorado Springs,
second in Santa Fe, third in Albuquerque, etc. If you get to San Francisco keep stacking them there.

When you have the opportunity to place a black disk for Brisco such as Albuquerque, place the black disks that
increase movement speed first. This will impact the amount Brisco moves on a few Automa cards.

If placing a disk triggers collecting an objective card, take the card with the highest point value and put it in
Briscos point pile
Additional Notes

Most valuable, and most valued always means highest victory points such as the #10 building, not the #1.

Briscos movement should always be the shortest path to Kansas City, even if that means going through
hazards.

If Brisco passes one of your hazard buildings, you still get the money as usual but it comes from the bank
since Brisco doesnt have any money.

Brisco will always stop at a station IF his train is ahead of yours. Place a disk, and if relevant place a
worker and claim the station master tile if available. The point of this is to 1) claim the station tile ahead of
you, and 2) Not let Brisco get too far ahead so the trains stay tight

Scoring is standard with the exception that Brisco scores all objective cards they have regardless of
completing them.

Brisco also scores any station tile bonuses based on the teepees and anything else they collected.

Additional Notes / FAQ:

* When the automa deck runs out, shuffle it and continue drawing one card
for each turn Brisco takes.

* For Brisco, play with the A side buildings. For yourself, pick whatever
you'd like A/B mixed during the setup of the game.

* For card 9 (placing the most valuable building in next space in front of
you). This is not as clear as it could have been. The intention is that
Brisco does not follow normal building rules using builders and money, and
instead literally places the number 10a building in the space in front of
where you are currently at. It's a black hand building and a 13 pointer so
it stings. The next time this card is drawn, he does the same with building
number 9a, and then number 8a etc. In general 3 buildings (10a, 9a, and 8a)
will be placed throughout the course of the game yielding 28 points so this
is a good chunk of Brisco's score and slows you down and takes your money
as well.
 Move Forward 1 Move Forward 1
Move Forward 1
Move Train up to 3 Move Train up to 3
Take least
spaces forward. spaces forward.
expensive worker
If train is ahead of If train is ahead of
If multiple to choose
your train, stop at a your train, stop at a
from, choose the
station and gain the station and gain the
top, left most worker
tile if possible tile if possible

Move Forward 1

Move Forward 1 Move Forward 1 Take least

expensive worker
Take highest Take lowest valued
valued cattle card cattle card If multiple to choose
from, choose the
top, left most worker

Move Forward 1
Move Forward 1 Move Forward 1
Place most valuable
Take highest Take highest
building in next
valued teepee valued hazard
space in front of you
 Move Forward Move Forward Move Forward
based on current based on current based on current
speed speed speed

3, 4, or 5 spaces 3, 4, or 5 spaces 3, 4, or 5 spaces

Move Forward 1
Move Forward 1
Take highest value
Objective Card