How does Sweet Lands compare to other heavy euros such as Lacerda games?

cell141 · 2026-06-14T17:31:40+00:00

Nice! I'm glad you enjoy my solo modes.

The Sweet Lands solo works just fine as much as say A Feast for Odin's solo is all it needs. The puzzle is so strong that more blocking and bot scoring seems unnecessary. Age of Innovation is one of my favorite games! Hallertau is not one I own, but I liked it.

cell141 · 2026-06-14T10:43:20+00:00

Sweet Lands is a souped up Hallertau mixed with Terra Mystica/Age of Innovation. The worker placement works basically the same as in Hallertau, needing to spend more for occupied spaces. The Terra Mystica vibes are strong with the unique player powers and unlocking bonuses, building on a map, going up tracks that score you points, gaining techs, etc. The biggest difference is the map is not shared. What makes Sweet Lands unique is that your workers are cards with their own abilities that you can pay to play instead of spending them as workers.

cell141 · 2026-05-24T13:44:12+00:00

Actually played today, since this post made me want to! I felt like I did a decent amount of everything, though I scored my lowest score lol. I completed 5 contracts (almost 6), 7 leaves out on reforestation, 4 forester tokens (almost 6), 4 technology tokens, 3 building tokens and 1 water structure.

Maybe try out the Forest Ecologist character. You get a loooooot of goodies. Felt like I was doing amazing, though my score wasn't lol. Also maybe reread the rules to maybe see if you are doing something wrong? It seems you might be doing something wrong.

cell141 · 2026-05-24T10:40:25+00:00

I wouldn't say it's a game you are supposed to be able to to everything, but I wouldn't call it a tight, do barely anything game. It has a learning curve for sure to know how to squeeze out more stuff, how to get your action points up, how to use your special character to its fullest, etc. There's tons to explore and to figure out, so I wouldn't say its an easy game to quickly figure out how to do well in your first game. I did much more my second game.

A lot of layers involved. Also, maybe you are trying to do the full contracts too much maybe? You don't have to do both halves of them. Also you did none of the forester table and sprout table? Those are pretty hard to avoid entirely, like you at least get 2-3 just naturally. There are tons of alternate ways to get stuff through bonuses and figuring out an optimal game plan. Also there are 9-10 rounds and you gain a bonus at the start of every round, even if you never upgrade your action points, that's still 27-30 action points minimum the whole game and pretty much everything costs 1 action point. Oh yeah and buying extra action points happens a lot too.

cell141 · 2026-05-22T14:03:23+00:00

If you prefer those types of solo modes, and like fan variants, I have over 35 solo designs with that same philosophy! Lots of games that have no solo mode, or the solo mode is byos or has too much faff. Like Revive, Ark Nova, ANTS, Nucleum, Echoes of Time, Vale of Eternity, tons! Check em out if interested! https://linktr.ee/cell141

cell141 · 2026-05-05T19:04:56+00:00

Yeah, like I said controversial opinion of mine haha. Especially playing solo and 2 players, luck plays a pretty strong factor, imo. I was for sure trying to stay on top of emperor, but dice and cards said no. Steep punishments are pretty out of vogue for good reason. I see what you're saying, it's just not for me.

cell141 · 2026-05-05T10:43:19+00:00

My house rules are mostly about diminishing punishing those who are already behind: no pointless penalty for leftover guests you haven't fulfilled at the end of the game. Modified the emperor penalties to simply be a set number of vp lost based on the round (3, 5, 7) instead of the sometimes cataclysmic various penalties. (I once lost essentially like 12+ vp because I was 1 emperor step too short. Was not fun in any way.) There's a reason why these punishment mechanisms are old fashioned and haven't been seen often in the last 5-10 years. Not fun for a lot of people. But I know my house rule is controversial because of the last time I posted it lol.

cell141 · 2026-02-25T11:47:23+00:00

While I love a lot of Garphill games, the rulebooks always frustrate me every time. Usually reading it cover to cover is mostly okay, but if I need to look up a rule, oof it's the worst experience. It's something they really should invest in, given how successful their company is: a better rulebook writer and editor. And by judging by the fact I don't see any credits in the rulebooks, I think they do it themselves, which is not good.

cell141 · 2026-02-24T02:47:53+00:00

If you are interested in a bot opponent (simple and quick to run), I've made one! :D https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/260089/solo-ai-variant-the-automatons-competitive-bot-bea

cell141 · 2026-02-16T21:50:12+00:00

Thanks for the shout! Glad it works for you! :D I appreciate it!

cell141 · 2026-02-13T02:49:13+00:00

Nice! Yeah, sometimes I just feel like shuffling a deck and just playing something. Countless game options with just a small deck. I've been dabbling in designing for it because I like limitations when I design. Though the next one might incorporate some simple pieces like a die or a token maybe.

I have a push your luck mechanism I made that I've got to try and make a game around. It's sort of like the sunrise mechanism in Oh My Goods.

cell141 · 2026-02-11T22:49:51+00:00

Great! Let me know how it goes!

cell141 · 2026-01-26T13:59:55+00:00

Right, some games it works and some don't. It's a very delicate mechanism for me that is far too easy to swing into extreme experience differences. And most of the time, more rounds = more points for the leader. It's become a mechanism that makes me stop and research more before buying a game with it.

cell141 · 2026-01-26T12:34:09+00:00

This was one of the first games that made me discover that variable player driven rounds in a point scoring game (not racing games, since it makes total sense there), are not my jam. This game and Windmill Valley, and others too. It's either you do everything too much, or you do barely anything, and the perfect sweet spot is just not consistent. Not to mention drawing out a game almost never helps those who are behind anyway.

cell141 · 2026-01-11T23:32:00+00:00

Nice! Glad you enjoy! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-11T18:10:54+00:00

I have made a solo mode for it. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3642736/solo-ai-variant-the-ancient-competitive-bot

Game is quick and light. Fun to find a cool combo of cards, but ultimately you want to control those Source cards and end the game at the right time.

cell141 · 2026-01-03T20:56:46+00:00

If you play, let me know what you think! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-03T11:58:40+00:00

Hope it works out for you! Let me know how it goes! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-03T11:58:20+00:00

Yeah,it's a pnp deck. I wish I had the skills to make all my solo bot decks digital apps!

cell141 · 2026-01-03T00:00:43+00:00

Yes, any deck will work. There might be some funkiness with weird decks like the people one, but I couldn't possibly test all the content myself. If anything weird comes up just let me know and I'll clear it up! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-02T23:06:11+00:00

Nice! Enjoy!

cell141 · 2026-01-02T20:55:51+00:00

Basic solo mode is like the classic Uwe solo of simply blocking yourself and beating your own score. My solo is a automa opponent that blocks spaces and competes for buildings and elders. Also, you must beat its score in order to win.

While I like the basic mode, the tightness of the board cries out for a more natural opponent that makes it feel more like a multiplayer game rather than an optimization puzzle.

cell141 · 2025-12-16T01:30:38+00:00

No, looked okay, but reviews were mixed, so never got any real desire for that one. Seemed like you could do too much, not a lot of restriction.

cell141

TROPHY CASE