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studleygamer.bsky.social
@studleygamer.bsky.social
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I design Automas for boardgames (Wingspan, Terra Mystica, Scythe, Glen More II, Apiary, Gaia Project, Wyrmspan, Tapestry, Finspan, and more)
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grahamsgames.bsky.social
It’s been a while since I wrote a new #boardgame review. What better reason than to celebrate finally playing an older game? Viticulture from @stonemaiergames.com gets played solo. Let’s see if it has a snazzy bouquet…

boardgamegeek.com/blog/12040/b...
Review Time - Viticulture Solo: Aging Like a Fine Wine? | GrahamS Games
boardgamegeek.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:19 AM
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extraspicyramen.bsky.social
4/

Okay, okay, I’ll stop ignoring the Automa cards in my Wingspan I’m SORRY.
Pedersen's Automa system is more a philosophy and approach than an official system, and he and many other designers have used its principles to create Automas for games as varied as Scythe, Anachrony, Baseball Highlights 2045, and Between Two Cities. The key principles are that the solo game should feel as much as possible like the multiplayer game and that AIs should be representational, rather than procedural. The Al doesn't observe the rules and doesn't play the game as a player might. Rather, the AI focuses on the impact that an opponent has on the player's plans and emulates those—a kind of Potemkin player. In Pedersen's words, the Al is only the shell of a human player, and while the humans in a game of Viticulture have vineyards and grow grapes, the Automa players do not; they just give the impression that they do. In practice, Automas will claim action spaces, draft cards, block routes, and otherwise interfere with human players, but they will not collect resources, build buildings, or score victory points.
January 11, 2026 at 12:58 AM
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stonemaiergames.com
Viticulture: Bordeaux Expansion! Today is the full reveal of this new board I designed (scroll to see what makes it unique). There’s also a video on YouTube today and a link on our website to the full rulebook. Welcome to Bordeaux! stonemaiergames.com/games/viticu...
January 13, 2026 at 2:52 PM