Dinosaur Island Solo: Seven Rounds Against the Clock

The solo game comes in the base box and follows the normal rules with a few changes. It is a tight puzzle: a fixed seven rounds, a smaller visitor bag that shrinks when dinosaurs eat, and an AI deck that removes options each round. It is also the best way to practice the engine without anyone else’s choices in the way.

Solo setup changes

• Use 5 DNA dice, chosen at random.
• Put only 22 patrons and 3 hooligans in the bag.
• Shuffle the 16 solo objective cards and draw 10. Choose 7 to play with, face up.
• Shuffle the 3 you did not choose with the 6 you did not draw. Those 9 cards are the face-down AI deck.
• Put a worker of an unused color on “Round 1” of the round tracker card.
• You may play without plot twists.

Everything else, from your lab and park to startup cash, is set up as normal.

What changes each round

Research. After rolling the dice, reveal the top AI card. Icons at the bottom tell you which dice to remove this round, and which recipe, attractions, lab upgrades, and specialists to discard, if any.

Market. Play as normal, but there will always be two empty spaces in the market from the AI card’s discards.

Worker. Play as normal.

Park. Play as normal, except every eaten patron is removed from the game, not returned to the bag.

Cleanup. At the end of the phase, check whether you completed any objectives. You may score any completed ones, removing them. If you score none this round, discard one of the remaining objectives, with no penalty. Then advance the round tracker.

The scoring ladder

An objective’s value depends on the round you score it:

The game ends after round 7. Score attractions, exhibits, and money as normal. If you never discarded an objective, score a 10 VP bonus.

The bonus changes the plan

You have 7 objectives and 7 rounds. To avoid discarding, you must score at least one objective every round. Scoring two in one round leaves a later round with nothing to score, so the rulebook’s own hint is to score exactly one per round. Holding a completed objective for a round costs VPs on the ladder, but losing the bonus costs 10.

The total from the ladder, scoring one per round, is 10 + 10 + 7 + 5 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 38 VPs, plus the 10 VP bonus, for 48 VPs from objectives alone.

That means two things:

• Pick your 7 at setup with the order in mind. You need an objective you can finish in round 1, another by round 2, and so on. Easy, early-reachable objectives are as valuable as hard ones, because the round decides the score.
• Bank completed objectives. If you complete two in round 3, score one and plan to score the other in round 4. You check objectives in Cleanup, so make sure the one you hold back will still be met at the next check.

Choosing your seven

Of the 10 you draw, set aside 3. Look for:

• Objectives you can finish in round 1 or 2. They are worth 10. Whatever your opening can complete fast belongs here.
• Objectives that build on each other. Creating dinosaurs of 3 different species and upgrading and filling paddocks both come from the same engine.
• Round-specific objectives such as making sure no patrons are eaten this round, which you can time for a round when your security is high.

The 3 you set aside go into the AI deck, where they become cards that discard your options.

The shrinking bag

Eaten patrons leave the game. Starting at 22 patrons and 3 hooligans, each eaten patron makes every later draw slightly worse. After 6 patrons are eaten, the bag is 16 patrons and 3 hooligans, and the share of hooligans rises from 12 percent to almost 16 percent. In solo, security is not just this round’s points. It is the quality of every future round.

A seven round outline

• Rounds 1 and 2: score the two easiest objectives, 10 VPs each. Grab workers and Dino Research II.
• Rounds 3 and 4: build the engine; score one objective each round.
• Rounds 5 to 7: fill paddocks, buy attractions with leftover money, and leave nothing empty at the end.

Track your solo scores over time. Our list of the best solo board games has more for the evenings you play alone.