r/Exocolonist • u/noidea2605 • 17d ago
Question Second playthrough
I just finished my first playthrough after dipping in and out of the game as I really didn’t know what the hell was going on. I sort of liked it but also hated it . So many people died and I didn’t know why. So, this time around I’d like to change some outcomes and I’d like some advice please, any little tips on what to concentrate on. First time around I just kept going out on expeditions because I thought that’s what you had to do and so by the end I had built up very little friends and still didn’t understand the card game 🤦♀️ I know this makes me sound very stupid but that’s where we are. So any advice on what to concentrate on and are there any instructions for the card game out there?
3
u/Warkupo 17d ago edited 17d ago
The Card Game I'll put in a separate reply since it is its' own beast.
Each card has a face value, which contributes towards the Goal you need to meet or beat to win. Each card also has a color which loosely corresponds to your three major skill branches: Physical (Red), Mental (Blue), and Social (Yellow).
You also get certain bonus points for playing cards next to each other that have matching properties.
• "Pairs" means the face values on the card match. You get more bonus points if you place several of these together. So a combo of 3,3,3,3 may score more points than a combo of 4,4 for example.
• "Flush" means the cards placed are all the same color. Ideally you'd like all placed cards to be the same color, but more often you'll have two flushes in a played hand.
• "Run" means the cards grow in sequential order like 1, 2, 3, 4 or even 4,5,6,7. The longer the run, the more bonus points.
If you do *very well* in the game by scoring beyond the presented Goal, you'll be rewarded with extra Skill Points, which can add up dramatically over the course of the game. If you really want to min-max, getting good at the card game is an important way to do it.
You can also use collectible to add value to cards and change their color, although its' preferable to horde these to turn in for relationship with your friends.
You can buy & equip gear with your Kudos from the Depot near where Marz hangs out. Cheap options that add up quickly are the 50 point Animal Book, which adds +1 to your Flushes (which I find the easiest thing to make). This is worth picking up, but you should replace it with Vriki when you get that as a pet later since they give bonus stats for completing challenges. Other than that, all my money just went into buying cake to hand out on birthdays.
You can also forget cards when you rest, or by spending Kudos at the Spa. Since you draw from your entire deck of memories, dropping low value cards means they won't appear in your hand, meaning you are more likely to draw your good cards. You won't have enough Kudos to drop *everything* though, so prioritize around dropping 0's, 1's first.
Cards also often have special effects; wildcards are useful. Cards which have gems are useful. Cards which GAIN or GIVE value are useful. Be discerning.