Arkwright – Solitaire Variant

by Mark Hunter

The following is a set of rules for a solitaire game play of the Water Frame rules for Arkwright. To play
this you need the additional use of two dice (one colored, the other white) and a standard set of playing
cards. The rules are designed to allow you to focus on your factory development while not being
burdened by decisions and tracking of non-player factories. The rules however attempt to give you the
feel and pressure of playing against 3 other players. The other “players” will be abstracted to play in a
manner to push and challenge you as you might encounter in an actual 4 player game. All Arkwright
rules apply with the exception of the changes explained below.

Set-up

Setup the board as you would for a 4-player Water Frame game. In this version you will only play one
side, wherein the other “player” colors will be handled by the solitaire game system. You will only track
your factories on your factory board.

First/Second Pre-phase
Select your first factory, workers and then set the starting price. Then give each of the other 3 colors a
different factory type. Do not set up a factory board for them but rather just place their cube on the
relevant price track in the 0 price location. Remove from the manpower track the appropriate number
of workers normally used to fill the first two rolls of these factory but in this case place them aside the
board in a designated non-player location. During the game, these workers may return to the workforce
as explained in the rules below. Use the chart provided to set their starting appeal by rolling one colored
die and adjusting the track accordingly.

Follow this procedure for the second factory selection pre-phase, but in this case after selecting your
factory of choice, give each of the other “players” a factory of a different type. Select price and set
workers as previously explained. Every starting color will now have two factories (though you only
control 2) and each will have one competing factory in each type.

Select Action Tile

Select your starting one action tile from the ones available on the Water Frame grey action tile board
and then remove 3 others from the 1760/70 roll at random. Symbolizing the ones selected by other
players, these are removed from the game.

Factory Payment
Conduct your stock action to pay for your factory and raise other starting capital as you normally would.
Ignore conducting this for the other players.
 Game Sequence –
Repeat round for each factory type
Note – You should do this even in the phases you do not have factories since you will still need to conduct your
action AND then conduct the other “player’s” steps

◊ Select and apply your action tile

◊ Roll for non-player appeal (color die), worker effects (white die), stock adjustment (both die added
together)
◊ Produce goods determining your net £ gain (production minus costs)
◊ Adjust your stock price

Actions: For each factory type activated you should choose and play your action tile applying the results
as you normally would (including selecting a new action tile if necessary) but for the other “player’s”
appeal cube roll two dice on the provided chart. The colored die will determine how many spaces the
appeal will be adjusted upward for that “player” while the white die will adjust the effect this action will
have on the workforce (adding to unemployed or reducing the available workers). Add together the two
dice and move that non-player’s stock price upward that many spaces. For each of the non-player active
factories draw one card from a standard playing card deck and remove from the game the selected
action tile as determined by the provided chart.

Production and Stock Adjustment: Conduct production and sale as you normally do using the current
standing of the cubes on the appeal track. Apply the results to your factory but ignore the non-player’s
actual gains since this has already been abstractly determined. Take your gain and subtract your factory
costs resulting in profit for that production cycle. Adjust your stock price upward by multiplying the net
gain (money gained minus factory cost) by .5 for the first decade (1770) ignoring all fractions. Each
following decade will reduce the multiplier by .1 so the second decade 1780 will be .4, 1790 .3, 1800 .2
concluding with 1810 at .1. So for example, if your net gain for the 1770 production cycle was 12, you
would move your stock price up 6 spaces to 16 (£13). If this was the decade 1780 the same production
of 12 would yield only a 4 step gain to (£12). When fulfilling a contract sale to the East India Company do
not move the stock price backwards as in the standard rules and do not consider worker’s cost, but only
count half of the amount sold when calculating stock price adjustment. For example a fulfilled contract
to India for £48 in 1800 move the stock price 4 spaces (48/2 *.2 = 4.8).

Scoring End Game

Assume all non-playing colors have repurchased all their starting 15 shares during the course of play.
Based on this, compare their end portfolio to yours to determine the winner.
 Non-Playing Character Adjustments
Appeal (colored die) Workforce (white die)
cdr result wdr result
1 +1 1 Workforce: -2
2 +1 2 Workforce: -3
3 +2 3 Workforce: -4
4 +2 4 Unemployed: +2
5 +2 5 Unemployed: +3
6 Match highest cube 6 Unemployed: +3
+x = number of steps to move the appeal marker Workforce: -x = number of worker meeples removed from the board
“match highest cube = move cube to whatever is the highest appeal in placed in designated non-player location
that factory column. Unemployed: +x = number of worker meeples moved from non-player
location onto game board unemployed section

Action Tiles Non-Player Selection (remove from game when selected)

Brown Production Tiles Grey Action Tiles Water Frame setup Board
A School A 1760/70 space 1
2 Charisma 2 1760/70 space 2
3 Developer 3 1760/70 space 3
4 Engineering Works 4 1760/70 space 4
5 Patent 5 1760/70 space 5
6 Inventor 6 1760/70 space 6
7 Agent in the Colonies 7 1780/90 space 1
8 Accountant 8 1780/90 space 2
9 Foreman 9 1780/90 space 3
10 Engineer 10 1780/90 space 4
J Small Warehouse J 1780/90 space 5
Q Broker Q 1780/90 space 6
K Extra Shifts K 1780/90 space 7

A Patron Food A 1800/10 space 1

2 Patron Clothes 2 1800/10 space 2
3 Patron Cutlery 3 1800/10 space 3
4 Patron Lamps 4 1800/10 space 4
5 Agent in the Colonies 5 1800/10 space 5
6 Office 6 1800/10 space 6
7 Administrator 7 1800/10 space 7
8 Workshop 8 IV space 1
9 Remove none 9 IV space 2
10 Remove none 10 IV space 3
J Remove none J IV space 4
Q Remove none Q IV space 5
K Remove none K IV space 6
Select card for each non-playing color during each action phase. Remove selected tile from play. If selected tile has multiples,
insert card back into deck and reshuffle to potentially be removed again in later phase.