Lanterns: The Harvest Festival - Tips & Strategies

Grab four of one color, and get those dedication tokens. Next try for three pair, and then (if necessary) one of each of the seven colors. This strategy will get you the most favor tokens with a given number of cards. The 10 point favor token for “one of each color” is tempting, but it requires seven cards. You can get two “four of a kind” favor tokens (worth 5-8 points each) with just eight cards. The compromise is “three pair”; for six cards you get a favor token worth 5-9 points.

Lanterns is well designed and works nicely with two, three, or four players. But I have noted (particularly in a two player game) that collecting “four of a kind” is easy when compared with “three pair” and “seven different colors”. It’s a cinch to ignore the combos that require six or seven cards, and focus on those needing four. To help offset the imbalance, try removing the seven and eight point “four of a kind” favor tokens and the nine point “three pair” favor token. Then the nine and 10 point favor tokens for collecting “seven different colors” will be more enticing.

I’ve worked out a solo variant for Lanterns, because it is definitely enough of a puzzle to work solo. Here are the rules that I’ve come up with. My games so far have been challenging and I’m hoping others might provide feedback.

Setup:
– Use only the dedication tokens for the 2 player game
– Use only 5 of each lantern color
– Use only 12 lake tiles (excluding the start tile)
– Place the start tile with red facing you (this is good luck, you’re going to need it)

Game Play:
As with the original game your turn follows the order:
– Exchange a Lantern (optional)
– Make a Dedication (optional)
– Place a Lake Tile (mandatory)

Use the following rules when placing tiles:
– Whenever you place a lake tile, first take your lanterns, then place all of the other lanterns that would be distributed in a 4-player game in the Grandmaster’s tableau.
– Any time you place a platform tile and take a favor token, place a favor token in the Grandmaster’s tableau. (Note: This doesn’t apply when you match a platform only when you play one.)

Opposition scoring:
– After you play a tile and distribute lantern cards, check to see if the Grandmaster can score. The Grandmaster will score according to the following:
1. The Grandmaster will always take the highest scoring tile possible, whether this means using favors or not.
2. When using favors to exchange lanterns, the Grandmaster will always return a lantern of the most common color available. If there is a tie, the player may choose which color lantern to return.

Next round:
– Once you have checked scoring for the Grandmaster, you may then move on to your next turn.

All other rules are the same.