Hi Faraway players!
I’d like to share some thoughts on this game. Faraway is one of my favorite games so far. The rules and scoring are very neat. It depends on luck, but still need some skills. If you have a clear idea of the card distribution and have played 10-20 games already, it’s not hard to be a strong player. Now, I played 44 games here with 89% win rate and 80 points per game on average. I decided to retire from this game and hope to see more players passing me soon!
1. Card list and icon distribution
I don’t have physical game. The card list is from games I have played. I may make mistakes but please let me know.
Some terms and abbreviations:
Y=yellow, B=blue, G=green, R=red, BI=blue icon, RI=red icon, GI=green icon, N=night, C=clue, S=set
Here are some findings from card list:
• Color: 17 cards each color, not evenly distributed
• Night: 21 night cards from No.20-No.40
• Icon in total: 18 blue icons, 14 red icons, 10 green icons
• Clues: 17 clues
• Small number cards have more icons but low score or small multiplier. Large number cards have few icons, more clues, larger multiplier or score but require more icons.
• Green icons are the rarest.
• All color multiplier cards are yellow and all bi-color multiplier cards give score on yellow.
• Four 10/set cards: No.18, 23, 35,43
• Overall, I think the distribution of cards is very balanced. You will find a chance to play all of them under some circumstances. There are only a few cards worse than others literally. (small score cards, 1* bicolor multiplier cards)
2. Basic strategy
Sanctuary is very important. Players usually can’t win with 4 or less sanctuaries, which means you should expect to create at most 3 ascending sequences, ideally 2, in very rare case 1. In most games, I try to have 2 ascending sequences with 6 sanctuaries.
In the first ascending sequence, I usually make it as long as possible, say 4-6 cards. Because all these cards can share the icons from the second sequence. Some good cards to play in the first sequence are large multiplier, cards with clue, 10/set cards, and big score cards. Don’t waste the double icon cards in the first sequence. Your first card matters a lot!!! Even some good or strong players don’t get this. People like to play middle or big number cards as the first card because of the tempting multiplier, such as those 4* ones. My first card, if possible, is usually a small number card with clue or 2-3* multiplier. Card with clue is my priority. Because clues are the most important resource in early game, which provide flexibility later. Such cards are No. 6,8,12,15,20,22. Another benefit by playing small number card first is that you can compete for the better card on the deck in the first 2-3 rounds. In a 2-player game, picking first is extremely important in the first 2 rounds. Leave some small number cards to your opponent and collect the high number ones. In this way, you can force the other player to end the first sequence earlier, which is bad. Then, play some big number cards and collect cards with icons for the second sequence.
In the second ascending sequence, some cards good to play are the double icon cards (No. 1,2,4,7,32,39). Also, in this stage, you can do some counter drafting because you will have a clear idea what your opponent needs right now.
3. Strategy for high score
I would call 70+ a good score, and 90+ a winning score.
It’s very intuitive that you should not pick every type of multiplier in one game but focus on 2-3 categories. Also, don’t be too greedy, say you play a card that need 4 red icons and another card that need 3 green icons.
There are 6 kinds of score source: icon multiplier, color multiplier, night multiplier, clue multiplier, set, score.
Night multiplier: It has some level of built-in consistency, which means 4 out of 7 such cards are also night cards. You could get a pretty good score by playing night multiplier cards and night cards only. But it’s easy to counter drafting as well. No.41, a 4* night multiplier is a trap. If you play it as first card, well, you won’t be able to get any points from the first sequence. It’s ideal to get 2-3 night cards from sanctuary as well.
Color multiplier: Another built-in consistency set. Just play more yellow cards. However, according to my experience, you either get extremely high scores or extremely low scores playing around yellow cards. The 4* color multiplier cards are just so-so.
Icon and clue multiplier: These cards are everywhere. Play accordingly.
Set: You should expect 20 points for each card if played in the first sequence, sometimes 30 points, instead of just 10. Collect some colorful sanctuary cards. There’s once I got all 4 set cards and got 114 points.
Score cards: Small number score cards are those you should avoid most of time. But others are the most reliable score in this game. Just make sure you are not too greedy, say No.68. No.2 card is life saver for those pure blue icon cards.
4. Counter drafting
I think in this game, focusing on your own engine is a better strategy than counter drafting. But if you have a chance, pick cards with icons on them, especially rare green icons. Also, check out what other players’ strategies are from time to time. Interestingly, my win rate against strong/good players is much higher than average players. Probably because they are doing counter drafting a lot, which sometimes is a worse choice.
Anyway, there are still sometimes that you know you will lose the game after seeing the start hand. Luck is heavy. Some ways to balance luck: 1) play advanced variant, 2) more clues early game, 3) counter drafting. Even though, I think being a strong player and having a 70%+ win rate is not hard for this game. Good luck my friends!
I’d like to share some thoughts on this game. Faraway is one of my favorite games so far. The rules and scoring are very neat. It depends on luck, but still need some skills. If you have a clear idea of the card distribution and have played 10-20 games already, it’s not hard to be a strong player. Now, I played 44 games here with 89% win rate and 80 points per game on average. I decided to retire from this game and hope to see more players passing me soon!
1. Card list and icon distribution
I don’t have physical game. The card list is from games I have played. I may make mistakes but please let me know.
Some terms and abbreviations:
Y=yellow, B=blue, G=green, R=red, BI=blue icon, RI=red icon, GI=green icon, N=night, C=clue, S=set
- Screenshot 2023-10-09 170444.png (41.3 KiB) Viewed 3185 times
- Screenshot 2023-10-09 170522.png (39.68 KiB) Viewed 3185 times
• Color: 17 cards each color, not evenly distributed
• Night: 21 night cards from No.20-No.40
• Icon in total: 18 blue icons, 14 red icons, 10 green icons
• Clues: 17 clues
• Small number cards have more icons but low score or small multiplier. Large number cards have few icons, more clues, larger multiplier or score but require more icons.
• Green icons are the rarest.
• All color multiplier cards are yellow and all bi-color multiplier cards give score on yellow.
• Four 10/set cards: No.18, 23, 35,43
• Overall, I think the distribution of cards is very balanced. You will find a chance to play all of them under some circumstances. There are only a few cards worse than others literally. (small score cards, 1* bicolor multiplier cards)
2. Basic strategy
Sanctuary is very important. Players usually can’t win with 4 or less sanctuaries, which means you should expect to create at most 3 ascending sequences, ideally 2, in very rare case 1. In most games, I try to have 2 ascending sequences with 6 sanctuaries.
In the first ascending sequence, I usually make it as long as possible, say 4-6 cards. Because all these cards can share the icons from the second sequence. Some good cards to play in the first sequence are large multiplier, cards with clue, 10/set cards, and big score cards. Don’t waste the double icon cards in the first sequence. Your first card matters a lot!!! Even some good or strong players don’t get this. People like to play middle or big number cards as the first card because of the tempting multiplier, such as those 4* ones. My first card, if possible, is usually a small number card with clue or 2-3* multiplier. Card with clue is my priority. Because clues are the most important resource in early game, which provide flexibility later. Such cards are No. 6,8,12,15,20,22. Another benefit by playing small number card first is that you can compete for the better card on the deck in the first 2-3 rounds. In a 2-player game, picking first is extremely important in the first 2 rounds. Leave some small number cards to your opponent and collect the high number ones. In this way, you can force the other player to end the first sequence earlier, which is bad. Then, play some big number cards and collect cards with icons for the second sequence.
In the second ascending sequence, some cards good to play are the double icon cards (No. 1,2,4,7,32,39). Also, in this stage, you can do some counter drafting because you will have a clear idea what your opponent needs right now.
3. Strategy for high score
I would call 70+ a good score, and 90+ a winning score.
It’s very intuitive that you should not pick every type of multiplier in one game but focus on 2-3 categories. Also, don’t be too greedy, say you play a card that need 4 red icons and another card that need 3 green icons.
There are 6 kinds of score source: icon multiplier, color multiplier, night multiplier, clue multiplier, set, score.
Night multiplier: It has some level of built-in consistency, which means 4 out of 7 such cards are also night cards. You could get a pretty good score by playing night multiplier cards and night cards only. But it’s easy to counter drafting as well. No.41, a 4* night multiplier is a trap. If you play it as first card, well, you won’t be able to get any points from the first sequence. It’s ideal to get 2-3 night cards from sanctuary as well.
Color multiplier: Another built-in consistency set. Just play more yellow cards. However, according to my experience, you either get extremely high scores or extremely low scores playing around yellow cards. The 4* color multiplier cards are just so-so.
Icon and clue multiplier: These cards are everywhere. Play accordingly.
Set: You should expect 20 points for each card if played in the first sequence, sometimes 30 points, instead of just 10. Collect some colorful sanctuary cards. There’s once I got all 4 set cards and got 114 points.
Score cards: Small number score cards are those you should avoid most of time. But others are the most reliable score in this game. Just make sure you are not too greedy, say No.68. No.2 card is life saver for those pure blue icon cards.
4. Counter drafting
I think in this game, focusing on your own engine is a better strategy than counter drafting. But if you have a chance, pick cards with icons on them, especially rare green icons. Also, check out what other players’ strategies are from time to time. Interestingly, my win rate against strong/good players is much higher than average players. Probably because they are doing counter drafting a lot, which sometimes is a worse choice.
Anyway, there are still sometimes that you know you will lose the game after seeing the start hand. Luck is heavy. Some ways to balance luck: 1) play advanced variant, 2) more clues early game, 3) counter drafting. Even though, I think being a strong player and having a 70%+ win rate is not hard for this game. Good luck my friends!
