Tips faraway

Starting Hand Strategy: Basic and Advanced Variants

Faraway has 2 variants that involve how you acquire your first cards: the basic variant where you are give a set of three you must play, and the advanced variant of being offered 5 cards, and you choose 3 to keep. In both cases, your first cards will set the strategy you should follow the rest of the game.

In the basic variant, you will be given three cards to play with. You should try to maximize possible points (fame) by choosing subsequent cards based on what options will increase your Fame (points). If you get 4 points for a certain color if you have 2 treasures, aim to choose cards with that exact treasure on that exact card color to maximize the Fame value of your choice.  And place the cards in ascending order as much as possible to increase how many bonus Sanctuary cards you have by the end. You lose possible points everytime you must place a lower value card after a higher value card.

It is also important to try to get 2-3 clue cards near the beginning of the game to maximize your options when you earn Sanctuary cards at the end of each round.  You will probably end up with more clues that happen to be on cards you choose for other reason, but try to specifically choose cards *because* they have clues at the start of the game.

Advanced Variant strategy:  You are offered 5 cards and must choose 3 to keep. It is best to choose ~two cards with high point value (>= 10), a fixed point value, a low number card (to get first choice on the next set of cards), and a at least one clue symbol.

Also try to choose 2 or even 3 cards that score points (fame) for the same symbol, such as points for clues, treasure (Uddu stones, Goldlog Thistles, and Okiko Chimeras), colors….  These will multiply the value of later card choices.

Collecting Symbols for Prerequisites

Cards that have a many different prerequisites are fine - at least in the beginning. It's not that hard to get them all fulfilled. For example, you may get one card that yields 15 fame points if you have 2 okiko chimeras + 1 goldlog thistle, and another card that yields 12 fame points if you have 1 thistle + 2 uddu stones. That's five symbols in total (reusing the thistle), which is absolutely doable, and often easier to achieve than, say, 3 thistles and nothing else.

NOTE: The uddu stone is the most common of the three wonder symbols. The goldlog thistle is the least common.

Symbols on sanctuaries apply to every card. Most of the symbols needed to fulfill prerequisites should come from sanctuaries. Try to get between 5 and 7 per game. Considering that a game lasts 8 rounds and you can't get a sanctuary on the first round, that means only having 0 to 2 breaks in your streak of ascending cards.

Choosing Cards to Play

Playing cards in ascending order gives you more opportunities to search for sanctuaries, which are crucial for obtaining victory - and there are no bad sanctuaries. Just some that might not fit your strategy. Play cards with clues early on to receive a better selection of sanctuaries. Ideally, play a card with a clue and a low number as your first card to maximize those chances. When in doubt, prioritize the clue, as having a choice between two sanctuaries yields significantly better results than just pure luck of the draw, and since the higher cards with clues also tend to have complex prerequisites, which you want to have ample time / cards to fulfill.

Later, try to stick to the ascending order unless a card will greatly benefit from being played earlier (such as, for example, cards scoring based on sets of the 4 colors). Weigh this against the average sanctuary (that you will not get if you break your streak), which is perhaps worth somewhere around 5 fame points.

Don't focus too much on playing cards to fulfill the prerequisites of previous cards. Focus instead on cards that score many fame points. The symbols on your sanctuaries should take care of most of the prerequisites. Also, don't blindly try to fulfill every last prerequisite just out of principle. You'll exhaust yourself and miss opportunities to pivot. Always think about the potential reward first.

Picking Sanctuaries

Symbols on sanctuaries apply to every card. This can be especially helpful for the last few cards you play, and can allow you to play cards with high fame yield even at the end (where they will likely fit your streak best, as cards with high fame potential also tend to have a high number).

Scoring options on sanctuaries take all cards into consideration, but the scoring options mostly aren't very powerful. Pick a sanctuary with a scoring option if it has a symbol you want as well, or if it yields 2 points per a symbol that you are already focused on.

There are sanctuaries as well as regions that score for having sets of the 4 colors. If you're playing the base game without expansions, all other things being equal, choose a sanctuary with a color. Having sanctuaries of a couple of different colors can make color-set-based scoring conditions much more effective, even towards the end. If you're playing with the "People From Below" expansion, this is not a hard and fast rule anymore, since the expansion also introduces scoring based on colorless cards.