Oceania Variant

Here's an unusual solo variant I had posted somewhere else a while ago that I just stumbled upon in my files. What makes it unusual is that the game - Klaus Teuber's Oceania - actually already came with a solo variant, but that variant didn't use all of the pieces from the two-player version. So, my solo variant attempted to use all of the elements.

Set Up
Prepare the game components as usual for a two-player game, but with one exception. Place the 8 grey Scout Tiles in the zip lock bag provided in the game box.

Game Play
Play as you would the one-player version. However, when an island is completed, Pirates invade, and you must decide if the land you've just discovered is worth defending!

Island Battle
As soon as an island is completed, randomly draw a number of Pirates from the bag equal to half the number of tiles that make up the island, rounded down. Those Pirates are invading that island. In order to repel the invaders, you must commit a number of your own Scouts to that island such that their value exceeds the value of the invading Pirates by at least one. If you are able to defend and do so, your Scouts remain on the island for the rest of the game, and the Pirates return to their ship (the zip lock bag). If you don't want to defend or cannot defend, the Pirates remain and claim the land as their own. If more than one island is created on a single turn, the Pirates will invade in the order of the largest island to the smallest.

Pirates will always try to invade an island, even when they're running low on manpower. If a 6-tile island is at stake, but there's only one Pirate tile left, Pirates will still attack because that one Pirate tile may out-value your remaining Scouts!

Additional Rules
When you've run out of Sea Tiles due to discarding, return the discarded tiles to the box lid (excluding the three removed from the game at the beginning) and continue drawing until all of the spaces on the board are explored or no Sea Tile remains that can be placed legally.

Scoring
You and the Pirates score one point for each Sea Tile that makes up a completed island under one's control. You lose one point for each unexplored space on the board. (Discarded tiles are not included in the scoring.)