I'm not understanding how you unlock new bots

[Becki M.]

I play in training mode which may be the issue. I've unlocked up to the blue bot in the games I am playing but cannot seem to get any further no matter how many games I play. It says you don't have to pay to unlock them (although I did in a couple of games) but ?? I see the "fast way" (which says I won 0/1 and I don't know what that refers to since I've won several games) and the slow way (which says I have 0% experience). It's OK, I can just keep playing the same 3 or 4 but I don't understand how it's supposed to work.

[Brandi M.]

You have to win against each bot. If you don't have a medal next to each you have to keep playing until you get one.

[Jimmy V.]

Bots are unlocked automatically when you reach a certain rating. Ratings only evolve as you play online. So you need to play online.

Playing online is the main way of playing. That's why.

But I understand that it is somewhat counter-intuitive to need to play online to be able to play "offline". You are not the first one to ask.

I hope this clarifies.

[Becki M.]

Thank you. I guess eventually I might get up the nerve to play against real people lol. I do enjoy being able to try out games before I buy them and bought several for Christmas after playing here (Mountain Goats, GPS, and Cartographers.)

[Sam O.]

To be honest, depending on the game and the time of day, you'll almost always be able to play against a bot in full online mode - it gives you the option of playing a bot if no ones sits down at your "table" for the first 10 seconds. For games other than Carto and Lost Cities, you'll almost always get a bot.
If you really don't want to play against real people, you can use the "friends only" option, and if you don't have any friends, then a bot is pretty much guaranteed! Who says being anti-social can't be beneficial

[Meri R.]

Becki M, you may already know this, but just in case: As Sam describes above, there's a way to play full online matches against bots only, if you wanted to get more experienced at the games before taking on a real player.

From the main menu, click on the "Inn" icon instead of the green dice "Games" one. Click on the game you want to play. Click on "Access to the table is limited". If you aren't Friended to other real players, click on "Only Friends" then "Open Table"; if you ARE friended, but want to play a bot, click on "Access by link only", then "Open Table", then "OK" at bottom of pop-up window. Either of these options will open a table in the Inn that simply counts down a few seconds than allows you to "Play With A Bot".

It's an excellent way to get a number of games under your belt, learn the intricacies of the games, and gain confidence. Just note it doesn't work for Cartographers, where you can't play bots, and full games cost more food than training.