Category: Syndicated

Some smallish stuff new for me thus month: Oh my Goods is one I got as a travel game. Only played it solo so far (rules fir an automa approach on BGG), but quite fun. Will get more play, because of super fast setup and smallish space requirement. Next was Ohne Furcht und Adel, which I got for thise cases where our board game evening get a bit bigger than usual. So far only played two player with my wife, but we like it. And I got Yomi in German, played a few solo plays. It is fun and I hope to get some duels in, maybe get my wife to play it even. Biggest game new this month though was Leaving Earth, which I only played solo (and probably ever will only play solo). Fascinating game, heavy brain burner, with interesting theme. I like it, but it is a table hog in the base game allready, don’t want to think about playing the outer planet expansion. Game play feels a bit same-y sometimes, since what you do is often very repetetive, and it is the first game even I would call a bit mathy. Calculating multi-step missions from start to end with multiple rendevouz steps in between takes a bit getting used to. Still fun for me, but definitely a try-before-you-buy kinda game.

Some smallish stuff new for me thus month: Oh my Goods is one I got as a travel game. Only played it solo so far (rules fir an automa approach on BGG), but quite fun. Will get more play, because of super fast setup and smallish space requirement. Next was Ohne Furcht und Adel, which I got for thise cases where our board game evening get a bit bigger than usual. So far only played two player with my wife, but we like it. And I got Yomi in German, played a few solo plays. It is fun and I hope to get some duels in, maybe get my wife to play it even. Biggest game new this month though was Leaving Earth, which I only played solo (and probably ever will only play solo). Fascinating game, heavy brain burner, with interesting theme. I like it, but it is a table hog in the base game allready, don’t want to think about playing the outer planet expansion. Game play feels a bit same-y sometimes, since what you do is often very repetetive, and it is the first game even I would call a bit mathy. Calculating multi-step missions from start to end with multiple rendevouz steps in between takes a bit getting used to. Still fun for me, but definitely a try-before-you-buy kinda game.

My favorites are currently the COIN games (Cuba Libre is my reference so far, which has a bad government bot, but the others work quite good) and Night of Man, which I actually rank higher than CL in this regard. I do have a few “Automa-like” solo variant games, which work ok (Castles of Burgundry: The Card Game for example), but usually I prefer more fleshed out solo AIs. The solo cards for Star Realms are astonishingly fun, even though they are more of the “Automa” kind – at least for quick games I really like them. Another nice AI is in the Hoplomachus games, in my case mostly the Origins box. It’s another quick-playing solo variant for me and it’s more a case of my mood wether I grab SR or Hoplo.

But far and above any, my favorite “AI” would be the scenario decks of LOTR:LCG. They give a wide range of opponents to play and very diverse play styles. I don’t usually run through all of them but have prebuild scenarios that I really like and play those over and over again.

My favorites are currently the COIN games (Cuba Libre is my reference so far, which has a bad government bot, but the others work quite good) and Night of Man, which I actually rank higher than CL in this regard. I do have a few “Automa-like” solo variant games, which work ok (Castles of Burgundry: The Card Game for example), but usually I prefer more fleshed out solo AIs. The solo cards for Star Realms are astonishingly fun, even though they are more of the “Automa” kind – at least for quick games I really like them. Another nice AI is in the Hoplomachus games, in my case mostly the Origins box. It’s another quick-playing solo variant for me and it’s more a case of my mood wether I grab SR or Hoplo.

But far and above any, my favorite “AI” would be the scenario decks of LOTR:LCG. They give a wide range of opponents to play and very diverse play styles. I don’t usually run through all of them but have prebuild scenarios that I really like and play those over and over again.

One I really love for quick solo play is Hoplomachus: Origins. It presents you with a preset scenario and tells you “go and find the best team of gladiators to break this”. Gives the tactical skirmish of the gladiatorial arena fights a nice puzzly layer on top. I like it so much, I didn’t even touch the Hoplomachus: Rise of Rome titans so far (which are a bit more elaborate and complete solo opponents). One big benefit of the Origins box is the price, as it is much cheaper than the other boxes. Oh, and Origins sets up super fast: grab the map, select the needed opponent pieces, select your own dream team from the rest of the pieces (with taking into account the drafting restrictions of that scenario, of course), and have a go at it. Play is so quick that you easily can switch out gladiators and take another run at the sceanrio if you fail (and usually the first few times you will fail, until it “clicks” and you see the winning strategy for that sceanrio).

One I really love for quick solo play is Hoplomachus: Origins. It presents you with a preset scenario and tells you “go and find the best team of gladiators to break this”. Gives the tactical skirmish of the gladiatorial arena fights a nice puzzly layer on top. I like it so much, I didn’t even touch the Hoplomachus: Rise of Rome titans so far (which are a bit more elaborate and complete solo opponents). One big benefit of the Origins box is the price, as it is much cheaper than the other boxes. Oh, and Origins sets up super fast: grab the map, select the needed opponent pieces, select your own dream team from the rest of the pieces (with taking into account the drafting restrictions of that scenario, of course), and have a go at it. Play is so quick that you easily can switch out gladiators and take another run at the sceanrio if you fail (and usually the first few times you will fail, until it “clicks” and you see the winning strategy for that sceanrio).

Do you feel strange and embarrassed, if someone catches you to read a book all on your own? Man, get over it. It’s not like masturbation in public at all, you know 😉

I really enjoy solo gaming, but for me it highly depends on the kind of game. I love puzzly games where essentially I am out to “break” the game situation. So I enjoy solo games where I can improve my play or the stuff I play with (like the deck in LOTR:LCG) until I reach a level where I have a good winning percentage. Stuff like the mentioned LOTR: LCG or Shadowrun: Crossfire, things like Mage Knight. Or one I recently got, Night of Man (skirmish fight of soldiers vs. aliens, where it is much more about tactical positioning and right usage of your dudes and dudettes powers) or any of the solo modes for the Hoplomachus game series. Especially Hoplomachus: Origins is great solo, because it essentially presents you with a preset scenario and asks you to go and break it with your gladiator selection and play style. Great fun solo.

Other games I love to solo are classic conflict simulations, because then I can study the game and the simulated situation without the pressure of a competetive context. I have a bunch of cosims that I probably will never really play, but only got for studying the conflict, using the game system as a guideline.

Playing coop games solo without the game-breaker goal oftentimes is a way for me to wind down, too. Much better than watching TV. I let the story of the game unfold, just guiding my pieces in that game, to see where it takes me. This is perfect for games with less pressure in them, like for example Elder Sign, where the game itself is often seen as too easy, but if you solo it, you can just let it tell you a story. Kinda like your own cheesy pulp fiction.

So, yeah, get over it and play some games solo. Start with something you really like to play, but that doesn’t hit the table often enough for your liking, because in that case you get double the reward – a (possible) good solo experience and you get to play a game you love. It might even turn into another regular aspect of the hobby for you!

Do you feel strange and embarrassed, if someone catches you to read a book all on your own? Man, get over it. It’s not like masturbation in public at all, you know 😉

I really enjoy solo gaming, but for me it highly depends on the kind of game. I love puzzly games where essentially I am out to “break” the game situation. So I enjoy solo games where I can improve my play or the stuff I play with (like the deck in LOTR:LCG) until I reach a level where I have a good winning percentage. Stuff like the mentioned LOTR: LCG or Shadowrun: Crossfire, things like Mage Knight. Or one I recently got, Night of Man (skirmish fight of soldiers vs. aliens, where it is much more about tactical positioning and right usage of your dudes and dudettes powers) or any of the solo modes for the Hoplomachus game series. Especially Hoplomachus: Origins is great solo, because it essentially presents you with a preset scenario and asks you to go and break it with your gladiator selection and play style. Great fun solo.

Other games I love to solo are classic conflict simulations, because then I can study the game and the simulated situation without the pressure of a competetive context. I have a bunch of cosims that I probably will never really play, but only got for studying the conflict, using the game system as a guideline.

Playing coop games solo without the game-breaker goal oftentimes is a way for me to wind down, too. Much better than watching TV. I let the story of the game unfold, just guiding my pieces in that game, to see where it takes me. This is perfect for games with less pressure in them, like for example Elder Sign, where the game itself is often seen as too easy, but if you solo it, you can just let it tell you a story. Kinda like your own cheesy pulp fiction.

So, yeah, get over it and play some games solo. Start with something you really like to play, but that doesn’t hit the table often enough for your liking, because in that case you get double the reward – a (possible) good solo experience and you get to play a game you love. It might even turn into another regular aspect of the hobby for you!