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I love your channel. I appreciate the effort you place into your videos, and your very thoughtful, considerate, and open mindedness, when expressing your thoughts on games. Your channel is highly underrated in terms of subs.
I just got into this hobby in 2020 and Gamefound and ISS shortly dropped after. I was so amazed by ISS. ISS is fire! I got Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin but haven't started it yet. I'm a big fan of Awaken Realms since. I backed STALKER, Dragon Eclipse, and Nemesis Retaliation. I'm not all that interested in a boss battler, but Grim Coven looks pretty cool. Not sure if it's for me, but I'll wait to see what the campaign (and cost) looks like. Lands of Evershade looks very cool too.
My guy. I haven’t tried Stalker, Dragon Eclipse or Retaliation, but this list will have to be revisited after. The theme for Coven isn’t my jam. I’ll have to check out Evershade. I haven’t heard it yet.
This has been a great journey. So much work to reach this point. Thank you for all of your efforts. I remember as I had discovered Solo board gaming and Awaken Realms kept showing up in my Facebook feed. I thought there was a Game called Awaken Realms. I eventually found the correct information. ISS Vanguard was always in my feed for a very long time. Watching you play it gave me some insight. I have never played a game even close to that kind of detail. It being on your list at the top is pushing me in that direction. Who knows, maybe someday. Thank you once again, Mike.
Thank you Mark. Dwellings of Eldervale reminds me of a more accessible Awakened Realms style game. It has the world building and multiple things going on to solve a puzzle.
Loved the video but now I just need to decide which one I am going to buy to be my entry point into the series. M family may want to discuss this with you 😉
Thank you for the greatest list. It's timely as I'm looking to buy a AW Game for solo. Currently own and love Marvel Champions, Arkham LCG, TMB Undertow, Shadows of Brimstone FoF, Mage Knight, Ark Nova, Dune Uprising, and some DVG Leader wargames. My question is about Etherfields as it interests me most but is low on your list. Mu 2nd choice is Kings of Ruin. Doesn't Etherfields have a new printing that addresses some of you issues regarding rules and the board? Thanks again
Hey man. Thanks David. Given the games you’ve listed above I’d approach Etherfields with caution. You will either love it or hate it. Yes it has had a second reprinting that addresses all the concerns except the board. The board is as it is. I think you are right on track with looking at Tainted Grail, considering the list of games you love. Ultimately Go with your gut and please let me know what you pick and how you enjoy it.
I guess since The Castles of Burgundy was only remade by Awaken Realms it didn't qualify for this list?I really enjoy the new solo mode that the Special Edition by Awaken Realms included. It still also has the original solo mode as well.
@BoardgamesforOne Yeah they did sell out the first print run. They recently ran another Gamefound campaign, and there should be more retail copies from that campaign as well.
@@BoardgamesforOne Yes. They mainly make less complex games like Flick of Fate, Knockdown and Platformer. I read somewhere that the Great Wall started as a Lite game but as the design grew it got moved over to the big company, not sure if it is true.
Thank you for your reviews! Have you ever had a chance to play Rurik Dawn of Kiev ? The game seems to be good and I wonder how it will play if it's bought mostly for solo.
My favorite AR game for solo is The Edge Dawnfall 1.6. Yes, it doesn't fit the criteria for this video but what can I do? I must have sunk easily 200+ hours into it. Adhering strictly to the criteria, I would also land on ISS Vanguard. Such a unique and engulfing experience. Bumpy at times but always rewarding.
I’m glad you said this. I looked into The Edge, and don’t recall if it came with a solo mode or if I just couldn’t find a copy, but I wanted to know more about it. What can you tell me?
@@BoardgamesforOne Let's see, it comes in a truely gigantic box, two huge boards, loads of material and not only with a massive solo mode but also with tons of "narrative like" solo campaigns, one for each of the six factions (with all expansions). The game is relatively easy to learn but that process suffers somewhat from badly written rulebooks. Once you overcome that lesser hurdle you find yourself in a lore heavy world of tactical skirmishing with heavy focus on positioning, area control, card play and some resource managment. Solo play works very well out of the box but can be improved by house rules and some tweaks. It's gripping and I personally found it very addictive. The miniatures are exceptional and unique and are weaved into the heavy lore. Only get the 1.6 version (very large rectangular box core box), not the v1 one (square boxes).
@@BoardgamesforOne One important thing. The solo mode opponent faction comes in a seperate box / expansion called "Darkness". Make sure it is included when you buy. Also, strech goals box is a must have. Comes as a square box. There is also an expansion to the solo faction called "Father of the Sun". Totally worth to get that too. Sorry, should have included this all in my original reply.
I have not played all of these. But I played through tainted grail and etherfields. I enjoyed tainted grail more but the story was difficult to follow and I did get lost a couple times. Etherfields, also at one point I had a hard time unlocking the next set of dreams. I HATED the ending so much that I gave the game away to goodwill.
Nice list. I always wanted to have these games, but they are pricey. But that is not the real reason why I never got any of them (after all, I've spent over 1k$ on shadows of brimstone and somewhere around 500$ on Too Many Bones, same with Aeon's End). The real reason is that I feel like I'll only have a small part of the experience with the base game from retail, missing out on all the Kickstarter stuff and such (especialy for Tainted Grail, ISS Vanguard). Can you tell me if I'm wrong or not? Thank you!
I have not played the expansions for ISS or Tainted Grail. I have played every expansion for the nemesis and lockdown series and those are fun bonuses but by no means necessary. With Iss I predict the story is complete enough with the base game, but I know I’d want to continue to the expansions. For tainted grail it seems if you’re in on it you’ll want to buy everything as the story is so important to the game.
I'm right there with you on Etherfields being awesome! But yeah I was one of those backers that cut the player board up into modular bits when I received it and then proceeded to plow through all the wave 1 content in a couple of months like there was something wrong with me. It's just got the usual AR rough edges and slow start that everytime I see some sort of mention of it seems like either they never got past the first 3 dreams or never tried it and repeat someone else's opinion about it. Absolute banger.
Love it. Thank you. Yeah and I wonder too if someone’s expecting a dungeon crawler, or combat experience, they’d be super disappointed. Knowing what it is, which is hard to define, helps.
I didn’t make that clear enough did I. Sometimes I make the title after recording, which isn’t the best plan. The worst was The Great Wall from a solo perspective. Once I figured out how to beat the solo AI, there’s little challenge and not much variability.
I am also a fan of awaken realms games. Nemesis Vs Lockdown. I think both are very good games but I felt Lockdown over egged the pudding, the first game is fun, who cares if its swingy we always have a laugh when we play it, the ending is a bit anti climatic, but overall Nemesis is a great game, win or lose. Etherfields. Probably my favorite game as well, I can understand why people don't like it, but its one of those game's where if you persevere it just gets better and better as you play it, we finished the first half of the core box campaign and really enjoyed it, I don't think the rules were hard to learn, the game gives you more rules later on, but this is in the context of what is happening in the game. The biggest issue we had with it was when things were wrong in the dream/story book, luckily there was an errata for it and one mistake almost broke the game for us. I love boss battler games, I have a fair amount so Grimcoven (despite agonizing over whether to buy another game as I have to many games) I backed.
Thanks Harley, I’m always glad to find other Etherfields lovers. There seem to be quite a few. I haven’t done many boss battlers myself. Time to study up.
@@BoardgamesforOne If I can recommend a boss battler, then I would say for the money Oathsworn. It has exploration/story then onto a battle in each chapter. The only down sides are that three of the bosses we felt were over powered, two of them not impossible to beat on a second run, you can skip the battles if you lose it. One of the bosses was changed and overpowered because of fan input on 2nd print (I wish creators would not listen to much to fans) Personally I think a lot of the feed back was from people who had not learnt the rules properly, it also uses a hex system for the board which can be a pain in the A sometimes. Oathsworn also solo's really well, that has all been thought out well, in fact I am going to do a second run through the game solo. But overall I would really recommended Oathsworn, its an epic game, with epic skin of your teeth battle, with a great story and if you want to; the guy out of Game of thrones reads it to you on an app.
BUY GAMES AND CARD SLEEVES AT 10% OFF WITH FREE SHIPPING HERE:
www.capefeargamesilm.com/tags/board-games-for-one/
Use the promo code, BOARDGAMESFORONE at checkout for 10% off and free shipping in the continental US.
I love your channel. I appreciate the effort you place into your videos, and your very thoughtful, considerate, and open mindedness, when expressing your thoughts on games.
Your channel is highly underrated in terms of subs.
Thank you! And great username by the way. Give it some time and adjustments on my side and the subs will come.
I just got into this hobby in 2020 and Gamefound and ISS shortly dropped after. I was so amazed by ISS. ISS is fire! I got Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin but haven't started it yet. I'm a big fan of Awaken Realms since. I backed STALKER, Dragon Eclipse, and Nemesis Retaliation. I'm not all that interested in a boss battler, but Grim Coven looks pretty cool. Not sure if it's for me, but I'll wait to see what the campaign (and cost) looks like. Lands of Evershade looks very cool too.
My guy. I haven’t tried Stalker, Dragon Eclipse or Retaliation, but this list will have to be revisited after. The theme for Coven isn’t my jam. I’ll have to check out Evershade. I haven’t heard it yet.
Great video, thanks for putting it together for us!
Thanks for watching it 😎
This has been a great journey. So much work to reach this point. Thank you for all of your efforts. I remember as I had discovered Solo board gaming and Awaken Realms kept showing up in my Facebook feed. I thought there was a Game called Awaken Realms. I eventually found the correct information. ISS Vanguard was always in my feed for a very long time. Watching you play it gave me some insight. I have never played a game even close to that kind of detail. It being on your list at the top is pushing me in that direction. Who knows, maybe someday. Thank you once again, Mike.
Thank you Mark. Dwellings of Eldervale reminds me of a more accessible Awakened Realms style game. It has the world building and multiple things going on to solve a puzzle.
Thanks Mike....more Awaken Realms games heading to my house from Cape Fear Games :)
Oooh, whatcha picking?
@@BoardgamesforOne Taking advantage of your Cape Fear Games discount: ISS Vanguard & Tainted Grail!
@@larrycwhite awesome man. Thank you. You’ll have game to play for a looooong time w those. I’ve only scratched the surface even 10 hours in.
Loved the video but now I just need to decide which one I am going to buy to be my entry point into the series. M family may want to discuss this with you 😉
Lol, you can throw me under the bus. I’ll take the fire for you.
@@BoardgamesforOne Done and Done sir 🤣
You're putting in the work
Yes sir indeed. Thank you.
Thank you for the greatest list. It's timely as I'm looking to buy a AW Game for solo. Currently own and love Marvel Champions, Arkham LCG, TMB Undertow, Shadows of Brimstone FoF, Mage Knight, Ark Nova, Dune Uprising, and some DVG Leader wargames. My question is about Etherfields as it interests me most but is low on your list. Mu 2nd choice is Kings of Ruin. Doesn't Etherfields have a new printing that addresses some of you issues regarding rules and the board? Thanks again
Hey man. Thanks David. Given the games you’ve listed above I’d approach Etherfields with caution. You will either love it or hate it. Yes it has had a second reprinting that addresses all the concerns except the board. The board is as it is. I think you are right on track with looking at Tainted Grail, considering the list of games you love. Ultimately Go with your gut and please let me know what you pick and how you enjoy it.
I guess since The Castles of Burgundy was only remade by Awaken Realms it didn't qualify for this list?I really enjoy the new solo mode that the Special Edition by Awaken Realms included. It still also has the original solo mode as well.
Actually it would’ve made it if I could get my hands on it. I’m gonna keep my eye out. Glad to hear the solo is strong.
@BoardgamesforOne Yeah they did sell out the first print run. They recently ran another Gamefound campaign, and there should be more retail copies from that campaign as well.
@@MerlinsManor that’s what I’m banking on 😎
I'm surprised.... Happy to hear about ISS Vanguard, would've thought Tamashii would been on the list.
If I had access to Tamashii, I’d include it. Once I get my hands on it I’d love to include it.
Tamashii is also from AR Lite, which is not exactly the same company.
@@eriklindqvist9923 interesting. Are they a subsidiary?
@@BoardgamesforOne Yes. They mainly make less complex games like Flick of Fate, Knockdown and Platformer. I read somewhere that the Great Wall started as a Lite game but as the design grew it got moved over to the big company, not sure if it is true.
Thank you for your reviews!
Have you ever had a chance to play Rurik Dawn of Kiev ? The game seems to be good and I wonder how it will play if it's bought mostly for solo.
Thanks so much and Yes! I actually have it on my shelf. Currently Scythe Encounters is on my table, but Rurik is coming.
My favorite AR game for solo is The Edge Dawnfall 1.6. Yes, it doesn't fit the criteria for this video but what can I do? I must have sunk easily 200+ hours into it.
Adhering strictly to the criteria, I would also land on ISS Vanguard. Such a unique and engulfing experience. Bumpy at times but always rewarding.
I’m glad you said this. I looked into The Edge, and don’t recall if it came with a solo mode or if I just couldn’t find a copy, but I wanted to know more about it. What can you tell me?
@@BoardgamesforOne Let's see, it comes in a truely gigantic box, two huge boards, loads of material and not only with a massive solo mode but also with tons of "narrative like" solo campaigns, one for each of the six factions (with all expansions). The game is relatively easy to learn but that process suffers somewhat from badly written rulebooks. Once you overcome that lesser hurdle you find yourself in a lore heavy world of tactical skirmishing with heavy focus on positioning, area control, card play and some resource managment.
Solo play works very well out of the box but can be improved by house rules and some tweaks. It's gripping and I personally found it very addictive.
The miniatures are exceptional and unique and are weaved into the heavy lore.
Only get the 1.6 version (very large rectangular box core box), not the v1 one (square boxes).
@@Biodelic sweet. I’ll keep an eye out for that 1.6 box. Thanks for the thorough breakdown.
@@BoardgamesforOne One important thing. The solo mode opponent faction comes in a seperate box / expansion called "Darkness". Make sure it is included when you buy. Also, strech goals box is a must have. Comes as a square box.
There is also an expansion to the solo faction called "Father of the Sun". Totally worth to get that too.
Sorry, should have included this all in my original reply.
@@Biodelic cool. That explains why I wasn’t sure if the base game was solo or not.
Who is the Star Wars character in the framed picture?
That is my dude, Cal Kestis
Etherfields and OG Nemesis are the only AR games worth owning for me. (Grimcoven to come)
@@HorseIRL glad you enjoy both. I have Tamashii now so let’s see what an Awaken Realms Lite experience is
Nice to see ISS Vanguard first.
It was a tough pick. I hope I was right.
It was a tough pick. I hope I was right.
I have not played all of these.
But I played through tainted grail and etherfields.
I enjoyed tainted grail more but the story was difficult to follow and I did get lost a couple times.
Etherfields, also at one point I had a hard time unlocking the next set of dreams. I HATED the ending so much that I gave the game away to goodwill.
Oh dear. I have yet to get to the ending.
Nice list. I always wanted to have these games, but they are pricey.
But that is not the real reason why I never got any of them (after all, I've spent over 1k$ on shadows of brimstone and somewhere around 500$ on Too Many Bones, same with Aeon's End).
The real reason is that I feel like I'll only have a small part of the experience with the base game from retail, missing out on all the Kickstarter stuff and such (especialy for Tainted Grail, ISS Vanguard).
Can you tell me if I'm wrong or not? Thank you!
I have not played the expansions for ISS or Tainted Grail. I have played every expansion for the nemesis and lockdown series and those are fun bonuses but by no means necessary. With Iss I predict the story is complete enough with the base game, but I know I’d want to continue to the expansions. For tainted grail it seems if you’re in on it you’ll want to buy everything as the story is so important to the game.
@@BoardgamesforOne Makes sense! Thank you for your answer.
@@davidpepin3017 a pleasure. I’m a buy the base game, then expansions if I’m happy kind a guy.
I'm right there with you on Etherfields being awesome! But yeah I was one of those backers that cut the player board up into modular bits when I received it and then proceeded to plow through all the wave 1 content in a couple of months like there was something wrong with me. It's just got the usual AR rough edges and slow start that everytime I see some sort of mention of it seems like either they never got past the first 3 dreams or never tried it and repeat someone else's opinion about it. Absolute banger.
Love it. Thank you. Yeah and I wonder too if someone’s expecting a dungeon crawler, or combat experience, they’d be super disappointed. Knowing what it is, which is hard to define, helps.
I have a few of these, but which one was your worst? Btw, enjoyable video and you being a sexy host. ❤
I didn’t make that clear enough did I. Sometimes I make the title after recording, which isn’t the best plan. The worst was The Great Wall from a solo perspective. Once I figured out how to beat the solo AI, there’s little challenge and not much variability.
Wyrd is pronounced just like "weird" (not "word").
Thank you
Etherfields is a masterpiece. I've never played a boardgame that made me think and reflect on life.
I bought an etherfields map on etsy and they had it re organized. I also have only played version 2.0.
Yes! So glad to find others loving it.
👍👍👍👍👍👌👌
Thank u
I am also a fan of awaken realms games.
Nemesis Vs Lockdown.
I think both are very good games but I felt Lockdown over egged the pudding, the first game is fun, who cares if its swingy we always have a laugh when we play it, the ending is a bit anti climatic, but overall Nemesis is a great game, win or lose.
Etherfields.
Probably my favorite game as well, I can understand why people don't like it, but its one of those game's where if you persevere it just gets better and better as you play it, we finished the first half of the core box campaign and really enjoyed it, I don't think the rules were hard to learn, the game gives you more rules later on, but this is in the context of what is happening in the game.
The biggest issue we had with it was when things were wrong in the dream/story book, luckily there was an errata for it and one mistake almost broke the game for us.
I love boss battler games, I have a fair amount so Grimcoven (despite agonizing over whether to buy another game as I have to many games) I backed.
Thanks Harley, I’m always glad to find other Etherfields lovers. There seem to be quite a few. I haven’t done many boss battlers myself. Time to study up.
@@BoardgamesforOne If I can recommend a boss battler, then I would say for the money Oathsworn.
It has exploration/story then onto a battle in each chapter. The only down sides are that three of the bosses we felt were over powered, two of them not impossible to beat on a second run, you can skip the battles if you lose it. One of the bosses was changed and overpowered because of fan input on 2nd print (I wish creators would not listen to much to fans) Personally I think a lot of the feed back was from people who had not learnt the rules properly, it also uses a hex system for the board which can be a pain in the A sometimes.
Oathsworn also solo's really well, that has all been thought out well, in fact I am going to do a second run through the game solo.
But overall I would really recommended Oathsworn, its an epic game, with epic skin of your teeth battle, with a great story and if you want to; the guy out of Game of thrones reads it to you on an app.
@@HarleyFirestorm I’ve seen it on the shelf. I’ll take a closer look next time. Thanks so much for being thorough.