"Warfighter" (by DVG*) is an outstanding, solo board game. * DVG has multiple solo-player games in their catalog, although I am not personally familiar with any of the others.
One game that my friends and I used to often play solo is Axis & Allies. We would play all sides and just do partial run throughs to test strategies. Certainly not a single player game but just doing this strategy testing was kind of fun.
Legendary Marvel Deck building card game is also a good game to play solo It has "solo" rules and it is also fun to use get to your nice and easy getting combos from "your" card set ups quickly. Also you don't need your friends cards filling up the HQ of there cards that you cant buy. This game is a lot like thunderstone solo. If you have not played this game or this game solo yet. I suggest you to.
I liked your list too. This is something I've recently started investigating and it's cool finding precompiled lists of games to check out. I do think the transition slides and notes between the games was a little quick for my liking. It was hard to read and process the whole slide.
The game is awesome in my opinion, I like the fact that it is a deck-building coop game. Each character's abilities are based on their personality in the comics and movies (for example Rogue copies other character's abilities). The only thing that can be deceiving is the drawings on the cards, they are all the same for each character. Considering that the game was based on comic books, I would have thought they'd take the time to draw different cards depending on their abilities. It's not a big deal, but still.
Zombicide plays excellent solo... you always have the tension of the oncoming hoard, you don't know what the cards will bring... and you get to enjoy trying to use the abilities of the characters as one cohesive group aiding each other. I've also had a lot of fun playing Memoir 44 solo... its definitely not designed for it, but I find the randomness of the cards given to each side, provides enough challenge that you have to work with what you are given as you go back and forth.
Great choices! I'm not as big of a fan of Elder Sign for solo play personally, but Eldritch is great and Descent is fun, though for something so big, I'd rather reach for Gloomhaven and a delve/crawler type experience. Thanks very much!
@@DannyCGamingFandomandScience that is true. But gloom is too much for a asking price still. Lol, and my buddies can't come to a decision on it to chip in or just don't want to spend time setting it up. So descent fits the mold somewhat about a 20% of what GH is I would say?
For sure the cost can be prohibitive. Descent does definitely have a lot of the same feel as Gloom, though. I'd say it's a bit more than 20% - you do still have the campaign mode for example, RPG type mechanics, dungeon delving, etc. Price wise, Descent is cheaper enough that whatever you lose out on isn't a huge loss.
Mage Knight seems such a popular game, but in Germany it is so difficult to find. My local game shop says it is out of print and on Amazon there are only really expensive imported versions. I hope a German company makes some more of it!
Arkham Horror and also Defenders of the Realm can be played Solo (1 character). All co-op games can be played solo but these two can be played with only 1 character. As for Pandemic, I guess it also allows you that but it's not that great of a game. I didn't said that Labyrinth or RFTG are bad games, I only said that those games are not games that can be played solo. If you can play RFTG solo you can also play Dominion solo. And it's not that great experience compared to other co-op games.
I live here in Las Vegas where Petroglyph is based out of and last Nov. they had a special for $35 you could get all of their board games. I was able to pick them up so no postage. I got the 2 panzer's, guardians of Graxia and Hero's of Graxia (card game). I asked why and they said they were getting away from boardgames to consentrate of video game. BTW they have a few free or almost free adaptations of their board games for pc as well.
Nice picks. I have a lot of games I can play solo - Race for the Galaxy, Agricola, Pathfinder Card Game, Legendary Encounters, etc. Usually, if I'm gonna game solo, I just play PC games. But there's exactly one board game I've actually played solo, and quite enjoyed - Mage Knight. It's that good.
I didn't read all the comments, so not sure if it was mentioned at all, but I was rather surprised that Zulus on the Ramparts wasn't mentioned...It's one player specific, builds tension wonderfully, is definitely not a fluff game, and is incredibly enjoyable. as for the video, my only issue is the interstitial music was so much louder than the talking bits I had to keep turn the volume up and down...very minor gripe, but as a video editor myself...well you could see how that would grate on my nerves hahaha otherwise, great vid
Interesting list. have you played the D&d adventure system board games? they're designed to play pretty well solo. (Ravenloft, Ashardalon, Drizzt, elemental Evil)
Cool. this summer I picked up all 4 for less than $40 ea and ravenloft and drizzt were on sale. surprised they still stocked them. WotC replaced a couple bent minis from drizzt and a missing piece which was cool from a used elemental evil which the seller said they never had l. it took about 15 minutes to punch out the die cuts lol I also got two dungeon command faction packs for $7 shipped with a $50 coupon just for the minis and monster cards. I haven’t combined them all yet. thats a ton of pieces! I like the esthetics of WotC D&D games. and the 4th edition RPG system works really well with the ABGSystem (which some say 4e is a board game lol) I like the interlocking D&d board game tiles. I also have Zombies!!! which of course is a tile placement game that plays fine solo I haven’t played it in a while but the bag o glow in the dark zombies is cool ; I put a few board games on my site. I make too much of a production out of them. I’m trying to make them simpler presentations but being a graphic designer I cant do it any other way lol Xwing minis I could have 10 vids up by now if I could just talk them thru like yourself and most people lol I have so many videos 80-90% finished. I have a lot of other cool games to share. star wars epic duels is a good one as is wizkidz pocket models. that one I dug up from my collection ended up buying old packs.
I was going to mention that sprawling tiles especially zombies. the D&D games are ones that stay in a reasonable sized area the way the game is designed how long a game lasts imho. those are actually fun games to lose because you usually do have chance and get close to the end if you lose at least I’ve found so far. dungeon command doesn’t use dice(!) but I house ruled it to use the stats on the included monster cards. creatures last longer but it’s more D&D fun. as it stands though the DC game and some say 4e is a combo of WotC magic the gathering which I never played and D&D minis. It essentially is not difficult to learn however I can get confused playing solo learning a game. an experienced player on enworld was very helpful. it was hard to wrap my head around a non d20 D&D game lol especially since I also have the original 3.5 D&D minis game starter sets. in fact I have some minis I can compare to the D&D board game upainted and DC painted. The one good thing about 4e is that if you did have to buy lots of product at least it’s collectible-looking so thats not bad. I have a vid up on my original D&D holmes boxed set it was fun to reminisce. In comparison you wonder how you ever survived 1e and AD&D. I did like 4e that you felt more powerful out of the box and being combat centric I liked that medieval themed hack & slash combat in the first place. and that translates well to the board games yet ironically especially in ravenloft you can lose more than win. ravenloft being the first one is the most difficult to win. WotC tweaked them as they went along in a good way. love the undead theme though. Ashardalon was also the one that got me interested when I saw youtube solo gameplay. in 4e RPG however conditions and higher levels could bog it down. they finally tweaked the monster stat blocks then dumped it for 5e lol which I haven’t played just read the books. and did follow along with the test play program leading up to tis design. it seems like a nice balance between old school and contemporary but it doesn’t seem as exciting or dynamic as 4e. I also uploaded a kenner star wars destroy death star vintage board game house ruled with the 5e advantage disadvantage d20s lol thats one 5e concept I liked. there were some 4e wild magic sorcerer powers I believe that used that approach if recall. it sometimes fun combining aspects of games with others. I have to check out firefly you mentioned thats one my friend did a vid on and he likes a lot. on a side note his wife liked my star trek board game they picked it up after they saw my vid. she doesn’t like star trek but likes the game because she wins all the time lol so if you want someone to like a game then take one for the team and “let the wookie win” lol PS I also have black bakers racks I put collectibles and games on ; There so much weight on them over the years I doubt I could get them apart. keep up the good work!
Shadows without a traitor is alright - it's lighter, of course, but it's fun to play anyway. It's more of a puzzle that way. My girlfriend and I sometimes play it, using 2 knights each, and puzzle it out together.
***** Death Angel is one of my favorite card games, but it is brutal, which can turn many people off. You won't start winning regularly until you have a a bit under your belt, and even then random draws and rolls can just murder you in a couple turns.
Thanks for the info! I'm 44 years old and am just getting into the hobby. There isn't anyone to play theses games in my small town, but solo play is still fun. I like how these games use tokens instead of pencil and paper...
Good evening, I am working with a college project and my idea is to "evolve" the board games trying to bring ideas from the world of board games and electronics to create a way to make the most practical boardgames to play games. I talked to some people and they told me that the flat part of the board games are mounting the scenario and read rules varied adventures as some bordgames have different adventures within the same game. The players I interviewed, told me some details that I believe is common among all players. the main points of board games are fun face to face with friends and have the physical parts of the game to move (is that right?) thinking about it, my idea is to keep these two important points (to move pieces and the fun guy face) but apply something electronic to evolve the convenience to start the games. Ex: a digital board (a screen) where the physical parts continue along with the data but the players do not lose more time riding the board and the rules could be "spoken" during the game by the same audio device. This is an example of what could be my product development, you approve of my idea of "evolving" the board games? My target audience is the NERD / GEEK and this audience is very connected to technology, so I thought to bring the convenience of electronic games but keep the traditionalism of boardgames. Help me please, can opine, criticize, give tips, show me what's important, what can be expected, which could be added ... this is my job completion for product design. Thank you very much.
Dude! You need to check out games that are designed primarily for solitaire play. They usually vastly superior for solo play. I highly recommend Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations or perhaps something from the Field Commander series. Disaster on Everest is another great title.
Hi Danny and thanks for the nice video. My favourite board game for playing solo (actually it's a card game) is The Lord of the Rings LCG, although I never played it two handed. Other board games I enjoy playing solo are: Pandemic (last time I had a very hard but satisfying game), Arkham Horror and Zombicide. The "robot" in Race for the Galaxy is also a good way to play solo. I haven't tried Mage Knight yet, but I'd love to. Most of Uwe Rosenberg's designs allows playing solo, but I don't enjoy solo games where the only objective is to surpass your own score.
Labyrinth is good. If you like it, you should try out the COIN series also from GMT games. They play 1-4 players with bots controlling the non-player factions.
Yeah - like a few folk, I'd add Ghost Stories, and the new SOS Titanic (yes it's strongly based around Patience mechanic, but it doesn't take away from the theme too much) Elder Sign as a lighter Arkham Horror is also good solo, but I love AH though agree, you really have to play at least 2 investigators to make it worth it.
that's the thing about Elder Sign though, i suppose it was a little misleading calling it AH light as really it is a brilliant stand-alone game in its own right just set in the same universe as AH. i think i describe it as AH light because we often play it if we haven't got time for a full blown game of AH but want to play something in that genre with that theme. i like that many of the characters transfer from one game to the next and in some ways their abilities are similar in feel if not actually following the same mechanic. as a seemingly simple dice roller Elder Sign can be a really tense and tricky experience and the theme works integrates so nicely as more and more monsters and trickier locations come into play. SOS is brilliant. the Patience mechanic is nice because it is so familiar, but because the theme is so strong it doesn't just feel like they've bolted a people onto a game of patience. the real test is that you couldn't play SOS with a regular poker deck, there is structure to the actual card design within the mechanism as well. the flipbook is a genius allied mechanic if slightly chilling in its implication. the whole game has a really great feel to it and though the rules can be quite subtle to begin with, once they're in your noggin, they work very smoothly. treat yourself, it's a goodie.
I'm surprised you didn't include the Titanic: SOS, or Friday games, which are designed for single player. Castle Panic, & Forbidden Island work too (but that's basically Pandemic).
***** ok, I see. I'm still learning as well. I found out about more than I have tried through other TH-cam Channels as well, such as the Dice Tower, TableTop, Starlit Citadels, & maybe Watch It Played & Board To Death TV as well! Then there's also Game Night , etc. You're welcome, & Thanks! Btw, I own Friday, its challenging. I haven't tried SOS Titanic, or Onirim yet either.
I just find it too heavy to enjoy. Too many bits and chits, setup time and scenario setup. It didn’t seem fluid to me. I guess I like the lighter character progression games. I can play a 3 hour solo Runebound game and feel like it was a rich experience for my time. Mageknight seemed too fiddley, so not as thematic, to me. I’m now starting up D&D Castle Ravenloft boardgame, but I’ll come back to Runebound. Thanks for asking!
Ahhhh gotcha. Makes sense and I can see the frustration particularly with the number of chits. Haven't done Runebound solo myself, so I'd be curious to compare. I do find MK pretty thematic, however, though I lower my theme expectations a bit relative to something like the D&D games. I will say I love the D&D games solo as well, hope you enjoy the play!
Well, you know what you like! Mage Knight has its ups and downs for me. When I'm in the headspace for it, it's an absolute delight. When I'm not, it's a tedious chore. I think it's because when you don't play it for a bit, you forget the rules! Because of this, I recommend Thunderbolt Apache Leader to you. Each game is a campaign of missions (think X-Com). Missions take about 45 minutes each, including pilot/weapon selection. Fantastic all around, every game of it I play is a joy. And you don't need to be a military aviation buff to enjoy it. I like it so much I P500'd Huey Leader, even though that looks very similar and goes against all my principles. But it takes place in Vietnam and I love that time period (in movies, etc)
I've also become infatuated with Freedom: The Underground Railroad. Plays in an hour but each game of it I play, I love that most of the dynamics in the game are up to me to figure out the puzzle. It's a co-op game but it says 1-4 players on the box and plays excellently with just 1 role. I've made videos on TAL and Freedom (and Infection: Humanity's Last Gasp by VPG, another awesome game. If money's a big concern, go for this.) Check them out to see if the games are what you like
i have always wanted to get into tabletop rpg,alas i never had anyone else to play with. i did sort of manage to play both space hulk and warhammer quest solo (the board games/not card games). would love to play d & d e.t.c
thanks for your reply. tbh am now 40 and haven't played any games workshop for over 20 years now.i still do love all of that stuff though. i do play a lot of computer games though. definitely a good substitute (am addicted to warhammer quest on pc/torchlight 1 & 2 and diablo 3. i have always loved anything fantasy though. cheers :-)
Just set it up for my first real adventure. What a deep and marvelous solo gaming experience it is...lots of RPG leveling up...so it is incredibly addictive! Enjoy!
Great list ! I guess I should try Mage Knight... From the games I played here my top 5 so far. 1. Robinson Crusoe (Wow... Others have suggested it) 2. Mice and mystics (coop so you play multiple mice) 3. Ghost Stories (also Coop but the game have a 1 player variant) 4. Pandemic with the in the lab (CDC) 5. Arkham Horror (like you said..) I'm not the biggest fan of solo game because for me games are a social thing but I like games that allowed me to play solo as it gives me a full experience in the learning the rules process. A good exemple is Arkham Horror... I highly suggest to anybody that want to play this game to play a couple of solo games first to grasp the rule before dealing with a group otherwise the game will last 8 hours :)
It takes a few scenario's to get into the game but definitly worth the cash if you like rpg-type of games. If you ever get it, it is the most fun if you play it with several chars in your party.
Awesome list! A couple that I like to play solo are: Friday (Friedemann Friese), Chrononauts, Lord of the Rings LCG, and (as you mentioned during your Mage Knight portion) Castle Ravenloft/Wrath of Ashardalon/Legend of Drizzt.
Good stuff to keep in mind, even if solo play isn't quite my cup of tea, as it excludes what is IMO one of the greatest elements of analogue gaming; social interaction.
try panzer general:allied assualt or panzer general: russian assualt you can get them brand new direct from the publisher by paying postage at the petroroglyph games website. I have them both and they are one to two player games and for free....well that's just a great deal. the art work is awesome and the card stock used for the game board tiles is top notch! Your getting a $60 retail priced game for less than $10 postage! DO IT!!!
I agree on all your choices except for Walking Dead. Zombicide makes a good alternative for me. Didnt know Labyrinth but the AI opponent seems like a neat idea.
Would suggest a few games that are made to be solo.... >> Friday >> Onirim/Urbion >> Victory Point Games makes a ton Plus a few great ones that work solo... >> Agricola/Ora Labora (all those Uwe Rosenburg games) >> and best of all NATIONS!!
Haha. For the second honorable mention when you said you can play it solo "Arkham Horror" flashed in my mind. I owned the game and played it once by myself. Woo boy. That took a lot of time to set up just to fail horribly (and alone too). I can see how it's definitely a fun game. But for somebody that rarely gets anybody to play games with it's a lot of trouble.
+Danny C Didn't watch the clip. The inncongruity of it made me laugh. Games to play (which are supposed to be fun) when you're mad!! lol. Strikes me as saying: Paris Hilton albums I put on when I want to relax and open my mind. :D
Plus, everyone has adult responsibilities, so it's hard to get together. I'm currently playing Wrath of Ashardalon and having great fun with it. I look forward to buying Ravenloft, Drizzit, and the newest one to mix them all together...
I enjoy wargames mostly, so Fields of Fire tops my list, followed by the COIN games. Of the solo non-wargames I own, Lord of the Rings LCG is probably my favorite. Nice list, though. I own most of them, although I need the expansion for Race for the Galaxy now that I know about the solo rules.
Nice vid. Add Eldritch Horror to your list--and it's even easier for setup/gameplay than Arkham Horror. Can play 1-8 players, solo (controlling 1 or more investigators) is quite simple and it's a very good game. Needs expansions which I'm sure will be coming soon enough. FFG does love expansions. Mage Knight--simply awesome. Love playing that one solo, can be so much fun and so frustrating at the same time. When you win you know you earned it, especially against Volkare in the Lost Legion expansion.
Beatles Eternally I would say Eldritch Horror is kind of like a cross between Pandemic and Arkham Horror. It plays faster than AH, much faster setup (maybe 10 minutes once you're familiar with it). It's challenging, it's a puzzle like Pandemic but has the versatility of AH (items, spells, monsters, etc.). If you like AH, EH is pretty fun and takes half the time to play.
Unless there's some new solo variant for Legendary, you sort of lost me there. It's poorly balanced for having one villain card played per round to the point that it simply becomes playing a game of "How many points can I get this time" which isn't very interesting, because winning quickly, which you'd think the heroes would want to do, is actually no good for that. I think a good solo game needs a significant chance for the player to lose to be interesting. Still a cool multiplayer game, though
If I'm looking for an RPG type experience with massive calculations, I'll play an old school computer game from the 1980s like Bard's Tale and Ultima...
I "Liked" your video, but have three suggestions for a possible future update: First, and most importantly I believe, is to show a little about the games mentioned. Not sure if it's OK to refer to another "TH-camr," so will use initials (Briton R. R. in his B. o. D.'s does this for his "top 25 solitaire games.") I'm not sure how long a Y. T. vid can run, as he broke his into three separate videos. 3. Perhaps make a "top 10" list, so you can include my 3rd suggestion : 3. If you've played some other games since 05/20/2013, see how they'd fit into your list/s/.
Great video bud! Thank you! Have you tried fallen land by fallendominionstudios.com? With the journey into darkness expansion it’s the best narrative driven solo sandbox game I’ve ever played! Check it out if you like solo games bro! Thanks again man!!
You're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Can't say I've heard of, much less, played, the game you mentioned. I'll take a look on BGG and see what it's all about!
Danny C - Gaming, Fandom, and Science putting one expansion on top of base board and the other 2 sideways on the side you don’t need such a long table but it’s still a mess
I have to say this... putting out a game that is pure co-op and was made with solitaire playing in mind like Pandemic and bringing a game like Labyrinth and Race for the Galaxy that have "sort of" official solo rules doesn't makes sense. You could name the video "Top 5 Board Games I like to play Solo" and that would be fine with me, but leaving out games like Legendary (Marvel DBG), Mice and Mystics, Conquest of Planet Earth, D-Day Dice and Defenders of the Realm... well, not a good enough.
***** It's a pretty involved game... def check out rick royal's playthrough series here on youtube. I think if you just tried to read the rules and play it would be massively confusing, but if you watch the playthrough the rules make MUCH more sense. Enjoy!
9 ปีที่แล้ว
I agree, Robinson Crusoe is very good game to play alone but the rules are quite hard to get right on the first try.
I'm speechless how you have never heard of them. Sagrada is a beautiful puzzle. Friday has great theme, One Deck Dungeon also has something i call soul. They all can be played solo, and all are different each time. Pandemic is the same board each time, and you only feel the random draw of the cards. ODD, Friday and Sagrada have much more extra, they have more meaning - for me at least. I highly recommend all three.
Ohhhhh OK ODD is One Deck Dungeon - I hadn't heard it referred to by its abbreviation. I have indeed played that, but not solo. Had a blast, though. The other two I hadn't heard of, but looking at BGG they look amazing, particularly Sagrada. Thanks very much for the suggestions and I'll add them to the wishlist!
I love table game and its rare to find another guy with the same passion...but playinga table game solo is pretty awful,you can play a video game instead....
Any typical hex-n-counter game without hidden information works. It's just about playing out a battle and witness the story. Nations at War / World at War series would be one example.
Yeah, M'44 is too abstract for that and has hidden information (cards). But besides wargames, my favorite boardgame for solo play would be DungeonQuest. Though it is more fun witnessing the all horrors a fantasy dungeon can provide to fellow players, the mechanics (push your luck) works the same way for single player.
I understand these are "really good and great" games cuz it's a top list, but I'd sure like to get a lil more info of wtf the game's theme is or basic info about each game... :-( Nice video though!
Thanks for the comment! Honestly, that's been something I've struggled with a bit over the years - how much do I discuss each game? Lately in particular I've shortened my list videos a decent amount, but gotten more concise and meaningful with the explanations. Feel free to take a look at my updated top 10 solo games and/or ask any questions you have about the games, I'd be happy to help!
"Warfighter" (by DVG*) is an outstanding, solo board game.
* DVG has multiple solo-player games in their catalog, although I am not personally familiar with any of the others.
One game that my friends and I used to often play solo is Axis & Allies. We would play all sides and just do partial run throughs to test strategies. Certainly not a single player game but just doing this strategy testing was kind of fun.
My first acquaintance with Pathfinder has been this new card game, and I am loving it!
You can get all 3 old Bard's Tale games for your phone. It's included with the remake designed for the Playstation 2...
Legendary Marvel Deck building card game is also a good game to play solo
It has "solo" rules and it is also fun to use get to your nice and easy getting combos from "your" card set ups quickly. Also you don't need your friends cards filling up the HQ of there cards that you cant buy. This game is a lot like thunderstone solo. If you have not played this game or this game solo yet. I suggest you to.
I liked your list too. This is something I've recently started investigating and it's cool finding precompiled lists of games to check out.
I do think the transition slides and notes between the games was a little quick for my liking. It was hard to read and process the whole slide.
I like your list. I like that you don't have a lot of hard-to-find games on the list also.
If you like war games designed to play solo, I recommend Ambush. It's old and out of print, but an excellent story-based war game.
Honourable Mentions:
Pandemic
Arkham Horror
5. The Walking Dead
4. Race for the Galaxy
3. Thunderstone / Thunderstone Advanced
2. Labyrinth
1. Mage Knight
Legendary (Marvel's deck building game) also has a pretty cool solo play mode.
The game is awesome in my opinion, I like the fact that it is a deck-building coop game. Each character's abilities are based on their personality in the comics and movies (for example Rogue copies other character's abilities). The only thing that can be deceiving is the drawings on the cards, they are all the same for each character. Considering that the game was based on comic books, I would have thought they'd take the time to draw different cards depending on their abilities. It's not a big deal, but still.
Agree Mage Knight is an excellent choice for solo. If you have the requisite table space. :)
Zombicide plays excellent solo... you always have the tension of the oncoming hoard, you don't know what the cards will bring... and you get to enjoy trying to use the abilities of the characters as one cohesive group aiding each other. I've also had a lot of fun playing Memoir 44 solo... its definitely not designed for it, but I find the randomness of the cards given to each side, provides enough challenge that you have to work with what you are given as you go back and forth.
Mine is Eldritch horror/ elder sign/ descent 2nd Ed.
Great choices! I'm not as big of a fan of Elder Sign for solo play personally, but Eldritch is great and Descent is fun, though for something so big, I'd rather reach for Gloomhaven and a delve/crawler type experience. Thanks very much!
@@DannyCGamingFandomandScience that is true. But gloom is too much for a asking price still. Lol, and my buddies can't come to a decision on it to chip in or just don't want to spend time setting it up. So descent fits the mold somewhat about a 20% of what GH is I would say?
For sure the cost can be prohibitive. Descent does definitely have a lot of the same feel as Gloom, though. I'd say it's a bit more than 20% - you do still have the campaign mode for example, RPG type mechanics, dungeon delving, etc. Price wise, Descent is cheaper enough that whatever you lose out on isn't a huge loss.
Mage Knight seems such a popular game, but in Germany it is so difficult to find. My local game shop says it is out of print and on Amazon there are only really expensive imported versions. I hope a German company makes some more of it!
Thanks, I don't have many friends.
same ;(
Synder same ;(
I'll have tot try some of these out.
Very helpful video.
Would Settlers of Catan fit into the #1 category?
Arkham Horror and also Defenders of the Realm can be played Solo (1 character). All co-op games can be played solo but these two can be played with only 1 character. As for Pandemic, I guess it also allows you that but it's not that great of a game.
I didn't said that Labyrinth or RFTG are bad games, I only said that those games are not games that can be played solo. If you can play RFTG solo you can also play Dominion solo. And it's not that great experience compared to other co-op games.
I live here in Las Vegas where Petroglyph is based out of and last Nov. they had a special for $35 you could get all of their board games. I was able to pick them up so no postage. I got the 2 panzer's, guardians of Graxia and Hero's of Graxia (card game). I asked why and they said they were getting away from boardgames to consentrate of video game. BTW they have a few free or almost free adaptations of their board games for pc as well.
Nice picks. I have a lot of games I can play solo - Race for the Galaxy, Agricola, Pathfinder Card Game, Legendary Encounters, etc. Usually, if I'm gonna game solo, I just play PC games. But there's exactly one board game I've actually played solo, and quite enjoyed - Mage Knight. It's that good.
I didn't read all the comments, so not sure if it was mentioned at all, but I was rather surprised that Zulus on the Ramparts wasn't mentioned...It's one player specific, builds tension wonderfully, is definitely not a fluff game, and is incredibly enjoyable.
as for the video, my only issue is the interstitial music was so much louder than the talking bits I had to keep turn the volume up and down...very minor gripe, but as a video editor myself...well you could see how that would grate on my nerves hahaha otherwise, great vid
Interesting list. have you played the D&d adventure system board games? they're designed to play pretty well solo. (Ravenloft, Ashardalon, Drizzt, elemental Evil)
Cool. this summer I picked up all 4 for less than $40 ea and ravenloft and drizzt were on sale. surprised they still stocked them. WotC replaced a couple bent minis from drizzt and a missing piece which was cool from a used elemental evil which the seller said they never had l. it took about 15 minutes to punch out the die cuts lol
I also got two dungeon command faction packs for $7 shipped with a $50 coupon just for the minis and monster cards. I haven’t combined them all yet. thats a ton of pieces!
I like the esthetics of WotC D&D games. and the 4th edition RPG system works really well with the ABGSystem (which some say 4e is a board game lol) I like the interlocking D&d board game tiles.
I also have Zombies!!! which of course is a tile placement game that plays fine solo I haven’t played it in a while but the bag o glow in the dark zombies is cool ;
I put a few board games on my site. I make too much of a production out of them. I’m trying to make them simpler presentations but being a graphic designer I cant do it any other way lol Xwing minis I could have 10 vids up by now if I could just talk them thru like yourself and most people lol
I have so many videos 80-90% finished. I have a lot of other cool games to share. star wars epic duels is a good one as is wizkidz pocket models. that one I dug up from my collection ended up buying old packs.
I was going to mention that sprawling tiles especially zombies. the D&D games are ones that stay in a reasonable sized area the way the game is designed how long a game lasts imho. those are actually fun games to lose because you usually do have chance and get close to the end if you lose at least I’ve found so far.
dungeon command doesn’t use dice(!) but I house ruled it to use the stats on the included monster cards. creatures last longer but it’s more D&D fun. as it stands though the DC game and some say 4e is a combo of WotC magic the gathering which I never played and D&D minis. It essentially is not difficult to learn however I can get confused playing solo learning a game. an experienced player on enworld was very helpful. it was hard to wrap my head around a non d20 D&D game lol especially since I also have the original 3.5 D&D minis game starter sets. in fact I have some minis I can compare to the D&D board game upainted and DC painted.
The one good thing about 4e is that if you did have to buy lots of product at least it’s collectible-looking so thats not bad.
I have a vid up on my original D&D holmes boxed set it was fun to reminisce. In comparison you wonder how you ever survived 1e and AD&D. I did like 4e that you felt more powerful out of the box and being combat centric I liked that medieval themed hack & slash combat in the first place. and that translates well to the board games yet ironically especially in ravenloft you can lose more than win.
ravenloft being the first one is the most difficult to win. WotC tweaked them as they went along in a good way. love the undead theme though. Ashardalon was also the one that got me interested when I saw youtube solo gameplay.
in 4e RPG however conditions and higher levels could bog it down. they finally tweaked the monster stat blocks then dumped it for 5e lol which I haven’t played just read the books. and did follow along with the test play program leading up to tis design. it seems like a nice balance between old school and contemporary but it doesn’t seem as exciting or dynamic as 4e.
I also uploaded a kenner star wars destroy death star vintage board game house ruled with the 5e advantage disadvantage d20s lol thats one 5e concept I liked. there were some 4e wild magic sorcerer powers I believe that used that approach if recall. it sometimes fun combining aspects of games with others.
I have to check out firefly you mentioned thats one my friend did a vid on and he likes a lot. on a side note his wife liked my star trek board game they picked it up after they saw my vid. she doesn’t like star trek but likes the game because she wins all the time lol so if you want someone to like a game then take one for the team and “let the wookie win” lol
PS I also have black bakers racks I put collectibles and games on ; There so much weight on them over the years I doubt I could get them apart.
keep up the good work!
Shadows without a traitor is alright - it's lighter, of course, but it's fun to play anyway. It's more of a puzzle that way. My girlfriend and I sometimes play it, using 2 knights each, and puzzle it out together.
Death Angel by Fantasy Flight is a lot of fun to play solo.
***** Death Angel is one of my favorite card games, but it is brutal, which can turn many people off. You won't start winning regularly until you have a a bit under your belt, and even then random draws and rolls can just murder you in a couple turns.
Thanks for the info! I'm 44 years old and am just getting into the hobby. There isn't anyone to play theses games in my small town, but solo play is still fun. I like how these games use tokens instead of pencil and paper...
Great review! Perfect length, and a great topic!
Good evening,
I am working with a college project and my idea is to "evolve" the board games trying to bring ideas from the world of board games and electronics to create a way to make the most practical boardgames to play games.
I talked to some people and they told me that the flat part of the board games are mounting the scenario and read rules varied adventures as some bordgames have different adventures within the same game. The players I interviewed, told me some details that I believe is common among all players. the main points of board games are fun face to face with friends and have the physical parts of the game to move (is that right?) thinking about it, my idea is to keep these two important points (to move pieces and the fun guy face) but apply something electronic to evolve the convenience to start the games. Ex: a digital board (a screen) where the physical parts continue along with the data but the players do not lose more time riding the board and the rules could be "spoken" during the game by the same audio device. This is an example of what could be my product development, you approve of my idea of "evolving" the board games? My target audience is the NERD / GEEK and this audience is very connected to technology, so I thought to bring the convenience of electronic games but keep the traditionalism of boardgames.
Help me please, can opine, criticize, give tips, show me what's important, what can be expected, which could be added ... this is my job completion for product design.
Thank you very much.
I really Pandemic and I'm interested about Mage Knight but it seem really hard to learn, need to see some how to on youtube before buying.
Dude! You need to check out games that are designed primarily for solitaire play. They usually vastly superior for solo play. I highly recommend Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations or perhaps something from the Field Commander series. Disaster on Everest is another great title.
Hi Danny and thanks for the nice video. My favourite board game for playing solo (actually it's a card game) is The Lord of the Rings LCG, although I never played it two handed. Other board games I enjoy playing solo are: Pandemic (last time I had a very hard but satisfying game), Arkham Horror and Zombicide. The "robot" in Race for the Galaxy is also a good way to play solo. I haven't tried Mage Knight yet, but I'd love to. Most of Uwe Rosenberg's designs allows playing solo, but I don't enjoy solo games where the only objective is to surpass your own score.
Labyrinth is good. If you like it, you should try out the COIN series also from GMT games. They play 1-4 players with bots controlling the non-player factions.
Yeah - like a few folk, I'd add Ghost Stories, and the new SOS Titanic (yes it's strongly based around Patience mechanic, but it doesn't take away from the theme too much)
Elder Sign as a lighter Arkham Horror is also good solo, but I love AH though agree, you really have to play at least 2 investigators to make it worth it.
that's the thing about Elder Sign though, i suppose it was a little misleading calling it AH light as really it is a brilliant stand-alone game in its own right just set in the same universe as AH. i think i describe it as AH light because we often play it if we haven't got time for a full blown game of AH but want to play something in that genre with that theme. i like that many of the characters transfer from one game to the next and in some ways their abilities are similar in feel if not actually following the same mechanic.
as a seemingly simple dice roller Elder Sign can be a really tense and tricky experience and the theme works integrates so nicely as more and more monsters and trickier locations come into play.
SOS is brilliant. the Patience mechanic is nice because it is so familiar, but because the theme is so strong it doesn't just feel like they've bolted a people onto a game of patience. the real test is that you couldn't play SOS with a regular poker deck, there is structure to the actual card design within the mechanism as well. the flipbook is a genius allied mechanic if slightly chilling in its implication. the whole game has a really great feel to it and though the rules can be quite subtle to begin with, once they're in your noggin, they work very smoothly. treat yourself, it's a goodie.
I think you will now have to add Pathfinder to this list!
I'm surprised you didn't include the Titanic: SOS, or Friday games, which are designed for single player. Castle Panic, & Forbidden Island work too (but that's basically Pandemic).
*****
ok, I see. I'm still learning as well. I found out about more than I have tried through other TH-cam Channels as well, such as the Dice Tower, TableTop, Starlit Citadels, & maybe Watch It Played & Board To Death TV as well! Then there's also Game Night , etc. You're welcome, & Thanks!
Btw, I own Friday, its challenging. I haven't tried SOS Titanic, or Onirim yet either.
Mage Knight. Hated it. I find Runebound 2nd Edition more fun.
Any particular reason? I know several people who feel the same about MK. What's more enjoyable about Runebound?
I just find it too heavy to enjoy. Too many bits and chits, setup time and scenario setup. It didn’t seem fluid to me. I guess I like the lighter character progression games. I can play a 3 hour solo Runebound game and feel like it was a rich experience for my time. Mageknight seemed too fiddley, so not as thematic, to me. I’m now starting up D&D Castle Ravenloft boardgame, but I’ll come back to Runebound. Thanks for asking!
Ahhhh gotcha. Makes sense and I can see the frustration particularly with the number of chits. Haven't done Runebound solo myself, so I'd be curious to compare. I do find MK pretty thematic, however, though I lower my theme expectations a bit relative to something like the D&D games. I will say I love the D&D games solo as well, hope you enjoy the play!
Well, you know what you like!
Mage Knight has its ups and downs for me. When I'm in the headspace for it, it's an absolute delight. When I'm not, it's a tedious chore. I think it's because when you don't play it for a bit, you forget the rules!
Because of this, I recommend Thunderbolt Apache Leader to you. Each game is a campaign of missions (think X-Com). Missions take about 45 minutes each, including pilot/weapon selection. Fantastic all around, every game of it I play is a joy. And you don't need to be a military aviation buff to enjoy it.
I like it so much I P500'd Huey Leader, even though that looks very similar and goes against all my principles. But it takes place in Vietnam and I love that time period (in movies, etc)
I've also become infatuated with Freedom: The Underground Railroad. Plays in an hour but each game of it I play, I love that most of the dynamics in the game are up to me to figure out the puzzle. It's a co-op game but it says 1-4 players on the box and plays excellently with just 1 role.
I've made videos on TAL and Freedom (and Infection: Humanity's Last Gasp by VPG, another awesome game. If money's a big concern, go for this.) Check them out to see if the games are what you like
Excellent list. And yes, Mage Knight is an good solo game.
i have always wanted to get into tabletop rpg,alas i never had anyone else to play with. i did sort of manage to play both space hulk and warhammer quest solo (the board games/not card games). would love to play d & d e.t.c
thanks for your reply. tbh am now 40 and haven't played any games workshop for over 20 years now.i still do love all of that stuff though. i do play a lot of computer games though. definitely a good substitute (am addicted to warhammer quest on pc/torchlight 1 & 2 and diablo 3. i have always loved anything fantasy though. cheers :-)
Maybe check out Lord of the rings lcg, day-dice or robinson crusoe. (Or Gears of War...) there many more that I like for solo
Just set it up for my first real adventure. What a deep and marvelous solo gaming experience it is...lots of RPG leveling up...so it is incredibly addictive! Enjoy!
Is that shirt rated for AD&D, ICE or Runequest?
Came here b/c I love Mage Knight, glad it was your #1. Have you played Mistfall?
+Danny C absolutely!! I just got imperial settlers and it was fun with 2. I'm going to try the solo variant soon
i enjoy playing legendary solo. and they have rules for it as well :) elder scrolls and forbidden island are also good
Great list ! I guess I should try Mage Knight... From the games I played here my top 5 so far.
1. Robinson Crusoe (Wow... Others have suggested it)
2. Mice and mystics (coop so you play multiple mice)
3. Ghost Stories (also Coop but the game have a 1 player variant)
4. Pandemic with the in the lab (CDC)
5. Arkham Horror (like you said..)
I'm not the biggest fan of solo game because for me games are a social thing but I like games that allowed me to play solo as it gives me a full experience in the learning the rules process. A good exemple is Arkham Horror... I highly suggest to anybody that want to play this game to play a couple of solo games first to grasp the rule before dealing with a group otherwise the game will last 8 hours :)
enjoyed the video, sir! Do u have a Mage Knight playthrough tutorial? I would love to see it.
Good list. For solo play you should check out Pathfinder: the card game. My new number 1 for solo.
It takes a few scenario's to get into the game but definitly worth the cash if you like rpg-type of games. If you ever get it, it is the most fun if you play it with several chars in your party.
I'm not getting into it. Maybe I need to give it another shot.
Awesome list! A couple that I like to play solo are:
Friday (Friedemann Friese),
Chrononauts,
Lord of the Rings LCG,
and (as you mentioned during your Mage Knight portion) Castle Ravenloft/Wrath of Ashardalon/Legend of Drizzt.
Good stuff to keep in mind, even if solo play isn't quite my cup of tea, as it excludes what is IMO one of the greatest elements of analogue gaming; social interaction.
Great video. I'm always looking for good solo games. I like Dungeon and Wrath of Ashardoln. Can I assume that any co op game can be played solo?
try panzer general:allied assualt or panzer general: russian assualt you can get them brand new direct from the publisher by paying postage at the petroroglyph games website. I have them both and they are one to two player games and for free....well that's just a great deal. the art work is awesome and the card stock used for the game board tiles is top notch! Your getting a $60 retail priced game for less than $10 postage! DO IT!!!
Does anybody know anybody or any place willing to sell a game called Nefarious
Thanks Danny, enjoyed the video. Ghost Stories is pretty tough for solo play and plays fairly quickly.
I agree on all your choices except for Walking Dead. Zombicide makes a good alternative for me.
Didnt know Labyrinth but the AI opponent seems like a neat idea.
I take it you're not a huge fan of the game Ghost Stories?
Would suggest a few games that are made to be solo....
>> Friday
>> Onirim/Urbion
>> Victory Point Games makes a ton
Plus a few great ones that work solo...
>> Agricola/Ora Labora (all those Uwe Rosenburg games)
>> and best of all NATIONS!!
Haha. For the second honorable mention when you said you can play it solo "Arkham Horror" flashed in my mind. I owned the game and played it once by myself. Woo boy. That took a lot of time to set up just to fail horribly (and alone too). I can see how it's definitely a fun game. But for somebody that rarely gets anybody to play games with it's a lot of trouble.
pathfinder card game is a really great single player game.
8:37 "Games to play when you're angry" !!
HAHAHAHA! LmFao!!!!!
amazeballs.
+Danny C Didn't watch the clip. The inncongruity of it made me laugh.
Games to play (which are supposed to be fun) when you're mad!!
lol.
Strikes me as saying:
Paris Hilton albums I put on when I want to relax and open my mind.
:D
i highly recommend Zombicide, the game is coop and wicked good for solo play.
Single child problems. Never really got into board games. However I love buying them because of their nice designs.
Hey all, my game Dungeon Crusade is on kickstarter right now. I built it from the ground up for us solo players. Have a great day! Rodger :)
Plus, everyone has adult responsibilities, so it's hard to get together. I'm currently playing Wrath of Ashardalon and having great fun with it. I look forward to buying Ravenloft, Drizzit, and the newest one to mix them all together...
I enjoy wargames mostly, so Fields of Fire tops my list, followed by the COIN games. Of the solo non-wargames I own, Lord of the Rings LCG is probably my favorite. Nice list, though. I own most of them, although I need the expansion for Race for the Galaxy now that I know about the solo rules.
Upperdeck's Marvel Legendary!
what is the name of the song that past in the top 1
i cant found it is like "sexy" i dont now how to discribe is in the numer one
of this top
Nice vid. Add Eldritch Horror to your list--and it's even easier for setup/gameplay than Arkham Horror. Can play 1-8 players, solo (controlling 1 or more investigators) is quite simple and it's a very good game. Needs expansions which I'm sure will be coming soon enough. FFG does love expansions.
Mage Knight--simply awesome. Love playing that one solo, can be so much fun and so frustrating at the same time. When you win you know you earned it, especially against Volkare in the Lost Legion expansion.
Beatles Eternally I would say Eldritch Horror is kind of like a cross between Pandemic and Arkham Horror. It plays faster than AH, much faster setup (maybe 10 minutes once you're familiar with it). It's challenging, it's a puzzle like Pandemic but has the versatility of AH (items, spells, monsters, etc.). If you like AH, EH is pretty fun and takes half the time to play.
Formula D and Dead of Winter work too :)
Unless there's some new solo variant for Legendary, you sort of lost me there. It's poorly balanced for having one villain card played per round to the point that it simply becomes playing a game of "How many points can I get this time" which isn't very interesting, because winning quickly, which you'd think the heroes would want to do, is actually no good for that. I think a good solo game needs a significant chance for the player to lose to be interesting. Still a cool multiplayer game, though
MageKnight is soooo GOOD!
Did you play Lord of the rings LCG?
THE BEST single player card game!
If I'm looking for an RPG type experience with massive calculations, I'll play an old school computer game from the 1980s like Bard's Tale and Ultima...
And five years after...... GLOOMHAVEN
Lord of the ring LCG?
hey, i know that outro music - that's goblin-bloggin!
number 3 link bohnanza, seriously? :-D
thanks man, this is great for us forever alone people
Yep, exactly. I gotta help out my fellow forever alones.
Just as a note, loads of survival horror games have been released in the past 2-3 years.
I "Liked" your video, but have three suggestions for a possible future update: First, and most importantly I believe, is to show a little about the games mentioned. Not sure if it's OK to refer to another "TH-camr," so will use initials (Briton R. R. in his B. o. D.'s does this for his "top 25 solitaire games.") I'm not sure how long a Y. T. vid can run, as he broke his into three separate videos. 3. Perhaps make a "top 10" list, so you can include my 3rd suggestion : 3. If you've played some other games since 05/20/2013, see how they'd fit into your list/s/.
+Matthew Tobin Also decided to "Subscribe"!
zombies!!! is a great survival horror game, i guess u could play it solo but it would not be fun.
Great info!
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed it!
thanks for this...good insights.
Kay.
Great video bud! Thank you! Have you tried fallen land by fallendominionstudios.com? With the journey into darkness expansion it’s the best narrative driven solo sandbox game I’ve ever played! Check it out if you like solo games bro! Thanks again man!!
You're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Can't say I've heard of, much less, played, the game you mentioned. I'll take a look on BGG and see what it's all about!
Arkham horror is awesome, I have the complete set and it's a mess to set up xD
Oh wow! Do you have a table around 8 feet long, as well? I can't see it fitting on less...
Danny C - Gaming, Fandom, and Science putting one expansion on top of base board and the other 2 sideways on the side you don’t need such a long table but it’s still a mess
Makes sense; get it looking kinda like Talisman with some of its expansions. Like you said, still a mess though.
I can dig it
I have to say this... putting out a game that is pure co-op and was made with solitaire playing in mind like Pandemic and bringing a game like Labyrinth and Race for the Galaxy that have "sort of" official solo rules doesn't makes sense. You could name the video "Top 5 Board Games I like to play Solo" and that would be fine with me, but leaving out games like Legendary (Marvel DBG), Mice and Mystics, Conquest of Planet Earth, D-Day Dice and Defenders of the Realm... well, not a good enough.
what about ascension?
im not sure, never played thunderstone lol so i guess were at an impasse >.>
Robinson Crusoe plays fantastically solo
***** It's a pretty involved game... def check out rick royal's playthrough series here on youtube. I think if you just tried to read the rules and play it would be massively confusing, but if you watch the playthrough the rules make MUCH more sense. Enjoy!
I agree, Robinson Crusoe is very good game to play alone but the rules are quite hard to get right on the first try.
Good review.
Yet I think the volume of your voice and the music is quite badly-balanced.
Exactly, I got jumpscared.
whers zombicide!
I had no idea there was single player board games!
Then you are in for a revelation when you check out the solo games available. Beats computer games any day.
Im so stoked to check this out!
Mage Knight ! Oh YES ! :)
I gotta support my main man Tovak :D !
my number 1 is Sagrada.
Can't say I've ever heard of any of the ones you mention - anything in particular draw you towards them?
I'm speechless how you have never heard of them. Sagrada is a beautiful puzzle. Friday has great theme, One Deck Dungeon also has something i call soul. They all can be played solo, and all are different each time. Pandemic is the same board each time, and you only feel the random draw of the cards. ODD, Friday and Sagrada have much more extra, they have more meaning - for me at least. I highly recommend all three.
Ohhhhh OK ODD is One Deck Dungeon - I hadn't heard it referred to by its abbreviation. I have indeed played that, but not solo. Had a blast, though.
The other two I hadn't heard of, but looking at BGG they look amazing, particularly Sagrada. Thanks very much for the suggestions and I'll add them to the wishlist!
DEXTER?????
My bad. I was surprised to see that Dexter has a board game.
I love table game and its rare to find another guy with the same passion...but playinga table game solo is pretty awful,you can play a video game instead....
Wargames are good for solo
Any typical hex-n-counter game without hidden information works. It's just about playing out a battle and witness the story. Nations at War / World at War series would be one example.
Yeah, M'44 is too abstract for that and has hidden information (cards).
But besides wargames, my favorite boardgame for solo play would be DungeonQuest. Though it is more fun witnessing the all horrors a fantasy dungeon can provide to fellow players, the mechanics (push your luck) works the same way for single player.
Absolutely. That's how I and many other wargamers play most often.
I recommend Gears of War also. Not so deep but some good skin of your teeth tension.
Lol Pandemic as honorable mention... He was ahead of his time
Sometimes we all can get lucky :D
Thank you so much I don’t have any friends
Yea, it's not fun, right?
I understand these are "really good and great" games cuz it's a top list, but I'd sure like to get a lil more info of wtf the game's theme is or basic info about each game... :-( Nice video though!
Thanks for the comment! Honestly, that's been something I've struggled with a bit over the years - how much do I discuss each game? Lately in particular I've shortened my list videos a decent amount, but gotten more concise and meaningful with the explanations. Feel free to take a look at my updated top 10 solo games and/or ask any questions you have about the games, I'd be happy to help!
for ever alone! games!
the "i dont have friends board game list "
oh ye they are great games :) I'm playing relic with the nemesis expansion atm .... so much fun :D