nothing so far from 2023 is what I would call S tier. In general, my S tier games are rewritten variants so they wouldn't mean a thing to you without having learned the (better) rules.
Three Sisters ends up in my S tier for sure. The combos are superb and I printed off an unofficial light solo campaign from BGG that really elevated game play for me! Fleet is also from 25th games and is incredibly fun solo. I also have Hadrian’s wall constantly at the ready in my coffee table and am working through that campaign. I will say that the campaign can be incredibly challenging for me when it comes to achieving the next game set-up bonuses on some of the forts and I can’t crack the needed strategy! Any suggestions?
@@kosterix123 I’m really new to gaming so I’m solidly in the middle-light and middle-weight complexities. Roll and writes seem to saturate that area. I’m also a sucker for polyomino placement too. Haha What are some of your favorite games?
@@Leilataj85 yeah sure go for it if you like roll and write, sure. I played a few during gaming cons, welcome to, cartographers and something-london. And patchwork for polyominoes, as well as Ubongo the travel variant with the pins (some female youtuber recommended it and it's really good, 100 puzzles in one). For solo I prefer light but elegant, intuitive rules so I don't have to look up every minute. Preferably adventure games: - The Last Stronghold, and The Forgotten Road, two games from Gabe Barrett, I didn't like his rules so I wrote my own (you can find all the details and download to the rule sheets that fit into the box. Summarized, I added more agency and difficulty levels, you start at Very Easy and unlock each new difficulty level at certain points. - Aftermath - I wrote a Reference Guide for it comprising all the 400+ questions into a coherent ruleset, added a true solo variant and tested it out. - I like One Deck Dungeon campaign mode, but so far have only completed the easiest dungeon, but printed out the fan created heroes and bonus dungeons. - Palm Island, played a lot, and more recently played Galdor's Grip. - I also enjoy shooting videos of my learning process, because nobody does that yet everyone has to suffer through that. You can find everything at my channel kosterix123, it's free, non advertising so won't hurt to take a look 🙂maybe see you there ♪
Great video! I’ve been loving watching your solo playthroughs lately. I like your style a lot, you are so calm and it adds a cozy element to my evening. Thank you!
Really enjoying this format (still only halfway through the video) - makes a refreshing change from the same old bog standard lists you see on most channels. Cheers
What a great idea on how to organize your favorites and not-so-favorites from last year. A novel approach, and well done. I love your criteria for each level. Thanks for the video, Rhiannon!
This was a really enjoyable video. Thanks for putting the time in, Rhiannon. I only have one of your S-tier games (Hadrian's Wall) and I haven't played it yet. (I only bought it because of the theme!) The only places where our tastes overlap, I think, are in Trismegistus, Bloody Inn, Grand Austria Hotel, Newton and, possibly, Isle of Trains. But I agreed with your reasons for liking or not liking many of the the other games. The first Arkham Noir case (The Witch Cult Murders) is easier than Called Forth by Thunder. I also have Infinite Gulfs of Darkness but that's another one I haven't played yet. These Arkham Noir games are B-tier for me as I have to be in the mood. I like the way they are based on lesser known stories. Maybe the stories are easier to find in French anthologies. I did manage to track them all down but it was difficult. One of the inspirations for Infinite Gulfs of Darkness was a story by Robert Bloch rather than HP Lovecraft. I am not sure why Yves Tourigny drew his inspiration from those particular stories but their relative obscurity adds to the air of occult mystery surrounding the games.
There is an official solo mode for Carcassonne that is quite delightful. I couldn‘t get it to the table very often multi-player but eventually didn‘t want to let go of this classic, and so I tried that one and was well entertained.
Yes thank you someone else just pointed that out to me also!! I didn't know that existed how exciting!! You're right I play Carcassonne very rarely but it's quite a calming and short game so a solo option would be good. Like you, don't think I would get rid of it either so it would be good to get a few extra plays of it whilst it's sat waiting on the shelf...🥺😂
Awesome start of the video with Abomination ranked so high on your list! The theme got us very intrigued. We've had it in our collection. However, we haven't played it yet. Hopefully soon! BTW, I read some of the comments. You won't be able to please everyone. So, do your videos, editing, uploading, etc, how you want and enjoy. Have a fantastic 2024!
Thank you very much for your kind comments 😊 oh I really hope you enjoy Abomination when you get to play! Don't forget to check the Igor variant out if you find it's a little long or needs a bit of a kick to get going as that helps a lot (I love how it plays without it anyway!). Happy gaming!! 😁
Hi there! Great channel, I also predominantly play solo as well. I like the ranking system and I like it is clearly your preferences, it adds authenticity. The video is maybe a little long tho? Great topic, I look forward to more of your solo content, be well.
Can't wait for the Uwe rankings!!! Your solo plays are my favorite, and your personal perspective and thoughts is super helpful for me because we have similar tastes! A point of feedback, it would be great to have timestamps as I tend to reference these type of videos quite often.
Hey Rhiannon - Paul Grogan did something kind of similar to your ranking; he used a website that went through his entire collection, and asked "Do you prefer Game A or Game B?" Algorithmic magic (and many hours) later, he'd come up with an ordered list. In terms of 2023 S Tier, I really loved Roll Player Adventures. It was easy to get out, the dice/card manipulation was quite simple but enormous fun, and the story was great (with really obvious opportunities to make other choices in another playthrough). I think it's difficult to get a hold of outside of the Kickstarters, but it's just fantastic.
Oh that's fun I hadn't seen him do that! I'll have a look. I tried to do that swiping thing before when I had a much smaller collection but can't imagine doing that with a collection perhaps as large as Paul's! :O Great to hear you've enjoyed Rollplayer Adventures! I was eyeing up that Kickstarter when it was first out and it did look so good but wasn't sure how much I'd be able to get it out as it took look like a big undertaking. Interesting to hear you say that it was quite easy to do so though. I really enjoyed playing the basic Roll Player (and that was an online play which I usually dislike!). Thank you so much for watching and your comment :)
This is something I posted on Facebook. My current fav solo games. Hope it’s not too much. :) Managed to put together my current Top 10 Solo boardgames that I have been playing for the last few years. Used to play regularly in a couple of groups but found myself drifting more into solo plays. If I’m alone at home, I’ll start a game with some Lofi TH-cam music in the background. So starting with an Honourable Mention for Micro Macro Crime City. Completed the first two sets, loved every minute of it except there’s no replay value and I traded them away after that. Would have been in my top five otherwise. Anyway, here we go. 10. Obsession. Played it multiplayer over a dozen times, had a ton of fun but only solo-ed it twice and also enjoyed that a lot. So that’s why it’s only at number 10. And also probably the most thematic game on the list. 9. Flashpoint: South China Sea. Would had been higher if not for the automa which is quite a handful for me. Had to keep referring to the rules, I’m dumb that way. But it’s a very tense and exciting game. 8. AuZtralia. Nice big set-up. Been awhile since I played this but I do remember enjoying this a lot. Pick-up deliver with Cthulhu in it, it’s such fun experience. I’m a big Cthulhu fan as you’ll see later. 😉 7. Cthulhu: Death May Die Season 1. Finally got this from an Amazon sale not so long ago and although I only played it a few times. I really like the overall experience but I had an even bigger kick painting ALL the miniatures. Painting them all was probably my biggest hobby achievement of the year. 6. Grand Austria Hotel. This is soooo good but soooo difficult. Never won a single game but the beauty and simplicity is all there. It’s also a rather short game for such an impressive-looking euro. I actually 3D-printed an Emperor bust token that looked just like the art, instead of using the flat black token. 5. Dorfromanik. Right in the middle of this legacy game as I’m putting this list together. Still playing and having a really fun time opening the boxes. I’m pretty sure there’s a replay value when it’s all done unlike Crime City? 4. Star Wars: Deck Building Game. I’m playing the unofficial Jabba the Hutt solo variant. Super fast and easy to set up. Quite a challenge. And it’s a solo Star Wars game, of cos I’m going to like it. 3. Coffee Roaster. Was my number one solo game for a couple of years after I bought the original from Japan. Love the art and pulling things out of a bag! Funny thing is I saw the game in Tokyo more than once but never bought it until several trips later. 2. Marquis. I’m also a WWII buff and this immediately took the number one spot when I got it. I really like the different scenarios and worker-placement is one of my favourite mechanics. 1. Hallertau. Never thought a Uwe euro game would be my number one but here we are. Over the last year, I just keep finding myself either thinking about this game or taking it to play instead of the others. The rules are so simple but there are so many decisions to make, everything looks so beautiful on the table and I think I even got some pretty decent scores.
Wow thank you so much for sharing! We have reasonably similar taste!! Agree Hallertau is fantastic, was a shock that it was so good as you don't hear it talked about that much. I'd love to play Cthulu Death May Die, it's intrigued me a lot so thank you for talking about it from a solo point of view. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to grab a copy! Auztralia is another that has such a cool theme and intrigues me also! I bounced off of Obsession a bit but I haven't played it in a long time now so would like to give it a go again. Thank you very much for sharing, it's always so interesting to see what everyone else is playing when you're wrapped up in your own little solo gaming world! 😅
Thanks for sharing this! Always enjoy your videos. Check out thinker/themer’s solo Stardew valley review. As I recall, Maggie actually turned the game into an unofficial campaign which made each game play a year of a 7-year time span which I think is like the video game…
@@bluedogboardgames I told another new solo gamer about a Three Sisters solo campaign that I found in BGG that I adore. It adds fun variety to each game and is similar to Hadrian’s Wall in the layout.
woah! 😯 thats alot of board games! its nice to see Dobble and Ghost blitz up there those 2 games never fails to break the ice when im playing with the persons i just met :) i need to try Hadrians Wall,Grand Austria Hotel and the very expensive one Too Many Bones XD. both of my friends didnt like GWT either but its one of my favorite games, we traded it bcuz no one wants to play with me :( maybe the 2nd ed. fixed some problems but its too late now XD
Absolutely! They're such fun and I didn't want them to get lost within the massive load of much larger heavy games. They're great in their own right. The games you mentioned really are brilliant games - and Too Many Bones is definitely an investment but you don't need to go overboard with the content. There's plenty in the base game alone! I'm not sure of the differences between the first and second edition of GWT so I'm not much help there! That's a shame though - maybe you could grab the second edition again due to the solo game?! :)
Thank you so much for watching! Yes it surprised me a little, never thought a co-op game like that would be quite so difficult to run when there's plenty of other larger and more complex co-ops that I find a lot of fun!
Obviously everyone on this planet would disagree with such a list. Very courageous to rate FH and MK lower and I think you're spot on. All highly subjective, but if I may, I wonder why you put Cascadia in S. I found the multiplayer game just take from 4 tiles one and from 4 discs one, and anything extra scores just in a linear fashion, and it all just random blorb. The solo surely can't be better, but the interplayer tension gone, leaves it just bone dry. So what am I missing here? Second, Carcassone DOES have an official solo. Check out their website. But atm I'd rather play carcassonne mists it just feels more naturally a solo. Micro macro is without a doubt an S, if only for after playing through it there's another title and another, and you can simply pass on the game and donate to a friend (or family) so it makes more people happy with the same box ♥
Yes they definitely can be...but this was just a bit of fun and I really tried to not think overly hard about each choice. If I think about a game nowadays and don't get that excitement to play I think I need to start evaluating if it deserves a spot in my favourite games...even if I know they're really really good. Cascadia is a new to me game so, like Bitoku, I wonder if it has the 'new game' excitement a little. However I'm very much enjoying the zen like gameplay it has when playing solo. It's very much a game that I can turn most of my brain off and just, as you say, just take tile after tile. I'm just coming to the part of the solo scenarios where target scores are higher so I'm looking forward to seeing if I still enjoy it as much when I need to think a little more and it's a bit less zen! I like to have a few more 'cosy' games on an evening sometimes and I feel it definitely fits that. I love the art too. I didn't know Carcassonne has a solo, that's great thank you I'll have to have a look! Agree with Micro macro - we have gifted a copy of the original as fell in love with it when we first tried it (to a non gamer so don't know if they ever tried it out, will have to play it with them sometime so they can see how it works!) Such a brilliant game 🥰 Thank you for watching 😁
@@bluedogboardgames Well "them bastards" have taken down both the Dutch and the English solo variant. Commercial reasons no doubt. From what I could find... === Carcassonne’s solo board game rules see a single player - or several players working together as a team, making it a co-op board game instead - alternate between three stacks of tiles and meeple colours. Tiles are placed using the same rules as the multiplayer game, connecting up roads, fields and cities. Once a tile is placed, a meeple of the current colour must be placed to claim a feature on the tile - with the exception that meeples can never be placed as farmers to claim fields. Completed features - fully enclosed cities, finished roads and monasteries - score points for one of the meeples on that feature, of the player’s choice. At the end of the game, triggered by one set of meeples running out, the player (or team) scores the amount of points equal to their lowest-scoring colour, making balancing the three colours necessary to score high. The solo board game mode can be adjusted in difficulty by adding more meeples of each colour or even introducing another colour to the mix, with Hans im Glück adding that Carcassonne’s various expansions are also compatible with the variant. === In other words, summarized gameplay is you "play every color and score like in Tigris and Euphrates, without farmers". So far, so good, but I'm not sure that this makes the best game possible for me - you seem to be more inclined to "dry" point games, it might be good for you - I'd rather see something like this: === 0. Decide on conventions: a) scoring mini city (2 tiles) was 2 points, later 4 points; recommend 4. b) farm rule: city score 3 for dominant farmer(s); there was an older rule giving 4 points to dominating area. Recommend 3 point rule. 1. Select difficulty. Walk in the Park = only 1 opponent color; Easy = 2 opponent colors; Normal = 3 opponent colors; Hard = 4 opponents; Good Luck = Hard but you play with 1 meeple less. Your goal is to beat the game consistently in best of 5 fashion, to unlock the next difficulty. Play your first game in Walk in the Park mode. 2. Choose a color for you and X others are your opponents. (X = 1..4) Make an ordered half circle of each set of same color meeples. For X=1-3: Base Carcassone comes with 5 colors, use a single meeple of the 5th, unused color, to score for the AI. Leftover meeples go back in the box. For X=4, one color plays with 1 meeple in play and is use that meeple instead to track scoring. This represents the "player order" going clockwise starting with you. 3. On your turn you play as in a normal multiplayer. 4. on opponents' turn the bot takes two decisions: - where to put and rotate the tile; Starting from the tile you placed draw an imaginary line north until you reach the farthest tile away from you, the first space to consider is the one to the north of that. Try each rotation of the new tile on that space. If placement is not possible consider the next space (clockwise). If no placement possible, score nothing, tile goes into the game box, next player. After a legal tile placement was found: - what meeple role to take; Bot prefers to place their meeple according to this recipe: monastery > town > road > farm. (He-man > normal meeple if you play with the Cath&Inns expansion) Resolve ambiguities in N > E > S >-W fashion (north being opposite of "you"), 5. Scoring: Whenever something scores you score as normal, opponent tracks score with the 5th color meeple. End game - tiles end - score farmers. === this could be generalized for river and sheep and whatnot other expansion but you have something that will give you at least 18 game sessions 🙂
What games would be in your S tier for 2023?!
nothing so far from 2023 is what I would call S tier.
In general, my S tier games are rewritten variants so they wouldn't mean a thing to you without having learned the (better) rules.
Three Sisters ends up in my S tier for sure. The combos are superb and I printed off an unofficial light solo campaign from BGG that really elevated game play for me! Fleet is also from 25th games and is incredibly fun solo.
I also have Hadrian’s wall constantly at the ready in my coffee table and am working through that campaign. I will say that the campaign can be incredibly challenging for me when it comes to achieving the next game set-up bonuses on some of the forts and I can’t crack the needed strategy! Any suggestions?
@@Leilataj85 somehow I just don't gel well with write up games.
@@kosterix123 I’m really new to gaming so I’m solidly in the middle-light and middle-weight complexities. Roll and writes seem to saturate that area. I’m also a sucker for polyomino placement too. Haha
What are some of your favorite games?
@@Leilataj85 yeah sure go for it if you like roll and write, sure. I played a few during gaming cons, welcome to, cartographers and something-london. And patchwork for polyominoes, as well as Ubongo the travel variant with the pins (some female youtuber recommended it and it's really good, 100 puzzles in one).
For solo I prefer light but elegant, intuitive rules so I don't have to look up every minute. Preferably adventure games:
- The Last Stronghold, and The Forgotten Road, two games from Gabe Barrett, I didn't like his rules so I wrote my own (you can find all the details and download to the rule sheets that fit into the box. Summarized, I added more agency and difficulty levels, you start at Very Easy and unlock each new difficulty level at certain points.
- Aftermath - I wrote a Reference Guide for it comprising all the 400+ questions into a coherent ruleset, added a true solo variant and tested it out.
- I like One Deck Dungeon campaign mode, but so far have only completed the easiest dungeon, but printed out the fan created heroes and bonus dungeons.
- Palm Island, played a lot, and more recently played Galdor's Grip.
- I also enjoy shooting videos of my learning process, because nobody does that yet everyone has to suffer through that. You can find everything at my channel kosterix123, it's free, non advertising so won't hurt to take a look 🙂maybe see you there ♪
Great video! I’ve been loving watching your solo playthroughs lately. I like your style a lot, you are so calm and it adds a cozy element to my evening. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you're here and that you've been enjoying them 🥰
Really enjoying this format (still only halfway through the video) - makes a refreshing change from the same old bog standard lists you see on most channels. Cheers
What a great idea on how to organize your favorites and not-so-favorites from last year. A novel approach, and well done. I love your criteria for each level. Thanks for the video, Rhiannon!
This was a really enjoyable video. Thanks for putting the time in, Rhiannon. I only have one of your S-tier games (Hadrian's Wall) and I haven't played it yet. (I only bought it because of the theme!) The only places where our tastes overlap, I think, are in Trismegistus, Bloody Inn, Grand Austria Hotel, Newton and, possibly, Isle of Trains. But I agreed with your reasons for liking or not liking many of the the other games. The first Arkham Noir case (The Witch Cult Murders) is easier than Called Forth by Thunder. I also have Infinite Gulfs of Darkness but that's another one I haven't played yet. These Arkham Noir games are B-tier for me as I have to be in the mood. I like the way they are based on lesser known stories. Maybe the stories are easier to find in French anthologies. I did manage to track them all down but it was difficult. One of the inspirations for Infinite Gulfs of Darkness was a story by Robert Bloch rather than HP Lovecraft. I am not sure why Yves Tourigny drew his inspiration from those particular stories but their relative obscurity adds to the air of occult mystery surrounding the games.
There is an official solo mode for Carcassonne that is quite delightful. I couldn‘t get it to the table very often multi-player but eventually didn‘t want to let go of this classic, and so I tried that one and was well entertained.
Yes thank you someone else just pointed that out to me also!! I didn't know that existed how exciting!! You're right I play Carcassonne very rarely but it's quite a calming and short game so a solo option would be good. Like you, don't think I would get rid of it either so it would be good to get a few extra plays of it whilst it's sat waiting on the shelf...🥺😂
not available anymore. Carcassonne is S-tier, for the sole reason it's a hit with any group.
It‘s available as a print-out. Just google Carcassonne solo play and you‘ll find the file.
Awesome start of the video with Abomination ranked so high on your list! The theme got us very intrigued. We've had it in our collection. However, we haven't played it yet. Hopefully soon! BTW, I read some of the comments. You won't be able to please everyone. So, do your videos, editing, uploading, etc, how you want and enjoy. Have a fantastic 2024!
Thank you very much for your kind comments 😊 oh I really hope you enjoy Abomination when you get to play! Don't forget to check the Igor variant out if you find it's a little long or needs a bit of a kick to get going as that helps a lot (I love how it plays without it anyway!). Happy gaming!! 😁
Hi there! Great channel, I also predominantly play solo as well. I like the ranking system and I like it is clearly your preferences, it adds authenticity. The video is maybe a little long tho? Great topic, I look forward to more of your solo content, be well.
Can't wait for the Uwe rankings!!! Your solo plays are my favorite, and your personal perspective and thoughts is super helpful for me because we have similar tastes! A point of feedback, it would be great to have timestamps as I tend to reference these type of videos quite often.
Hey Rhiannon - Paul Grogan did something kind of similar to your ranking; he used a website that went through his entire collection, and asked "Do you prefer Game A or Game B?" Algorithmic magic (and many hours) later, he'd come up with an ordered list. In terms of 2023 S Tier, I really loved Roll Player Adventures. It was easy to get out, the dice/card manipulation was quite simple but enormous fun, and the story was great (with really obvious opportunities to make other choices in another playthrough). I think it's difficult to get a hold of outside of the Kickstarters, but it's just fantastic.
Oh that's fun I hadn't seen him do that! I'll have a look. I tried to do that swiping thing before when I had a much smaller collection but can't imagine doing that with a collection perhaps as large as Paul's! :O
Great to hear you've enjoyed Rollplayer Adventures! I was eyeing up that Kickstarter when it was first out and it did look so good but wasn't sure how much I'd be able to get it out as it took look like a big undertaking. Interesting to hear you say that it was quite easy to do so though. I really enjoyed playing the basic Roll Player (and that was an online play which I usually dislike!). Thank you so much for watching and your comment :)
What website?
@@Tutoriaisheresounds like PubMeeple’s ranking engine. It’s quite a fun exercise and I’d love to see it here!
This is something I posted on Facebook. My current fav solo games. Hope it’s not too much. :)
Managed to put together my current Top 10 Solo boardgames that I have been playing for the last few years. Used to play regularly in a couple of groups but found myself drifting more into solo plays. If I’m alone at home, I’ll start a game with some Lofi TH-cam music in the background. So starting with an Honourable Mention for Micro Macro Crime City. Completed the first two sets, loved every minute of it except there’s no replay value and I traded them away after that. Would have been in my top five otherwise. Anyway, here we go.
10. Obsession. Played it multiplayer over a dozen times, had a ton of fun but only solo-ed it twice and also enjoyed that a lot. So that’s why it’s only at number 10. And also probably the most thematic game on the list.
9. Flashpoint: South China Sea. Would had been higher if not for the automa which is quite a handful for me. Had to keep referring to the rules, I’m dumb that way. But it’s a very tense and exciting game.
8. AuZtralia. Nice big set-up. Been awhile since I played this but I do remember enjoying this a lot. Pick-up deliver with Cthulhu in it, it’s such fun experience. I’m a big Cthulhu fan as you’ll see later. 😉
7. Cthulhu: Death May Die Season 1. Finally got this from an Amazon sale not so long ago and although I only played it a few times. I really like the overall experience but I had an even bigger kick painting ALL the miniatures. Painting them all was probably my biggest hobby achievement of the year.
6. Grand Austria Hotel. This is soooo good but soooo difficult. Never won a single game but the beauty and simplicity is all there. It’s also a rather short game for such an impressive-looking euro. I actually 3D-printed an Emperor bust token that looked just like the art, instead of using the flat black token.
5. Dorfromanik. Right in the middle of this legacy game as I’m putting this list together. Still playing and having a really fun time opening the boxes. I’m pretty sure there’s a replay value when it’s all done unlike Crime City?
4. Star Wars: Deck Building Game. I’m playing the unofficial Jabba the Hutt solo variant. Super fast and easy to set up. Quite a challenge. And it’s a solo Star Wars game, of cos I’m going to like it.
3. Coffee Roaster. Was my number one solo game for a couple of years after I bought the original from Japan. Love the art and pulling things out of a bag! Funny thing is I saw the game in Tokyo more than once but never bought it until several trips later.
2. Marquis. I’m also a WWII buff and this immediately took the number one spot when I got it. I really like the different scenarios and worker-placement is one of my favourite mechanics.
1. Hallertau. Never thought a Uwe euro game would be my number one but here we are. Over the last year, I just keep finding myself either thinking about this game or taking it to play instead of the others. The rules are so simple but there are so many decisions to make, everything looks so beautiful on the table and I think I even got some pretty decent scores.
Wow thank you so much for sharing! We have reasonably similar taste!! Agree Hallertau is fantastic, was a shock that it was so good as you don't hear it talked about that much.
I'd love to play Cthulu Death May Die, it's intrigued me a lot so thank you for talking about it from a solo point of view. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to grab a copy!
Auztralia is another that has such a cool theme and intrigues me also!
I bounced off of Obsession a bit but I haven't played it in a long time now so would like to give it a go again.
Thank you very much for sharing, it's always so interesting to see what everyone else is playing when you're wrapped up in your own little solo gaming world! 😅
Thanks for sharing this! Always enjoy your videos.
Check out thinker/themer’s solo Stardew valley review. As I recall, Maggie actually turned the game into an unofficial campaign which made each game play a year of a 7-year time span which I think is like the video game…
I absolutely plan to do that - that sounds fabulous and completely my thing, thank you!
And thank you for watching and your kind words!
@@bluedogboardgames I told another new solo gamer about a Three Sisters solo campaign that I found in BGG that I adore. It adds fun variety to each game and is similar to Hadrian’s Wall in the layout.
4 of my top 10 in S tier! This makes me want to try Ark Nova and Rawr & Write!
Oh wow which 4?! Those two are extremely strong games for me so definitely good picks to give a go in my opinion!! 🤪
woah! 😯 thats alot of board games! its nice to see Dobble and Ghost blitz up there those 2 games never fails to break the ice when im playing with the persons i just met :)
i need to try Hadrians Wall,Grand Austria Hotel and the very expensive one Too Many Bones XD.
both of my friends didnt like GWT either but its one of my favorite games, we traded it bcuz no one wants to play with me :( maybe the 2nd ed. fixed some problems but its too late now XD
Absolutely! They're such fun and I didn't want them to get lost within the massive load of much larger heavy games. They're great in their own right.
The games you mentioned really are brilliant games - and Too Many Bones is definitely an investment but you don't need to go overboard with the content. There's plenty in the base game alone!
I'm not sure of the differences between the first and second edition of GWT so I'm not much help there! That's a shame though - maybe you could grab the second edition again due to the solo game?! :)
@@bluedogboardgames maybe not anymore, Im waiting for Alexander Pfister's new game Pirates of Maracaibo
but Too Many Bones is still on my wishlist :)
Tier ranking games is the best! Great list. Agree completely with Sentinels at the bottom!
Thank you so much for watching! Yes it surprised me a little, never thought a co-op game like that would be quite so difficult to run when there's plenty of other larger and more complex co-ops that I find a lot of fun!
Obviously everyone on this planet would disagree with such a list.
Very courageous to rate FH and MK lower and I think you're spot on.
All highly subjective, but if I may, I wonder why you put Cascadia in S. I found the multiplayer game just take from 4 tiles one and from 4 discs one, and anything extra scores just in a linear fashion, and it all just random blorb. The solo surely can't be better, but the interplayer tension gone, leaves it just bone dry.
So what am I missing here?
Second, Carcassone DOES have an official solo. Check out their website. But atm I'd rather play carcassonne mists it just feels more naturally a solo.
Micro macro is without a doubt an S, if only for after playing through it there's another title and another, and you can simply pass on the game and donate to a friend (or family) so it makes more people happy with the same box ♥
Yes they definitely can be...but this was just a bit of fun and I really tried to not think overly hard about each choice. If I think about a game nowadays and don't get that excitement to play I think I need to start evaluating if it deserves a spot in my favourite games...even if I know they're really really good.
Cascadia is a new to me game so, like Bitoku, I wonder if it has the 'new game' excitement a little. However I'm very much enjoying the zen like gameplay it has when playing solo. It's very much a game that I can turn most of my brain off and just, as you say, just take tile after tile. I'm just coming to the part of the solo scenarios where target scores are higher so I'm looking forward to seeing if I still enjoy it as much when I need to think a little more and it's a bit less zen! I like to have a few more 'cosy' games on an evening sometimes and I feel it definitely fits that. I love the art too.
I didn't know Carcassonne has a solo, that's great thank you I'll have to have a look!
Agree with Micro macro - we have gifted a copy of the original as fell in love with it when we first tried it (to a non gamer so don't know if they ever tried it out, will have to play it with them sometime so they can see how it works!) Such a brilliant game 🥰
Thank you for watching 😁
@@bluedogboardgames Well "them bastards" have taken down both the Dutch and the English solo variant. Commercial reasons no doubt. From what I could find...
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Carcassonne’s solo board game rules see a single player - or several players working together as a team, making it a co-op board game instead - alternate between three stacks of tiles and meeple colours.
Tiles are placed using the same rules as the multiplayer game,
connecting up roads, fields and cities.
Once a tile is placed, a meeple of the current colour must be placed to claim a feature on the tile - with the exception that meeples can never be placed as farmers to claim fields.
Completed features - fully enclosed cities, finished roads and monasteries - score points for one of the meeples on that feature, of the player’s choice.
At the end of the game, triggered by one set of meeples running out,
the player (or team) scores the amount of points equal to their lowest-scoring colour, making balancing the three colours necessary to score high.
The solo board game mode can be adjusted in difficulty by adding more meeples of each colour or even introducing another colour to the mix, with Hans im Glück adding that Carcassonne’s various expansions are also compatible with the variant.
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In other words, summarized gameplay is you "play every color and score like in Tigris and Euphrates, without farmers".
So far, so good, but I'm not sure that this makes the best game possible for me - you seem to be more inclined to "dry" point games, it might be good for you - I'd rather see something like this:
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0. Decide on conventions:
a) scoring mini city (2 tiles) was 2 points, later 4 points; recommend 4.
b) farm rule: city score 3 for dominant farmer(s); there was an older rule giving 4 points to dominating area. Recommend 3 point rule.
1. Select difficulty.
Walk in the Park = only 1 opponent color;
Easy = 2 opponent colors;
Normal = 3 opponent colors;
Hard = 4 opponents;
Good Luck = Hard but you play with 1 meeple less.
Your goal is to beat the game consistently in best of 5 fashion,
to unlock the next difficulty.
Play your first game in Walk in the Park mode.
2. Choose a color for you and X others are your opponents. (X = 1..4)
Make an ordered half circle of each set of same color meeples.
For X=1-3: Base Carcassone comes with 5 colors, use a single meeple of the 5th, unused color, to score for the AI. Leftover meeples go back in the box.
For X=4, one color plays with 1 meeple in play and is use that meeple instead to track scoring.
This represents the "player order" going clockwise starting with you.
3. On your turn you play as in a normal multiplayer.
4. on opponents' turn the bot takes two decisions:
- where to put and rotate the tile;
Starting from the tile you placed draw an imaginary line north until you reach the farthest tile away from you, the first space to consider is the one to the north of that. Try each rotation of the new tile on that space.
If placement is not possible consider the next space (clockwise). If no placement possible, score nothing, tile goes into the game box, next player.
After a legal tile placement was found:
- what meeple role to take;
Bot prefers to place their meeple according to this recipe:
monastery > town > road > farm.
(He-man > normal meeple if you play with the Cath&Inns expansion)
Resolve ambiguities in N > E > S >-W fashion (north being opposite of "you"),
5. Scoring: Whenever something scores
you score as normal,
opponent tracks score with the 5th color meeple.
End game - tiles end - score farmers.
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this could be generalized for river and sheep and whatnot other expansion but you have something that will give you at least 18 game sessions 🙂