Thank you, Callasmar. I really appreciate taking you time to improve the solitaire experience of CDGs. Your system is very elegant, straightforward and much simpler than mine, and it solves issues that my method has encountered. I agree with you that the last thing a Solo system or method should do is create is a game within the game. That's why I've continued to work on it and now I have a prototype of a new version of the CDG Solo Method, which I'm currently testing, which solves the issues you mentioned in the video and is simpler than the original than the original method and (hopefully) can be used with all CDGs. I thank you again for your effort in improving Solo CDG play. Cheers! Jose Ruiz (Stuka Joe)
Hi Jose! I´m really honoured you took the time to watch this! Thanks a lot for your great work...it´s a beautiful system and it enabled me to see CDG solo gaming from a different perspective. I´m eager to learn your new system an if you need a playtester, I´d be happy to help you. Take care! Johannes
Great, Johan! I would be honored to have you playtest the new version. I'm hoping to have a video about two in about weeks from now. Because there are so many CDGs out there, and because you really like them, like I do, I'm sure you could help me playtest this version with one or more of your favorite games. Please contact me at stukajoe@gmail.com when you can. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Cheers! Jose
Thanks so much for the deep thought you bring to this hobby. It is inspiring me for my own work on my channel and I really appreciate it. Another great video contribution here.
I like the simplicity of your system, and I'm looking forward to attempting it with several different games. Thank you for posting this video and the clear explanation.
Again a very interesting contribution, one of my favourite gaming channels !!. I must confess I am still on the fence on these solo methods, it seems to me it just creates a different game experience. Hand management is key to CDG's which means in general there is a lot of planning giving the initial hand of cards. Still this is very interesting and want to give it a try. Thanks for the ideas here.
Hi ... first of all to congratulate you for the simplified system of CDG that you have invented. I'm testing it with several games and it works perfectly. It's what I was looking for ... besides, I've tried to complete it with some CDG specialties ... I do not know where to send you a word file with what I've done ... Congratulations ... I've seen your video several times and I Looks great ... Sorry for my bad English ... Greetings from León (Spain).
Thanks a lot. I don´t have a Facebook page yet, except my personal one (Fedor Epple), where I usually don´t talk about games. But now I´m actually considering to start one. You can of copurse visit my homepage too :)
Great idea! (By both you and Stuka Joe). I have been hesitating to invest in CDG's as I play mostly solo, so I look forward to see your system in action! Do you have a favorite CDG? Anyway, thank for doing this and for many entertaining videos!
Hello my friend! Good to hear from you :) Hope you´re doing well! Honestly, I haven´t played too many CDG´s until now for the same reason. I guess until now Twilight Struggle is my favourite.
Was wondering if you have done any updating or further notes for this method. I'm looking to feature this video (including the page on your website) and method on my blog launch soon. Thanks for the work on this again. It really does lend itself to basically any CDG out there.
That is so funny (-: I had lost interest in CDGs and had a big stack just sitting on the shelf taking up room and then I saw this video and it got me back into CDGs! But that's fine, I just wanted to make certain I was up to date on this method before doing the article on it. I have looked at tons of solitaire systems to run CDGs with and this is still the king (the key is that all cards get revealed so scoring cards show up properly)...again thanks for the work on this and I'll drop a link here after I post the article.
Thanks for the video when I first came across the CDG Solo method created by Stukka Joe I thought it could have tremendous potential to benefit solo gamers and I appreciate your ideas about it
Gentlemen: How do you get around the problem of the "hand"? It seems to me that we are just playing the card and not the card in relation to the "hand". i.e. If my hand had three cards with an OC of 3 I might play differently than if my hand only had low OC valued cards. Some of the joy of the game is being able to play the cards in your hand to maximum effectiveness. By the way, big supporter of both of you.
Well, I don´t see a way around this. For me, this system allows you solo play with some hidden information remaining, some randomness and a good flow of the game. There´s a little more planning possible than in Stuka Joe´s method, because the cards don´t slide away, so with a little luck, you can hold to one for later use. Still, it´s this balance between randomness, limited information, faster gameplpay and hand control that you have to find.
Excellent job on this. In answer to the 'hand' situation this helps create the sense of hidden information and hand management in these types of CDG games (along with proper tempo) since you are running both hands and never being entirely certain what is going to happen, or when, due to those face down cards, the chance element and the doubles on the dice. To me this better simulates conflict because of the many variables that can occur or as the old saying goes " No battle plan survives contact with the enemy". Labyrinth might even play with this system (I despise flow chart AI I have learned) since it is based on a similar card style and I will have to give it a go when I have a chance. (Anyone up for trying it with 1989? That could yield some interesting results) For games with more conditions on the cards and other elements in gameplay I'm certain there will be some tweaking involved but this lays a solid foundation to build on. Thanks to Stuka Joe for getting us started thinking about this and I look forward to the work both of you are doing to get a lot more games on my table.
Thank you. I´m happy you like the ideas. I also think that you can play basically every CDG with this system, including Labyrinth and multiplpayer titles like Here I Stand...
Rome vs Carthage,... now your singing my jam!! I probably would have mentioned the Coin games, it is imo the only real new addition to wargaming in a long time. Plus that place solo pretty well.
thank you for the solo rules to the card drawing in Forbidden Stars !!! I do own the game but still needed aid to figure out a cool way to solo play it and deal with the "simultaneously draw" cards system !!! May you suggest me other things regarding the Forbidden Stars solo play ? I try to play it solo but I find it very difficult to keep it balanced and keep "secret plots" of each faction... WELL... SECRET... Since the game relies on that simultaneous cards draw / plauy system and similar... I also find ridiculous the fact that once you need to buy new cards you have to buy couples of the same card type and discard the couple of one of the card types you already have in your hand !!! I think it is a stupid mechanic... Can you suggest me something to substitute that ? Or improve that mechanic ? I also use the house rule that, in solo play or even in normal play, you cannot discard the cards or buy couples of the same card type but you CAN choose between options... In order to add some "flavour" and some deeper tactical insight to the whole game... You can then, maybe, choose a "sniper / rangers" card to add to your deck without discarding or be forced to discard a couple of other cards you want to keep... It can also diminish and deter the percentage of "drawing precisely the card you need" (the % are fewer with more cards in the deck but there is a % that allows you to play more powerful cards than normal or similar things related to statistics) but it adds more fun and strategical choices to made or to choose from... More cards - more decisions and possibilities opened to be explored...
Hm, while I can see your point of view, I like the mechanic of simply exchanging the cards. It gives you more control over the deck, you can discard the weaker cards and in that way even increase the value of the stronger ones, because they´ll show up more often. Otherwise you´d end up with a deck of 20 to 30 cards, so buying cards in the last rounds becomes more and more useless. But if you prefer more randomness, your houserule seems like a good idea. I agree, it´s not easy to play solo...actually I find combat pretty simple compared to the order phase, where you have to keep all the different plans in mind, as you´ve already mentioned. Definitely a challenge.
If the condition, that would allow the card to be played as a reaction card, occurs, I roll a single die. If it´s 1-4 I play it, otherwise I don´t. This can lead sometimes to strange "decisions", but it works fine to keep things unpredictable. In addition, if I attack another player, I flip his next card, so that he has three open cards to choose from. That can also give the attacker a bad surprise.
Very interesting thoughts and ideas. If I'm playing a game that has two different sides competing against each other I tend to think of myself as the overseer of the game and give each side a trait like aggressive or passive etc. In cases where a decision needs to be made I have adopted the system I have seen you do and that is to roll a dice, 1-3 its this move or 4-6 its that move and changing the odds depending on the playing style. I like the idea of a one size fits all type system and I agree with you that its must be made as simple as possible and not become a mini game.
Thanks Paul. I always found it extremely hard to play these CDG´s solo. I also gave players their own "personality" and I even added some attitude between the players, but with CDG´s it was always a pain. There are so many small decisions to make. I really hope this system can solve some of these issues...
I really don´t know. LNoE is very different to CDG´s, so I have my doubts. Some elements might work, but it probaly needs a lot of adaptation. I´ve posted some ideas for a solo variant on my webpage and also did a playthrough. It could be interesting to somehow combine the systems...Take care
Callasmar, how do you handle the CDG game Twilight Struggle, with the scoring cards in the deck? If a roll of 5 or 6 is obtained, the player might have to play the scoring card at a very bad moment. How do you play in this situation? Thanks.
I don´t change the system here. It´s true, the moment might not be to his advantage, but in the end, this could happen with every card on a role of 5 or 6. The point of the system is simply to simulate a little bit the unpredictability of a CDG. I wanna see how the story of the game developes and therefore I´m willing to accept these disadvantagous and unrealistic cardplays. If you wanna modify the system here, it´s easy. On a five or six, simply play the other non scoring card. Now please don´t ask me what to do if you end up with three revealed scoring cards and all suck :P
Thank you, Callasmar. I really appreciate taking you time to improve the solitaire experience of CDGs. Your system is very elegant, straightforward and much simpler than mine, and it solves issues that my method has encountered.
I agree with you that the last thing a Solo system or method should do is create is a game within the game. That's why I've continued to work on it and now I have a prototype of a new version of the CDG Solo Method, which I'm currently testing, which solves the issues you mentioned in the video and is simpler than the original than the original method and (hopefully) can be used with all CDGs. I thank you again for your effort in improving Solo CDG play. Cheers!
Jose Ruiz (Stuka Joe)
Hi Jose! I´m really honoured you took the time to watch this! Thanks a lot for your great work...it´s a beautiful system and it enabled me to see CDG solo gaming from a different perspective.
I´m eager to learn your new system an if you need a playtester, I´d be happy to help you. Take care!
Johannes
Great, Johan! I would be honored to have you playtest the new version. I'm hoping to have a video about two in about weeks from now. Because there are so many CDGs out there, and because you really like them, like I do, I'm sure you could help me playtest this version with one or more of your favorite games. Please contact me at stukajoe@gmail.com when you can. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Cheers!
Jose
Thanks so much for the deep thought you bring to this hobby. It is inspiring me for my own work on my channel and I really appreciate it. Another great video contribution here.
Thank you so much! This is very encouraging!
An absolutely brilliant & simple improvement. My thanks to you & Stuka Joe for the original.
I like the simplicity of your system, and I'm looking forward to attempting it with several different games. Thank you for posting this video and the clear explanation.
Thank you...I really appreciate it!
Again a very interesting contribution, one of my favourite gaming channels !!.
I must confess I am still on the fence on these solo methods, it seems to me it just creates a different game experience. Hand management is key to CDG's which means in general there is a lot of planning giving the initial hand of cards. Still this is very interesting and want to give it a try. Thanks for the ideas here.
You´re welcome. :)
Hi ... first of all to congratulate you for the simplified system of CDG that you have invented. I'm testing it with several games and it works perfectly. It's what I was looking for ... besides, I've tried to complete it with some CDG specialties ... I do not know where to send you a word file with what I've done ... Congratulations ... I've seen your video several times and I Looks great ...
Sorry for my bad English ... Greetings from León (Spain).
Love your channel !!! Solo gamers should always come here and watch your videos , do you have a FB page ?
Thanks a lot. I don´t have a Facebook page yet, except my personal one (Fedor Epple), where I usually don´t talk about games. But now I´m actually considering to start one. You can of copurse visit my homepage too :)
Great idea! (By both you and Stuka Joe). I have been hesitating to invest in CDG's as I play mostly solo, so I look forward to see your system in action! Do you have a favorite CDG? Anyway, thank for doing this and for many entertaining videos!
Hello my friend! Good to hear from you :) Hope you´re doing well! Honestly, I haven´t played too many CDG´s until now for the same reason. I guess until now Twilight Struggle is my favourite.
A very refined and easy system. Now I want to get a CDG game to try it out on.
Was wondering if you have done any updating or further notes for this method. I'm looking to feature this video (including the page on your website) and method on my blog launch soon. Thanks for the work on this again. It really does lend itself to basically any CDG out there.
Sorry, actually I didn´t. Sadly, I lost pretty much my interest in CDG´s, so right now, I´m not improving this method anymore.
That is so funny (-:
I had lost interest in CDGs and had a big stack just sitting on the shelf taking up room and then I saw this video and it got me back into CDGs!
But that's fine, I just wanted to make certain I was up to date on this method before doing the article on it. I have looked at tons of solitaire systems to run CDGs with and this is still the king (the key is that all cards get revealed so scoring cards show up properly)...again thanks for the work on this and I'll drop a link here after I post the article.
I hope you find a balance for those games, as long you find them enjoyable I'm sure I'm going to like them. Good luck my friend.
Thanks a lot!
Johannes you rock i love you!
Thanks for the video when I first came across the CDG Solo method created by Stukka Joe I thought it could have tremendous potential to benefit solo gamers and I appreciate your ideas about it
Thank you! That´s very kind :)
Great video and system, but what about the response cards?.
Greetings!.
Gentlemen: How do you get around the problem of the "hand"? It seems to me that we are just playing the card and not the card in relation to the "hand". i.e. If my hand had three cards with an OC of 3 I might play differently than if my hand only had low OC valued cards. Some of the joy of the game is being able to play the cards in your hand to maximum effectiveness. By the way, big supporter of both of you.
Well, I don´t see a way around this. For me, this system allows you solo play with some hidden information remaining, some randomness and a good flow of the game. There´s a little more planning possible than in Stuka Joe´s method, because the cards don´t slide away, so with a little luck, you can hold to one for later use. Still, it´s this balance between randomness, limited information, faster gameplpay and hand control that you have to find.
Excellent job on this. In answer to the 'hand' situation this helps create the sense of hidden information and hand management in these types of CDG games (along with proper tempo) since you are running both hands and never being entirely certain what is going to happen, or when, due to those face down cards, the chance element and the doubles on the dice. To me this better simulates conflict because of the many variables that can occur or as the old saying goes " No battle plan survives contact with the enemy".
Labyrinth might even play with this system (I despise flow chart AI I have learned) since it is based on a similar card style and I will have to give it a go when I have a chance. (Anyone up for trying it with 1989? That could yield some interesting results)
For games with more conditions on the cards and other elements in gameplay I'm certain there will be some tweaking involved but this lays a solid foundation to build on.
Thanks to Stuka Joe for getting us started thinking about this and I look forward to the work both of you are doing to get a lot more games on my table.
Thank you. I´m happy you like the ideas. I also think that you can play basically every CDG with this system, including Labyrinth and multiplpayer titles like Here I Stand...
Rome vs Carthage,... now your singing my jam!! I probably would have mentioned the Coin games, it is imo the only real new addition to wargaming in a long time. Plus that place solo pretty well.
Absolutely, they play well solo. I´ll definitely do some COIN games in the future :)
thank you for the solo rules to the card drawing in Forbidden Stars !!! I do own the game but still needed aid to figure out a cool way to solo play it and deal with the "simultaneously draw" cards system !!! May you suggest me other things regarding the Forbidden Stars solo play ? I try to play it solo but I find it very difficult to keep it balanced and keep "secret plots" of each faction... WELL... SECRET... Since the game relies on that simultaneous cards draw / plauy system and similar... I also find ridiculous the fact that once you need to buy new cards you have to buy couples of the same card type and discard the couple of one of the card types you already have in your hand !!! I think it is a stupid mechanic... Can you suggest me something to substitute that ? Or improve that mechanic ? I also use the house rule that, in solo play or even in normal play, you cannot discard the cards or buy couples of the same card type but you CAN choose between options... In order to add some "flavour" and some deeper tactical insight to the whole game... You can then, maybe, choose a "sniper / rangers" card to add to your deck without discarding or be forced to discard a couple of other cards you want to keep... It can also diminish and deter the percentage of "drawing precisely the card you need" (the % are fewer with more cards in the deck but there is a % that allows you to play more powerful cards than normal or similar things related to statistics) but it adds more fun and strategical choices to made or to choose from... More cards - more decisions and possibilities opened to be explored...
Hm, while I can see your point of view, I like the mechanic of simply exchanging the cards. It gives you more control over the deck, you can discard the weaker cards and in that way even increase the value of the stronger ones, because they´ll show up more often. Otherwise you´d end up with a deck of 20 to 30 cards, so buying cards in the last rounds becomes more and more useless. But if you prefer more randomness, your houserule seems like a good idea.
I agree, it´s not easy to play solo...actually I find combat pretty simple compared to the order phase, where you have to keep all the different plans in mind, as you´ve already mentioned. Definitely a challenge.
Are you thinking of getting and playing Nevsky? Looks great, but has action programming. Any chance this method could be adapted for this game?
Very good explained
One quick question...in a game like RvsC, how do you handle the play of the reaction cards (cards played on your opponent's turn)?
If the condition, that would allow the card to be played as a reaction card, occurs, I roll a single die. If it´s 1-4 I play it, otherwise I don´t. This can lead sometimes to strange "decisions", but it works fine to keep things unpredictable. In addition, if I attack another player, I flip his next card, so that he has three open cards to choose from. That can also give the attacker a bad surprise.
Thanks for the reply! I've played with Stuka Joe's method and I'll try your method ASAP.
EoTS play through? ;)
Very interesting thoughts and ideas. If I'm playing a game that has two different sides competing against each other I tend to think of myself as the overseer of the game and give each side a trait like aggressive or passive etc. In cases where a decision needs to be made I have adopted the system I have seen you do and that is to roll a dice, 1-3 its this move or 4-6 its that move and changing the odds depending on the playing style. I like the idea of a one size fits all type system and I agree with you that its must be made as simple as possible and not become a mini game.
Thanks Paul. I always found it extremely hard to play these CDG´s solo. I also gave players their own "personality" and I even added some attitude between the players, but with CDG´s it was always a pain. There are so many small decisions to make. I really hope this system can solve some of these issues...
How about games like Roma or Ivanhoe as few examples ?
Kind regards.
I don´t think these are the type of CDG´s this video is about ;)
Hi callasmar, do you think this system would work for Last Night on Earth? With your solo rules.
I really don´t know. LNoE is very different to CDG´s, so I have my doubts. Some elements might work, but it probaly needs a lot of adaptation. I´ve posted some ideas for a solo variant on my webpage and also did a playthrough. It could be interesting to somehow combine the systems...Take care
Callasmar, how do you handle the CDG game Twilight Struggle, with the scoring cards in the deck? If a roll of 5 or 6 is obtained, the player might have to play the scoring card at a very bad moment. How do you play in this situation? Thanks.
I don´t change the system here. It´s true, the moment might not be to his advantage, but in the end, this could happen with every card on a role of 5 or 6. The point of the system is simply to simulate a little bit the unpredictability of a CDG. I wanna see how the story of the game developes and therefore I´m willing to accept these disadvantagous and unrealistic cardplays. If you wanna modify the system here, it´s easy. On a five or six, simply play the other non scoring card. Now please don´t ask me what to do if you end up with three revealed scoring cards and all suck :P