Arise!
I have two new faves for solo board games.
First up is Mistfall. It’s a bit like Mage Knight with the puzzle like gameplay and numerous mechanics, and Lord of the Rings LCG with the enemy placement, combined with a tile based map that you lay out randomly each time you play. Unlike the Pathfinder ACG, there is very little shuffling as you manage your hand of cards much more directly, often deciding when to place a card back into your draw, discard or burial pile. I’ve played it now about a half dozen times and I finally beat the intro quest (there are 4 in the book and more coming through small expansions). Now I’m about to move onto larger maps.
You WILL need to grab the turn order two sheeter from BGG if you want to play as the manual is atrocious. It even leaves out some small rules here and there. But a fan of the game created a turn order guide with some helpful tips that makes the game almost a breeze.
Second up is Warhammer Adventure Card Game which, in spite of sharing a bit of the same name as the aforementioned Pathfinder ACG, is more like Mistfall than anything else. I’ve only played the tutorial (which is about one half of the game) and one quest so far, but I like what I see. It’s amazing how much variety you have with only 4 cards that are played face up in front of you. And I suspect that FFG will be releasing expansions quickly over the next few months, expanding the game even more. I also love the streamlined advancement system for your characters in between quests. You can upgrade the amount of gear you can carry, one of your basic actions (the four cards I mentioned earlier), etc…
It really does capture the feel of the original Warhammer Quest, albeit with cards and a few dice.