Fine, don’t tell us what games they were.
-Tom
I’ve never played a solo board game before. Is there one that you’d recommend as a good first solo board game? I don’t play a lot of board / card game. I’ve enjoyed Pandemic (especially Legacy!), 7 Wonders Duel, Castles of Burgundy, Dominion. I’ve dabbled in Evolution, Ticket To Ride, Race For the Galaxy.
I haven’t played it myself, but based on what Tom’s written, Onirim seems like a good bet. It’s cheap, has a lot of variety, is explicitly designed for solo play, and it’s readily available.
Maybe the Race for the Galaxy expansion that adds the single player AI robot to play against? You’d already know most of the rules and it’s cheap.
But maybe you want something fresh? Flashpoint Fire Rescue is pretty cool, great theme, quick to set up/tear down, and easy to play. And it is a little like Pandemic.
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll take a look!
Onirim is a neat little game and it’s definitely low cost, would be a great start. Flashpoint is great too, if you’re in the mood for something more ambitious.
Infection: Humanity’s Last Gasp is a good solo one from Victory Point Games, plus you can grab it as an ipad app as an alternative. Or Darkest Night, mentioned above, though I’ve only played the 1st edition.
The best starter solo game in my opinion is Friday though. Cheap and a lot of fun.
I adore Darkest Night but the first edition isn’t readily available at this point, I don’t think, and the second edition isn’t out yet (and will be quite expensive when it is. assuming non-backers will even be able to get it).
Seconded on Friday.
If you are looking for something a step more complex after Friday I also enjoyed Greenland.
If you want to go the full consim high complexity route then D-Day at Peleliu is excellent.
I started out with Friday…for me, it’s a tough little game but fairly fun.
Onirim was one of my new games I got today…played it tonight…won it with no issues twice…need to add some of those expansions.
I’d suggest Friday first as it’s harder and if I play a solitaire game and win the first time or two, it’s just not worth it to me to play again. I just bought Friday for a buddie who has no solitaire games.
My other new game is Warfighter WW2. I thought I’d get this one as I somewhat enjoy the modern Warfighter but would love more of the small squad fighting against the Fuhrer.
Hey, my copy of Greenland doesn’t look anything like that! What gives? My copy of D-Day at Peleliu, however, looks exactly like that.
RockSal, I really like Verssen’s leader series (Hornet Leader is set up on the table to my right!), but Warfighter never worked for me. Are there any substantial changes in the WWII version?
-Tom
I was leaning towards Onirim, but I just ordered Friday instead. I’m in the middle of reading Tom’s write up of Onirim and may have that on deck if I want to get another solo game. I like that that one can also be played coop as my wife likes to play coop games.
I just finished up Tom’s Onirim article and now I wonder if I should have gotten that instead! He specifically calls out Friday for not really liking it enough to pay more than 3 times. Oh well, if I go by total mentions more people in this thread like Friday. I’ll also have to look into that expansion for Race for the Galaxy that adds solo play.
I feel the same way. In particular, I can’t keep my hands off the rule book and map.
Friday is a deck builder game so if you like Dominion then you should be fine.
Tom, I have Hornet Leader but have never played it. B-17 Leader just came out and that is tempting me. Sherman Leader is starting a KS in a couple days and I might sign up for that.
Will post some comparisons with Warfighter once I get WF WW2 on the table…have a 4 day weekend coming up.
Friday is to solitaire deck builders what Mage Knight is to fantasy boardgames.
-Tom
So, the best ever, then? :)
Comancharia arrived! I can at least say I opened the box before I have to leave tonight and it arrived in great shape. I wont’ be able to do anything tonight, and tomorrow I might have time to punch the counters but Friday is the actual start of my winter break so technically I will touch it before the weekend. :)
@tomchick - if you didn’t see. Joel T, has been posting a video series tutorial on how to play. I plan on sitting down with the game and my laptop and going through that.
To be honest, I actually prefer reading a rules book. Weird, I know. But it’s much easier for me to learn by reading, and then flipping back and forth as needed. Which is precisely what I’ve been doing!
-Tom
I’ll admit I enjoy playing Sentinels of the Multiverse solo. It is one of those nice, simple games I can sit down with at my table, have prepared in no time and try out some new combination. I do find myself having to manage 3 heroes, that’s about the minimum for that game I believe. And yes, the number crunching and management of status effects can be a bit heavy, though there is a helper app for that, something I’ve yet to try because admittedly, that number crunching is where some the enjoyment comes from. It is one of those games that is light and easy and helps relax me. Maybe I’m a bit weird too.