I’ve been writing these solo gaming reports since March of 2020… yes, early on in the pandemic. But my solo gaming started a lot farther back than that.

In junior high & high school (1977-1982), I played a lot of wargames. At different points, I had a subscription to both The General (Avalon Hill’s magazine) and Strategy & Tactics (SPI’s magazine that included a wargame in each issue)…. and, for a short while, Ares (SPI’s magazine that included a sci-fi or fantasy game in each issue). While one of my good friends was happy to play Squad Leader and Panzerblitz and Wooden Ships & Iron Men, most of my wargaming time was spent playing against myself – choosing actions and rolling dice for both sides of the conflict.

There were actual solo games that saw a lot of play during that time as well: Chainsaw Warrior (Games Workshop), Ambush! & Mosby’s Raiders (Victory Games), RAF (West End Games), Voyage of the BSM Pandora (SPI), and B-17 (Avalon Hill). I still own Chainsaw Warrior.

This new era of well-designed automata and solo modes for multiplayer games, coupled with excellent new solo game designs, is actually quite heartening to someone (me!) who finds something really satisfying about physically playing a game: shuffling cards, moving pieces, seeing it all spread out in front of you.

Solo gaming is now a decent-sized chunk of my gaming experiences – while I still play a lot of games with friends and family, 20% of my gaming in 2023 was solo. For comparison, the yearly total for 2022 was 22%, 2021 was 33%, 2020 was 19%, and 2019 was 6%. (A bit of perspective: I had 849 plays of 293 different games in 2023.)

So, what follows are my thoughts on the fifty-nine (59!) different solo games I played in 2023 – ordered by the number of times I’ve played them. (Note: this is not necessarily how much I like a particular game for solo play – for example, I think Terraforming Mars is an excellent solo game design but I only played it once as a solo game in 2023.)

Yes, it’s a ridiculously long post – you can read the whole thing OR you can simply use it as a guide for finding solo games you might be interested to try. I’m good either way.

Dimes

Jump Drive (19 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

Jump Drive is the quickest member of the Race for the Galaxy family of games and certainly the most self-contained… so I was somewhat surprised to hear that designer Tom Lehmann had created an expansion. Thankfully, no games were harmed in the making of this expansion.

Tom managed to add start worlds and goals to Jump Drive (along with a few more cards to make it playable by 5 players)… and in one of the classier moves I’ve seen in a while, brought in the gentleman on BGG (Eric Kaminsky) who’d designed a solo campaign system for the game and used it!

The solo system works brilliantly, btw – so far, I’ve managed to beat the first four campaigns but am stymied by the fifth. (Campaigns consist of 4 games – which explains the longer playing time noted above.)

I reviewed the original game – sans expansion – here on the OG. There’s also an excellent implementation of it on BoardGameArena.

Legacy of Yu (8 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

Legacy of Yu is solo-only resource management game where you, as the titular character, are working to build canals and fend off the barbarians as you wisely use the villagers to accomplish these tasks. Moreover, Legacy of Yu is a campaign game that uses a drip of story cards and a paragraph book to tell a compelling story – and where your actions can have effects that last multiple games.

So far, I limped through three “learning” games (being defeated each time) and decided to re-start the campaign with those lessons under my belt. Seven games into a “real” campaign, I’ve had four wins and two very close losses… plus a loss so stunningly stupid all I could do was maximize campaign goals before I succumbed, so I think I better understand how to analyze the peril that I am in at any particular time in the game.

The production is very nice – including an excellent box insert that stores the game between plays of a campaign. I reviewed it for the OG in June 2023.

Nickels

Mosaic: A Story of Civilization (8 plays – approx. playing time: 100 minutes)

My copy of the Colossal Edition of Mosaic just arrived right after Christmas – and I’ve immensely enjoyed both my multiplayer and my solo plays of this 90-120 minute civilization building game. There isn’t a direct combat system – as your primary objective is influence across the various countries of the Mediterranean.

The solo bot (by noted solo mode designer, David Turczi) can be adjusted for difficulty and for “personality” – which means I’ve won some of my games and lost others… but I’ve always had a wonderful time. 

I am frustrated that Forbidden Games is not currently planning to update the automata to include the expansion components – and I’ve made my frustration known both on BGG and in reaching out to the company. There is a fan-made variant that is functional – I’ve only played it once and enjoyed it – but I do wish the company had followed through.

Dead Reckoning (7 plays – approx. playing time: 100 minutes)

For a game with this many interactive elements, Dead Reckoning manages to make the solo mode work and work well. Each time I play, I’m fascinated by the balance between the various victory pathways and the variety in the system.

But as much as I enjoyed the base game solo, I’m infinitely more jazzed about playing it with the Saga and Sea Dog expansions… the addition of a campaign mode for solo play coupled with the constant drip of story elements meant I had a two week Dead Reckoning festival on my gaming table. I’ll be continuing on with the second Saga expansion this spring… as I still haven’t managed to defeat [redacted] and I can’t wait to see what else they’ll add to the mix!

Minigolf Designer (7 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

I liked the look of this game – a tile-layer with a strong theme of building a miniature golf course – but once I finally scared up a copy, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the puzzle of the gameplay. In a multiplayer game, tiles are drafted in a similar manner to Kingdomino… while in the solo game, the player picks two tiles and places one of them. Both the solo game and the multiplayer game are fun – they are slightly heavier than Carcassonne with a greater variety of scoring decisions.

There’s now a mini-expansion (Putt of No Return) to the game that adds new tiles, better artwork cards(!), and double layer boards for tracking par. The reason for so many plays is the arrival of the third expansion, Minigolf Empire, that adds a campaign element to the game.

I wasn’t sure about scoring the solo campaign – but the designer (Alban Nanty) responded on BGG to my questions:

The expected score for a game of Empire extension, is roughly the same as a standard game, i.e. it is expected for good players to score around 18 points for Mr Profeet and around 20 points for Mrs Pressco. Although normally your score for the two clients will increase during the campaign. Therefore, we expect the player’s score to be roughly the same as in a standard game.

I would then recommend to take the target scores table of the solo mode and multiply them by 5, to get a total target score for the campaign.

If you want to know more, I wrote a glowing review of Minigolf Designer back in 2021 for the OG.

Clank! Catacombs (5 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The newest entry in the very successful Clank-i-verse involves a modular board, a totally new deck of cards, and some interesting twists (freeing prisoners, using lockpicks, etc.). It’s been a wild success with my sons and with other folks as a new take on “standard” Clank!… and I appreciate that the rules even include ways to integrate the Adventuring Party expansion into the game.

As usual, Dire Wolf has done a splendid job of supporting the game with a well-written app-driven solo game… and I’ve managed to get that to the table multiple times this year.

Dice Realms (5 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

One of my favorite new games from 2022 actually has a solo version created by the designer (Tom Lehmann)… and it gives me even more opportunities to play a game I adore. If you want to try it out, here’s the link to his solo/cooperative ruleset.

Dice Realms, by the way, is a splendid use of the customizable dice mechanic first seen in Rattlebones.

Great Western Trail: New Zealand (5 plays – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

In what was a common theme for 2023, I found another game that I really enjoyed that I was – based on my previous experience – pretty sure I would dislike. (Non-solo games that fit this category included Red Dragon Inn & Zombicide 2nd Edition.)

I avoided playing the original Great Western Trail for a long time – even though I really enjoyed some of Pfister’s designs. My first play was very good – but I just didn’t see who I could get to play it with me.

The new versions being released piqued my interest – but not enough to pull the trigger until GWT: New Zealand… and boy howdy, I’m glad it did. There are a number of changes to the base game – though the basics are still the same. It’s as if they took GWT and the Rails to the North expansion, smushed them together, added some clever twists to “loosen” the game up a bit, and then did a better job with the graphics than the previous versions.

The solo AI is very solid and incredibly easy to administer – though not always easy to beat. I’m looking forward to more games of GWT:NZ this year… both solo and against other players!

Four on the Floor (or Table)

Ark Nova (4 plays – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

There’s a reason so many people are nuts about this zoo-building game – it’s really that good. And, as you can probably guess by my number of solo plays over the last year, Ark Nova is an excellent solo game.

The solo design forces you to win the game (get your Conservation & Appeal markers to cross) before time runs out – so you can set your difficulty by where you start your Appeal marker. 20 was too easy – 10 is a good medium range challenge, and 5 is kicking my butt (but I’m getting closer).

I’ve had great experiences playing this game solo, with 2 players, and with 3 players… and my one solo game with the Marine Worlds expansion was very enjoyable. With the plethora of cards in the base game, it’s always a question if “more stuff” will actually be better for the game… and, to their credit, the Marine Worlds expansion adds interesting decisions without gumming up the works of the original game. I particularly like the improved action card draft, which nudges players in new (and often different) directions.

Eleven: Football Manager Board Game (4 plays – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

While there are some tricky parts (understanding how/when to flip jerseys, for example), the game itself works like a charm and is great fun to play, especially if you are (like myself) a fan of Premier League soccer. Match play is important – but Eleven is much bigger than winning matches… it’s actually an economic/management game.

I’ve played through some of the included solo scenarios and look forward to making my way through the solo campaign in 2024… and my last couple of games have used the International Cup expansion. Since the game this re-design was based on (Club Stories) was a solo game, it is not a surprise that this works splendidly for a single player.

Everdell (4 plays – approx. playing time: 50 minutes)

Based on the recommendations of others (esp. fellow OGer Chris Wray), I splurged on the Everdell Complete Collection without ever having played the game. There are two solo modes: Rugwort (which is mildly entertaining) and Mistwood (Nightweave & her spider crew) that really shines. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the personalities, plans, and plots available in the expansion.

BTW, Chris posted a weeks worth of Everdell reviews that are a great read if you’re interested. (These reviews pre-date the newest expansions, New Leaf & Mistwood.)

Meeples & Monsters (4 plays – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

While the solo rules have some odd quirks in them, I’ve enjoyed the solo mode for this bag builder/worker placement game. I think it’s probably better with 2-3 players, but it was intriguing enough for me to return to it multiple times this year.

My City: Roll & Build (4 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

The biggest draw for this dice-driven take on the My City system is its portability… because the gameplay is just so-so. The playing time above reflects playing a set of three games.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (4 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

The much-discussed card game version of the board game hit Terraforming Mars – which, quite honestly, really does feel and play like you crossed Race for the Galaxy with TM. It’s a competent solo game that doesn’t take up nearly as much table space as its big brother… and I appreciate them upping the quality/consistency of the artwork. That said, I’d rather be playing the original game with my 3D pieces.

I kept waffling back & forth on this one… I considered selling/trading it, then decided to keep it. My most recent games were really enjoyable – which convinced me to wait and see if the upcoming expansion modules push the game from “like it” to “love it”… or if it ended up on the trade pile.

Well, the expansions arrived… and Ares Expedition is staying. The Crisis cooperative/solo mode is excellent and so are the additional tweaks to multi-player games.

Trails of Tucana (4 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

A really lovely little flip-n-write route building game that I found courtesy of a Twitter friend (hi, Daniel!). Less rules overhead than Cartographers, but with the same “make the best of what you get” vibe. Trails of Tucana has become a travel staple for me – easy to play in a small space with lots of press-your-luck angst on many flips of the cards.

I have had the chance to play with the Ferry expansion maps now, and they add a couple of small twists without doing any damage to the very solid base game.

Three Is A Magic Number

Aquamarine (3 plays – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

The second print’n’play roll’n’write (could I possibly use more apostrophes in this sentence?!) from Postmark Games… I find it a little less brain-burning than Voyages (which is also in this list) and great fun to play. It is – to some extent – a tile-laying game as you track your dive adventure. (Their third game, Waypoints, shows up just a little farther down in this post.)

I laminated my copy of this game – and I carry the Aquamarine boards (plus the five Voyages boards) in my laptop case along with three d6 and a dry erase pen so I can play pretty much wherever I go.

And there are now FOUR boards to play… each which offers some nice twists.

Cape May (3 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I like city-building games… and it doesn’t hurt if they have cool 3D miniature buildings so I see my city grow. Cape May scratches that itch and does it with a lot of style – and with a well-thought-out solo automata that offers a challenging game (and 4 different levels of difficulty).

I also really enjoyed it as a multiplayer game – which is a nice bonus! (And I just bought myself the Vocations mini-expansion… so that’s something else to look forward to playing in 2024!)

Dune: Imperium (3 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

I’m not really a Dune fan – oh, yeah, I read the first three novels back in high school (late 70s/early 80s) like every well-behaved sci-fi/fantasy nerd – but it was never a world or story that captured my imagination. And, yes, since I’ve been a gamer for a very long time, I actually owned the AH version of Dune (aka “Cosmic Encounter meets the Spice Worm”).

Fast forward to 2020/21 and all the hype about the upcoming Dune film… and just enough people said nice things about Dune: Imperium to get me to take a chance on it. 

And – wow! – it was worth it. Much like Lost Ruins of Arnak, Dune: Imperium blends deck-building and worker placement to evoke the feel of the novels/film in an incredibly playable format. Particularly for solo players, the solo deck works like a charm – and Dire Wolf also posted a free app to automate the solo process.

The addition last year of the Rise of Ix expansion just added to the fun – I like the new variety of cards and technologies… and it feels like the AI is even stronger with this mix of choices. The new Immortality expansion added some interesting quirks to the game along with (you guessed it) buffing the AI even more.

Pioneer Rails (3 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

A clever flip’n’write from OG writer Jeff Allers (and Matthew Dunstan – another designer I quite like) that actually does some nice things both with rail-building and with poker. The solo challenges in this game ramp up well – you can experiment to find the appropriate level of difficulty for you.

I’ve actually got some maps & the cards in my laptop case right now (I’m on a work trip) and plan to play it again tonight!

Return to Dark Tower (3 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

This was my #1 new (to me!) game of 2022.

Solo Return to Dark Tower works like charm – with one exception.

The app already has a single player setting and the challenges are scaled appropriately for a single hero. I play most solo games in about 45 minutes (not including set-up and tear-down of the game) and it was very enjoyable.

The exception? When the Tower spits out skulls to the kingdom opposite you, you’ve got to go chase them. (Here’s where the neoprene mat version of the board is nice… the original board works great but has some “bounce” so skulls can go skittering across the table and onto the floor.)

A solid two thumbs up – though not the most portable of solo experiences. If you want to know more, you can read my review here on the OG.

The Covenant expansion (just released this fall) is a welcome addition to the game… adding more characters, a greater variety of quests, new monuments to build, and doom skulls. 

Thunder Road: Vendetta (3 plays – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

This was my #1 new (to me!) game of 2023.

Thunder Road: Vendetta is NOT a solo game… but I played two games controlling all the teams to see how all of the extra stuff worked together and one game to help playtest the upcoming Carnival of Chaos expansion

BTW, it’s an awesome multiplayer festival of chaotic fun. I even wrote a review!

Tucana Builders (3 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

Tucana Builders feels more like Take It Easy crossed with Trails of Tucana… there’s definitely a real push-your-luck element here. The solo requirement of completing 2 randomly determined objectives can vary the difficulty of the game widely – but it’s short enough that I don’t mind.

Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze! (3 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

One of the curses of doing a good bit of playtesting is that sometimes you end up with the earliest versions of a game – and that’s what happened to us with Tales to Amaze. We were frustrated by a number of things in the original prototype.

However, I trusted Restoration Games to do proper development work – and my trust was not disappointed. Tales to Amaze actually takes one of the best skirmish games out there (Unmatched: Battle of Legends) and creates a highly functional and enjoyable cooperative game as players take on Mothman or the Alien Invader along with their cryptid minions. (Do not play Ant Queen as a minion in your first game – trust me on this one.)

And if the gorgeous production & great cooperative game weren’t enough, all four of the player heroes work as competitive heroes against any of the other Unmatched characters.

The solo version works very well… though it may be slightly easier (especially if you’re using a hero with multiple sidekicks).

Voidfall (3 plays – approx. playing time: 2 hours 30 minutes)

I’m currently trying to work on a review for this intricate and amazing game of interstellar conflict & cultural survival… that is shorter than the three rulebooks (yes, three – I kid you not) that come with the game. Normally, I’d balk at a game with a non-random combat system and intertwined mechanisms – but the theme of defeating the Voidborn is so tightly woven into the design & flow of the game that I find myself lost in the world and the puzzle of trying to expand my civilization’s capabilities whilst fending off the encroachment of mind-altering evil. 

The game comes with a myriad of player factions and stunning gorgeous production – as well being fully playable as a solo (the way I have been playing), cooperative, and competitive game.

Waypoints (3 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

Another very creative roll’n’write game from Postmark Games… this time using topographical maps and a hiking theme. As I’ve noted with other games from this team, I’ve laminated my copy of the two Waypoints boards so I can take them whenever I travel.

It Takes Two (To Make A Thing Go Right)

Bad Company (2 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

This nifty game of planning heists and escaping the police with your gang of thieves & getaway drivers feels like it takes the best parts of Space Base and makes a better game of it. What surprised me is how well Bad Company works as a solo game since part of the design appeal is that it is enjoyable with up to 6 players.

Battle Card: Series 1 (2 plays – approx. 15 minutes)

The most recent release from Postmark Games… while I like the roll’n’write releases from them, these single card wargames are less of what I’m looking for in a solo. (I prefer other solo wargames by one of the designers of the Battle Card series – David Thompson’s Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms and Castle Itter.)

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger (2 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

This feels like a straight port of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I played/read back when I was a MUCH younger individual… with a nod to some of the elements of the Fighting Fantasy books. I need to finish the adventure… but haven’t gotten back to it yet.

Circadians: First Light (2 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

I reviewed the two Circadian games early this year… and of the two, First Light was by far my favorite. Part of that enjoyment is the well-thought-out solo system built into the game… both of my solo plays have been enjoyable and fast-moving. The AI robot – literally, they’re robots – is easy to use and makes intelligent moves to both hinder you and increase its score. My victories have been hard-worn.

This is one of those games that I find intriguing and frustrating – intriguing, because the puzzle of manipulating resources and actions is challenging & interesting; frustrating, because I think the rulebook, while complete, makes it more difficult to learn the game by the way it is structured. (I will give the good folks at Garphill Games points for including a section on first time player strategies and the Irenic Union variant.)

Speaking of the Irenic Union… the original rules require players to assign dice in order (left to right) from their garages. The variant allows flexibility… and I’m here to say it’s a much more enjoyable game with that rule in play.

First Light is, once you get your head wrapped around the rules and the various strategic/tactical elements, not really a long game – my solo games ran 50-60 minutes and our multiplayer games around 75-90 minutes. There’s enough variety in the contract cards, event cards, and leaders to keep things fresh for multiple plays.

The additional content in the expansion round out the game in some very helpful ways – both giving more variety to player choices and making the solo bot more difficult to beat.

Hadrian’s Wall (1 play – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I wrote a positive solo review for the OG back in May 2021 of this flip’n’write game. I’m intrigued by the choices I have as a player and the myriad pathways you can attempt in your quest for accolades and glory. After the first couple of plays that ran about 60-70 minutes, I’m now knocking out games in about 35-40 minutes.

The same kinds of resource management issues that draw me into games like Terraforming Mars, Oh My Goods (and its cousin, Expedition to Newdale), and Empires of the North are an integral part of Hadrian’s Wall as well. (I’m not saying it’s just like those games or “if you love TM, you’ll love HW”.) These kinds of decisions make for solid solo designs – and Hadrian’s Wall has a lot of them.

In addition, the set-up/tear-down time (due to the flip-n-write design) is minimal, meaning a large chunk of your time is spent actually playing the game. And it has a relatively small table footprint, which means it will work well in my travel kit when I’m stuck in a hotel and need something to play on a less-than-roomy hotel desk.

Finally, it’s always a good sign when you’ve played a game eight times before reviewing and still get in more plays after that.

My most recent solo plays used the new expansion goodies (the Actor and the New Fate cards) – I can highly recommend both of them to those who enjoy the game.

It’s a Wonderful World (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

You get four pairs of five-card “packets” (with the option to discard 2 cards in order to look at five & keep one)… which makes for a great solo version of this card-drafting game. This excellent game was augmented early in 2021 by the release of the Corruption & Ascension expansion as well as the War or Peace and Leisure & Decadence campaign boxes. My younger son & I played through both campaigns… and then I played through the same campaigns solo. (I wrote a review of the new expansions for the Opinionated Gamers.) 

Lost Ruins of Arnak (2 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

My pick for Kennerspiel in 2021 was this fantastic multiplayer game of adventure… chock full with a myriad of pathways to win. The solo module (included in the base game) works like a charm… and CGE even posted an update to that module that adds increased difficulty and challenge. For variety, you can even play on the more difficult Snake Temple side of the board.

Additionally, they released the long-promised solo campaign – a 4-game series with interesting rules twists and an online app (which I had some struggles with, so I resorted to printing out the files and building myself a paper set.)

My last couple of solo plays of Lost Ruins of Arnak have been using the Expedition Leaders expansion – which adds twists both to your starting deck/personal powers AND gives you alternate temples to research. And there’s a new expansion which I sadly do not own yet!

NEOM (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

I love this multi-player game that mixes city-building and 7 Wonders-ish drafting… and the solo game manages to capture most of that feeling through the clever use of “packets” of tiles. I typically play 2-3 games of this at a shot… since once you’ve got it laid out, it’s easy to reset and try again. I’ve defaulted to play NEOM with all the tiles in, which offers more variety and some interesting decisions since you know that you can (sometimes) wait for the tile you need.

Interestingly, I just read that Neom is the name of a planned city/community being built (very slowly) in Saudi Arabia. (It’s an interesting internet rabbit hole to dive down.)

Rome & Roll (2 plays – approx. playing time: 55 minutes)

I bought Rome & Roll thinking it would be a crunchy roll’n’write that I could enjoy solo… but after two solo plays and a single play with three players, I think it actually is more enjoyable as a multi-player game. (Which, frankly, is a surprise coming from designer David Turczi.)

Skymines (2 plays – approx. playing time: 100 minutes)

I know Skymines is a re-skin (with changes) of Mombassa… but I never played Mombassa (plus, I’m a sucker for space themes). This is a pretty intense solo game – along the lines of Hallertau or Boonlake – but it works very well and offers a serious challenge. Warning: it’s got a pretty extensive setup so I’d plan on playing it a couple of times in a row.

Small City: Deluxe Edition (2 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

This very pretty reprint is billed as SimCity as a board game – and since I’m a sucker for city-building games, I dove in. It’s surprisingly crunchy – very easy to make a mistake that dooms your game – but shorter than it looks at first glance.

I keep thinking about it and the puzzle of doing it well – which is a good sign. The hardest part is that the rules are counter-intuitive for some buildings, so getting up to speed each time is part of the learning curve.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

This extremely clever flip’n’write doesn’t actually contain any writing – instead, you place explorers (cubes) on your map and by completing regions, place village buildings. At the end of each round, all of your explorers are removed from the board, but your villages stay to give you new starting places.

There are four different maps in the original Guild of Merchant Explorers box, with 2 more maps available as an expansion from AEG. It’s been a hit with everyone I’ve taught it to… and I find it relaxing and enjoyable to play as a solo game.

Xia: Legends of a Drift System (2 plays – approx. playing time: 120 minutes)

Xia is a sprawling nutty over-the-top wonderful mess of a space exploration/trade/piracy game… and the system for solo play is very enjoyable. It’s not for the faint of heart – a full 20 point game can last 2-2.5 hours for solo play & cover most of my gaming table with pieces & cards. (I think it’s much better solo than the similar Star Wars: Outer Rim – and much more open world than Outer Rim.)

Late in 2021, I started the solo campaign… and I’m having a blast with it. So far, I’ve accomplished 5 of the 10 objectives and still have a positive score… but I’m guessing it will take another 7+ games for me to finish the campaign. I’m totally up for that.

One Is the Loneliest Number

3 Ring Circus (1 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The production of 3 Ring Circus is really nice. (Wish more games came with cardboard sections to block out unused parts of the map with lower player numbers.) However, the automata was a little clunky and had some confusing priorities on which city to choose and which artist to hire. While the game is gorgeous on the table, the various icons are not always easy to suss out and the game wants you to do some VERY specific things in order to make scoring work.

Call to Adventure: The Stormlight Archive (1 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The original rules in the base box of Call to Adventure for solo and cooperative play felt rushed and tacked on – which was disappointing, as I really enjoy this character-building/story-telling game with multiple players. Earlier in 2022, I tried a more extensive ruleset posted on BGG… which was better, but still didn’t work as well as I wanted it to.

Thankfully, the new Epic Origins box created a much better solo experience (and a great multiplayer experience as well). The revised Adversary system is much cleaner. My review of Epic Origins is right here on the OG.

Then I found an inexpensive copy of The Stormlight Archive version – which is a stand-alone game that, like Epic Origins, is designed around cooperative play – making it a better choice for solo gaming as well.

Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale (1 play – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

An incredibly pleasant flip’n’write game that works like a charm as a solo game… and will also work well as a “over Facetime/Zoom” game if you use the solo rules for monster attacks. The Skills mini-expansion adds another level of decision-making that works well. I’m glad Cartographers is in my collection… adding a set of colored pencils makes my maps look even better!

I’ll also throw in kind words for the Heroes stand-alone expansion & the six new map packs… they add some variety to the game without overly complicating the system. (The only hassle is how to store the game and the pile of maps in the two small boxes.)

Finally, there’s a great iOS app for Cartographers – which I’ve played a bunch of times this year (but don’t count in my games played list.)

Castle Itter: The Strangest Battle of WWII (1 play – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

Since I enjoyed Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms so much last year, I was happy to pick up an excellent used copy of David Thompson’s next entry in his WWII solo battle series, Castle Itter. Both games have the same “tower defense” vibe – but the infusion of thoughtful historical content as well as clever gameplay elements make them both winners.

Daybreak (1 play – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

Matt Leacock and the rest of the Daybreak team have created one of the most gamer-friendly cooperative games out there… and, due to the individual country project tableaus, really subverted “alpha” players from taking over the game. There are plenty of opportunities for cooperation and coordination – but each country is “on its own” in dealing with climate change and that affects the flavor of the game.

It works as a solo game as well… but don’t count on me to solve global warming anytime soon – I got hammered.

Empyreal: Spells & Steam (1 play – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

Another used copy find… at half price. So, based on some immutable law of game collecting, that should mean I like it twice as much, right?

Well, it’s actually a pretty brilliant design – my younger son & I have enjoyed a number of two player games of it. The blend of pick up & deliver and network building combined with some really wacky special powers works very well – and the very nice production makes it even more playable.

The solo mode – which I’ve only played once – works as well, but I’m more likely to use the solo bot to add an extra player to our 2 player games.

House of Cats (1 play – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

I only had a single solo play of the level one version of House of Cats… which is a relatively straightforward roll’n’write with custom dice. (This might have more going on with the higher levels.)

Imperium: Classics/Legends (1 play – approx. playing time: 85 minutes)

My birthday in June 2021 was filled with goodness from Osprey Games… including my favorite new game of 2021. Want more detail? I wrote an extensive review for the OG!

One of the things that caused me to put the Imperium boxes on my birthday list was the promise of a robust solo play system – and David Turczi (who is specifically credited on the cover of the solo play rulebook) delivered.

Each civilization has its own AI set of tables. Five slots are set up and numbered (with provided cardboard counters).The die included in the game (only used for solo play) is rolled and that eliminates one of the slots (or doesn’t – sixes are not a friendly roll in solo play)… and then the remaining cards are revealed and dealt with in order. Impressively, each AI civilization retains a good bit of its character… for example, Egypt accumulates materials in the early going, uses them to attract hordes of population, and then, if conditions are right, converts those masses into Progress. 

In the meantime, the player civilization is running by the exact same rules as the multiplayer game – allowing you to learn the ins and outs of the various decks as well as consider different tactical and strategic decisions.

There is also a simple way to vary the difficulty of solo play… and even a campaign mode in the solo rulebook (which I still haven’t tried).

My only complaints about solo play? Putting the charts for resolving the AI behavior in the rulebook rather than providing them as large cards. Thankfully, a BGG user (props to DocZagreus!) has taken it upon themselves to fix this problem and posted files that do just that. The other issue is that the Qin charts needed to be changed – and the files I just linked to have the changes needed!

I was very excited to see Imperium: Classics getting the recognition it deserves… and to find out that there is another box of civilizations coming this year!

Mice & Mystics (1 play – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

Yet another nearly untouched used copy for bargain prices meant this thematic adventure game entered my collection. I really enjoyed my single play and want to keep my Mice & Mystics campaign going.

Monumental (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

Monumental mixes deck building, tableau manipulation, board play, and combat – and, to my surprise, actually has a really solid solo mode that is easy to execute and leave the focus of the game on what your civilization is doing rather than running the automata.

However, it’s a pretty substantial set-up time (30 minutes or so, particularly if you’re using some of the expansion content or extra modules)… so you need to be someone (like me!) who enjoys the process of getting the game ready to go.

Mr. President: The American Presidency (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

I wrote an extensive first impression/preview of this massive solo game (see the picture above) for the Opinionated Gamers site last fall – it is essentially a solo roleplaying game for political nerds… and I definitely qualify. (I’m currently in the middle of my second game – which is not going nearly as well as the first one. I’ve managed to evade an election scandal but at the cost of my relationship with Congress.)

Path of Civilization (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

Another civilization building game – with an intriguing mechanic where you continually are getting rid of earlier “technology” cards in order to progress forward. Path of Civilization worked very well both with 4 players and and as a solo game. The first time we set up the game was a lot of work – but once you’ve done the work of putting things together in a logical manner, it’s pretty easy to do. The rulebook felt heavier than the rules actually are – the game itself is very straightforward (and interesting) after you’ve learned it. There is a lot of variety in the various challenge and battle cards, as well as the various leaders and wonders that appear. The solo system – while very easy to run – seemed a little weak… but I was playing on the easy setting.

Resist! (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

This solo card game about the Spanish Maquis ongoing guerilla battle against the Francoist regime is both addictive and frustrating. So far, I’ve only managed to have a minor victory in a single game. (Let’s be clear – this is what happens when you put a risk-taking maniac in charge of the resistance who sends out his Maquis one time too many… or is successful at completing missions but manages to get a bunch of civilians killed.)

I’ve played it at home and on a hotel bed while traveling for work… and even played a game of it last night while I should have been working on this blog post. While the gameplay is simple to explain (particularly with the components in front of you), the decisions can be difficult and sometimes are excruciating – do I sacrifice this fighter’s cover for one glorious attack? will using a weak hidden card with the power to reveal military cards help me or just show me the form of my destructor (to paraphrase Ghostbusters)?

It’s finally released in the U.S.… and you can read my full review of Resist! for the OG.

Roll Player (1 play – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

The Monsters & Minions expansion and/or Fiends & Familiars expansion are required for enjoyable solo play. (In fact, I think this is one of the “required” expansions for multiplayer play as well… it offers more variety and more options for players on their turn. Most importantly, it gives the game an ending via fighting the big boss that is much more satisfying than “hey, look – I built a character”.)

Slappy Panda Goes to Boise (1 play – approx. playing time: 5 minutes)

OK, you got me. There isn’t a game named Slappy Panda Goes To Boise… but there should be.

The OG writers have the most interesting discussions as we’re bantering about various gaming topics – and when this name went by (in jest), I realized that I really wanted someone to design such a game.

I’m also a bit curious of who will spot this bit of meta silliness in the midst of all of my real solo gaming reports.

Update: after putting Slappy Panda into play back in May, there were extended discussions about the solo version (Lonely Panda Goes to Boise), a potential designer for the suggested solo version (David Turczi, of course), and then a bit of crossing our fingers to hope that the Slappy Pandas could be a civilization in the upcoming Imperium: Horizons.

I wanted to add a picture of Slappy Panda to this article – but there isn’t one. I am willing to take potential submissions.

Terraforming Mars (1 play – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

One of my birthday gifts in 2020 was a copy of Terraforming Mars… and I quickly discovered a thriving community of folks on BGG who love this game as a solo exercise. I now own all the expansions… but I think the best solo configuration for me (so far) uses just Prelude. My win rate is about 50%, which seems right for this style of game. (The arrival of the Big Box expansion made it even more enjoyable… there’s just something magical about 3D terrain rising from the Martian surface!)

The Artemis Odyssey (1 play – approx. playing time: 50 minutes)

This is a re-skin of Ad Astra… and I think it works better as a multiplayer game. (It’s functional as a solo game, but there isn’t a lot of oomph to it.)

The Pursuit of Happiness (1 play – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

You could strip the theme off of the game and you’d have a standard worker placement game left – but that misses the point. The designers have done a great job of melding mechanic/ism and theme together

Over time, I’ve managed to acquire almost all of the various expansions and promo cards for The Pursuit of Happiness… a game I initially reviewed for the OG over seven years ago. With the arrival of the latest expansion (Nostalgia), I decided to play a solo game of it with (almost) everything in. It was, as you can guess, a bit overlong and easy to miss things I needed to do – but the basic charm of the game is still there.

I’d suggest not doing what I did and simply using one major expansion if you’re planning to play solo (or multiplayer for that matter).

Undaunted: Normandy (1 play – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

One of the last Christmas boxes to arrive in 2021 was a copy of Undaunted: Reinforcements… the expansion that offers extra units, new scenarios, 2 vs 2 play, and – most importantly for this recap – solo play. The AI is smart and keeps me on my toes… and while it takes a minute to figure out how to set up and run, it’s worth the time. I’ve been slowly working my way through the Normandy campaign as the Americans and enjoying each time it hits the table. (One of the bonuses of the design: I can flip to the Axis side and play through the campaign again – both come in the Reinforcements box!)

The AI plays “faster” than we have normally played (in other words, it chases objectives and unit elimination pretty hard)… which has forced me to take more chances and ‘fail boldly’ against it. Makes for a very exciting game.

I want desperately to play Undaunted: Stalingrad (released last year)… but the lack of a solo option and no consistent opponent may have that one wait a while.

I’ve also played Undaunted: Battle of Britain solo to figure out the rules… it’s very good as well but doesn’t yet have a solo system.

Warp’s Edge (1 play – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

Warp’s Edge is a bag-builder space combat game that is designed for solo play. So far, I do pretty well against the weaker motherships… but the higher rated ones turn me to space dust. I wrote a review of Warp’s Edge on the Opinionated Gamers website.

Note: I received a review copy of the base game of Circadians: First Light, the base game of Dead Reckoning, and the Battle Card: Series 1.