SOLO GAMING

Due to time and players constraint, I don’t get to play as often as I wished. So, looking out for games that can be played solitaire is often high on my list.

TRUE SOLO GAMES:

AMBUSH – Squad level WWII game. Player as the Allied forces, the Germans are preprogrammed for response and movement. Sadly, unplayed yet.

CHAINSAW WARRIOR – Old GWS game, a supermarine taking on hordes of zombies, monsters to save the world. Even came with a comic … basically a dicefest without a lot of real decision-making, fun if played occasionally.

LONDON’S BURNING – Player as RAF commander defending against waves of Luftwaffe. You only got 2 planes at any one-time and limited resources in the form of limited pilots and limited repair capability. Good game but take a bit long to play the full game.

SHERLOCK HOLMES’S CONSULTING DETECTIVE – Ten scenarios where players try to solve crime by going through clues/ leads. There are archives of old newspaper, a map of old London and paragraph-like storyline. Only played the first scenario so far.

CIVPOCKET – Print and Play games. Quite good. Difficult to survive in the initial turns. Drag a bit during end game.

GAMES WITH SOLITAIRE RULES (PLAYER 1- #)

ARKHAM HORROR – Good to play, great atmosphere and narrative. Difficult to survive using 1 character (one can play several characters simultaneously). Solo variant currently available for single character game. (Haven’t played in a while)

MAGIC REALM – Grand-daddy of adventure boardgame. Complex rule, haven’t tried the real thing yet. But can play via Realmspeak (a Java Programme); still not familiar with the Magic rule yet but unique experience and innovative designs (despite its age). Very thick rulebook!

RUNEBOUND – good to play solo with the Threat track variant (can play a game in an hour including setup). Excellent battle system designed by Martin Wallace. Indulge yourself as a hero in trying to defeat the Dragonlord.

TALISMAN – Another classic (still basically a Roll & Move game) but need more to enjoy but game can dragged on. Or try PROPHECY (a newer improved version)

Don’t bother trying: Ingenious, Castle Keep, Dungeon (these games has solitaire rules but they are not that interesting).

GAME THAT CAN BE PLAYED WELL ALONE

Most wargame with no hidden information can be played solo. But I am not really a grognard.

BRITANNIA – Played surprisingly well solo. You get the sweep of history and all that. Long game though.

MARVEL HEROES – Good solo-variant available or just set 2 side up to play against each other.

Still, these but scratch the itch till the next boardgaming sessions.