10 SOLO Board Games and 10 REASONS to Play Them in 2022

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Mindfulness. Messing with Fields of Arle or even taking on Spirit Island is just about the most Zen thing I do. It is utterly consuming. I love that about boardgaming: my troubles just can't get to me when I'm playing.

👍︎︎ 14 👤︎︎ u/[deleted] 📅︎︎ Jun 21 2021 đź—«︎ replies

Relaxing way to pass the time

👍︎︎ 4 👤︎︎ u/EquivalentStomach5 📅︎︎ Jun 21 2021 đź—«︎ replies

0:00 Why Game Solo?

0:55 #10 - Imaginative Escape

1:48 #9 - Solving the Puzzle

2:29 #8 - Competing Against Yourself

3:14 #7 - The Challenge

4:12 #6 - Intuitive A.I.

5:15 #5 - Refining Your Skills

6:03 #4 - Re-playability, Exploration, and Narrative Immersion

8:39 #3 - Leveling Up

9:38 #2 - New Experiences

10:53 #1 - Games To the Table

👍︎︎ 4 👤︎︎ u/Flashthompson6 📅︎︎ Jun 21 2021 đź—«︎ replies

I like that it's a hobby I can do on my own that doesn't involve screens, as a lot of my interests do.

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/[deleted] 📅︎︎ Jul 03 2021 đź—«︎ replies
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Why do so many people love playing board games by themselves? Aren’t they meant to be played socially? Today, I’m going to offer 10 reasons why gamers might prefer to play alone, and why that’s ok. I’m also going to feature 10 single player board games that can provide a rewarding and fulfilling solo experience. Thanks for checking out Legendary Tactics. Solo tabletop gaming has been a hobby with a stigma for quite some time. Discussions on the subject used to inevitably lead to jokes about playing with yourself. After all, aren’t board games designed to be social? There’s nothing wrong with playing video games in single player mode, so why has this sentiment not always been shared for board gamers? I believe it’s because people don’t always recognize the reasons and the rewards for playing a game solo. If you’re a solo game purist, please forgive me because I have included some games on my list that were not originally designed for solo play. Some people love games because of the interactions with other players. But another segment of board gamers just really truly loves the games. Think of board games like a novel. You can escape from our world to the world of the game. It’s an imaginative, intellectual, and tactile experience. A game that’s not really intended as a solo game that serves this function for me is The Captain is Dead. I’ve always been a sucker for the broken ship in space theme with the clock ticking to fix it. Since there’s no hidden information between players, this co-op game is actually quite fun to play by yourself. If you take turns playing 3 or 4 different characters, you can dive into your broken down ship and desperately try to fix it before the masochistic alien game mechanism cleans your clock. It’s hard not to picture that it’s you running around on the ship blasting aliens and repairing core systems. Another good reason for solo gaming is to solve a puzzle, or to take on a designer’s system and crack it. It can’t be easy. The games I love most are the ones that are a challenge to win. The intellectual challenge can be very rewarding when you finally solve it. The game that does this for me is Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. When I spend only a few hours on a case, I rarely do well. This game draws me into the narrative, and isn’t this the purpose of Detective novels? Th is game is in fact the evolution of the Detective novel, that actually brings you on board to solve the case. Beating a board game AI is rewarding, but so is competing against yourself. There’s a reason that video gamers of yesteryear used to love getting high scores. It’s not the points that matter, it’s developing mastery over a game and refining your skills. It’s really quite satisfying. The game I most love for besting myself is Wingspan from Stonemaier games. I almost chose Viticulture here, and it’s a great game too, but Wingspan, played with the Automa system is a fun challenge with multiple paths to victory depending on what cards are offered. The automa is something that Stonemaier is now standard equipment on their games because they have realized that solo gaming can be really cathartic. Many of the games on my list are ones that are primarily intended as multiplayer games. But there are some great games built exclusively for solo play. I was introduced to the PNP turned published solo games via Under Falling Skies. But it wasn’t quite the challenge I was looking for. One of the best reasons for playing a game is to take on a challenge and beat it. Honourable mention in this slot goes to Robinson Crusoe which came out at the same time as the game I’m choosing. The game that just seems to keep breaking my back is Friday. It’s a quick 25 minute game, or in my case, 10 minutes because of, you know, mortality and being terrible at it, but it’s a game that I keep wanting to play. As a gamer, I’m somewhat fickle, and if I don’t enjoy a game after the first play or two, I never go back. But if I find myself thinking about it later, and wanting to solve it, that’s a keeper. It’s easy to learn, and is a nice little distraction from whatever ails you. You have to respect really well-designed games. The very first game that blew my mind for how it automates the antagonist was Pandemic. You’re probably getting a sense that I enjoy hi-jacking co-op games and just playing as multiple characters, and I’m not ashamed to say it. The virus in this game is not only really intuitive and easy to learn, but it simulates how a virus infects exponentially. For me, there’s nothing worse than spending a lot of time with a flow chart, or with your nose buried in a 40 page rulebook that controls the baddies. Pandemic never feels as if you’re working hard to automate your opponent, and for that reason, this is a great game to play by yourself. If you are getting value from this video, please take a moment to like the video and consider joining our channel by subscribing. Some games take a lot more play to master. Especially, asymmetrical games. To get good at a game, you sometimes need more playtime than you can get in social settings. I will confess that the game I’ve chosen here is much better with a group of friends, but it’s also one that I feel I need to practice more so I can really learn how to play each faction. Root, the Clockwork expansion, lets players face off against automated systems for the other factions. It’s a bit fiddly, and you need to learn how to run the automa, but I absolutely love this game, and being able to play it solo means I can decimate my casual playing friends. I do really enjoy playing this one in its digital format so that I don’t need to bother running the A.I. I love when I get into the narrative of a game and am fully immersed with the characters, the story, and the gameplay. If a game can draw me deep into its story, and make me actually care about the characters on the board, then it’s doing its job. When I played Frostpunk, the video game, I really started feeling bad for my civilians trudging through the snow, and the poor kids being forced to work and getting injured and sick. I find the Frostpunk boardgame to be a little daunting as a solo player, trying to manage the hunger, health, laws etc... But I’ve chosen another game that is more accessible than Frostpunk for its narrative immersion. One of the best solo games in recent memory is This War of Mine. With this game, you get a slice out of a war torn world with real intensity. There is a real story here with a complex and customizable plot. It’s a game where your decisions really matter. Some game mechanics lend well to solo gaming. One that I love in any game is the Push Your Luck mechanic. I love that you can take risks, win the rewards, or suffer the consequences. The more choice there is in a game, the more replayable it is. But I also want characters with real problems that need to be solved. This game comes with a scripts book with over 1000 events, so the number of possible story lines are impressive. The main reason to love this game is not to win it, but rather just to experience it. One caveat though - it’s a sad sack game. It’s not one you play to lighten the mood. All kinds of terrible tragedies will happen to your characters. This is why I like playing this one solo. It’s not meant to be a laugh out loud party game. It’s meant to simulate what it might feel like to live in a time of war. It’s a dose of reality - which is something that not everybody wants in a board game. If you could take a moment to let me know what you enjoy about solitaire gaming, and what games are the most rewarding for you, I’d be ever so grateful. There’s something intensely satisfying about starting with a base character, and improving their skills, buying new weapons and perks, and leveling them up, so to speak. In solo game play, this experience is magnified even more because you can decide how to optimize how you disperse gold, and other goodies across your characters. Please forgive me for including another co-op game which is technically listed as 2-4 players, but co-op games really do lend well to solo play. The game that just feels good to play because of all the loot is the Legends of Andor. It’s a little like Gloomhaven light. In order to beat the game, you need to find efficiencies to level up your characters. Replayability isn’t as good on this game. When you’ve had a great experience with a game in the past, it’s nice to extend your horizons and try something new. The freshness of a new game, the wonder that comes with the unexpected, and the excitement that a new gaming experience brings can be another motivator for solo gaming. It almost becomes a quest for board gamers to find the next hit. I almost picked Spirit Island for this slot, but there was another game that caught my interest more. For me, the game that was a pleasant surprise this year was Pax Pamir 2nd Edition. It came out in 2019, and it slipped completely under my radar until some of our viewers alerted me to its awesomeness. It’s an area control style game with some card drafting mixed in there. In solo mode, you’re battling against a Wakhan AI opponent. They are really unpredictable, sometimes a little daft, but they also get additional powers to compensate. This game will take a little more management on your part because you have to play your own hand and the AI hand. The Wakhan is a challenge, and the game has strong replayability because there’s lots of variety in how each game develops. But if you’re looking for something a little different, this game is worth a try. One really valid reason for solo gaming is just to get the games that you love to the table more often. Sometimes you just want to play the game for the game’s sake and you can’t always muster up 4 friends while you have an itch that needs scratching. The game I’ve selected for this position is the beast, Gloomhaven. I know at least half a dozen people who bought this game and have played no more than 5-10% of it. It sits in the closet waiting for the day that it will once again grace the table. Don’t get me wrong, they all love this game and want more of it. So if you really want to get value from that purchase, you may need to play solitaire, and explore its depths, level your character up, and just enjoy the interaction between yourself and the game. If you haven’t tried this game yet, you might want to check out Jaws of the Lion, which is a stand alone game set before the events of Gloomhaven. It’s targeted more at casual gamers if that’s your bag. If this video has helped you appreciate the value o f solo board gaming, or alerted you to a game you hadn’t considered playing before, please consider subscribing to our channel and liking the video. Nato from Legendary Tactics also made a top 10 solo games that I’ll link to at the end of the video with some off the beaten path games that you should check out. Thanks for your time.
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Channel: Legendary Tactics
Views: 22,361
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: solo board games, best solo board games, best solo board games of all time, best solo board games of 2022, solo board games 2022, reasons to solo game, top 10 solo board games, top 10 solo games 2022, pax pamir solo, friday solo board game, why do people play board games solo?, this war of mine solo, reasons to play solo, solo board gaming, solo games 2022, top 10 solitaire games, gloomhaven solo play, why play solo, 10 SOLO Board Games, 10 REASONS to play solo in 2022
Id: wh3_0VghFnk
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 12min 25sec (745 seconds)
Published: Fri Jun 18 2021
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