Hm, before I give game recommendations, couple of things:
1. What to expect: Since you already play videogames, consider it the same thing but losing the screen and gaining the tactile feeling of moving components,shuffling cards, etc. You'll also have to be willing to read instructions or watch videos to learn, unlike videogames, you control the 'mechanics' of the game, or the enemies, with instructions from the game itself.
2. I also play videogames, and I find I dislike boardgames that are too...videogamy? Specifically ones with so many mechanics and moving pieces that they feel better suited to be a videogame. An example of this is GloomHaven, it looks amazing to me, but there are so many components and mechanics that it loses me and makes me feel like i should just be playing a videogame
3. Some games can be quiet expensive. I suggest you start with not-so expensive ones and also that you dont go 'all in' (meaning buying a game + all its expansions) without knowing you'll really like a game. I personally never buy a game without watching a video of a person playing it, and specifically, playing it solo (some games might look fun multiplayer but might suck solo)
4. Some games can be really hard to get your hands on depending on where you are. Some games are out of print or kickstarter only and so on. Consider checking amazon and whatever boardgame stores you have nearby for stock of the games. I find that like, 50% of the games I wanna get are unavailable to me in Canada and my only option is waiting for reprints or pay insane amounts of money in ebay
5. When playing solo, youll make mistakes and mess up rules. Keep going, dont get stuck, remember what you messed up and avoid it next time, dont restart because of it.
6. Set up and tear down of a game are big for me. I like games I can set up fast and put away fast. That said, if you happen to buy a game and really like it but feel the setup/teardown is too much, look into getting organization components that make it easier, like inserts, deck boxes, even sleeves for games with lots of cards help cause they let you shuffle faster.
As for some recommendations (and again, pls look at reviews and gameplay before buying)
- Since you mentioned Slay the Spire, there is a slay the spire boardgame that is (from what i know) a good representation of the game
- If youve ever liked Magic the gathering/yugioh/pokemon TCGs , but want a solo version. Look into LCGs (Living Card Games), specifically Arkham Horror LCG, Marvel Champions LCG and Lord of the rings LCG. Just be aware that these have lots of expansions and can be quiet a money sink
- Horizons of Spirit Island is a cheaper and smaller version of a bigger game called Spirit Island which is widely considered one of the best solo experiences and a great puzzle to solve. You play as a spirit of an island and. Need to get rid of invaders coming to colonize which spread like a cancer. I suggest Horizons cause its the smaller and cheaper and simpler version. You could go for the base Spirit Island game if you have the money too
i dont own that many solo games so i dont have more suggestions based on your preferences. But consider looking into these types/genres of games to see if youre interested (with examples)
- Worker placement (Agricola, Viticulture, Nusljord)
- Engine Builder (Wyrmspan, Fantastic Factories)
- Deckbuilder (Aeons End, Astro Knights)
- Dungeon crawler (I think 20 Strong fits here? Also Iron Helm but this one can be hard to get, Gloomhaven falls here too)
Thats all I got :) theres tons to explore, dont be overwhelmed and enjoy!
2. These all peak my interest so much just from looking into it, but since I'm trying to be better and not go head first into everything I do, I will definitely start with something familiar to me, but also introduces new mechanics, but slay the spire may be too direct considering I play that game so much, and I dont want to get tired of it super fast
Spirit island is incredible solo and I’d recommend the horizons of spirit island product as well. Since you said you like puzzley games the puzzle of this one is great and also it feels super exciting to get stronger during the play of the game
One Deck Dungeon for a start, if you like dice.
For puzzle-like dungeon crawlers, the usual recommendation is Mage Knight, which is a bit of beast. Best to watch a playthrough on YT first, I would recommend the channel by Ricky Royal (Box of Delights).
Another good game is Too Many Bones, but this is rather expensive, best to look into it on YT first.
The Legend of Andor series is a cooperative game series that can easily played solo and despite its looks it has a very strong puzzle mechanic.
Oh I like dice (I'm a certified dice goblin with a suitcase of dice... yes... a suitcase... im sorry my dear wallet)
A lot of people are reccomendjng I look up YT videos of specific games and creators, and the fact that that's consistent advice, it's a must
Too many bones satisfies my desire to roll dice. I also don’t need another dice rolling boardgame since it’s that good. Would recommend 10/10 the base game. If money is a concern, save up buddy.
I wouldn’t recommend kickstarters for people new to the hobby. Not only would they have to wait to get the game, but a lot of Kickstarter games are flops. A new person should try well regarded games so they don’t get turned away from the hobby if the game they get stinks.
This one is slated for delivery in October and is from the Tiny Epic series. There are complete enough videos to get a good sense of the game. It looks good enough to be worth one season of waiting. It’s not as long of a lead time as your standard kickstarter project and its from a pretty well reviewed series. Generally I’d agree with you though.
If you like a dungeon crawler, maybe check out Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion? And if that hits you, you'll have Gloomhaven and Frosthaven waiting for you to spend many hundreds of hours playing. It's not exactly DnD, but it scratches a lot of the same itches (heroes, gearing up, leveling up, magic abilities, killing monsters, saving the world if you choose to), while having some solid and interesting mechanics of its own (mainly in the card-based ability deck).
I suggest going to youtube, and checking out a list of "top 10 solo games" or something similar.
I suggest looking up channels like : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyj6-tJEWs&list=PLjI2YdITZpmKfYs3KD8bwaS8BbzVFyspf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyj6-tJEWs&list=PLjI2YdITZpmKfYs3KD8bwaS8BbzVFyspf) (the brothers murph)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kbVH\_hGqoU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kbVH_hGqoU) (Solo board games for beginners)
Generally I get games that are good at more than one that have a good solo mode.
Tiny epic dungeons is fun to play solo and with others. Explore the dungeon fight goblins loot and slay the boss before the torch runs out. I really enjoy it!
There are a few games you could look into! It's hard to know where to direct you without knowing what previous experiences you've had with board games (even non solo ones), in order to better pinpoint how heavy into a game you could go!
From what you've said, I think Roll player could be a good place for you to start, especially if you add in the minions and monsters expansion. The game consists in a puzzle that can either be played solo or with friends (like your dnd group perhaps!) in which you create your character by placing dice in the most optimal way for each attribute. The expansion adds the option to fight minions and the game culminates in fighting a higher challenge monster, giving you a clear success/fail status and a more satisfying game end that would both otherwise be missing from the game. If you play dnd often you could combine both the base game of roll player with your table to create your characters and then play.
In a similar vein but still different, call to adventure is a small puzzle/role playing game in three acts in which you will have a character evolve and go through events, growing in strength and it allows you to tell a story about your character.
For a different experience, paper dungeons is a roll and write dungeon crawler that is very accessible and a fun solo if you don't mind beat your own score objectives.
Oltree is a fun RPG with scenarios in which you can either with friends or solo by playing multiple characters, try to bring back your castle to its former glory and helping the populace surrounding it while managing an overarching plot. I think this is also very accessible, but is the first I've already mentioned that requires a medium sized table.
If the theme is your liking, Cthulhu death may die is a sort of dungeon crawler with varying characters and bosses/scenarios. It was my first foray into solo board gaming and is a good starting point in my opinion if you're not too intimidated by something a bit bigger.
Finally if you're really into heavier stuff, tiny epic dungeons is a satisfying small dungeon crawler and mage knight is a much heavier game which is more a world crawler and deck builder, but it really gives you the power fantasy that I think you may enjoy from what you said while also being more puzzly.
If anything I've mentioned isn't clear or you're curious about the meaning of some terms or mechanics (assuming you're completely new to board gaming as a whole), hit me up! Happy discovery and happy gaming :)
I was also thinking of recommending Cthulhu death may die. Quick playing scenarios, fun tactical decision making, and really good sense of character progression
You didn’t mention marvel/heroes but I still think Marvel Champions base box is an excellent start to solo gaming if you like deck building. Puzzle wise I love Doom Machine . Dungeon Crawl I like Desolate. The latter two you can download Print and play versions from pnparcade to see if you like them for fairly cheap.
I like spiderman, and the hero concept in general, but overall, unless something REALLY stands out, I don't really like hero stuff. BUT that's just regarding movies, I like playing dnd and who doesn't want to be the hero (or villan) when playing dnd
I was not a comic/superhero fan *at all* and Marvel Champions ended up becoming one of my absolute favorite games. Not saying you’ll necessary have the same experience but I wouldn’t rule the game out just because Marvel is not your thing.
As for your other question on what should you expect it’s totally dependent on what you want out of it. I work in Tech and I love solo board gaming as a way to disengage from the screen m. The same way a book would I guess. However it’s fun to try puzzle things out. At the moment I am playing final girl which is fantastic but I’m not sure I would recommend for your first game. Also watch a few YouTube videos of games that are mentioned to see if it fits your style.
Oh okay! For me it's the same thing, which is why I'm asking about board games and not video games, because puzzles (like jigsaw puzzles) get old after a while you know? I do a lot of digital art and need a lot of sound stimulation so between getting sucked into YouTube and doing digital art I kinda get lost in the screen vortex
If superheroes as a theme doesn't grab you, you might look at the Arkham Horror card game, which has some very similar mechanics, but is more Lovecraftian "1920's fighting monsters" themed. Both games can be a serious collector's money sink, if you don't have self-control. I do not, and spent about $200 on Arkham since I got a core box at Christmas. If you've never played Magic or something with deck construction, you may not even know if you like this kind of game, but they're both pretty great as these kinds of games go. (And to clarify, these aren't randomized packs - each box is new story or character content. It's not THAT big of a money sink)
There are some games that were made with solo board gaming in mind, like Age of Civilization or One Deck Dungeon. And others have a solo mode available but not made primarily with solo play in mind like Lost Ruins of Arnak. Before you throw down money on any of them, consider watching a YouTube review or even a solo playthrough of what you are interested in. This has saved me money when I realize the gameplay does not suit me.
Also, BoardGameArena is a free app with free games to play solo (premium membership gets you an increased availability of games). Try a few solo games on there. I played Tranquility on there nearly 20 times, realized I liked it alot and bought the real game. Still like it, it has expansion cards to make it harder in the box, if I want AND it plays well with others, too.
Consider borrowing a game from a game store or your local library before you buy, too. I have saved myself buying a few games because my local library has a great variety for me to borrow.
YouTube content you might like who covers some solo content:
The Dungeon Dive and GeekGamers covering dungeon crawl type solo RPG and games
Beyond Solitaire, also a podcast
No Fluff Solo Gaming with John LaRuffa
[BoardGameGeek.com](http://BoardGameGeek.com) has so much game content including descriptions of games and and forums, etc.
Welcome! Slay the Spire was my gateway game that got me looking into board games. My first solo game was Friday (Friedman Friese) - made sense as I was already familiar with deck building from StS, and it was a cheap entry point. Hard as nails but fun. Warp's Edge is a bag-builder--similar concept--for another low cost option. Personal favorite deckbuilder is Aeon's End. I've now come full circle, and actually just ordered Slay the Spire the board game.
You're right that there's an overwhelming amount of board games out there. Best advice I can give is try to figure out what you like before dropping a ton of money into the hobby. You can play games on board game arena, or tabletop simulator, but I've actually never done this. I was able to find a meetup group to play games with. I have kids, so I only see the group every 2-3 weeks, hence solo gaming. But playing with them helped define what types of games I'm into.
Local game stores and libraries may have games you can try out. This subreddit, YouTube, and boardgamegeek are good resources if you want to know more about a game you're interested in.
Plenty of good advice, so I'm just going to throw out a word caution:
When watching YouTube for playthroughs, know which YTer fits your preferences.
This is of course difficult to filter when you start, but I just wanted to get it out there.
Just because the big shots love it, doesn't mean you do.
Some even seem to like everything they review.
Don't get tempted by FOMO and hype trains.
Missed a crowdfunding campaign? A new one will show up.
If the campaign has plenty of time left, leave it for a while and come back later. You might just stop caring about it.
Realise that after the campaign is done, you usually still have a year or so before it arrives. More interesting or fancy looking campaigns will show up and before you'll know it you'll be out 500 bucks and nothing to play for another year.
I would tell you to grab one of the following and go from there:
* Search For Planet X: essentially a logic puzzle of trying to locate a planet by process of elimination. You use an app for it, in case that matters to you. Also note it isn't much of a physical/tactile game; you're mostly just keeping notes on a notepad.
* "Astro Knights" and/or "Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition" (I would ignore SotM on Steam as it's the ugly and convoluted first edition; DE is much better): both are card games and only the first is what I would call a deck builder, but they're very similar in how they play with 1 major difference: SotM uses fixed/pre-made decks per hero only, while AK has you buy cards as you play (not unlike StS). Also, theme wise SotM is your regular superhero fantasy (requiring you to play at least 3 heroes) while AK is more like heroes in space (where you can play as many heroes as you like). I should note that while SotM sounds daunting with having to play 3 heroes, it's actually not bad at all in practice because a hero's turn is pretty simple; the joy comes from how well constructed the decks are (it does the theme very well) and how the heroes work together.
* Terraforming Mars (also has a digital version on Steam): an engine builder where you try to terraform Mars within a very limited set of turns. You start of slow with very few resources, but if you play it right, grow stronger exponentially. Btw, the game cards are ugly as sin, but the gameplay is great.
* Spirit Island (also has a Steam version): an amazing, but heavy game where you play as a "god" to kill/kick out invaders of your island. It features a lot of mechanisms, so quite heavy and possibly overwhelming as your first board game. It was one of the first I've played and had to force myself to take the time to learn the ropes, but still my favourite many years later. I mostly like how you have almost perfect knowledge, yet it still manages to challenge you despite that.
* Roll Player: ever get stuck for hours in character creation in an RPG, fiddling with classes and attributes to get the perfect mix? Well, this game is basically that. The main game consists of picking dice from a bad (blind pick) and using those to fill in your attributes. The trick here is to get attributes within a specific range to get as high a score as possible. You also get some options to manipulate the dice (e.g. flip to opposing side or switch dice) and buy gear from a market. Again, the goal is to beat your own high score (BYOS), which you either like or hate. I usually don't enjoy BYOS, but I make an exception for Roll Player when I want something relaxing.
P.s. All these games can also be played with others, so you can even pull them out if you have company.
ETA: I see you enjoy dungeon crawlers too, which I find to play pretty differently when translated to board games. However, I can recommend these titles:
* Valor & Villainy Lludwik's Labyrinth: great tile laying dungeon crawler with great minis (deluxe edition only). I should note that progression in this game isn't permanent like D&D (your characters reset after every level), but does offer some "legacy" type upgrades in the campaign that aren't bound to a single character. Things like granting bonus starting xp (effectively giving you better starting attributes) or always starting with a specific item. The game is probably also really hard to get (I bought in from their Kickstarter years ago).
* Tales From The Red Dragon Inn: simply great stuff with humour. Again, not as heavy as things like D&D, but great nonetheless. Should also be pretty easy to find.
* Mage Knight: haven't played it yet myself (only recently got it, haven't had time yet), but it always comes up in the community as a pillar.
* Tiny Epic Dungeons: a fun little (literally) dungeon crawler that takes up very little room, yet is surprisingly deep for that size. Definitely a great way to get introduced into the world of board game dungeon crawlers.
You may also want to take a look at ISS Vanguard. It looks like a Mass Effect game with pretty deep story and permanent upgrades/effects. However, it's probably a title you don't want to start with ;)
The first thing I would suggest is do not buy a super expensive game. You are going to get a ton of recommends for $100+ games. I would say start small with something like One Deck Dungeon or Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion and see what you think before digging in more.
RE: Spirit Island - Try Horizons of Spirit Island before going all in. It's a great game, but the core game adds more "stuff", and the expansions all do so as well. And it can become a brain melter of an experience to solo.
RE: Aeons End - Aeons End is great, but I find I prefer the video game adaptation better. If they ever finish releasing expansions for it, I'll likely ditch my physical set.
For a dungeon crawler puzzler, I'd recommend either Marvel Zombies: Heroes Resistance, Cthulhu: Death May Die, or Massive Darkness 2. They're all similar, but also pretty different, to the point each scratches a different itch.
\* MZHR- for $35ish you get a decent little intro to the Zombicide system. It's the lightest mechanically of the three, but a fun little game. If you like it, it's got a lot of unique elements you can use in other Marvel Zombies games (e.g. Missions, characters, enemy heroes, standees, etc.). If you don't, you're only out $35.
\* CDMD - takes the Zombicide engine, add meaningful character advancement choices, modular enemy/hero/mission designs, and cranks up the difficulty accordingly. For when you want a game about punching Cthulhu in the face as you go screaming into 1930's pulpy madness.
\* MD2 - takes Zombicide's engine in a different direction, capturing a fantasy dungeon crawler vibe, with looting and leveling. But the best part is how each character class feels like its own minigame (e.g. the ranger has a press your luck deck of cards to build the perfect bow shot, the rogue has a bag building blind draw token system, etc.).
The main con to all of them is if you like them, you'll have to hunt the after market for (often expensive) Kickstarter Exclusive elements.
1. I have dungeon mastered before, so between the rules thing and being overwhelmed I completely understand the feeling. I'd give more of a reply, but ill just reply multiple times since I'm not done reading through your comment
I think my recommendation for you would be to try Bullet (heart), preferably with a set of wooden pieces.
The biggest downside of this is that board games are expensive, especially if you prefer premium components (like the wooden pieces would be for the Bullet series). But this is an extremely well-liked puzzle/strategy game that plays well solitaire, cooperatively, and competitively. And a premium set would give you a sense of the tactile joy that people get out of board games that is not present in video games.
Definitely start with doing research and watch playthroughs!!! Read reviews, reflect on the type of experience you want out of your board games, how much time you’d want to spend playing a board game, budget, etc.
I’m a sucker for “fiddly” complicated board games lol hence why i love Sword & Sorcery which is a fun but heavy dungeon crawler-ish board game. I would have it setup on my table for like weeks. When you purchase a board game you like, be patient with yourself (really invest time to read the rules) and understand you’ll get the rules wrong (I still do sometimes lol). But never hesitate to ask questions or rewatch playthroughs, or re-play campaigns! Enjoy the learning process, it’s a lot of fun!
Hope those general tips help!
Under Falling Skies is a great solo game that’s relatively inexpensive with a lot of content in the box, and no expansions to give you FOMO - it’s just a complete, good game for a reasonable price. If you like puzzles and could be entertained by a not-too-serious alien invasion theme I highly recommend that as a low-commitment solo game.
Jason Glover’s tin games (and probably his bigger games too) on Gamecrafter are good, but FYI those are assembled to order and can take a while to ship. (Like, weeks or even months at peak times.) My favorite one is Gate but I also love Dustrunner. Tin Helm is a dungeon crawl and it’s a mini version of his larger game called Iron Helm, both of which I hear good things about.
For a bigger, higher commitment dungeon crawl-ish experience you might check out Star Wars Imperial Assault. For solo there’s a high-quality, well-supported fanmade app called Imperial Commander 2 that runs all of the printed campaigns in the boxes for solo, and a publisher-made app that has different solo campaigns for the core box and two of the expansions. Between all that there’s lots of solo content and I think it’s a lot of fun - BUT it is a bigger commitment that calls on you to buy more stuff, some of which is getting harder to find (not out of print yet, but still waning as it’s a slightly older game). I just throw it out there because I have it and love it so I can recommend it from experience, but there are surely lower-commitment and more “complete-in-one-box” dungeon crawls out there that aren’t 95% combat focused. I’ve had my eye on Dungeon Degenerates as well.
More general advice I have is to look at some top solo game lists on BoardGameGeek, and like others said, do some research on any given game that piques your interest to make sure there aren’t hard to find or out of print expansions that you will miss (or if you just want something that is a great experience in a single purchase, for which there are no consensus “essential” expansions that you don’t want to have to shell out more money for). Check out the forums for any game on BGG or come here and search/ask. You can also look at the “Expansions” section for any game on BGG and see what was published, Google to see how available they are if you think they sound essential, or how much people are selling it for secondhand on BGG to get an idea of difficulty to obtain.
Playing (online even) or watching *playthrough* videos are a great resource to get a feel for the decisions, actions, and flow of a game. Review videos tend to be extremely bad for this purpose.
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Broadly speaking, there are short, quick games and long, involved games. The difference in time and energy commitment between (quick) **Cartographers**, **Cascadia**, **Sprawlopolis** and (lengthy) **Mage Knight**, **Spirit Island**, **Too Many Bones** is really large. All of them are "good" and enjoyed by many solo players, but not necessarily all by all the same players.
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There are different styles of solo games (different implementations/modes/AI styles).
* Play the normal game, by yourself (maybe with a 'clock') -- co-op games like **Pandemic** and **Eldritch Horror** can be played rules as written but rather than 1 player per game character you make the decisions for each game character. Euro style games, sometimes called economic/resource management games, often have a basic solo mode of 'just play the game by yourself, try to beat your own high score'. Occasionally they'll implement a 'clock' or limited number of turns/game rounds.
A sort of off-shoot version of this is playing the game, by yourself, left-hand vs. right-hand. Imagine playing chess against yourself, basically.
* Simple automated opponent - Along the lines of a clock, there may be a few rules for your 'opponent' to semi-randomly block action spots or consume cards from the market or consume resources etc.
* Complex automated opponent - A more complex 'opponent' with rules or flow charts (even if they're abstracted away) that is able to react to your actions and the board state you create and appear to 'make decisions'. In recent years it's become popular to use a deck of cards to run this "AI" opponent. AutomaFactory was one of the early designers to use this implementation and you'll often hear the term 'automa', even when it's not strictly an automa from AF and/or not actually making use of a deck.
A subset of this is extremely complex automated opponents that sacrifice the relative easy of running them (e.g. with a simple deck) and use much more detailed rules and flow charges for the sake of having nuanced and challenging 'opponent' behavior that very closely models that of a real player. The COIN bots are the best example of this that I'm aware of.
* Play against a system - Simpler examples of this include the aforementioned **Pandemic** where the game itself is a system that the players play 'against'. A lot of designed-intentially-for-solo-play games take the idea and run with it. See **Comancheria**, **Dawn of the Zeds**, **Fields of Fire**.
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You can play, even just to test drive, a ton of games online. Most of these are entirely free. BGA, TT, and TTS are free to play random tables or solo, but you need a paid subscription to play with friends. Steam games also generally have a 1 time up front cost.
https://18xx.games
https://boardgamearena.com
http://www.brettspielwelt.de
http://play.boardgamecore.net
https://tabletopia.com
https://yucata.de
There are also a number of game specific sites like:
https://jinteki.net for **Android: Netrunner**
https://dragoncards.com for **LotR: LCG**
https://realmspeak.dewkid.com for **Magic Realm** (haven't tried this one myself)
https://terraforming-mars.herokuapp.com
http://expedition-ares-fe.herokuapp.com
And dedicated software or applications:
https://vassalengine.org (I think this may have one of the largest game libraries)
TableTopSimulator
Steam
Here are a few more comprehensive lists:
[BGG - online play list](https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/On-line_Games&redirectedfrom=Online_Play#)
[BGG - huge online free play list](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/140673)
PSA: **boiteajeux.net is defunct** with the developer stepping away permanently. Folks are cautioned to be sure their boiteajeux password is not used anywhere else and to avoid any pages or anything that looks suspicious as the site is being actively exploited.
Making a switch from video game to solo from my own experience …..
Aliens : Another glorious day in the corps was a great start point. Mainly because it was a series I already knew and loved, already knew the story and characters (the game missions take place as through the film) … but also felt like a xcom tactical dungeon crawler.
20 strong, gloomhaven buttons and bugs, Hoplomachus victorum, too many bones, unmatched adventures,
It's not available yet but elder scrolls betrayal of the second era is still in crowd funding set to deliver October/november.
I have to say though that hoplomachus victorum is the greatest solo game I've ever played
One thing that I don't see mentioned is that you can actually play cooperative games solo even if they don't have a solo mode, you just play 2 or more characters by yourself.
Personally big and expensive narrative games with lots of pieces and lenght of hours with a complex AI that you can basically play one time because of the focus on the story are not for me, I prefer replayable games that possibly don't need lots of time to get on the table and don't need too much space.
Some games that I have or that I'm really interested in are:
-dungeon crawler: mini rogue
-puzzle with a sort of dungeon crawler skin: set a watch
-engine builder: point city, It's a wonderful world/kingdom, village of Valeria/Valeria card kingdom, imperial settlers
-pandemic-based: reign of cthulhu(coop, not solo IIRC)
-city building: suburbia, city skylines
-lcg: arkham horror
-board game rpgs: some d&d ones, pathfinder adventure card games
-various: eleven, hostage negotiator and many more lol
This doesn't directly help you but in my opinion, part of the exploration of board games on a whole is experiencing games and learning slowly what you enjoy.
It is of course daunting at first, but there are a lot of resources at your disposal to test games, from boardgamearena, tabletop simulator, print and play demos, to just watching others play board games on YouTube.
Expect your comfort and tastes to evolve over time, and while solo gaming is great, don't discount playing with others for an entirely different vector of learning/experiences. I've made quite a few solo gamers in person.
There is a lot of hesitation to jump into the deep end in board games, especially solo, but it's also one of the best ways to get started. Just go in with the expectations that not every game will be for you.
I also only recently got into solo boardgaming and for me the most key factor is weight.
There is a ceratin level of bookkeeping and complexity/setup time where i get "at this point I'd rather play a videogame".
This adds up to setup time / complexity and cost.
Personally I mostly solo play light boardgames, most of which are PnP. I did recently got into lotr lcg to scratch my oldschool mtg itch, and while i love it, i feel like it would be quite the money sink to really get it to shine. Maybe i will. I'm not sure.
I love slay the spire but why would i ever get the boardgame? I often just happily play the videogame. Why would i want to go through tedious setup and bookkeeping when the videogame takes care of all that for me and makes the game smooth and quicker?
On the other side i LOVE boardgames i can crack up and put away in under an hour. My all time favourite is Bag of Dungeon 2, it's an awesome streamlined (luck based) dungeon crawler that plays out of the box in 30 seconds ans have ton of depth and it's FUN. Without any of the clunkyness of most heavy DCs. Too bad it's quite pricey for what it is.
Then i have about a dozen small (mostly pnp) games like All is Bomb, ragemore, food chain island, etc.. I love them. Fairly cheap, no bullshit, thdy play quick and they are fun. My favourite of them all being probably Dustrunner.
But! If you would like and don't mind (and have the space for) heavier games there's a lot of cool stuff out there.
[[Railroad Ink]] is good if you like puzzles, strategy and dice. There’s also Railroad Ink Challenge that adds in cards. There’s a bunch of expansions, too, with more dice, cards and different playing boards. Starting with the blue box is good. Futuristic is a good first expansion.
Hm, before I give game recommendations, couple of things: 1. What to expect: Since you already play videogames, consider it the same thing but losing the screen and gaining the tactile feeling of moving components,shuffling cards, etc. You'll also have to be willing to read instructions or watch videos to learn, unlike videogames, you control the 'mechanics' of the game, or the enemies, with instructions from the game itself. 2. I also play videogames, and I find I dislike boardgames that are too...videogamy? Specifically ones with so many mechanics and moving pieces that they feel better suited to be a videogame. An example of this is GloomHaven, it looks amazing to me, but there are so many components and mechanics that it loses me and makes me feel like i should just be playing a videogame 3. Some games can be quiet expensive. I suggest you start with not-so expensive ones and also that you dont go 'all in' (meaning buying a game + all its expansions) without knowing you'll really like a game. I personally never buy a game without watching a video of a person playing it, and specifically, playing it solo (some games might look fun multiplayer but might suck solo) 4. Some games can be really hard to get your hands on depending on where you are. Some games are out of print or kickstarter only and so on. Consider checking amazon and whatever boardgame stores you have nearby for stock of the games. I find that like, 50% of the games I wanna get are unavailable to me in Canada and my only option is waiting for reprints or pay insane amounts of money in ebay 5. When playing solo, youll make mistakes and mess up rules. Keep going, dont get stuck, remember what you messed up and avoid it next time, dont restart because of it. 6. Set up and tear down of a game are big for me. I like games I can set up fast and put away fast. That said, if you happen to buy a game and really like it but feel the setup/teardown is too much, look into getting organization components that make it easier, like inserts, deck boxes, even sleeves for games with lots of cards help cause they let you shuffle faster. As for some recommendations (and again, pls look at reviews and gameplay before buying) - Since you mentioned Slay the Spire, there is a slay the spire boardgame that is (from what i know) a good representation of the game - If youve ever liked Magic the gathering/yugioh/pokemon TCGs , but want a solo version. Look into LCGs (Living Card Games), specifically Arkham Horror LCG, Marvel Champions LCG and Lord of the rings LCG. Just be aware that these have lots of expansions and can be quiet a money sink - Horizons of Spirit Island is a cheaper and smaller version of a bigger game called Spirit Island which is widely considered one of the best solo experiences and a great puzzle to solve. You play as a spirit of an island and. Need to get rid of invaders coming to colonize which spread like a cancer. I suggest Horizons cause its the smaller and cheaper and simpler version. You could go for the base Spirit Island game if you have the money too i dont own that many solo games so i dont have more suggestions based on your preferences. But consider looking into these types/genres of games to see if youre interested (with examples) - Worker placement (Agricola, Viticulture, Nusljord) - Engine Builder (Wyrmspan, Fantastic Factories) - Deckbuilder (Aeons End, Astro Knights) - Dungeon crawler (I think 20 Strong fits here? Also Iron Helm but this one can be hard to get, Gloomhaven falls here too) Thats all I got :) theres tons to explore, dont be overwhelmed and enjoy!
2. These all peak my interest so much just from looking into it, but since I'm trying to be better and not go head first into everything I do, I will definitely start with something familiar to me, but also introduces new mechanics, but slay the spire may be too direct considering I play that game so much, and I dont want to get tired of it super fast
Spirit island is incredible solo and I’d recommend the horizons of spirit island product as well. Since you said you like puzzley games the puzzle of this one is great and also it feels super exciting to get stronger during the play of the game
One Deck Dungeon for a start, if you like dice. For puzzle-like dungeon crawlers, the usual recommendation is Mage Knight, which is a bit of beast. Best to watch a playthrough on YT first, I would recommend the channel by Ricky Royal (Box of Delights). Another good game is Too Many Bones, but this is rather expensive, best to look into it on YT first. The Legend of Andor series is a cooperative game series that can easily played solo and despite its looks it has a very strong puzzle mechanic.
Oh I like dice (I'm a certified dice goblin with a suitcase of dice... yes... a suitcase... im sorry my dear wallet) A lot of people are reccomendjng I look up YT videos of specific games and creators, and the fact that that's consistent advice, it's a must
Well, than I add another dice (placing) game: Roll Player (+ addons Monsters & Minions and Fiends & Familiars)
If you like dice, try 20 Strong. Small, simple, quick, cheap.
Too many bones satisfies my desire to roll dice. I also don’t need another dice rolling boardgame since it’s that good. Would recommend 10/10 the base game. If money is a concern, save up buddy.
We’re on the tail end of a kickstarter for a game called tiny epic game of thrones. Dice, cards, minis. Looks like a lot of game for $50.
I wouldn’t recommend kickstarters for people new to the hobby. Not only would they have to wait to get the game, but a lot of Kickstarter games are flops. A new person should try well regarded games so they don’t get turned away from the hobby if the game they get stinks.
This one is slated for delivery in October and is from the Tiny Epic series. There are complete enough videos to get a good sense of the game. It looks good enough to be worth one season of waiting. It’s not as long of a lead time as your standard kickstarter project and its from a pretty well reviewed series. Generally I’d agree with you though.
If you like a dungeon crawler, maybe check out Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion? And if that hits you, you'll have Gloomhaven and Frosthaven waiting for you to spend many hundreds of hours playing. It's not exactly DnD, but it scratches a lot of the same itches (heroes, gearing up, leveling up, magic abilities, killing monsters, saving the world if you choose to), while having some solid and interesting mechanics of its own (mainly in the card-based ability deck).
Currently playing jaws of the lion with a group and I’m really enjoying it!
I suggest going to youtube, and checking out a list of "top 10 solo games" or something similar. I suggest looking up channels like : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyj6-tJEWs&list=PLjI2YdITZpmKfYs3KD8bwaS8BbzVFyspf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEyj6-tJEWs&list=PLjI2YdITZpmKfYs3KD8bwaS8BbzVFyspf) (the brothers murph) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kbVH\_hGqoU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kbVH_hGqoU) (Solo board games for beginners) Generally I get games that are good at more than one that have a good solo mode.
Tiny epic dungeons is fun to play solo and with others. Explore the dungeon fight goblins loot and slay the boss before the torch runs out. I really enjoy it!
Adding on to this, tiny epic defenders is super fun alone or with others! Especially with the expansion!
The game of thrones one looks great! Just put in an order.
There are a few games you could look into! It's hard to know where to direct you without knowing what previous experiences you've had with board games (even non solo ones), in order to better pinpoint how heavy into a game you could go! From what you've said, I think Roll player could be a good place for you to start, especially if you add in the minions and monsters expansion. The game consists in a puzzle that can either be played solo or with friends (like your dnd group perhaps!) in which you create your character by placing dice in the most optimal way for each attribute. The expansion adds the option to fight minions and the game culminates in fighting a higher challenge monster, giving you a clear success/fail status and a more satisfying game end that would both otherwise be missing from the game. If you play dnd often you could combine both the base game of roll player with your table to create your characters and then play. In a similar vein but still different, call to adventure is a small puzzle/role playing game in three acts in which you will have a character evolve and go through events, growing in strength and it allows you to tell a story about your character. For a different experience, paper dungeons is a roll and write dungeon crawler that is very accessible and a fun solo if you don't mind beat your own score objectives. Oltree is a fun RPG with scenarios in which you can either with friends or solo by playing multiple characters, try to bring back your castle to its former glory and helping the populace surrounding it while managing an overarching plot. I think this is also very accessible, but is the first I've already mentioned that requires a medium sized table. If the theme is your liking, Cthulhu death may die is a sort of dungeon crawler with varying characters and bosses/scenarios. It was my first foray into solo board gaming and is a good starting point in my opinion if you're not too intimidated by something a bit bigger. Finally if you're really into heavier stuff, tiny epic dungeons is a satisfying small dungeon crawler and mage knight is a much heavier game which is more a world crawler and deck builder, but it really gives you the power fantasy that I think you may enjoy from what you said while also being more puzzly. If anything I've mentioned isn't clear or you're curious about the meaning of some terms or mechanics (assuming you're completely new to board gaming as a whole), hit me up! Happy discovery and happy gaming :)
I was also thinking of recommending Cthulhu death may die. Quick playing scenarios, fun tactical decision making, and really good sense of character progression
I was also thinking that if they play dnd, the miniatures from the game might be a fun addition and link to an already existing hobby!
Yesss highly recommend Call to Adventure! 😁
I love the game but feel like it's underrated, I'll always recommend it when applicable to make it more well known hahaha
Hahaha i support!
You didn’t mention marvel/heroes but I still think Marvel Champions base box is an excellent start to solo gaming if you like deck building. Puzzle wise I love Doom Machine . Dungeon Crawl I like Desolate. The latter two you can download Print and play versions from pnparcade to see if you like them for fairly cheap.
I like spiderman, and the hero concept in general, but overall, unless something REALLY stands out, I don't really like hero stuff. BUT that's just regarding movies, I like playing dnd and who doesn't want to be the hero (or villan) when playing dnd
I was not a comic/superhero fan *at all* and Marvel Champions ended up becoming one of my absolute favorite games. Not saying you’ll necessary have the same experience but I wouldn’t rule the game out just because Marvel is not your thing.
As for your other question on what should you expect it’s totally dependent on what you want out of it. I work in Tech and I love solo board gaming as a way to disengage from the screen m. The same way a book would I guess. However it’s fun to try puzzle things out. At the moment I am playing final girl which is fantastic but I’m not sure I would recommend for your first game. Also watch a few YouTube videos of games that are mentioned to see if it fits your style.
Oh okay! For me it's the same thing, which is why I'm asking about board games and not video games, because puzzles (like jigsaw puzzles) get old after a while you know? I do a lot of digital art and need a lot of sound stimulation so between getting sucked into YouTube and doing digital art I kinda get lost in the screen vortex
If superheroes as a theme doesn't grab you, you might look at the Arkham Horror card game, which has some very similar mechanics, but is more Lovecraftian "1920's fighting monsters" themed. Both games can be a serious collector's money sink, if you don't have self-control. I do not, and spent about $200 on Arkham since I got a core box at Christmas. If you've never played Magic or something with deck construction, you may not even know if you like this kind of game, but they're both pretty great as these kinds of games go. (And to clarify, these aren't randomized packs - each box is new story or character content. It's not THAT big of a money sink)
There are some games that were made with solo board gaming in mind, like Age of Civilization or One Deck Dungeon. And others have a solo mode available but not made primarily with solo play in mind like Lost Ruins of Arnak. Before you throw down money on any of them, consider watching a YouTube review or even a solo playthrough of what you are interested in. This has saved me money when I realize the gameplay does not suit me. Also, BoardGameArena is a free app with free games to play solo (premium membership gets you an increased availability of games). Try a few solo games on there. I played Tranquility on there nearly 20 times, realized I liked it alot and bought the real game. Still like it, it has expansion cards to make it harder in the box, if I want AND it plays well with others, too. Consider borrowing a game from a game store or your local library before you buy, too. I have saved myself buying a few games because my local library has a great variety for me to borrow. YouTube content you might like who covers some solo content: The Dungeon Dive and GeekGamers covering dungeon crawl type solo RPG and games Beyond Solitaire, also a podcast No Fluff Solo Gaming with John LaRuffa [BoardGameGeek.com](http://BoardGameGeek.com) has so much game content including descriptions of games and and forums, etc.
Welcome! Slay the Spire was my gateway game that got me looking into board games. My first solo game was Friday (Friedman Friese) - made sense as I was already familiar with deck building from StS, and it was a cheap entry point. Hard as nails but fun. Warp's Edge is a bag-builder--similar concept--for another low cost option. Personal favorite deckbuilder is Aeon's End. I've now come full circle, and actually just ordered Slay the Spire the board game. You're right that there's an overwhelming amount of board games out there. Best advice I can give is try to figure out what you like before dropping a ton of money into the hobby. You can play games on board game arena, or tabletop simulator, but I've actually never done this. I was able to find a meetup group to play games with. I have kids, so I only see the group every 2-3 weeks, hence solo gaming. But playing with them helped define what types of games I'm into. Local game stores and libraries may have games you can try out. This subreddit, YouTube, and boardgamegeek are good resources if you want to know more about a game you're interested in.
We made a list to help people in exactly this situation. We did it last year here it is https://www.reddit.com/r/soloboardgaming/s/rpRDYI4jrr
Oooh, thankyou! I didnt know this was a thing
Go check out the people's choice 200 solo games on boardgame geek and read comments and reviews. It's the best overall list out there.
Plenty of good advice, so I'm just going to throw out a word caution: When watching YouTube for playthroughs, know which YTer fits your preferences. This is of course difficult to filter when you start, but I just wanted to get it out there. Just because the big shots love it, doesn't mean you do. Some even seem to like everything they review. Don't get tempted by FOMO and hype trains. Missed a crowdfunding campaign? A new one will show up. If the campaign has plenty of time left, leave it for a while and come back later. You might just stop caring about it. Realise that after the campaign is done, you usually still have a year or so before it arrives. More interesting or fancy looking campaigns will show up and before you'll know it you'll be out 500 bucks and nothing to play for another year.
I would tell you to grab one of the following and go from there: * Search For Planet X: essentially a logic puzzle of trying to locate a planet by process of elimination. You use an app for it, in case that matters to you. Also note it isn't much of a physical/tactile game; you're mostly just keeping notes on a notepad. * "Astro Knights" and/or "Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition" (I would ignore SotM on Steam as it's the ugly and convoluted first edition; DE is much better): both are card games and only the first is what I would call a deck builder, but they're very similar in how they play with 1 major difference: SotM uses fixed/pre-made decks per hero only, while AK has you buy cards as you play (not unlike StS). Also, theme wise SotM is your regular superhero fantasy (requiring you to play at least 3 heroes) while AK is more like heroes in space (where you can play as many heroes as you like). I should note that while SotM sounds daunting with having to play 3 heroes, it's actually not bad at all in practice because a hero's turn is pretty simple; the joy comes from how well constructed the decks are (it does the theme very well) and how the heroes work together. * Terraforming Mars (also has a digital version on Steam): an engine builder where you try to terraform Mars within a very limited set of turns. You start of slow with very few resources, but if you play it right, grow stronger exponentially. Btw, the game cards are ugly as sin, but the gameplay is great. * Spirit Island (also has a Steam version): an amazing, but heavy game where you play as a "god" to kill/kick out invaders of your island. It features a lot of mechanisms, so quite heavy and possibly overwhelming as your first board game. It was one of the first I've played and had to force myself to take the time to learn the ropes, but still my favourite many years later. I mostly like how you have almost perfect knowledge, yet it still manages to challenge you despite that. * Roll Player: ever get stuck for hours in character creation in an RPG, fiddling with classes and attributes to get the perfect mix? Well, this game is basically that. The main game consists of picking dice from a bad (blind pick) and using those to fill in your attributes. The trick here is to get attributes within a specific range to get as high a score as possible. You also get some options to manipulate the dice (e.g. flip to opposing side or switch dice) and buy gear from a market. Again, the goal is to beat your own high score (BYOS), which you either like or hate. I usually don't enjoy BYOS, but I make an exception for Roll Player when I want something relaxing. P.s. All these games can also be played with others, so you can even pull them out if you have company. ETA: I see you enjoy dungeon crawlers too, which I find to play pretty differently when translated to board games. However, I can recommend these titles: * Valor & Villainy Lludwik's Labyrinth: great tile laying dungeon crawler with great minis (deluxe edition only). I should note that progression in this game isn't permanent like D&D (your characters reset after every level), but does offer some "legacy" type upgrades in the campaign that aren't bound to a single character. Things like granting bonus starting xp (effectively giving you better starting attributes) or always starting with a specific item. The game is probably also really hard to get (I bought in from their Kickstarter years ago). * Tales From The Red Dragon Inn: simply great stuff with humour. Again, not as heavy as things like D&D, but great nonetheless. Should also be pretty easy to find. * Mage Knight: haven't played it yet myself (only recently got it, haven't had time yet), but it always comes up in the community as a pillar. * Tiny Epic Dungeons: a fun little (literally) dungeon crawler that takes up very little room, yet is surprisingly deep for that size. Definitely a great way to get introduced into the world of board game dungeon crawlers. You may also want to take a look at ISS Vanguard. It looks like a Mass Effect game with pretty deep story and permanent upgrades/effects. However, it's probably a title you don't want to start with ;)
The first thing I would suggest is do not buy a super expensive game. You are going to get a ton of recommends for $100+ games. I would say start small with something like One Deck Dungeon or Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion and see what you think before digging in more.
RE: Spirit Island - Try Horizons of Spirit Island before going all in. It's a great game, but the core game adds more "stuff", and the expansions all do so as well. And it can become a brain melter of an experience to solo. RE: Aeons End - Aeons End is great, but I find I prefer the video game adaptation better. If they ever finish releasing expansions for it, I'll likely ditch my physical set. For a dungeon crawler puzzler, I'd recommend either Marvel Zombies: Heroes Resistance, Cthulhu: Death May Die, or Massive Darkness 2. They're all similar, but also pretty different, to the point each scratches a different itch. \* MZHR- for $35ish you get a decent little intro to the Zombicide system. It's the lightest mechanically of the three, but a fun little game. If you like it, it's got a lot of unique elements you can use in other Marvel Zombies games (e.g. Missions, characters, enemy heroes, standees, etc.). If you don't, you're only out $35. \* CDMD - takes the Zombicide engine, add meaningful character advancement choices, modular enemy/hero/mission designs, and cranks up the difficulty accordingly. For when you want a game about punching Cthulhu in the face as you go screaming into 1930's pulpy madness. \* MD2 - takes Zombicide's engine in a different direction, capturing a fantasy dungeon crawler vibe, with looting and leveling. But the best part is how each character class feels like its own minigame (e.g. the ranger has a press your luck deck of cards to build the perfect bow shot, the rogue has a bag building blind draw token system, etc.). The main con to all of them is if you like them, you'll have to hunt the after market for (often expensive) Kickstarter Exclusive elements.
1. I have dungeon mastered before, so between the rules thing and being overwhelmed I completely understand the feeling. I'd give more of a reply, but ill just reply multiple times since I'm not done reading through your comment
I think my recommendation for you would be to try Bullet (heart), preferably with a set of wooden pieces. The biggest downside of this is that board games are expensive, especially if you prefer premium components (like the wooden pieces would be for the Bullet series). But this is an extremely well-liked puzzle/strategy game that plays well solitaire, cooperatively, and competitively. And a premium set would give you a sense of the tactile joy that people get out of board games that is not present in video games.
Definitely start with doing research and watch playthroughs!!! Read reviews, reflect on the type of experience you want out of your board games, how much time you’d want to spend playing a board game, budget, etc. I’m a sucker for “fiddly” complicated board games lol hence why i love Sword & Sorcery which is a fun but heavy dungeon crawler-ish board game. I would have it setup on my table for like weeks. When you purchase a board game you like, be patient with yourself (really invest time to read the rules) and understand you’ll get the rules wrong (I still do sometimes lol). But never hesitate to ask questions or rewatch playthroughs, or re-play campaigns! Enjoy the learning process, it’s a lot of fun! Hope those general tips help!
Under Falling Skies is a great solo game that’s relatively inexpensive with a lot of content in the box, and no expansions to give you FOMO - it’s just a complete, good game for a reasonable price. If you like puzzles and could be entertained by a not-too-serious alien invasion theme I highly recommend that as a low-commitment solo game. Jason Glover’s tin games (and probably his bigger games too) on Gamecrafter are good, but FYI those are assembled to order and can take a while to ship. (Like, weeks or even months at peak times.) My favorite one is Gate but I also love Dustrunner. Tin Helm is a dungeon crawl and it’s a mini version of his larger game called Iron Helm, both of which I hear good things about. For a bigger, higher commitment dungeon crawl-ish experience you might check out Star Wars Imperial Assault. For solo there’s a high-quality, well-supported fanmade app called Imperial Commander 2 that runs all of the printed campaigns in the boxes for solo, and a publisher-made app that has different solo campaigns for the core box and two of the expansions. Between all that there’s lots of solo content and I think it’s a lot of fun - BUT it is a bigger commitment that calls on you to buy more stuff, some of which is getting harder to find (not out of print yet, but still waning as it’s a slightly older game). I just throw it out there because I have it and love it so I can recommend it from experience, but there are surely lower-commitment and more “complete-in-one-box” dungeon crawls out there that aren’t 95% combat focused. I’ve had my eye on Dungeon Degenerates as well. More general advice I have is to look at some top solo game lists on BoardGameGeek, and like others said, do some research on any given game that piques your interest to make sure there aren’t hard to find or out of print expansions that you will miss (or if you just want something that is a great experience in a single purchase, for which there are no consensus “essential” expansions that you don’t want to have to shell out more money for). Check out the forums for any game on BGG or come here and search/ask. You can also look at the “Expansions” section for any game on BGG and see what was published, Google to see how available they are if you think they sound essential, or how much people are selling it for secondhand on BGG to get an idea of difficulty to obtain.
Playing (online even) or watching *playthrough* videos are a great resource to get a feel for the decisions, actions, and flow of a game. Review videos tend to be extremely bad for this purpose. ---- Broadly speaking, there are short, quick games and long, involved games. The difference in time and energy commitment between (quick) **Cartographers**, **Cascadia**, **Sprawlopolis** and (lengthy) **Mage Knight**, **Spirit Island**, **Too Many Bones** is really large. All of them are "good" and enjoyed by many solo players, but not necessarily all by all the same players. ---- There are different styles of solo games (different implementations/modes/AI styles). * Play the normal game, by yourself (maybe with a 'clock') -- co-op games like **Pandemic** and **Eldritch Horror** can be played rules as written but rather than 1 player per game character you make the decisions for each game character. Euro style games, sometimes called economic/resource management games, often have a basic solo mode of 'just play the game by yourself, try to beat your own high score'. Occasionally they'll implement a 'clock' or limited number of turns/game rounds. A sort of off-shoot version of this is playing the game, by yourself, left-hand vs. right-hand. Imagine playing chess against yourself, basically. * Simple automated opponent - Along the lines of a clock, there may be a few rules for your 'opponent' to semi-randomly block action spots or consume cards from the market or consume resources etc. * Complex automated opponent - A more complex 'opponent' with rules or flow charts (even if they're abstracted away) that is able to react to your actions and the board state you create and appear to 'make decisions'. In recent years it's become popular to use a deck of cards to run this "AI" opponent. AutomaFactory was one of the early designers to use this implementation and you'll often hear the term 'automa', even when it's not strictly an automa from AF and/or not actually making use of a deck. A subset of this is extremely complex automated opponents that sacrifice the relative easy of running them (e.g. with a simple deck) and use much more detailed rules and flow charges for the sake of having nuanced and challenging 'opponent' behavior that very closely models that of a real player. The COIN bots are the best example of this that I'm aware of. * Play against a system - Simpler examples of this include the aforementioned **Pandemic** where the game itself is a system that the players play 'against'. A lot of designed-intentially-for-solo-play games take the idea and run with it. See **Comancheria**, **Dawn of the Zeds**, **Fields of Fire**. ---- You can play, even just to test drive, a ton of games online. Most of these are entirely free. BGA, TT, and TTS are free to play random tables or solo, but you need a paid subscription to play with friends. Steam games also generally have a 1 time up front cost. https://18xx.games https://boardgamearena.com http://www.brettspielwelt.de http://play.boardgamecore.net https://tabletopia.com https://yucata.de There are also a number of game specific sites like: https://jinteki.net for **Android: Netrunner** https://dragoncards.com for **LotR: LCG** https://realmspeak.dewkid.com for **Magic Realm** (haven't tried this one myself) https://terraforming-mars.herokuapp.com http://expedition-ares-fe.herokuapp.com And dedicated software or applications: https://vassalengine.org (I think this may have one of the largest game libraries) TableTopSimulator Steam Here are a few more comprehensive lists: [BGG - online play list](https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/On-line_Games&redirectedfrom=Online_Play#) [BGG - huge online free play list](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/140673) PSA: **boiteajeux.net is defunct** with the developer stepping away permanently. Folks are cautioned to be sure their boiteajeux password is not used anywhere else and to avoid any pages or anything that looks suspicious as the site is being actively exploited.
Making a switch from video game to solo from my own experience ….. Aliens : Another glorious day in the corps was a great start point. Mainly because it was a series I already knew and loved, already knew the story and characters (the game missions take place as through the film) … but also felt like a xcom tactical dungeon crawler.
20 strong, gloomhaven buttons and bugs, Hoplomachus victorum, too many bones, unmatched adventures, It's not available yet but elder scrolls betrayal of the second era is still in crowd funding set to deliver October/november. I have to say though that hoplomachus victorum is the greatest solo game I've ever played
One thing that I don't see mentioned is that you can actually play cooperative games solo even if they don't have a solo mode, you just play 2 or more characters by yourself. Personally big and expensive narrative games with lots of pieces and lenght of hours with a complex AI that you can basically play one time because of the focus on the story are not for me, I prefer replayable games that possibly don't need lots of time to get on the table and don't need too much space. Some games that I have or that I'm really interested in are: -dungeon crawler: mini rogue -puzzle with a sort of dungeon crawler skin: set a watch -engine builder: point city, It's a wonderful world/kingdom, village of Valeria/Valeria card kingdom, imperial settlers -pandemic-based: reign of cthulhu(coop, not solo IIRC) -city building: suburbia, city skylines -lcg: arkham horror -board game rpgs: some d&d ones, pathfinder adventure card games -various: eleven, hostage negotiator and many more lol
This doesn't directly help you but in my opinion, part of the exploration of board games on a whole is experiencing games and learning slowly what you enjoy. It is of course daunting at first, but there are a lot of resources at your disposal to test games, from boardgamearena, tabletop simulator, print and play demos, to just watching others play board games on YouTube. Expect your comfort and tastes to evolve over time, and while solo gaming is great, don't discount playing with others for an entirely different vector of learning/experiences. I've made quite a few solo gamers in person. There is a lot of hesitation to jump into the deep end in board games, especially solo, but it's also one of the best ways to get started. Just go in with the expectations that not every game will be for you.
Start with **Mage Knight** and/or **Spirit Island** if you want the best of the best and don’t mind learning.
I also only recently got into solo boardgaming and for me the most key factor is weight. There is a ceratin level of bookkeeping and complexity/setup time where i get "at this point I'd rather play a videogame". This adds up to setup time / complexity and cost. Personally I mostly solo play light boardgames, most of which are PnP. I did recently got into lotr lcg to scratch my oldschool mtg itch, and while i love it, i feel like it would be quite the money sink to really get it to shine. Maybe i will. I'm not sure. I love slay the spire but why would i ever get the boardgame? I often just happily play the videogame. Why would i want to go through tedious setup and bookkeeping when the videogame takes care of all that for me and makes the game smooth and quicker? On the other side i LOVE boardgames i can crack up and put away in under an hour. My all time favourite is Bag of Dungeon 2, it's an awesome streamlined (luck based) dungeon crawler that plays out of the box in 30 seconds ans have ton of depth and it's FUN. Without any of the clunkyness of most heavy DCs. Too bad it's quite pricey for what it is. Then i have about a dozen small (mostly pnp) games like All is Bomb, ragemore, food chain island, etc.. I love them. Fairly cheap, no bullshit, thdy play quick and they are fun. My favourite of them all being probably Dustrunner. But! If you would like and don't mind (and have the space for) heavier games there's a lot of cool stuff out there.
[[Railroad Ink]] is good if you like puzzles, strategy and dice. There’s also Railroad Ink Challenge that adds in cards. There’s a bunch of expansions, too, with more dice, cards and different playing boards. Starting with the blue box is good. Futuristic is a good first expansion.
[Railroad Ink -> Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition (2018)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/245654/railroad-ink-deep-blue-edition) ^^[[gamename]] ^^or ^^[[gamename|year]] ^^to ^^call ^^OR ^^**gamename** ^^or ^^**gamename|year** ^^+ ^^!fetch ^^to ^^call
I highly recommend Floriferous.