I picked up Under Falling Skies as my first solo game, but sort of wished I would have gotten Warps Edge instead (I feel I wouldn’t have got “bored” as quickly with warps edge)….i just picked up Final Girl as well and think I will be happy with it, but it’s a bit more complex than I’d want as my first few games
I’m brand new to this as well and you’ll get a bunch of awesome suggestions based on what genre you enjoy; space, dungeons, spellcrafters, etc…
Just naming some off the top of my head I see suggested constantly: Friday, One Deck Dungeon, Mini Rogue, Sprawlopolis, Roll Player
Edit: just looked up Tin Helm and Gate. I think you might enjoy mini rogue, one deck dungeon, and final girl
I was so excited about Under Falling Skies after the first few plays and then at some point I was like “wait, I’m not actually having any fun” lol. Super tight mechanics, fantastic idea, it’s just not actually fun to me.
I was just in the shop the other day with Under Falling Skies in one hand and Warps Edge in the other, trying to make the same decision between them. I ended up with Warps Edge because it looked like cleaner gameplay with more potential for fun. Looks like I might have made the right choice.
There's not really math involved in Under Falling Skies. You roll dice and decide where to place the values you get, but you don't have to do much arithmetic when placing them. Sometimes, you might add a couple of dice to get the new value, but you have to do basic addition in most games.
You may want to look at maquis. I would also second under falling skies. For the price, there’s an insane amount of game there.
You may also look into onirim and the oniverse games. Super cheap, well made
I have gate (and gates). They’re fun but wear out after multiple playthroughs.
I'd recommend Mini Rogue. I've heard it's similar to the Tin games, but I've not played the Tin games. Mini Rogue is a quick, 30ish minutes dungeon crawler that I've been really enjoying. It's cheap, compact, has nice art and provides some fun decisions without overstaying its welcome.
There are differences but they are both dungeon crawlers. I feel like tin/iron Helm feels more like an RPG then mini rouge.
There is a pnp version of mini rouge op could check out.
If you have other boardgames already try and find solo rules.
There are some free print and plays or cheaper PnP options for some games. Card games are common for this.
For me the best intro was quick games to set up and play:
- tin Helm
- Marvel Champions (tons of content to get into)
- Turing Machine
- Set a watch
- Light in the Dark
- Sleeping Gods (a little more time-consuming, but very rewarding and deep for how straightforward it is)
There’s a lot of games you can play with a standard 52-card deck. I keep a list of solo games I’m still working on expanding.
- Auld Lang Syne Solitaire
- Beehive Solitaire
- Beleaguered Castle
- Clear the Dungeon
- Diamond Heist
- Gridcannon
- Pyramid
- Scoundrel
- Crawlitaire
- Regicide
- Royal Assassin
- Tomb of Four Kings
The Isaludo series is a collection of 10 games. Highly recommend checking out if you choose to go the standard deck route. So far, I like “Syndicate” and “The Emissary”.
Get “Friday”. It’s like 20 bucks on Amazon. It’s about surviving on a deserted island and then eventually defeating pirates to win. Super simple super quick and a great starter. Maybe look at “one deck dungeon” too.
Always look at your own collection first. Do any play Solo?
After that, PNP is fine but it has its own learning curve. Button Shy Games has over 20 games that tare fast, easy Solo with an attractive price point. Personally, I think For Northwood (available on Amazon), or some games from Pecil First like Herbaceous, Floriforus and Sunset Over Water are great. The only thing I will mention is that the small Print On Demand games take a while to receive, just keep that in mind.
GREAT budget addition: Pandemic Hot Zone on Amazon is usually $15 or less.
I suggest looking into a theme first or a certain type of gameplay, whatever is more important to you.
If you like sci-fi then take a look at Under Falling Skies, Warp's Edge, and Lux Aeterna to name a few.
Fantasy? The Grey Gnome Games products are a solid place to start. Also look into the D&D Adventure games like Wrath of Ashardalon and Castle Ravenloft.
My personal favorite game recently has been the GI JOE Deckbuilding Game, love it so much. I've got 30+ plays logged, own every expansion. Plays perfectly for a solo game.
Tranquility is not very expensive, you can play it alone or with others, when you get tired of the base game, there are extra cards you can use to make it more difficult by adding them. Things like sea monsters, weather, compass. I believe it's still around $20, the box is small and it's available from large retailers online like Amazon. It's the game I started with and it had just enough complications for solo play for me. I still like to play it, and I definitely enjoyed playing with others as well.
It has a definite win condition, which I really like, it's not just beat your own score. There's nothing wrong with that, I just like having a definite win condition.
For Northwood is a great transition into the solo world - lots of regular deck of cards elements so should be easy to hop into. Easy, quick, not much table space needed and inexpensive.
Next for a ‘board’ game would be under falling skies (as much as I don’t enjoy it). It’s simple, fast and compact, also inexpensive.
Start there then come back for recommendations! I’d also have a look at the top 100 solo games on Boardgamegeek to see if anything tickles your fancy thematically.
I think you've got the right idea. My first was scythe which is heavier but I had already played it multiplayer.
I'd recommend mini rogue as it has dice rolling and plays like an RPG.
If deck building or similar is your thing, I'd suggest skytear horde or aeons end. I just got core aeons end, only a few games in and loving it. It's my 3rd solo game I've picked up and given an honest go at, and my favorite of the 3 so far
Mint Tin games are always great. I won't be including any in this list as you seem to already know them.
Witchcraft or Resist is a top pick for me for a small and lightweight solo game. I prefer Witchcraft.
Some super fun lightweight picks for me:
Escape the Dark Castle and Escape the Dark Sector
Aleph Null
Puzzle Dungeon
Tiny Epic Dungeons
Spire's End and Spire's End Hildegard
If you want some slightly larger (but still not too large) games:
Iron helm
Skytear Horde (currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter)
The best advice I can give is to get both something that catches your eye (Tin Helm and Gate) and also get something a bit more complex or maybe a different type of game (maybe something that involves scoring instead of a basic win condition game).
Something simple that involves scoring: Cartographers (it's like $20 on Amazon), Parks (if you like the theme, it's a decent intro game), Coffee Roaster. Also check out Button Shy; they make wallet-sized games that are great (especially Sprawlopolis).
If you want other options with a win condition that have a bigger footprint (take up more table space) but are still easy to get into: Final Girl is a pretty solid option (if you like the theme of the game).
Check out [Zadorf Games](https://zadorf-games.square.site/) for some quick but addictive mini solo card games.
https://preview.redd.it/ho9z0m26xo7d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a81bb9a98d280576c95d378f411c8034a60220ad
I went through this same question about a month back. I ended up purchasing One Deck Dungeon, Warp’s Edge, and the Tin Helm/Tin Helm tin games. I spent at least 8 hours reading and watching YouTube videos and this seemed to be the group of games that interested me and had a lot of support.
Good luck and I hope you find something you enjoy!
Tin Helm's fun if you want an adventure-in-a-tin that's charming to look at and fun to handle. If adventure-style stuff grabs your attention, give The Dungeon Dive on YouTube a look, he covers a lot of this style of game thoughtfully. (I also recommend [Pocket Book Adventures](https://grumpyspidergames.itch.io/pocket-book-adventures) by Grumpy Spider: puzzly, fast, clever and well-designed).
Tons of other games can be played (or test driven) online, too. 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://dragncards.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.
I’d start with the co-op classics and work into pure solo games. You can almost always play them solo by playing one or more players. The upside of co-op games is generally, there’s not an “opponent” to run, so you can focus on your plays.
My suggestions:
The Pandemic series (all good, pick the theme you like)
Aeons End
Star Realms Frontiers (must be Frontiers, the other editions don’t have co-op/solo baked in)
Sentinels of the Multiverse Definitive Edition
I started with **Friday**. Simple card-based, resource management game that's both easy to learn and can be hard to win. Also shoot over to ButtonShyGames and have a search. Plenty there and cheap. (**Ugly Dragon Inn** is a personal fav of mine). For more games in line (somewhat) with Tin Helm and Gate, you could try **Escape the Dark Castle** (or Sector). Great atmosphere, great games, the company is currently making a Last of Us version as well on Kickstarter. **Unbroken** is another good one, haven't played that in forever. You may also like **One Deck Dungeon** if Tin Helm is on your list. There are two of them ( i believe ) and while they can be played together they work separately as their own games. **Mini Rouge** is also a bit like Tin Helm, if memory serves, been while for Tin Helm for me.
Edit: made them bold to make it easier to read.
My first solo games were cooperative games Pandemic, Castle Panic, and Forbidden Island. I feel like co-ops are good options because you can play with a group or solo and there are a ton of affordable options. This year, I got back into board games and picked up 20 Strong which is true solo. I love the game, but it ended up being a gateway for me to spend wayyyyyy too much money on Too Many Bones. I regret nothing.
For small and short I would recommend Escape The Dark Sector and Final Girl. Ultimately if you wanna really jam on solo gaming I highly suggest jumping straight to Mage Knight, if your table space and time permits
I picked up Under Falling Skies as my first solo game, but sort of wished I would have gotten Warps Edge instead (I feel I wouldn’t have got “bored” as quickly with warps edge)….i just picked up Final Girl as well and think I will be happy with it, but it’s a bit more complex than I’d want as my first few games I’m brand new to this as well and you’ll get a bunch of awesome suggestions based on what genre you enjoy; space, dungeons, spellcrafters, etc… Just naming some off the top of my head I see suggested constantly: Friday, One Deck Dungeon, Mini Rogue, Sprawlopolis, Roll Player Edit: just looked up Tin Helm and Gate. I think you might enjoy mini rogue, one deck dungeon, and final girl
I was so excited about Under Falling Skies after the first few plays and then at some point I was like “wait, I’m not actually having any fun” lol. Super tight mechanics, fantastic idea, it’s just not actually fun to me.
Can't agree enough, it's very clever in its mechanics but I would spend the entire game stressed out and totally taken by AP
I was just in the shop the other day with Under Falling Skies in one hand and Warps Edge in the other, trying to make the same decision between them. I ended up with Warps Edge because it looked like cleaner gameplay with more potential for fun. Looks like I might have made the right choice.
No, clearly the best choice was to buy both.
If I recall, Under Falling Skies is basically themed math. If you like math, then no problem.
There's not really math involved in Under Falling Skies. You roll dice and decide where to place the values you get, but you don't have to do much arithmetic when placing them. Sometimes, you might add a couple of dice to get the new value, but you have to do basic addition in most games.
You may want to look at maquis. I would also second under falling skies. For the price, there’s an insane amount of game there. You may also look into onirim and the oniverse games. Super cheap, well made I have gate (and gates). They’re fun but wear out after multiple playthroughs.
I agree with both Maquis and Under Falling Skies. I’d add Friday as well, and the cheapest of the three.
Lots of free print and play games on itch and also on boardgame geek
I'd recommend Mini Rogue. I've heard it's similar to the Tin games, but I've not played the Tin games. Mini Rogue is a quick, 30ish minutes dungeon crawler that I've been really enjoying. It's cheap, compact, has nice art and provides some fun decisions without overstaying its welcome.
There are differences but they are both dungeon crawlers. I feel like tin/iron Helm feels more like an RPG then mini rouge. There is a pnp version of mini rouge op could check out.
I love both Tin helm and mini rogue. Both fun and worth getting.
Mini Rogue is emulated really well on BGA to try out, too. I enjoy it a lot, and really looking forward to the season two content.
What’s BGA?
Board Game Arena. They have online versions of board games on there
If you have other boardgames already try and find solo rules. There are some free print and plays or cheaper PnP options for some games. Card games are common for this.
For me the best intro was quick games to set up and play: - tin Helm - Marvel Champions (tons of content to get into) - Turing Machine - Set a watch - Light in the Dark - Sleeping Gods (a little more time-consuming, but very rewarding and deep for how straightforward it is)
There’s a lot of games you can play with a standard 52-card deck. I keep a list of solo games I’m still working on expanding. - Auld Lang Syne Solitaire - Beehive Solitaire - Beleaguered Castle - Clear the Dungeon - Diamond Heist - Gridcannon - Pyramid - Scoundrel - Crawlitaire - Regicide - Royal Assassin - Tomb of Four Kings The Isaludo series is a collection of 10 games. Highly recommend checking out if you choose to go the standard deck route. So far, I like “Syndicate” and “The Emissary”.
Get “Friday”. It’s like 20 bucks on Amazon. It’s about surviving on a deserted island and then eventually defeating pirates to win. Super simple super quick and a great starter. Maybe look at “one deck dungeon” too.
Always look at your own collection first. Do any play Solo? After that, PNP is fine but it has its own learning curve. Button Shy Games has over 20 games that tare fast, easy Solo with an attractive price point. Personally, I think For Northwood (available on Amazon), or some games from Pecil First like Herbaceous, Floriforus and Sunset Over Water are great. The only thing I will mention is that the small Print On Demand games take a while to receive, just keep that in mind. GREAT budget addition: Pandemic Hot Zone on Amazon is usually $15 or less.
I suggest looking into a theme first or a certain type of gameplay, whatever is more important to you. If you like sci-fi then take a look at Under Falling Skies, Warp's Edge, and Lux Aeterna to name a few. Fantasy? The Grey Gnome Games products are a solid place to start. Also look into the D&D Adventure games like Wrath of Ashardalon and Castle Ravenloft. My personal favorite game recently has been the GI JOE Deckbuilding Game, love it so much. I've got 30+ plays logged, own every expansion. Plays perfectly for a solo game.
Tranquility is not very expensive, you can play it alone or with others, when you get tired of the base game, there are extra cards you can use to make it more difficult by adding them. Things like sea monsters, weather, compass. I believe it's still around $20, the box is small and it's available from large retailers online like Amazon. It's the game I started with and it had just enough complications for solo play for me. I still like to play it, and I definitely enjoyed playing with others as well. It has a definite win condition, which I really like, it's not just beat your own score. There's nothing wrong with that, I just like having a definite win condition.
For Northwood is a great transition into the solo world - lots of regular deck of cards elements so should be easy to hop into. Easy, quick, not much table space needed and inexpensive. Next for a ‘board’ game would be under falling skies (as much as I don’t enjoy it). It’s simple, fast and compact, also inexpensive. Start there then come back for recommendations! I’d also have a look at the top 100 solo games on Boardgamegeek to see if anything tickles your fancy thematically.
I think you've got the right idea. My first was scythe which is heavier but I had already played it multiplayer. I'd recommend mini rogue as it has dice rolling and plays like an RPG.
If deck building or similar is your thing, I'd suggest skytear horde or aeons end. I just got core aeons end, only a few games in and loving it. It's my 3rd solo game I've picked up and given an honest go at, and my favorite of the 3 so far
Which type of multiplayer games do you like normally?
Mint Tin games are always great. I won't be including any in this list as you seem to already know them. Witchcraft or Resist is a top pick for me for a small and lightweight solo game. I prefer Witchcraft. Some super fun lightweight picks for me: Escape the Dark Castle and Escape the Dark Sector Aleph Null Puzzle Dungeon Tiny Epic Dungeons Spire's End and Spire's End Hildegard If you want some slightly larger (but still not too large) games: Iron helm Skytear Horde (currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter)
The best advice I can give is to get both something that catches your eye (Tin Helm and Gate) and also get something a bit more complex or maybe a different type of game (maybe something that involves scoring instead of a basic win condition game). Something simple that involves scoring: Cartographers (it's like $20 on Amazon), Parks (if you like the theme, it's a decent intro game), Coffee Roaster. Also check out Button Shy; they make wallet-sized games that are great (especially Sprawlopolis). If you want other options with a win condition that have a bigger footprint (take up more table space) but are still easy to get into: Final Girl is a pretty solid option (if you like the theme of the game).
Check out [Zadorf Games](https://zadorf-games.square.site/) for some quick but addictive mini solo card games. https://preview.redd.it/ho9z0m26xo7d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a81bb9a98d280576c95d378f411c8034a60220ad
I started with Mini Rogue. Is a great game to start.
I went through this same question about a month back. I ended up purchasing One Deck Dungeon, Warp’s Edge, and the Tin Helm/Tin Helm tin games. I spent at least 8 hours reading and watching YouTube videos and this seemed to be the group of games that interested me and had a lot of support. Good luck and I hope you find something you enjoy!
Tin Helm's fun if you want an adventure-in-a-tin that's charming to look at and fun to handle. If adventure-style stuff grabs your attention, give The Dungeon Dive on YouTube a look, he covers a lot of this style of game thoughtfully. (I also recommend [Pocket Book Adventures](https://grumpyspidergames.itch.io/pocket-book-adventures) by Grumpy Spider: puzzly, fast, clever and well-designed).
Tin Helm and Gate ruuuuule. I got the playmats too, I love it so much 😭
Tons of other games can be played (or test driven) online, too. 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://dragncards.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.
I’d start with the co-op classics and work into pure solo games. You can almost always play them solo by playing one or more players. The upside of co-op games is generally, there’s not an “opponent” to run, so you can focus on your plays. My suggestions: The Pandemic series (all good, pick the theme you like) Aeons End Star Realms Frontiers (must be Frontiers, the other editions don’t have co-op/solo baked in) Sentinels of the Multiverse Definitive Edition
I started with **Friday**. Simple card-based, resource management game that's both easy to learn and can be hard to win. Also shoot over to ButtonShyGames and have a search. Plenty there and cheap. (**Ugly Dragon Inn** is a personal fav of mine). For more games in line (somewhat) with Tin Helm and Gate, you could try **Escape the Dark Castle** (or Sector). Great atmosphere, great games, the company is currently making a Last of Us version as well on Kickstarter. **Unbroken** is another good one, haven't played that in forever. You may also like **One Deck Dungeon** if Tin Helm is on your list. There are two of them ( i believe ) and while they can be played together they work separately as their own games. **Mini Rouge** is also a bit like Tin Helm, if memory serves, been while for Tin Helm for me. Edit: made them bold to make it easier to read.
This War Of Mine runs off a book of scripts nearly 2000 entries long. It's a perfect solo game.
Great game but set up alone made me sell this one not too long after purchasing…
Lol setup is so easy after having decks separated. Sounds like you didn't earn it
Jigsaw puzzles were actually my gateway drug.
My first solo games were cooperative games Pandemic, Castle Panic, and Forbidden Island. I feel like co-ops are good options because you can play with a group or solo and there are a ton of affordable options. This year, I got back into board games and picked up 20 Strong which is true solo. I love the game, but it ended up being a gateway for me to spend wayyyyyy too much money on Too Many Bones. I regret nothing.
For small and short I would recommend Escape The Dark Sector and Final Girl. Ultimately if you wanna really jam on solo gaming I highly suggest jumping straight to Mage Knight, if your table space and time permits