What’s your favorite solos, overall?
There is a separate thread for discussing lightweight specifically, so I’m creating this thread in addition :)
For me it’d be Spirit Island. A bit of a brain heater, and I love it.
Also Sentinels of the multiverse DE. Really fun one, can’t wait for expansions
Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game is my most played solo. I love how modular it is, especially that the loss condition is defined by the scheme card chosen. It works great as either true solo (playing a single deck vs the game) and two handed (playing two player with me controlling both players).
The campaign expansions for Hero Realms are great solo. I love the difficulty balance. On veteran difficulty, I win more often than I lose, but I also spend a lot of the game on the verge of losing, where a wrong decision is going to be an instant loss.
I also love that neither game is super mathy or demands me to calculate my next 4 turns.
I have Legendary Encounters: Alien which I like it a lot, the enemy “conveyor belt” and gradual reveal system is really cool and thematic. I just wish it was easier to get it on the table. I will have to make some reminder notes.
A Feast For Odin and Fields of Arle. Both are cozy Uwe worker placement games. I go for them when I want to tinker around with stuff.
A more recent (to me) favorite is Newton. The drab theme hides a really cool euro. Actions are card driven and it uses the sort of deckbuilding that’s familiar from Concordia and Faiyum with the added twist that you have to permanently tuck one of your cards at the end of each round, turning it from a playable card into an ongoing boost. I love exploring different ways to win and the way the boards interact. The solo is super smooth too, no rule changes, only some minor setup differences.
I really like the idea of Spirit Island but even after a bunch of tries it still breaks my brain. But I will keep at it! I’ve picked up the digital version to practice with.
I recently picked up Glass Road, which I like, though I do find a bit stressful due to its tightness (very few rounds, hard to optimise a bad draw of tiles). Would you recommend Odin or Arle for a slightly more laid back game?
Both are pretty chill. There is a feeding phase in both but it’s not difficult to come by food, it’s more of a question of how efficiently are you able to do it.
If undecided I’d consider whether or not the polyomino filling part of Feast looks interesting to you. For me personally if I could only have one or the other I’d probably go with Feast.
Are there plenty of routes to choose from? I’m mindful of longer games where you feel you’re doing the same thing each time. I’d heard that Arle has some nice variety, I should probably watch some playthroughs.
I do like polyonimos, though 🙂
Yes, plenty of ways to go in both. In Feast the occupation cards steer you in directions but it’s a take it or leave it, you can always just go off and do something else. In Arle the buildings serve a similiar purpose.
Both have good online implementations if you want to try first, including solo. Feast is on BGA, Arle is on Yucata.
Oh wow, I didn’t realise those existed! You’ve either saved me some money, or cost me a small fortune. Either way, thank you.
My most played solo games during last years are Marvel Champions and far behind Arkham Horror LCG.
They’re money sinks, but I play them so often that I don’t feel like buying any more heavy solo games.
I’m a year late to the party, but yeah MC is awesome! I have a full collection and that wasn’t cheap, but the replayability and flexibility of the game is pretty much unmatched as far as solo gaming goes. There’s a discord for solo marvel champions where they have custom solo campaigns where everyone compares their “scores”.
I’m a little late but would like to contribute while (hopefully) this sub grows. I’ve only recently gotten into Spirit Island but I really like it, even though I’ve been getting whooped. It hasn’t quite clicked for me yet. My favorite right now overall is probably Hadrian’s Wall though.
When I used to travel around the state more for work I always kept Palm Island in my bag. This was the perfect game for me situationally since I could play a round or two in my truck if I arrived somewhere too early. I’m really looking forward to getting my copy of Palm Laboratory.
I mostly gravitate towards lighter games and puzzles because I’m a bit fried by the evening, so I enjoy things like Aerion and Cascadia, but I really enjoyed Raiders of Scythia.
I’d like to find a big box with lots to do at a chilled pace, with minimal analysis paralysis. It’s why I’ve held off on Spirit Island, seems a bit crunchy for my evenings.