On Review
As I noted on my previous post regarding solo games, I wanted to revisit solo games again at a later time to review some of my favorites. Having now started creating "Top 10" lists, I thought that this would be the best time to review my solo games that I've been enjoying the last few months. Obviously this could work well as a Geeklist and I may make one in the future, but for today, I'm just sticking with this blog post, especially since it will be something that I will probably revisit in a year to see how my tastes have changed (if at all) regarding solo games.
I'm not going to go into an explanation about what solo games are since my previous blog post did that and went a fair way into the different mechanics of solo modes. This list will be more of a review of my favorite games to play solo, especially after nearly a year into playing solo modes and which ones that I liked the most. I've found that as I've played more and more, I'm finding that there are absolutely better solo modes than ones that I've played originally, so I'll be intrigued to see how this changes in a year.
Without further ado, here's my list of the (current) top 10 games that I like to play solo:
*Bonus* - updated because I realized I forgot a game.
#11 - Journeys In Middle Earth
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Built in solo mode? Yes, with a caveat. While the game is cooperative and can be played solo, it requires the player to take control of two separate characters.
Total Plays (solo): 8 (4)
What I Like About It: I love the card drafting setup of this game and as a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan, it is really fun playing a game set in the universe. While the game itself is not necessarily canon, I still nonetheless enjoy the creative exploration of the Tolkien universe. I have yet to complete my first campaign because I was distracted by other games, but the building of the deck for your character and having to attempt to fight off the legions of orcs and marauders while playing as Aragorn or Legolas definitely appeals to me.
I also enjoy the app integration of the game and while that is a bit of the negative category as well since it requires a smartphone or pc to play, I still find it to be a novel experience. It's something different and new that I've only experienced in several other games with the level of integration that the game requires. I love that each scenario that is played has a different layout and there are even randomized objectives and locations that players have to work towards in each campaign.
I do also like that there are additional campaigns and expansions that can be added to the base game in order to play again and again. It's a neat idea and experience for me that I hope to continue to enjoy myself, and maybe with a friend or family member.
What I Don't Like About It: I'm not a big fan of "double fisting" a cooperative campaign. I think it takes too much mental energy for me to do so and having two players (at least) to play the game helps with reduction of making decisions during the game. As I noted, I never finished the campaign as I got distracted with other games, and I don't really have a good excuse for that. I know that I need to get back into the game, but at this point, I'm almost tempted to restart my campaign again to help me understand what's going on.
I have also a slight frustration with the app as I've misclicked a few times and there's no way for me to undo my mistake on the app. I am middle of the road when it comes to opinions about app-enabled games, but overall Journeys in Middle Earth does it fairly well. I just wish there was an "undo" button for when I misclicked a button.
Overall Thoughts: Journeys in Middle Earth is an excellent cooperative adventure in the world of JRR Tolkien and although I had a bit of a stumbling shamble through the first half of the campaign, I hope to start playing again and continue my attempt at getting through the first campaign.
#10 - Castles of Mad King Ludwig
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Built in solo mode? Yes, but there are several updates to the solo mode on BGG that I would recommend over the included solo mode.
Total Plays (solo): 9 (4)
What I Like About It: I love the idea of building your own castle in Castles of Mad King Ludwig. While I have only played the Collector's Edition of the game (I'm so angry that's what introduced me to the game since it's so expensive), I absolutely fell in love with the game once I played it. The updated artwork for the new version is gorgeous and the gameplay always leaves me wanting to play more after I finished the game. Having to build a castle that in no way makes any architectural sense is so much fun for me and I often find myself making up excuses for why a mud room would be connected with the Queen's bedroom, or having a werewolf den in the basement connected to the armory.
The additional expansions of the Towers, Secrets, Moats, and Swans add another layer of depth that brings additional replayability with the game beyond the already deep replayable game included in the base. While I haven't played the Renovations expansion, I do that adds additional depth to the game as well, which makes me want to pick this up for myself even more.
What I Don't Like About It: I'm just going to be honest and say that the included solo mode feels tacked on here. It's not really the best version of the game and it feels rough. There's an excellent thread on the Castles of Mad King Ludwig forums that has an updated version of the solo mode that makes the AI mimic another player, which I much more prefer. With the updated solo variant, I found that I liked playing the game much more and it is frustrating to me that such a great game has such a mediocre solo mode in it.
Overall Thoughts: With the updated solo mode for Castles of Mad King Ludwig, I absolutely love this game. It's such a fun experience to bring to the table and watch new players bug out at the size of the Collector's Edition and appropriately oogle over the beautiful components. The game itself is also extremely fun to play with others and the linked solo update really takes the game to the next level with the solo mode. I just wish that it was contained within the game rather than having to be created by someone else.
#9 - Dungeonology: The Expedition
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Built in solo mode? Yes, but requires an expansion to play with.
Total Plays (solo): 5 (4)
What I Like About It: I love the solo mode that is included with the Dungeonology: Rocca Civetta expansion. It tasks you playing with a very well thought out and designed boss while attempting to complete your exploration and investigation of the dungeon. The game is on the medium weight end and has a bit more to the rules, and the solo mode leverages the already hefty rulebook by taking advantage of many of the already included rules. The boss pulls from a series of cards that react to what the player attempts during the game and while challenging, makes the players feel as if they were being hounded by an annoying teacher rather than a frustrating bully. The solo mode uses a series of cards to build out the boss's effects against the player and can often yield some surprising results when playing against him.
What I Don't Like About It: There are so many rules in Dungeonology that even after five plays of the game and four of them solo, I still feel like I've missed a few here and there. It's a complex game and the addition of multiple expansions to the game also take that even further in depth.
I'm also not a fan of locking solo modes behind an expansion as I think that games should be including them in the base game if possible. With the case of Dungeonology, I'm not certain if it wasn't originally included in the base game and then added later, or if it was added with an expansion at the time of original creation. Either way, Dungeonology does require an expansion to play solo, although I'm certain you could find alternatives online.
Overall Thoughts: I love solo modes that include a deck of cards that the solo automa or boss pulls from, especially when they are well done. The cards in Dungeonology are fantastic for the boss and despite some additional depth of rules and difficulty in parsing out some of them, I still find myself enjoying my plays of this game and the solo mode that was included in the expansion enough that I put it on my 10x10 Challenge for 2024.
#8 - Dinosaur World
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Built in solo mode? Yes. It's one of the best baked in solo modes that I've played with.
Total Plays (solo): 9 (6)
What I Like About It: This game just makes me want to go "It's a baby dinosaur!" with my best southern accent. If Dinosaur Island was meant to be Jurassic Park, Dinosaur World is effectively the Jurassic World of the board game line and it knocks the idea out of the park (no pun intended). The game takes the idea of running a dinosaur park, building out the park and attempting to run it, safetey concerns and all, and expands on the idea in every way.
Each game of Dinosaur World feels different than the one before it, especially with the terrain hexes that are built each turn by the player. The solo mode even takes the building of the multiplayer game one step further by adding dinosaur escapes, which adds to the tension. No longer am I competing against another player to see who can build a better park. Instead, I'm working on managing my escaping dinos while also attempting to make the best park ever while working on beating my own personal best score.
What I Don't Like About It: When I say that Dinosaur World "expands... in every way," I really mean that. The game is massive and is a total table hog. It takes up the entire dinner table when I play two person and while I love that, it's not feasible for me to bring the game to a three or four player count because I don't have room for it. I love the gameplay and it's an incredible game, but setup and teardown is a beast and the size really makes it hard to want to set up again and again.
Overall Thoughts: I was not really a "dinosaur kid" growing up, but I did really get into them when I watched Jurassic Park in my teens. Having grown up watching those movies and enjoying Jurassic World too (I liked the sequels, so sue me), being able to play a really good dinosaur park building game at home is definitely one I enjoy. Especially since it has an already incredible solo mode included. Again, this is another game that is on my 10x10 challenge due to how much I enjoy playing it.
#7 - Cartographers
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Built in solo mode? Yes, included with the base game.
Total Plays (solo): 22 (8)
What I Like About It: I'm a big fan of Cartographers as a game in general and it already plays like a solo game, even when playing with other people. The built-in solo mode is excellent and although it does have a "beat your own score" setup, I still enjoy playing the game since of how good it is. The clever implementation of the solo objectives included with the scoring cards is also neat as it allows me to play both multiplayer and solo with the same cards.
I do know that Thunderworks Games has also put out a board generator for free that allows additional replayability for the game once you run out of the included pad of maps.
What I Don't Like About It: After 22 plays of the game, I find myself starting to anticipate what cards are coming and how best to prepare for them. I've gotten to a point with my plays that I can estimate my score based on what tiles I place where during the game. I am hoping that the sequel, Cartographers Heroes will help offset that frustration when I add it into the base game.
Overall Thoughts: I love how quick Cartographers is to set up and play. It's an easy game to teach and play in a half hour and can be done so even quicker with a solo mode. There are also numerous digital implementations of the game that allow me to play over and over, which makes it easy to play some different games too.
#6 - Magic Maze
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Built in solo mode? Yes
Total Plays (solo): 32 (9)
What I Like About It: Solo Magic Maze is essentially the same game as the multiplayer game with a slight twist: instead of multiple players controlling all the actions, the solo player has to flip through the solo tiles to find the action needed and place it face up. It still retains the frantic movement and design of the multiplayer game, but condensed to one person. It's an elegant solution that feels the same as playing with others, with just an extra step to ensure that the player has to work for the win.
Magic Maze is super easy to set up and play and with rounds lasting at most 10 minutes, it's easy to get several games in per sit down session.
What I Don't Like About It: The cards themselves can be tough to handle since they can be slippery. Additionally, managing four pawns at once is very difficult and often results in me being overwhelmed with having to multitask so hard. I prefer to play with others as that helps to reduce the overall multitasking I have to do.
Overall Thoughts: I love Magic Maze and while this was my top game in 2023, I think that I've played a few more that I enjoy a bit more than the game. However, I still appreciate what it does and that it does it very well. With how fast the games go, I'm always up for another go if time allows for it.
#5 - Cascadia
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Built in solo mode? Yes. Including additional Scenarios for solo/multiplayer play.
Total Plays (solo): 20 (15)
What I Like About It: Cascadia is a nice relaxing puzzle for me to play, especially at the end of the night after a long day at work. The addition of the scenarios that are included in the game as well as the pseudo-campaign that players can work through in order to fulfill all requirements really helps give this game some longevity. While others might find Calico to be more their speed, I personally think that the freeform nature of Cascadia is a bit more relaxing for me.
There's something very zen about putting together a matching set of landscape tiles together in order to build a series of habitats for different animals all while building it out with pairs of terrain hexes and animals. It reminds me of a bunch of time wasted in high school and college playing puzzle games on the computer and really works well to help me calm down after a long day. The solo game plays exactly like a two-player game as well, making it quick, easy and simple to finish and score.
What I Don't Like About It: My biggest complaint would be that the additional "Achievements" that were included with the game are multiplayer only. While I understand the idea behind the achievements is to play them in multiplayer since there are specific goals that players need to work towards, I still would have appreciated a caveat that they could also be attempted solo as well. I know that I could just say that I'm working on them solo, but I know they were designed with multiple players in mind.
Overall Thoughts: Cascadia is a really zen and relaxing experience that I love to play solo, especially at the end of a long day. It's more of a puzzle experience, especially when playing solo, moreso than most other games on this list, but overall, I really love having a nice and relaxing game to wind down with at the end of the night. If you're looking for a quicker and lighter game to play solo, Cascadia would be my recommendation for you.
#4 - Marvel Champions
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Built in solo mode? Yes. Game is built around increasing difficulty based on player count.
Total Plays (solo): 13 (11)
What I Like About It: The modularity in Marvel Champions is king, especially when playing solo. With the included five starter heroes that players can choose from with their decks, four separate aspects to build a deck with (five with expansions), and three included enemies to fight against, also with modular decks to build the encounter with, there's a ton of replayability here. Add in additional hero decks and enemies, as well as some campaign modes with some of the expansions and there's a significant amount of changeup that can happen with Marvel Champions with how you play.
I also appreciate that the game itself is built around an adjustable difficulty based on the number of players that are playing the game. A solo game is going to feel exactly the same as a multiplayer game as the enemy's health and actions are based on the number of players that are playing the specific scenario. For instance Rhino, when playing against a single player, has 13 Hit Points (HP) but against two players he has 26 HP. There are additional cards in the decks of the enemy that use multiplicative math based on how many players are in the game, resulting in a very balanced gameplay experience.
The thing that I appreciate the most is that you can build your own deck for your chosen hero, shoring up weaknesses with cards that you add into the deck, and making that hero's strengths even more powerful. It allows for players to really experiment and build decks for each of the characters to their heart's content. There are definitely some standout characters that I prefer to play with, as well as some aspects, but overall, I love the ability to pick and choose heroes and try new combinations to see what works best.
What I Don't Like About It: There's a lot to keep track of here when it comes to the game and it can be really overwhelming at times. With each new enemy and scheme, there are often new rules that are thrown into the mix and the rules, especially for a game like this, can feel a bit hefty. The rules are really well written and make it easy to know how to look up a question, but I still managed to find a few instances where my question went unanswered by the rulebook.
Additionally, when building decks for the characters, that too can be overwhelming with the availability of potential cards, builds and whatnot. While there are quite a few guides and websites designed to help players build their own decks, the biggest joy that I have found is in building my own deck that matches my preferences. However, that being said, it took me multiple attempts to build a deck that I found worked for me, and that was with only one hero (Spider-Man is best hero, fight me). I find the potential difficulty of creating specific decks for each character a bit overwhelming at times, but I know as I play more, I'll probably end up building them to my preferences.
There are prebuilt decks for each hero, but it definitely is worth it to build your own deck, even though it's pretty intimidating to do so.
Overall Thoughts: There's so much replayability with Marvel Champions and with the constant stream of new heroes and updates to the game, this is definitely one that any fan of superheroes should keep in mind to play. Plus the nature of the game with it adjusting difficulty based on the number of players is fantastic.
#3 - Heat: Pedal to the Metal
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Built in solo mode? Yes. The included Legends can also be played with multiplayer too for additional challenge.
Total Plays (solo): 10 (9)
What I Like About It: I love racing games, especially more arcade-style racing games. I've play far too many hours of Mario Kart (all of them, starting with Super Mario Kart) so it came as a bit of a surprise to me that I enjoyed Heat: Pedal to the Metal as much as I do. However, after I thought about it more, I realized that I've always loved racing in general and having attended several live races myself (and watched far too many on YouTube) it's not really that surprising that I love the mechanics of Heat: Pedal to the Metal so much.
The game is so well designed and I love that each player starts with relatively the same hand (or the same hand without the "Garage" drafting mechanics) when beginning the race. It's all then about how well the players manage their car's heat levels and their personal deck, resulting in wildly different games each time. While I've only played it in a multiplayer setting once, I could absolutely see how each race, especially with the Garage mechanics and Weather mechanics, would feel very different from one another.
As I noted, I've played Heat: Pedal to the Metal nine separate times solo against the included Legends deck. It's an extremely well done mechanic that simulates playing against other racers when playing solo. I believe that the Legends are a bit harder than playing against another person because they are able to take massive leaps forward on the track during straightaways and power through the corners far quicker than I was. However, I feel that has only pushed me to be a better player at the game and if and when I can get a copy of the game, I look forward to playing with others.
The Championship system too is excellent and tasks players with playing three to four races over the course of a championship season, each race adding in new car upgrades and temporary sponsor cards that are a one-time use. Weather affects each of the courses and each race has a change to the layout, including adding an extra lap, giving additional points at the end of the race to the top racer (or top three in one case), and even allowing players to put extra heat cards in their engine. Once players finish each of the three included seasons, they can mix and match the season cards to make their own season, which gives the game additional longevity.
What I Don't Like About It: It's honestly very hard for me to come up with anything about Heat: Pedal to the Metal that I didn't like. The mechanics of the game are extremely well thought out and implemented, especially the Legends cards, which challenge even the best players to up their gameplay. The production of the game is also excellent and Days of Wonder has managed to shove a whole bunch of content into the box, albeit a slightly bigger box than the average game.
If there were two complaints that I had about the game they would be this: the lack of availability of the game is frustrating. I know that it's because the game is so popular, but not being able to find it anywhere for well above the MSRP, I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to get a copy of the game myself. I know there's a restock due by the end of the month of April, but it's irritating that such a good game is out of stock everywhere (and I know it's because it's so good).
My other (extremely minor) frustration with the game is that the insert has space for eight cars (and cards) yet only includes six cars. I know that it's for expansions, but it still slightly annoys me that there's two spaces that sit empty when the game is fully put away. It's a really minor irritation, but as someone who hates feeling like something is missing, those spaces just stick out to me like a sore thumb.
Overall Thoughts: Heat: Pedal to the Metal is everything that I want in a good racing game: it's easy to learn and hard to master, there's a wide plethora of internal components that give the game significant longevity, and the solo mode is extremely good. If and when I can get my hands on it, I know that I'll be playing it far more, especially since I got 9 plays of it over a weekend.
#2 - Everdell
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Built in solo mode? Yes, but the included solo mode is iffy. It is much improved with the Mistwood expansion.
Total Plays (solo): 17 (6)
What I Like About It: I love this game and the solo mode (that's introduced with the Mistwood expansion), especially since there's so much content that I can play through. I talked about it a bunch on Friday and almost didn't include it on this list, but after some thought, I decided to include it since it's one that I consistently go back to over and over. I won't go on about it much since I talked about it on Friday last week, but suffice to say, the game is good enough for me to again list it here.
What I Don't Like About It: The included solo mode is tough to recommend, especially since it's made so much better by an expansion. That in and of itself is why Everdell sits in the #2 spot on this list. I have noted earlier that I don't like games that require an expansion to play solo, and while Everdell manages to skirt by that frustration by including a solo mode in the base game, it does so with the caveat that the included mode is not the best.
Everdell is a fantastic game, but be warned that purchasing the base game just for the solo mode will probably leave you wanting. The Mistwood expansion does solve that issue, but it does represent another layer of cost beyond the base game.
Overall Thoughts: Again, I won't go on long here because of my previous post on Friday last week, but I love this game and the solo mode got so much better with the expansion. It's absolutely worth picking up both if you're a fan of beautiful artwork, clever gameplay, and worker placement/tableau building. While the game might not be everyone's favorite to play, it's definitely one of mine.
#1 - Clank! In! Space! and Clank!
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Built in solo mode? No, but companion app has built in solo mode for play.
Total Plays (solo): 17 (5)
What I Like About It: So these games caught me totally off guard recently and while I could have placed them on two separate entries on this list, they're so similar with how they play, I thought I would lump them together in one entry on this list to provide more options for solo play. Both Clank! and Clank! In! Space! are fantastic to play solo and the additional free companion app helps players work through the game on their own by giving specific rules about how to play the game and automates the turns for the player. It's a really excellent setup that not only does much of the housekeeping on the player's behalf, but also includes some challenge to the game that's not present in the base game.
I do have to give the slight edge to Clank! In! Space! over it's fantasy counterpart for one reason alone: Clank! In! Space! leverages the solo mode included in the companion app with a campaign that the players go through. I'm not certain how long the campaign is, but the game adds a small overarching story to the solo plays of the game in the app, which gives players a bit more of a reason to come back to the game solo. While Clank! does have quests that the player can work towards in the solo game, it doesn't have the pull or draw of a campaign which players can play through in the base game (I'm not certain about the expansions).
Still, the included free app was a nice surprise upon purchasing Clank! and Clank! In! Space! since on the box it only states that the game is built for 2-4 players. It was only after I did some digging here on BGG that I found that there was an app for the game that not only adds a solo mode but also an additional difficulty level for multiplayer games too with a "Lieutenant" that may perform detrimental actions based on a randomized set of variables based on player actions during the game. It also takes out the guesswork of removing treasure tokens for player counts lower than 4, chooses a randomized first player, and even helps with totaling final points, although that last one is limited to four players.
What I Don't Like About It: The solo mode comes with the *shudder* companion app and while I understand the need for things like this, I still have to put it in as a caveat. I will also note that while the app is excellent to play with, there are a few frustrations that I have with it, such as only being able to play four people, and not being updated with some of the newer expansions for Clank! I wish that I could input that I'm playing on the newer maps or playing with more than 4 people (with the expansion), but the app has not been updated with that ability to do so. Additionally, the interface for Clank! In! Space! doesn't allow for viewing previous play logs, which is something that the Clank! game does. It's a minor thing, but it does belong in the "what I don't like" section.
Overall Thoughts: The solo mode for Clank! and it's spacey cousin were an absolutely fantastic addition to the game that I did not expect. It takes the game from excellent to incredible in my book and it also helps that the solo implementation is extremely well done, albeit with an app integration. Overall, I love the solo mode of Clank! and Clank! In! Space! as it allows me to clank to my heart's content, especially when there's no one around for me to clank with.
Final Thoughts
I've spent the better part of this last year really digging into solo modes for games since I've discovered them and these are my top 10 as of right now (well 11, but that's because I forgot a game after I made my list). There are quite a few games that I didn't include on the list (Apiary, Wyrmspan, and PARKS) which have perfectly respectable solo modes but I either haven't had a chance to play them enough, or I'm just not a fan of them. There's also quite a few of games that are cooperative and can be played with multiple characters at once, but again, I didn't include them because these ten were most enjoyable to me.
Overall, I expect that the number of games that I play solo will only increase and come October, I'll be participating in "Solo-Tober" to challenge myself to play a different solo game at least once a day. I expect that I'll review this list again next year to readdress my solo preferences and based on how I've felt about the current games, it will probably have some new games present.
Share your thoughts: What are some games that you like to play solo, if at all? What is your preference in a solo mode for a game? Do you like games that feel like playing against an opponent, or do you like to play games where you're seeking to beat your highest score? Are there any games on this list that you have tried and enjoyed? Any games that didn't strike your fancy?
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