If it's possible to play video games alone then it's also possible to play board games alone.
So, we made a 2-player board game article a bit ago, now how about for those of us living alone or maybe your company in the house/room really can’t be convinced to play a game or two with you. It’s a good thing solo board games exist to help us survive the stifling boredom once you’ve finished binge watching whatever show you have on your list.
Don’t let being alone at home stop you from joining in on the board game craze. Here’s a list of some pretty awesome solo-player board games you can try out.
10. The 7th Continent
Unfortunately for you, you were cursed in your last expedition. Now, you must travel to the newly discovered seventh continent to lift your curse. The 7th Continent is a solo (but you can play it as a co-op) choose-your-own-adventure board game. Depending on what you choose will trigger certain terrain and event cards; you have to figure out how to get out of. It’s a survival game where you have to use your wit to solve the problem of your curse and survive.
What’s fun about The 7th Continent:
- Long game, perfect for quarantine, one play through might actually take you a day to complete—depending on you.
- Save Points are a thing, apparently just like a video game, you can save/stop where you want and decide to play it later. No time limit whatsoever.
- Play your cards right, you’ll be dealt with a lot of cards throughout the game. If there’s no condition where you have to use the skills upon draw, it’s best to keep it till the best-case scenario to use it.
9. Spirit Island
You take a form of an elemental spirit, something that is both natural and unnatural in the world. For several years you and your fellow spirits have lived in peace with the islanders. However, your island is now being threatened to be invaded. You must defend your island at all costs! As an elemental spirit you get to choose which element you control. Every turn you can play a power card corresponding to your element by paying energy. Journey around and collect more power while strengthening your resources for battle as the invaders draw closer to your base.
What’s fun about Spirit Island:
- Good for 1 and Good for 2, don’t worry about spending for this board game just for yourself, this is one of those solo games you can co-op with, so either if you are alone or with a gamer friend you can have fun.
- Scare The Invaders Away, this is a fun winning condition where you generate enough fear cards for the enemy to turn tails and sail away.
- Each elemental spirit plays differently, different game plans per spirit. Have fun with it!
8. Mage Knight
RPG is the sweet spot when it comes to solo gaming. In Mage Knight you get to choose 1 Mage Knight character. Use your characters to move around the world and conquer different cities that are controlled by the Atlantean Empire. How do you achieve this? You can achieve this by exploring and building your deck with powerful spells and action cards that will help you overthrow the current rule.
What’s fun about Mage Knight?
- Only one ruler, if you play this as a co-op you can even turn against your friends for the throne.
- Replayability even in solo mode, remember those RPGs with different versions of the endings? Yeah, this is one in board game form.
- Shorter if solo, sometimes playing without people takes longer than necessary. None of that for Mage Knight.
7. Tiny Epic Galaxies
From the earth, we now reach the galaxies! Tiny Epic Galaxies allows you to control a galactic empire. The goal is to expand your territory due to your current galaxy being over populated. You move your ship to other planets and colonize it. If you are successful, you gain the planet’s “Special Action” in order to bring you victory points. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for resources—this will allow you to reroll a dice in case you get stuck in a risky situation with the other planets.
What’s fun about Tiny Epic Galaxies:
- Has its own set of rules for solo play, just to keep interesting when you fight against the board itself.
- Pray to the Dice Gods, anything with dice ensures randomness, make sure to have a backup plan in case you fail the dice roll.
- Pretty Good Theme, thanks for having it in space.
6. Mansion of Madness: Second Edition
Coming from the same developers as Eldritch Horror and Elder Sign, we are now given Mansion of Madness, which takes place in the same universe as the previously mentioned games. It’s an app-driven (guided) game where you search the city, try to survive and uncover the truth of the horrors. Before you start up the game make sure to download the app, this will guide you through the game and events. Every turn you get to do two actions, the available actions are described in the handbook. Make sure wherever you investigate has a light source and make sure to put out the fire as a precaution as you venture.
What’s fun about Mansion of Madness:
- App GM, while a lot of people argue that tabletops should be digital free, the app doesn’t cost you money to download and it gives us pretty good narrations as we go along the game. If you want to play solo then I think having an app GM is pretty good.
- For the Lovecraftian Fan, if you are one, then you’ll love this game.
- Control 2, if you play solo you have this option.
5. Friday
Looking for a true solo-adventure? Friday is a solo-only deck building game; no other players are allowed. In the game you play as Friday, attempting to help Robinson Curve survive on an island. Each card in the game consists of a hazard side and resource side. During the game you have to deal with the hazard side of the deck but if you manage to overcome the hazard using your resource side cards you can acquire the resource side of the hazard card you were up against. As you draw in to the bosses you have to make sure you have enough cards to go up against it.
What’s fun about Friday:
- Decision Making, do you try to deal with the hazard or accept defeat? Dealing with a hazard requires you to spend life points, which you will need in the later game.
- Solo All the Time, no other players, and no option to invite other players. Having a deck designed for solo gaming brings out it’s best
- Difficulty increases, there are about 3 stages of difficulty that tries to lower your LP before you face the bosses, good luck!
4. Onirim
A classic for solo-gaming. Escape your nightmare before time runs out and you are trapped forever. The ticket out of this dream labyrinth is through unlocking 8 doors. To unlock these doors you must play three cards of the same color in row in your table or draw a door card with a key card of the same color already in hand. While you try to unlock these doors nightmare cards will try to keep you locked in the debts of the dream world.
What’s fun about Onirim:
- Expansions Galore, to keep its depth and replayability with the times, Onirim keeps throwing in expansions that can be mixed in with the game.
- Shines as a Solo Player Game, you’re allowed up to two players but it’s better played solo.
- Quick and challenging, if you have time to kill while waiting for someone, this is a pretty good warm up game to keep you occupied. If you’re on the go and can’t afford to bring the box, an app version of the game is available.
3. At the Gates of Loyang
We’ve done some conquering, defending, surviving and solving mysteries, now, let’s look into harvesting and selling for solo-play. Basically, for solo play you just need to beat your best score from the previous playthrough. If it’s your first time, you should try to beat the score of 17. The game challenges you to make resources and earn money. The more you earn the more things you are allowed to do to score victory points. It’s a management game where planning ahead and how you use your money is the key to scoring high. While not exciting since there isn’t anyone out to get you, its charm lies where it forces us to think on building the best farm with the best produce to sell to earn the most.
What’s fun about At the Gates of Loyang:
- Return of Investments, it costs money to do moves, so use it wisely, a big investment may pay off big time later on, so make sure to spend when you know the results will be good.
- Resource Management, sounds like they are teaching us market trade in real life via board games.
- Breather from Fighting, it’s different from most solo games and there isn’t really an enemy you have to fight, you’re just trying to succeed in life in this game
2. Ganz Schon Clever (That’s Pretty Clever!)
Another game you can use to warm up for game night before your friends come over. Choose your dice well and enter them into a matching-colored area. Use the value of your die to activate bonuses. Players can use up to 3 dice to activate actions per turn. The goal for solo games is to beat your own score. After your turn you get to reroll all the dice and then select one of the three lowest valued dice to use as a passive action between your turns. Try to unlock as many bonuses as you can to beat your score.
What’s fun about Ganz Schon Clever:
- Online Competitions, there are forums with solo gamers playing this where they post their highest scores, sounds like an open challenge to score higher.
- It isn’t too complex, if you don’t want to overthink things before a hard night of gaming this is a good warm-up.
- Unique Colors, each color has its own way of scoring points and bonuses.
1. Exit the Game Series
Don’t you just miss escape rooms? Now you can get the thrill of breaking out of your own escape room in your own house with a deck of cards. Each deck is only a one game playthrough but it costs pretty close to experiencing a real escape room which is pretty much a one-time run as well. Similar to a real-life escape room, you are presented with a series of puzzles and codes which you need to solve, some with the use of items (cards) you collect along the way.
What’s fun about Exit the Game Series:
- Different Stories per Deck, for a cost of 15$ it actually isn’t bad to own a few decks, once you’re done you can even have other plays (maybe even rent it out?)
- I work best alone, sometimes having more than 2 is a crowd and other players don’t engage as much… sweet spot is for solo-play or with one other player.
- More to Come, the series is still growing, so it means there are more stories and scenarios to look forward to in the future.
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