I've posted the second episode of OBG All Alone on the feed. In it I discuss games with both regular and solitaire rules.

Enjoy.



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Another good one Erik

Personally I just can't see the fun in playing board games on my own. Just like playing board games on a PC it takes away the things I enjoy about board games. I much rather play regular video games on my own.

Indeed! Thanks Erik

I also don't really get anything from playing games solo. I understand some folks play games solo, but for the most part I just don't get it. I want to, and occasionally when I'm trying to figure out a game I'll get some one-on-one time with it, but it's more of an exorcise than playing a game. In fact the only solo game I've gotten much play out of is Solitaire.

Yeah, I know, I'm a sad gamer. Are there any solo games that play that quickly and have immediate payout on decisions made like Solitaire? I’m not saying Solitaire is a great game, it just has a form factor that works well.

Yeah, Solitaire works well. I also don't mind playing solitaire card games, although I've not done so in ages and I'm not planning to. What these games have in common is that they are quick to play and easy to set up. I don't feel like bothering with a bunch of components just to play by myself. You can compare these to doing crosswords or sudoku, although I prefer kakuro myself.

Well done, Erik. I enjoy playing games solo now and then, especially when I'm alone in a hotel room and have nothing better to do for a few hours. Yes, you miss the interaction with other people, but you still, in essence, get to play the game. In particular, I find that coop games work best for that, because they can essentially be a puzzle or challenge that one person can go up against, and the themes tend to be very immersive so if nothing else it's as though you're being part of a cool story like Lord of the Rings or Outbreak (Pandemic) or Night of the Living Dead (Last Night on Earth).

Usually, for coop games like that, I definitely prefer controlling multiple roles and playing the full version, as opposed to variants or other solitaire rules where you just control one role. One exception would be Ghost Stories, which I think works very well either to control all four roles or to play with just one role... the reason being is that the solitaire rules allow for "power tokens" which you can spend to gain the ability of the roles that are missing. Once they are spent, they go back to the middle of the board and if you move back there you can pick them up again. So it adds a nice extra element, or at least a different kind of element to the game, which is cool.

I'm looking forward to hearing your method of playing Twilight Struggle solo.

Donald, check out Bowling Solitaire. It's simple to learn, requires only 20 cards (A-10 twice), plays quickly and definitely involves some decision-making. And if you play it and can figure out any strategy for how to do well at it, please let me know, as I can barely break 100!

Gargh! That makes my head hurt. Too complicated for my taste.

Cool Episode! Thanks Erik!

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

For me, there are times when I just want to push cardboard and wooden bits around. If I can find someone to play then boo yah, but if I can't I don't let it stop me.

I've played entire four player games of talisman by myself, Avalon Hill's Air Force, and even ASL.

I should point out that I do have a great group of friends (including Don and Scott) and that I'm not living in the woods in a tarpaper shack wearing my tin foil hat.

Excellent episode. I've spent a lot of time solo gaming because I live way off in the boonies. Of late my children have gotten old enough that we can play together.

We staged an intervention and made him give up his tin foil hat.

Downloading now. Glad I found this thread... always looking for a new gaming podcast.

I too think playing FTF with someone is more satisfying than solitaire, but finding people to play games I like on a regular basis is next to impossible. I'm very grateful that people come up with solitaire variants and that some games even come with official rules for it.

~telengard

I'm playing 5-15 hours a week with 1-3 others so I don't have to play alone Yesterday we played 7 hours straight.

Yes, he's living in Oklahoma and they get wicked lightning storms there.

Oh, and on Saturday we'll be 4-5 people playing a bunch of euros and eating chocolate cake at a friend's apartment His wife will bake the cake and hopefully she'll try at least one of the games. Too bad we don't have TTR yet.

Thanks for these casts, from one solo gamer to another.

Great episode, Erik!

If you haven't played it yet, Ghost Stories is my current (and all-time) favorite solo game.