A cup of tea, and some food for thought over another lockdown breakfast. I like the solo mode on Spring Meadow, and have played countless games of Onirim. Cheers, Adam
Thanks! I always get bored with long video explanations (unless I’m after a proper tutorial like one of Rodney Smith’s) so I decided many years ago that I would try to condense the rules to 1-2 minutes, no matter how complex the game is! It’s a good skill to have because it’s essential for pitching my own games to publishers!
Great video as usual. Thinking about it, most of the time I try solo modes is when I’m learning a game before playing multiplayer mode with others. So for me, I’m keen that solitaire mode should be as similar as possible to the multiplayer game, and that where they do deviate from the multiplayer mode this is clearly explained. I thought Agricola, 1066 Tears to Many Mothers and Villagers solo modes all worked well from this perspective. I hadn’t realised Magic Maze had a solo mode, but from your description sounds too far from the original to be of anything other than passing interest.
I agree - I have often attempted to learn a game and thought about trying the solo mode - then been put off by the extra rules required to control a bot etc.
I’ve decided good game mechanics should show themself in, and produce, a solid solo experience that is then made more interesting by having multiple player modes.
It’s a nice reversal of the standard approach and I can see it working for some styles of games - except those games which are entirely reliant on player interaction,
hey adam im a welsh man who does a solo focused board game channel im pretty new but would love to work with you after this lockdown as your the only other welsh board game channel i can find lol great video man stay Hexy!
I know im asking the wrong place but does any of you know a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost my password. I would love any assistance you can give me
@Brody Cade I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site on google and im trying it out atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
based on what you have said about imperial assault i would suggest you try LOTR: journeys in middle earth its controlled similarly but has better app control and solves some of the issues u have
I keep meaning to write out and upload to BGG rules for 2 solo variants i made of Ticket To Ride London. One version is a simplistic ai for opponents and the other more a puzzle of always satisfying the condition of a ticket. I prefer the ai
I feel seen! Thanks for the video, and the Smart Games plug-I love the tactility of solo puzzlers. A couple of my favorite solo modes: Samurai Spirit and Flash Duel. Samurai Spirit, as many co-op games, makes you control 2 characters, but it gives you all special abilities from the 5 unused characters as one-use powers. It's real fun and relayable, and replicates the agony of the normal game! Flash Duel has sone simple automa, but trying to beat em with all the different characters offers some fun puzzley edge cases. And Arkham Horror TCG scales well solo, but it's, uh, really expensive for one player. Guess that goes for all the co-op LCGs. Sagrada DOES have a solo mode! I can't remember if it was introduced in an expansion or not. Anyway, it's pretty simple and clever: adding up the pips on the round tracker determines the target score. Generally, I prefer high-score games to introduce target scores this way, so I can't Beat the Game Forever. There's a video game for PC & mobile with a fun campaign mode as well. I'd love a video about dedicated solo game mechanics somewhere down the line, but I understand if you'd never get to it. An element that sticks out to me: entropy. Instead of getting more powerful, you narrow the range of decisions that advance the game state, often screwing yourself over. "If only I did THIS instead!" I find em fascinating.
Oh, I'll definitely try Flash Duel. I have that game and enjoyed my first couple of plays, but have rarely played it since. I didn't know it played solo. Glad you feel seen! Your earlier comment (along with my own exploration of solo design for my prototype) prompted the video.
Personally I'm not a fan of super broad player count games. You never know upon buying if it's basically a solo game that has enough components for 5 players (with possibly lots of waiting for your turn) or if it's a group game with some solo mode that plays completely differently
Absolutely! And many board games do this. But there are many board gamers who don’t like apps in their games (they often play tabletop games to escape screens). And some designers enjoy the challenge of creating an ingenious physical AI opponent (and most board game designers don’t have the skill or budget to build an app).
Hi Mihail, I don't know if it was obvious but I'm not a big solo player - so it was a bit of a new experience learning these bots etc. I've played a few games solo over the years, but never invested much time in it - so I'm still working out what I like. I enjoyed Las Vegas Boulevard and D-Day Dice the most I think. I love the Smart Games range of puzzles. And Scythe felt really deep and rich to dip into despite the complexity. I don't see myself playing Tiny Towns, Gorus Maximus, or Magic Maze in solo-mode. They were fun, simple puzzles - but didn't feel like something I would want to come back to time and again. Although I like all of those games in multiplayer mode. I didn't enjoy the complexity of Imperial Assault (solo) at all. But I suspect that if I had recently bought it, and spent hours going through the rulebook and immersing myself in it, it probably would have more to offer. Because I bought it so long ago, I can't muster the enthusiasm for all that prep work before playing.
Hey Adam, I wonder how you feel about WWE Superstar Showdown. I enjoy it as silly fun and I also think its sad how it got such a cold reception, eventually cancelling its expansion :(
I thought it was fun. I haven't played it much. I was a big fan of the card game Wrasslin when I was a teenager, and wanted to explore how other games have approached wrestling - hence buying Superstar Showdown, and also Luchador Mexican Wrestling Dice. Superstar Showdown doesn't hold as much appeal because I'm not familiar with the wrestlers in it. I was only really a fan as a kid (Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior etc.) But I hold onto it because I have a lingering thought that I might make a wrestling game one day!
are there games where u think the solo mode is better than the multiplayer? for me this is marvel champions i really love it solo but every time i have played with others it has dragged out and been much more fiddly
I don’t think so Bryan. This new Covid world has put a lot of demands on my time, and sadly there are few opportunities to play games, or make videos. I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to show off my new game Kompromat in a video soon though. It’s going to be hard to do an end-of-year review this year - I’ll certainly struggle to produce a top ten!
@@AdaminWales That's unfortunate to hear, but hopefully one day you'll be back at it. I'll keep an eye out for any new videos. Perhaps you could do a video on your all time favourites or what got you into board games instead?
Tbf it's a rather involved process that would be better to read off Automa Factory's own designer diaries That being said, showcasing different approaches like this can still be valuable
