These Space Games Are Only For You 

As someone who makes and deeply loves solo-rpgs, I wanted to jump in the comments to talk about a small detail I think many might misinterpret: Solo-RPGs are not exclusively journaling games, despite it being a very dominant element of the game category. As you said regarding NOTORIOUS itself, there are games which mirror the arcade mode in it that are mainly the mechanical procedures that you naturally draw narrative connections between (because that's what we love to do as humans) as you play. Vampire Baseball at Midnight is a solid example of this with being a Roll & Write TTRPG, The Broken Cask you _can_ journal the events at your Inn but the Log it gives is mainly for upgrades and features, Four Against Darkness is a game directly emulating first-person dungeon crawlers so you're mainly tracking loot/stats and encounters, and a game like DELVE by Anna Blackwell is more about map-drawing than necessarily journaling . There are many more games too, I encourage folks to check them out and learn how varied the solo-rpg experience can be! :D Great video btw! Really love this channel. c:

Rove and Food Chain Island are two of my favorite Button Shy games! But man when you complete puzzles in Rove you feel so smart.

The cut away when the tshirt was coming off was brilliant the whole video is brilliant and the games are mostly brilliant.

Deep Space D-6 ; Space Hulk: Death Angel ; Final Girl: Evomorph ; The Dead Eye ; Stellarion ; Search For Planet X ; all those co-op/solo modes...

Wow! I never knew of solo rpg’s. And this notorious copy looks so well made. I would love to buy this and me or my wife play this while just chilling on a boring Sunday.

i feel warps edge and under falling skies should be on your follow up for this. I do love rove but i'm hopeing one deck galaxy gets a mobile game as good as the one deck dungeon one as i do find the tucking a bit much.

For a more complex endeavor I recommend the hidden gem Interplanetary: A giant hop for Squeakind. It's a squirrel-themed High Frontier-lite that's available for pnp 😁

Huge Shoutout for Spaceshipped which was my entry gate into solo ... it's quite amazing what joy 2 sheets of paper can bring you , as it's being sold as PNP ( print and play ) - would also love to mention free project called Space Privateer - definitely amazing little gem people should check out. ( no need to talk about R.O.V.E. as it's super fun puzzle that just hits the spot right away )

Why did Elaine ever let you play with slime? Elaine, who is watching Efka?

I have R.O.V.E., I thoroughly recommend it. I also recommend all of the expansions, they're all very good and change up the game in new and cool ways. It's probably the best spatial puzzle game out there, with really cute artwork and a great theme.

Came back here to say that the one deck galaxy review is spot on. I got the game after seeing the review and I am loving it. Thanks!

That's how it worked for me! I really enjoyed the first NPI video that I saw, so I subscribed, and about a year later after enjoying many more videos, I joined the NPI Patreon. It's been great! I very much appreciate the fun, thoughtful, and thorough reviews.

No-No-Notorious. So glad I backed it.

This was very wholesome to watch, thanks Efka! The vfx were impressive. Makes me want to explore (solo) RPG's and print out even more of PNP's catalog 🎉

I see that ButtonShy opening their UK hub has been very dangerous for your wallet Efka! I backed Rove all-in and then found, when it arrived, that the spatial puzzle is far too brain burny for the current state of my menopausal brain. The brain fog and memory issues caused by the menopause meant that I dropped my ButtonShy Boardgame of the Month club membership from the international equivalent of the $10 level, down to PNP only. It's funny how brains work with spatial puzzles though, I love the puzzle in Sprawlopolis and several other games but then struggle with certain others. It's been a long time since I played SpaceShipped - I thnk that it arrived during the long, ong period when I was very unwell, that's probably why. I should get back to it again soon! I know that I've already recommended the publisher SideRoom Games to you, Efka - they're my other favourite publisher, particularly for small solo games. Their game Grove, the sequel to Orchard, is a perfect quick little puzzle game to play at breakfast time. I prefer Grove over Orchard simply because the advanced variant uses Sprawlopolis style scoring objective cards which suits my neurodivergent brain really well 🙂 My favourite small box solo space game would probably be Assembly from Wren Games. It's a spatial puzzle again, played in a clock patience style with cards and chunky wooden tokens that feel great in your hand. ButtonShy also have a clock patience style game, it's one of their less well known games, The Maiden in the Forest. It's not all brain burny, as I recall - it's been a while since I played it - but it's very pretty, gentle and relaxing to play out the puzzle. At one point, I was trying to collect all the ButtonShy solo games and up until a couple of years ago, I was doing pretty well at it, but now they have started to put out so many, it's become impossible to keep up - especially with rising shipping costs and having to pay customs/VAT in the EU 😞 Nearly forgot - I've backed (and played a little) a few solo RPGs by Anna Blackwell, including Delve and Apothecaria. Delve is more map-making in a fantasy dungeon, and in Apothecaria where you're the new village witch. I also back TYOV but I still haven't been able to play it because you really do have to be in just the right state of mind for it. Anyway, I love that you're covering more solo games! I watched the video while cutting out the PnP for All Is Bomb, a solo game by the designer of Lok, after Tom mentioned it in a recent SUSD video.

Flippin love SpaceShipped. Sometimes I will give the opponent an extra spin instead of dealing the final damage that would explode me so that I don't have to reset. I find the asterisk'ed victory more satisfying than a 'true' win with a bunch of early bad luck reset rounds behind it. I am excited to dig into my copy of Notorious, I've listened to a couple of actual plays, but I think my inexperience with RPG's has me a bit intimated.

"Spwaaaaaace!" Fantastic reviews as always, thanks NPI!

That ATO teaser at the end totally made this video 😂

Do you have any plans to review Frostpunk? It seems right up this channel's alley.

In ROVE, module abilities are free and don't require the module to make a normal move first. You can sometimes complete a mission with module abilities only, without even playing a movement card

Heartbreaking that Notorious is out of stock. Definitely gonna get in on that kickstarter when it drops (if I have the money ...)

Surprised to see a space solo special without mention of either Warp's Edge or Under Falling Skies. Both are definitely worth at least an honorable mention, so... I guess here that is.

A solo spacial! 😮

😂 The analysis of the YT content creator game was the best part. ❤ you guys.

Bonus points for the Amstrad mention! 🤣

These are all great choices, but I have to ask; no love for Lux Aeterna or (a bit of a stretch for space) Under Falling Skies?

that intro will be remembered.

Haha great reviews... Can't wait for that review of the stressful game. :P

Triple Rocking Cosmic Efka needs to be a poster or T-shirt or something

So I’m just posting this here because it’s your most recent video, but I really think you should make a video essay about the history of playing cards and how they’re absolutely incredible.

Was Lux Aeterna already mentioned? Highly recommended

Not sure why but the weirdest bit of the intro to me is the fact that they sang together the space SOLO special theme

Do you have some more Solo Sci-Fi RPG recommendations? I heard good things about 5 Parsecs from Home for example

I laughed every time you pronounced it "Yes cream" Thanks for introducing me to these games

Nice Review and funny as alwas :)

Great talk on AT:O in your pod. Any chance you’ll be doing a video review?

What an intro!

Some new dire retro straits vibes in the beginning!

I know it's not in the topic but I've heard on the podcast there are plans for a video on Aeon Trespass: Odyssey. Any chance for that in the coming 20 days? ;) It would be great to hear a level headed review/impressions before backing for such a hefty sum (reprin campaign).

I've played quite a bit of One Deck Dungeon (Forest of Shadows edition) and while I do enjoy it, it does feel a bit unbalanced. It's especially difficult to mitigate the randomness in the beginning, so if you have a bad start you might as well start over. One Deck Galaxy seems like a better implementation of the system, so I might get it!

Groovy, man!

I was already subscribed!

Thanks

Nice geetar man!

First! Thanks for your review. I always enjoy your content--it always brings a smile to my face. ; )

I assume it hurt everyone else's soul to just watch the ooze not only sit on the cards, but slowly seep through the top of the table...

Oh, no. Efka went all cosmic horror at 26:00 Was the ooze a colour out of space? 😅

Bonus Space Zone.

Hi! A quick question, are you planning on doing a review on the Witcher: Old World board game? Would be very curious to learn your opinion of the game as me and my friends love it :) Love the content!

Still love your humouristic reviews ! please keep those up ! If i hade only one space themed game to keep it would be : FLIPSHIPS !

I do like me some nice colored die One Deck Galaxy is the sci-fi version of One Deck Dungeon... also a very interesting solo game you can technically play with another person

But... but there are THREE Efka's in the thumbnail! You tricked me!

I'm very intruiged by your thoughts on the upcoming review. I know it's a lot of plastic, but I've been keen to see if it's one of those games that fizzles out or if it's actually got some staying power.

A review of solo space games without a Han Solo pun? Sad times 😉

How does One Deck Galaxy compete with Under Falling Skies? Seemed a bit bloated on face value but I’ve only played the latter.

20:27 Pronounced "Ice Cream"

More guitar, please! Prašau! :)

you clearly had too much fun with the editing effects in this video i am calling the editing police also the guitar tease police

I got the Kickstarter one deck galaxy.. I really wanted to like it .. but the rule book is horrible. It makes the game unplayable. I got so mad at trying to learn it and play it that now it just sits on my shelf.

No wearing trousers when solo gaming? Efka, you've broken the first rule of the One Player Guild. Formal wear is not optional.

To roll dice or not roll dice that is the question

One Deck Galaxy at least sounds better than One Deck Dungeon, AKA "Did you roll all 6es? No? You lose!"

Is not ISS Vanguard count on this?

im pleased to see some solo stuff... i mean your stealing my audience but ill allow it lol :P great video guys Stay Hexy!

0:23 Are those repurposed components from your #1 game of all time?

Are there any particular bits of the Spaceshipped rulebook that are terrible or is it just overall terrible?

One Deck Dungeon was the predecessor, not Adventure.

There should be no shame in playing with yourself! 🙂

i dunno man roves manual is fine

... Why DON'T you just do a video on the entire button shy catalogue?