For me, with my work schedule, and the fact that I have children and they are active in school clubs and sports, playing with other people is a luxury I just can't do, so out of 200+ board games I own, almost all are either solo or pure co-op so I really appreciate list like this. Thank you for the time you put into this list
Solo gaming exists because most gamers don’t have the luxury of a regular gaming partner or group. It will never replace the essential attraction of multiplayer gaming. Let’s be honest, most people who solo do so because they have no other choice
Yes sir. We are sorry sir. … What exactly is the point of your post? It is also a fact ( I’ll adopt your strategy of stating things as if I can decree my opinions are facts) that some games are just crying out to be played solo. Robinson Crusoe is one example.
This video was so enjoyable! It's really awesome how excited you are about each game, it's quite infectious! When you had Fields of Arle on your list I was hoping for at least a Feast for Odin shoutout and you didn't disappoint haha. I think that may be my favorite solo Uwe game...although I have yet to check out Fields of Arle. I'll add it to my ever-growing list lol. Anyway, great video good sir!
Mine: The Grizzled, The lost expedition, Oh my goods!, The Manhattan Project: Chain reaction, Harbour, Railroad Ink, Sagrada, Arkham Noir, Bandido, Tokaido, Citadels (for some of them I found the solo mode on the internet)...and all my other games without a solo mode in which I love to impersonate the other players just to play them! 😅😝 Great video! Finally something new in a list about solo games 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Totally agree. LOTR LCG is not only my favorite LCG, it's my favorite solo AND my favorite boardgame of all time. Love the IP, love the mechanics... my only gripe (if I could even call it that) is that I would love to be able to buy other dials without needing to buy a 2nd Starter Box. I would even accept buying the dials by themselves since I have tried a 3/4 player variant that is just so much fun! Great list... I would have Space Hulk Death Angel in mine though since it's portable, fast setup and just a blast to play. Cheers
I’ve bought Munchkin dials for use as generic counters whenever needed. I use them in our 4-player LotR LCG group as well as for games like Star Realms, Smash Up, etc.
My fav solo games are Castles of Burgundy the dice game, Herbaceous, Pandemic, Hostage Negotiator Crime Wave, Istanbul the dice game (fan solo variant).
I finally caved and bought the Arkham Horror LCG a couple weeks ago after waffling back and forth between it and LoTR. Though I prefer the LoTR theme, the emphasis of story over fiddliness in AH seemed like something I would enjoy more. (Also being given a gift card for a shop that stocked AH but not LoTR pretty much capped it.) Have only gotten through the intro scenario so far but enjoyed it a lot. I used to play Pandemic solo a lot but burned out on it. For quick, low stress weeknight games, I like Sagrada and The Lost Expedition.
You really eloquent describe the drivers for solo gaming. Multiplayer would often be my preference, but even though London on board is amazing, it very rarely fits around my life schedule, but I still want that board gaming experience that takes me away from the digital world and gives me an excuse to think strategically for a few hours
Luke, I agree with all of your choices. Some of my top ones that echo the other comments below are 7th Continent and Nemo's War (probably my #1, #2). My other must-play game that is Chronicles of Crime, which is okay with one or two others, but stellar solo. Black Sonata is worth checking out. I'm not sure it's top 10 worthy, but it's pretty unique and a good game in a small box.
Great list - I have a few of these on my wish list My top 10 solo games 1. Terraforming Mars 2. After the Virus 3. Pandemic Iberia 4. Maximum Apocalypse 5. Space Hulk Death Angel 6. Viticulture 7. NMBR9 8. Grimslingers - need to play this more - could go up or down (I think up) 9. One Deck Dungeon 10. Pentaquark HM - Tiny Epic Galaxies - Friday - Mint Works - Raiders of the North Sea solo (one thing bothered me about the solo) Unplayed/Once played and not rated list - First Martians - Palm Island (received yesterday) - Sherlock CD - Coffee Roasters (found this locally in Taiwan) Up next on the buy list - Arkham Horror LCG - Leaving Earth - Spirit Island - Pulp Detective (KS fulfillment) - Hoplomochus
I think the only one I’ve enjoyed solo is Burgle Bros, for some reason! Sherlock Holmes consulting detective I presume would be a fantastic one to do solo with a glass of something
My gaming partner who I play most board games with is losing interest so videos like this are becoming more important to me as I look for good solo experiences. I've not played very many solo, but thus far I'd have to say Robin Crusoe, Terraforming Mars, Agricola, and A Feast for Odin have been great.
Odin would be on my shortlist, probably closer to 20 though. Shame about your spouse losing interest in games though :-( Though at least you started off OK, I can't find a g/f that likes games for love nor money! :P
To be fair, I subjected her to quite a lot of games in a short space of time. I'd probably be burnt out too if I wasn't so...relentless lol. I'm sure you'll find someone with similar interests again. As they say, "Every pot has its lid."
First video from you I've ever watched, you have instantly earned a subscriprion. I came here because I'm looking for a good solo game to buy (only one I own so far is LotR LCG but it's too deckbuildy for me) and couldn't decide on one. Now I still don't know what to buy, instead my list of possible choices has even grown.
Wow, a FFG trifecta. I LOVE all three games! Question about AHtCG, have you stuck with the same investigator through all the campaigns? As always, great job! Thank you for putting it together!
Hey, thanks loads for this. It's given me some great ideas. Also, I completely agree with you about solo board games! I also hope that more games are brought out with a more solo-centred approach.
Mage Knight Luke, Mage Knight. My top 10 solo would include many that you had especially the LCGs and Sentinels for sure, but Mage Knight is unquestionably the best of the lot for me. Yup, takes longer, takes a bit to learn, but completely worth it. Perhaps it's not your thing, but one I think you'd definitely love is Spirit Island.
I've only played Spirit Island once, but I did enjoy it, so probably that would be one for the short list. Don't think it would make a Top 10, but it was a solid game when I did a 3P game. Mage Knight is definitely not for me, too long, abstracted and convuluted for a fantasy adventure game. But it's no surprise to me that it makes a lot of other Solo Top 10 lists.
How about a Top 10 unsung heroes of the hobby? ☺ Designers and Publishers get the lion's share of praise when a great game is produced. What about developers, playtesters, variant designers, graphic designers, sculptors, lore authors, IP lawyers etc? :)
Thanks for the top 10 list Luke! Pretty easy to predict after watching your top 100 games. I hope the Mansions of Madness case turns out well, and has room if it continues to receive expansions. ;)
Over the years I've seem to accept the fact that I'd much play with other players. With that said, I've actually played Mage Knight solo more times than with players so there you have it :)
So, I feel for ya on the whole region thing. I only wish somebody would tell you that getting a decent VPN would potentially let you bypass at least some of these issues, because a VPN makes your IP location look like you're in another country, so you could go onto websites normally only accessible for that country. If someone were to tell you this, they could have been able to explain how I, for instance, am able to watch BBC shows while living in the United States. But since nobody will tell you this I guess we'll just have to hope you'll get the stuff you want some other way. Best of luck, and awesome video, I truly enjoyed it and will probably check some of your vids out.
Have you ever checked out any of the solo wargames out there? Maybe something like D-Day at Omaha Beach? I wonder if they would be something you would like. Regardless of that, try Nemo's War if you haven't already... my new favorite solo game. :-)
Yes, most 2-player wargames can be played solo and in many ways are better that way as you can decide on each side following a certain strategy and seeing what happens, check out Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) or GMT.
Never tried Time Stories solo, but I like having other players there. 7th Continent I've not played but then that's what happens when you make your game KS only - not a good selling point for me.
What the heck happened at [41:37]? Even so, this is a very informative video and just what I was looking. Are there any videos where you into depth with each game, showing (solo) gameplay? This only whets my appetite for more.
@@TheBrokenMeeple For some reason, the audio goes out of sync. It goes normal at about [44:30]. I've replayed it about six times to see if I was just getting some horrible lag from my Internet connection, but it happens the same way each time. I really loved the video overall, though.
I really like the new intro. A new logo and thumbnail template might help views. You have a great channel & podcast, so you deserve more views. Also, you channel is named Luke Hector. Might help if you named it The Broken Meeple.
Good idea on changing the name, I wasn't sure how to do it before but I found a video that explained it - let's see if that helps! The intro for Top 10's isn't anything new. It's the standard one I use for Top 10's specifically. However I would like to revisit the montage when I'm more adept with my future software Adobe Premiere Pro because as much as I love the montage, the title screen still looks dated. Yes I badly need better thumbnails, but I suck at Photoshop - I don't know how to do the ones where a person is superimposed on to the thumbnail image and that as I don't have green screen - but yeah something for me to look into when I decide to call it Season 3. As for a new logo, I kind of like the logo with the broken meeple and the Carcassonne map in the background so I'd hate to lose it, but in order to design a better logo, I would have to hire the services of a graphic designer/artist because I don't have skills. But I do have a Patreon goal where by if I hit that goal, I will definitely be doing a rebrand. Of course, that all depends on the success of the campaign.
The list - don't click on "Read More" if you don't want it spoiled for you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. thegallerist 9. Hostage Negotiator 8. (Tied) Robinson Crusoe and First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet 7. Coffee Roaster 6. Fields of Arle 5. Sentinels of the Multiverse 4. Legendary Encounters: Alien 3. Arkham Horror: The Card Game 2. Mansions of Madness 1. Lord of the Rings Card Game
Great top 10. As far as 11-20, perhaps just list what they are instead of diverting time away from other video projects to do a 11-20 video. Just a thought.
My fav. are LoTR LCG, Mistfall, Warhammer Quest the card game - I can’t wait to try Heroes of Terrinoth that should take over the latter and should be released soon, and Nemo’s War.
Great video. Although my wallet might have a different opinion. Put coffee roaster on my list for Essen, and maybe I should finally check out Fields of Arle and Sentinels. Watching your list videos is always risky.
I speak the North American dialect of English not the European and I'm kind of confused when you pronounce "a" at the end of a sentence like "uh" or "er?"
I’d love to get the LOTG LCG but I heard it’s darn hard, you pretty much have to buy 2-3 core sets just to get enough cards to build the decks and MOST of the expansions are not available on FFG and therefore are super expensive on amazon or eBay AND I heard there’s a lot of power creep so if you buy the later expansions, I hear you’ll get killed easily. Idk man
A small (important) input: Please, make the videos clearer with regard to the information from 1-10. fade in the respective titles for the games. It is then easier to understand the titles. Thanks a lot.
These are cool. I’m really getting into the Mansion of Madness-the other day I got some family/friends to try the game. They played while I monitored/taught them the game rules. I found it also fun/interesting just to see them tackle the game and go through the story. Do you have a top 10 games that you enjoy watching others play. To see their reactions to the game (struggling or winning) and just help on the rules?
Robinson Crusoe is one of the worst written rule books I’ve ever read. I actually got rid of the game because of it. You really need someone who already knows how to play to teach you. With the 2nd edition they had to opportunity to fix many of these issues and really didn’t change much other than the art work.
Thanks for the list, I'm looking for some good solo games myself. Just purchased Nemo's war but haven't been able to get it going yet. Robinson Crusoe is one of my favs. I was going to pick up Nusfjord for the solo play but will give fields of Arle a try first.
ugh i shouldn't have watched this :D :D just bought both hostage negotiators on ebay :D thanks for that :D, i was looking forward to this vid a couple you have me intrigued about and will definitely look into
You didn't mention a SINGLE ONE of the great solo war games out there! Some companies, like DVG Games SPECIALIZE in SOLO GAMES. The Commander series of games (Rommel, Alexander, Napoleon, Nimitz), the Leader series (Phantom, Thunderbolt/Apache, Sherman, Tiger, IAF, B-17, Corsair). You're really doing yourself a disservice by not trying at least ONE of these AMAZING solo games. Hint: there's more resource management in ONE of these titles than any THREE eurogames COMBINED!
One snag, I don't have an interest in historical war settings and the ones I have tried like APACHE THUNDERBOLT or something like that were just too fiddly and boring. All about manipulating a thousand confusing chits. Those games have a place for a niche group of solo war players but they aren't for many by far.
need help here. I have xia legends of a drift system with forsaken expansion I have robinson crusoe and nemo's war love playing them solo. With this 3games in mind what solo game should I have next? Don't know what to play next 😏
Well, those are not my taste, most solo games I have are very small boxes. Alien would be nice to try, but I see no opportunity to try it. Onirim I had but sold because the shuffling kinda ruined the immersion. AH:ACG actually has a fanbase with about 40 scenarios so it doesn't have to be costly. I printed the expansions but haven't even the base game, is that sad?
My favorite solo would be diceborn heroes, followed by viticulture and sprawlopolis (omg so portable!), sagrada and maybe later tenefyr. Onirim shuffling was too distracting, but the box art is nice.
Onirim app is great, and the introductory level is free. However, it is addictive because it is so fast, and I have had to lay off. I never played the physical game, but I can see that there would be too much shuffling.
