I'm also a solo board gamer. My current Top 10 Adventure games are: 10. Set A Watch 9. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords 8. Mistfall: Heart of the Mists 7. Legacy of Dragonholt 6. Of Dreams & Shadows 5. Hexplore It: Valley of the Dead King 4. Heroes of Terrinoth 3. Runebound 3rd Edition (with the Unbreakable Bonds expansion) 2. Gloom of Kilforth 1. Mage Knight Most interested in but haven't played them yet: -Shadows of Malice -7th Citadel -Robinson Crusoe -The Pirate Republic
Great list. Runebound 2e, FANG, and DD would be atop my list too (I have never played KD:M but when I come over you can show it to me). And I totally agree with you about the disconnect with Kilforth-such evocative art, really outstanding, yet my experience of the game felt a bit mechanical and distant from the world. Odd. Another shout out to DD: as soon as I saw the box and definitely when I opened it I realized that it redefined what the genre could be about and how, despite such creative game mechanics, the genre has been rather staid, uniform, and constrained for decades.
Totally agree - DD sets a new standard, and I think KDM does, too. And both are on the mature / immature scale in how they handle "adult" tropes / conventions.
Haha. How do you really feel? ;) Although, to be fair, GH wouldn't be on this list, because it's for adventure games. I would consider it dungeon crawl, and if I liked it, it would have been on my top 10 dungeon crawl list, but it's not, because I don't like it. :D
@@TheDungeonDive Yeah I should really try to beat-around-the-bush more often ;) ... I will have to re-watch your definitions of an adventure game. I think I would still consider GH an "adventure" game myself. Just not a good one at all. It is more of a puzzle than anything else. EDIT: after re-watching your intro I get it now. hex crawl vs dungeon crawl ;) good distinction that I didn't pick up on fully.
I agree. I am selling mine off as well. I don't really liked the App system on games like this as it takes the immersion away. Flipping cards all the time was just plain boring, but I do like dice so maybe just not for me.
Woah woah. Are we just going to ignore the Pro2 and Radias back there. We’re going to need a Top 10 synth list at some point. Great content, keep it up.
Dungeon Degenerates rules! As you said it would be great if they released new map pieces, those 3 roads (not) ending on the board edge just ask to be completed.. and the goblin flying thingy, too!
@@TheDungeonDive Looks like you'll get your wish once Sean is well enough - from the recent Tabletop Gaming magazine: Talking about future game plans he says of the next DD (not Breakout): "The game takes place in the same world but on a different map ". In the meantime, have you seen Morbad editor that has a lot of fan content skills, weakness and Encounters? morbad.wanderinghorse.net/dashboard/index.html
Grear that Xia is on it, love the game. Expected Folklore on it, two games I’m still trying to get is Dungeon Degenerates and Fortune and Glory. As I live in Belgium, it’s impossible to orde via the US cos of taxes. Looking for them on second hand sites, no luck yet.
Check out Ardyia, The paths we dare tread. Same company that made XIA. This will be fantasy setting with a legacy element. However you can go, wherever you want.
Went all in with Dungeon Degenerates. Played and enjoyed it for a time but for me it's too unwieldy. It has has so many item cards that felt like they didn't have the impact I was expecting. Combat mechanics are great. I found the rules to be fine but pretty poor as a reference when playing. The writing is ok, evocative but far too verbose. iirc the opening paragraph in the mission book that describes the world is primarily 1 single sentence. I'm 99% sure, at the very least, it stretches over 4 or 5 lines of small text. That uncontrolled style is replicated on the cards. It's definitely a better solo game than multiplayer. Multiplayer just feels like taking turns rolling the parties dice and there's little scope for individual exploration. Sure the rules allow it but it feels jarring to the overall experience. The art however is spectacular. Because of it the board is a little difficult to read (paths, roads etc) but the pay off is well worth it. To me it feels like a grand concept that should have had a bit more polish (professional editing maybe). Ended up selling it all for a little less than cost (€260 ish I think). Good game but not great. Dark Venture on the other hand hits similar notes and is much more refined and better executed imo.
p.s. I love your Dungeon Degenerates videos and would be happy to see more :) I enjoy the story and your enthusiasm for the game. Playing it just seems like too much work for me but again that video series was/is great.
@@MentatOfDune Thanks. I like the purple-prose style of the writing - reminds me of old weird fiction. But I can see it not being everyone's cup of tea.
I totally get why you cooled on it, but on the topic of an "adventure" game (it's definitely series of crawls and a grander adventure), I've really been enjoying my time with Middara. I also enjoy emergent stories and had a lot of fun with randomly generated content, but I really have fallen in love with how crunchy the game is. So much progression, items, skills, it's basically like playing a tabletop RPG campaign premade for you or some friends. I guess for me, as someone with far more experience with TTRPGs over board games, it just electrified that part of my brain.
@@TheDungeonDive That I totally get. The adventure starts out a bit slow, but when it gets going it really gets going! Like I said, though, it's definitely a heavier game than most. It honestly is more complex than some of the lighter tabletop rulesets I've used.
Ben James I love the dice and combat system. It’s a great tactical game. The slow part for me was all the reading and story, and how slowly the xp was distributed. No XP for combat is a big negative to me, since so much of what you are doing in the game is combat.
Couldn't agree more with Folklore, d100 rolling and adding 1's and 2's just feels like the skills dont matter, maybe it changes as you level up, but it's a issue for sure. Have you tried Mistfall?
Right? Am I skilled or not? Adding +2 to a D100 is like spitting into a swimming pool. I have not played Mistfall, the game looks really complicated! :) Is it?
@@TheDungeonDive It is, but I wanna get into it, but the iconology (is that even a word!?)gets in the way, too many symbols telling you to do this and that,guess I need more patience lol
@@davidarlington1206 Well, I consider Magic Realm THE #1 adventure game of all time. Also, there is Wizard's Quest, John Carter, Search for the Emperor's Treasure, Riddle of the Ring, The Hyrule Fantasy, The Fury of Dracula, Temple of the Beastmen, King's Bounty, and so many more... It's a good list, though, indeed!
ソルグル for every game I’ve played there are probably 2,000 I haven’t played. No space to collect them, limited money to buy them, limited time to learn and play them. I’m not an expert. Just an amateur fan.
@@TheDungeonDive Of course, just like me. Anyway, I do recommend them. Look into them if you have some spare time. I think you are going to like most of them! ;)
First, let me say thank you for all the videos you've uploaded during this whole stay at home thing. You make some great videos, and I've enjoyed watching them while being stuck at home. Love you list and love me some KDM. I'm very interested to try out of Xia sometime, would love to see a solo play through of it.
Love Runebound 2 I've sold the third edition because even if token are a gret thing, I don't like to launch them solo...it's...physical :-) Fortune and Glory is my number one adventure game because it's indy the boardgame...but try it competitive with all against Nazi and it's fun...and you should try Albion's Legacy if you can
Shocked not to see Middara on that list, nice to see KDM though, I did wonder, I'm very excited to see what the future has in store for that game and then Aeon Tresspass looks like its going to give it a good run for exploration...
I am not a big fan of Middara. Far too much reading for a board game, IMO. We played sessions where we read as much as we played. It's just too slow to get going for me. It is undeniably a well-made game, just not for me.
Any version can be played solo, but just keep in mind that the game doesn’t really have a special solo mode. I just play the game with one character and try to get to the end.
What was the game you mentioned at 19:05? Fallen Lands? Fault in Lands? I tried but couldn't find it on BGG.... I also wonder if in 5 years from now your Top 5 will be updated with the compatible games: 5: Starlight (scenario-based tactical campaign in space) 4: Adventures in Neverland (Solving missions around a fantasy landscape) 3: Waste Knights: Second Edition (post-apocalyptic traveling around Australia, doing missions with narrative) 2: Aeon Trespass: Odyssey (KDM re-envisioned as a Greek drama) 1: Dark Venture (80s/neon post-apocalyptic RPG-lite adventures)
Not really tried many adventure games but they greatly appeal to me. I need to check some of these out. I think Sleeping Gods might be worth a look, Aridya and 7th Citadel looks to be everything 7th Continent I hoped it would be. Less survival, which I hated more like CYOA exploration adventure game.
Your tastes are pretty close to mine: Games you should try: Star Saga One (which is more interactive fiction-y). Forgotten Waters (which is almost an Adventure party game). City of Kings -- which almost plays out like a tactical puzzle, and each and every monster feels like a miniature boss encounter. Get 2 or 3 on the map at once, and you are in trouble.
Thanks! Star Saga: One sounds interesting. City of Kings was the first game I reviewed here, and unfortunately I didn't like it all. Too Euro-y for my tastes. Forgotten Waters seems cool, but from everything I've read to get the most out of it you need to play it with a group, so unless someone in my group buys it, I probably won't get to it.
No. Too expensive for me. Id look into it if they made a cheaper version with cardboard and paper components. All that plastic and neoprene does nothing for me. Seems like an interesting game though.
I’ve seen a few of these top 10’s of late (solo, adventure, dungeon crawler) and not one person had put Gloomhaven in their list. Personally I’ve always thought Gloomhaven was overrated and never understood why it was ranked so high. The game is too slow for me. Legacy of Dragonholt in my opinion is not a game, it’s a glorified cyoa. Haven’t played Folklore the affliction but I’ve heard it’s the closest you’ll get to a solo rpg.
I think DH is a game. It has rules and an objective. But it's more of a work of interactive fiction, and a brilliant example of that. Love it to pieces. I've spent way too much time writing and talking about why I don't like GH that I'm bored of it. I might just make a short video soon detailing why.
I am not too deep into adventure board games, but I played some on the PC and I am getting slowly into the adventure board games as well. That saied, I am a bit surprised to not see Too Many Bones on the list. It is more on the fun side and there is a slight miss match between the story and the monsters you are facing, but still it mangages to hock me into the game/adventure. Not sure if it deserves a spot in the top 5, but in my opinion it is definetly better than some of the games at 6-10, because it is highly replayable, you really have the feeling of developing your character and getting stronger and there are always surprises which sometimes feel unfair but make for memorable stories.
Too expensive for me and I don’t like the art style at all. Real turn off for me. I’d check it out if they released a version just made out of cardboard like normal games. But the plastic cards, heavy chips, and neoprene mats don’t entice me at all. Mechanisms look cool though!
@@TheDungeonDive Ok, I have to agree, the game dont need these fancy chips, neopren and plastic cards. It would have been nicer if they used the usual cardboard and made the game cheaper. Still it is a game I really like and enjoy playing :-)
So runebound 2e is soloable out of box? I’ve heard some conflicting information on that but it looks great and I have 3e for now. Fortune and glory and touch of evil are probably my two favorite games of all time. Just pure thematic fun. Dungeon degenerates is on my shelf of shame for some reason the rules, especially movement, intimidate me and seem very hard to learn. But it looks like so much fun and love the art style. I really didn’t like legacy of dragon holt as i felt the lack of combat mechanic really hurr it I much prefer destiny quest books or even fabled lands. Anyway so many great games you mentioned I feel like if we got together we would talk for hours as we have very similar tastes. Keep up the great videos and i will continue to watch
So it’s meant to be competitive but you can just play it solo and go for the adventure so to speak? I actually play last night on earth controlling both sides it’s the only game I do that with and find it extremely easy and enjoyable just doing the best for both sides
Yeah. That’s how I play it. There’s an official solo variant in one of the expansions that adds a threat track which is OK. But I like jus playing the game normally.
Didn't even realise (edit: forgot) there was something official. The "doom track" should still be in the file section of BGG. - edit - Here's the variant: www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/49058/runebound-solo-rules You need to print one of the doom/threat tracks from the file section, if you don't have the Midnight expansion.
Interesting about Folklore. I just tried playing this solo. I went with 3 as I hate getting extra cards to start as a balance mechanism. I gave up in second chapter as the number of cards I had per player was stupid, but as you say some had +1 for a d100 system. Also it seemed to be all combat after combat. Will try again later though.n
Not so much book keeping, but keeping looking at books!!! You mentioned an update is that another one as I have the first one? I can't see anything on looking though. Odd thing is d10 for ability but d100 for combat. Skirmish rules are also more deadly than combat. I would also like to see armour that stopped damage and not just make % better.
I 100% think the creators dropped the ball here with the extent of book keeping. It's my #1 turn off in any game But use a single sheet (uploaded to BGG) that tracks all 3 heroes and their stats and items. Then I stored the armor, companion, and enhancement cards off the table (in a characters plastic bag) since their stats are already covered in the character sheet. End result is maybe 3 cards plus spells per character and a single sheet on the table for the whole party. If I didn't do that I would 100% return this game. But it's now a game I'm obsessed with and love much more than gloomhaven or dungeon degenerates. So recommendation, find a easy efficient bookkeeping system before giving it another chance
B W B W לפני שנייה Hello I have been very interested in Dungeon Degenerates based on your high praise. But I only play solo and it sounds as if you seem to say that it would be to much for just one person to solo this using two characters? Since to order the full bundle is 277$ plus shipping despite my high interest but it has to be a game that I can solo. I must say I have been playing Folklore solo and did find it a bit overwhelming and find the combat a bit heavy.
Great video series as always. ;) I was suprised that you have put Fortune & Glory over A touch of evil. I highly agree here. I find FANG so much better. But if I remember correctly, in some older video you talked about Atoe being a better game than FANG. But sometimes opinions change I suppose. ;) Keep up your good work.
Great list! It will be interesting to see if some new games find their way into your list next year, like Sleeping Gods or 7th Citadel. I found your channel when I was looking for playthrough or unboxing of Dungeon Degenerates before buying, so it didn't surprise me to see it in the first place. :)
Tainted Grail?7th Continent, you need to play with the expansions to get the immersion. KDM in my opinion is not adventure category but it is a good pick nevertheless. Dungeon Degenerates is really fun. Need you to play more in this channel..:) One more info: DD designer has put up a post in their latest KS to explain why they probably won't go back to the DD universe for the time being to focus on newer IPs and also due to Sean's stroke recovery. A bit sad imho
@@TheDungeonDive And I would bet that you highly dislike Tainted Grail. Too grindy, too repetitive and more of a book than a (good) game. I sold it. So boring.
MK (and GH as well to some extend) are very Brain-burny games and i think this is not, what Daniel is looking for in adventure games. That sad, MK is one of my favorites too and im always impressed with how littlte narritive it sucks me into the world.
@@randothomas3733 Pretty much. I respect both game a great deal, and have played both. They're just not for me. I do like MK more than GH, though. It's such a clever game.
The Dungeon Dive it sounds like that’d make a good episode at some point: what you don’t like in an adventure/dungeon crawl game and why. No two people approach the board game hobby in quite the same way and your tastes can change over time. Perhaps a younger you might have felt differently... or maybe not! I’d be interested to watch an episode like that.
