- Eight players or single
- A fast paced
- Adventure game
- For 1 to 5 players
- 1 Hour playing game
- Strategy space game
- For 1-4 Players
- Over 2 hours to play
- 2 game mats, 2 rule books
- For 1-2 player
- 30-45 minute playing time
- With multiple sets
- 1-player game
- 30 minutes to play
- Unique and fun
Choose the Best Solo Board Game
Customer’s Choice: the Best Rated Solo Board Games
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The board game industry is booming, with new games being released every day. It may seem like there are too many options to choose from. The good news is that this means that you will be able to find the perfect solo game for your needs! But how do you know which one? This buyer’s guide can help you decide. We will cover what makes a great solo game and how to pick the right one for your lifestyle so that you don’t regret it later!
Table of Contents
Eldritch Horror Board Game
TERROR AND ADVENTURE: Across the world, an ancient evil is awakening. You and your trusted group of coworkers must journey across the world, working against all odds to stave off the oncoming terror. The conclusion is near! Do you have the stomach to prevent planet-wide devastation?
COOPERATIVE MYSTERY GAME: Brave investigators band together to fight the Ancient One’s menace. They explore remote regions of the earth, combat nightmarish monsters that lurk in the shadows, and solve ancient riddles as a team!
HIGHLY VARIABLE: Eldritch Horror is inspired by the popular Arkham Horror board game and is based on H.P.
Lovecraft’s writings. Every game has four different Ancient Ones, twelve investigators, a variety of monsters, and hundreds of possible encounters, creating an exciting and unique adventure for everyone who plays it.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS AND AVERAGE GAME TIME: The Eldritch Horror Board Game collection of spine-tingling games for game night is designed for 1 to 8 players and ages 14 and up. The typical game length is between 2 and 4 hours.
Tiny Epic Galaxies
2015 Solo Game of the Year by BoardGameGeek Play against a rogue galaxy and practice your cognitive and strategic skills while spending quality time with your family away from a screen.
Tiny Epic Galaxies is a game about planets and resources. There are a lot of dice rolling in this game and it can feel like you’re in space. You need to get to 21 points in order to win the game,but there are lots of other things you can do when you play.
Mage Knight Board Game
The Mage Knight Board Game places you and up to three other Mage Knights into the vast and ever-changing world of the Atlantean Empire, a realm that has been forgotten since your transformation into a mysterious Mage Knight. Build your armies, fight bands of hostile aggressors, and finally capture towns in the name of the enigmatic Void Council.
The Mage Knight Board Game lets you play in two ways. You can play competitively against other people or you can work together to try and win the game.
One Deck Dungeon
We’ve all heard of the “one-minute adventure” that can be completed in just about any setting and time period. I’m not sure why such a thing would be necessary, but it does exist. One Deck Dungeon is a card game for 1 to 6 players that takes around 20 minutes to play, yet still manages to pack in four hours.You may go alone or with a friend.
Rio Grande Games Friday
You’re assisting Robinson, who washed up on your isle, in combating a slew of perils. At first, Robinson isn’t very powerful. You’ll improve his skills each time he defeats an enemy, but losses contribute to the elimination of his worst tendencies as well.
In this game, Robinson is depicted as a stack of cards with various actions. You must improve this card stack in order to collect the cards at the end of the game and provide Robinson with the greatest chance of defeating the vicious pirates!
On Friday, you build your deck of fight cards to win the island and two pirate ships by defeating the challenges thereof. The player will attempt to eliminate hazard cards during a turn by utilizing fight cards from their deck.
The player may convert a hazard into a fight card by defeating it. If successful, the player loses life tokens as well as having the opportunity to remove played cards from their battle deck. Finally, using their optimized fight deck to defeat two evil pirate ships allows Robinson Crusoe to flee the island!
Buyer’s Guide
Other Good Solo Board Games
Excellent Expandable Card Games
While a lot of solo board games are standalones, some require players to have a copy of the original game. This list has been sorted into two categories: independent titles that can be played with just one core set and expansions that must use at least one expansion from their parent games. If you want to expand your options even more, check out our list of the Top 20 Best Games to Add Solo Play.
In either case, solo play is a great way for players who don’t have friends or family willing to join in on games with them to still get their board gaming fix. While not every game works well when played alone, there are plenty that do and we’ve got a few of our favorites ranked here.
Solitaire Card Games
The first category of games are those that can be played by themselves with just one core set. These games lack the variety and replayability to make them stand up on their own, but they do have enough content for a solo player to keep busy until another person is available. Some titles even offer online multiplayer which can be a great way to keep playing when the player is out of town or away from their gaming group.
Expandable Card Games
This list has been sorted into two categories: independent titles that can be played with just one core set and expansions that must use at least one expansion from their parent games.
In either case, solo play is a great way for players who don’t have friends or family willing to join in on games with them to still get their board gaming fix. While not every game works well when played alone, there are plenty that do and we’ve got a few of our favorites ranked here.
Mage Knight
Mage Knight is the cream of the crop when it comes to solo board games. There are a few things that make this game stand out from all of its competitors on our list – first,it features an RPG-style narrative adventure that you play with yourself as one character; secondly, there`s no need for any additional components or other pieces like dice,pawns or other figures; and #Finally,it’s a big game that will take you around two hours to play through.
This isn’t the only time we recommend Mage Knight as one of our favorite board games for solo players – in fact, this was the very first recommendation on our list! If you like fantasy and adventure board games,you should definitely consider giving it a try.
Scythe
One of 2017’s best board games, Scythe is a little bit like the video game Civilization but with mechs and farms. You travel across an open map that slowly reveals itself as you explore it. The objective is to gain power by befriending people or annexing their territory through war. There are four different factions – each inspired by Eastern European nations – and each with its own special abilities. The result is a lot of replay value because you can play as any faction, but there’s no way to win as one specific group.
Scythe was named the best board game of 2017 by Board Game Geek (BGG). It also won Spike Video Game Awards’ 2016 Digital Board Game of the Year. It pairs well with a glass of craft beer and you can win without firing a single shot – which is nice for those who hate combat in games.
Scythe stands out because it’s one of few games that actually feels more fun to play by yourself as opposed to with friends around the table. And if you’re a board game fan you’ll love the plethora of options it presents. The rulebook is also easy enough to follow so that even if you’ve never played a solo board game before, this should be accessible as well as entertaining.
Spirit Island
The island is a wild frontier, filled with dense forests and rushing rivers. The land itself fights back against the invaders by creating malevolent elementals from its rich stores of mana. Used to fighting on their own,the native spirits are initially suspicious of these strangers who come in numbers onto their lands.
In Spirit Island you play as one of the spirits,fighting to protect your island home from colonizing Invaders. You must explore and master strange new powers that will allow you to change how terrain is formed; whether by shifting around the map or creating powerful storms to sweep away whole colonies.
The game board in Spirit Island consists of modular pieces which can be put together in any configuration. This allows for a different map every game, and the pieces are designed to create an island which is balanced between tiles with higher mana (more powerful abilities) and lower mana.
Each invader has a unique deck of cards, allowing them to play out the island’s own strategy against you with different types of units and abilities. This means that not only will players need to develop their board game skills (dealing with everything from poison gas clouds to horse mounted cavalry) but also learn how each enemy responds to different tactics.
The game ends when the island is overrun,when all of the Invaders have been defeated or if any player can no longer draw a card from their Spirit Deck at the start of their turn. At this point points are tallied up with players gaining victory points for spirits still standing,Spirits in excess of starting number and by fulfilling the different goals on the board.
The player with the most victory points is declared winner and Spirit Island master!
The island is a wild frontier, filled with dense forests and rushing rivers – In Spirit Island you play as one of the spirits, fighting to protect your island home from colonizing Invaders – You must explore and master strange new powers that will allow you to change how terrain is formed – The game board in Spirit Island consists of modular pieces which can be put together in any configuration – This allows for a different map every game, and the pieces are designed to create an island which is balanced between tiles with higher mana (more powerful abilities) and lower mana – Each invader has their own unique deck of cards, allowing them to play out the island’s own strategy against you with different types of units and abilities – This means that not only will players need to develop their board game skills (dealing with everything from poison gas clouds to horse mounted cavalry) but also learn how each enemy responds to different tactics.
The 7th Continent
The seventh continent is an exploration and survival game where players take the role of a hero exploring in search for clues on how to lift the curse inflicted upon them. Players will encounter many different dangers, including wild animals and plants that can harm or even kill them. The goal of this solo board game is to find seven keys leading towards your escape. This game will take players around 40 hours to complete.
Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is a worker placement game with legacy elements. Players control groups of characters and fight monsters in an ever changing world where the consequences of every move will persist for future sessions. It’s also one of my favorite solo board games right now, so let me tell you why:
The game is massive.
There are so many options to choose from when you start playing, with all classes being unique and the huge number of possible combinations between them it`s extremely unlikely that you will ever play with an identical party setup as somebody else before. But even then each character class still has a lot of room for customization.
The combat is tactical and turn based, so you have a lot of time to think every decision through before committing your characters for a fight.
It’s an extremely difficult game, even with the difficulty turned down. There are several different levels of difficulty that influence how much damage enemies can deal or receive, but even on the easiest setting it’s not unlikely that you will lose a hero or two.
The game encourages long term planning through its campaign system, which is one of my favorite things in solo board games.
It doesn’t have any dice rolling involved so there are no random elements at all. You can also play with up to four players, but I think it’s best enjoyed with just one.
The game is cooperative instead of competitive, so you have to work together if you want to get anywhere.
It has a lot of content included in the box already and will almost certainly be expanded upon through future expansions after its initial release later this year. So there are great solo board games out there, but if you truly want to immerse yourself in the experience of playing alone then Gloomhaven is where I would start.
The game has a lot of options when it comes to choosing classes and specializations. Even on the easiest difficulty setting you will have trouble winning fights without careful consideration of your decisions. There is no randomness involved in the game, and it’s a very difficult experience that you have to work together for if you want to get anywhere at all. The campaign system encourages long term planning, but even then there are still many surprises along the way due to how much content already comes with just the base game.
Gloomhaven is a worker placement board game with legacy elements that are perfect for solo play. It has great replayability, tactical combat, and several difficulty levels to choose from so you can tailor the experience to your skill level. There are also plenty of expansions already announced after its initial release later this year which will only expand on the already massive amount of content included in this box.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a cooperative card game based on the works of H.P Lovecraft, where players take on the role of investigators attempting to solve eldritch mysteries before their sanity runs out. Each player takes on one specific investigator and uses them throughout several scenarios that are made up by an investigation deck at random as well as a larger campaign deck. The investigations and the campaigns for each investigator make up a story, giving them objectives to complete as well as allowing them to gain new skills and items in order to help them during their next investigation. The campaign deck will require players to keep track of their resources as well as health, and the more they advance into a scenario the tougher it becomes. Each player loses if their investigator dies or runs out of sanity, so teamwork is key in order to complete the objectives before time runs out. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is the perfect game for players who enjoy deep, challenging solo games as well as those looking to dive into a complex cooperative experience.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game Marvel Champions
The Card Game is a cooperative deck building game from Upper Deck, based on the Marvel superhero universe. This box contains enough for four players – you can play with two or three, but it’s not advised to go above that number. In this one-vs-many card battler you will face off against a series of villains, with the goal of defeating them all. There are four different scenarios to play through in this game, each one more difficult than the last. It only takes about 30 minutes per scenario so you can get a good amount of solo time on your schedule here if need be–this is not an easy game! The whole thing comes together nicely, and it’s a lot of fun to play through the different scenarios. The deckbuilding element is nice, and you can even incorporate your favorite Marvel characters into this one if you want as well. It has all been designed with those cards in mind!
In Summary: If you are looking for an engaging superhero card game that will give you some great solo play, this is the one for you.
Marvel Legendary: The Marvel Battles This deckbuilding game from Upper Deck should really be titled “Legendary” since it doesn’t have any specific ties to Marvel other than being based off of their comic book superheroes–so if you want a superhero theme in your deck builder there are better options out there. This box has enough for four players, but you can play with two or three of course–adding more than that is not advised though! The goal here is to be the first player to get through all of your cards and win by defeating some big bosses along the way. You will acquire new heroes as you go on, but they won’t always be enough to get you through (and sometimes it can even feel like things are hopeless). Players will have to use their best strategies in order to win, and this one does a good job of keeping everything balanced. You do not want too many superheroes or villains on your side–it all depends on the scenario. This one is not the easiest game out there, but it’s still fun to play through.
Marvel Legendary vs DC Comics Deckbuilding Game These two games do have similar core mechanics–you build your deck as you go along and try to defeat a series of villains. However, they are really apples and oranges when it comes to gameplay–Marvel has its good points but DC is much better! In the Marvel Legendary deck builder one player acts as a mastermind villain who will play against everyone else (and this changes each time). The heroes you will play as are not always enough to win, sometimes you have no choice but to rely on luck. The DC deck builder gives each player a role and there is less of an emphasis on luck here–the balance is much better overall.
In Summary: If you want a superhero theme in your deck builder we would recommend going with the DC Comics Deckbuilding Game over Marvel Legendary.
The Batman Card Game This is the only solo deck builder based on a superhero that we would recommend, but it’s still not anything special–and there are much better options out there if you want to play as Batman (we like Arkham Horror: The Card game , which also has solitaire modes). The goal of the game is to stop Bane but this can be difficult–it’s not easy to stay alive for long enough. You will have some random cards thrown at you, and it all depends on chance as to whether or not you survive these attacks. It doesn’t matter how strong your deck is because luck will play a big role here. Even if you do end up winning it’s not much fun–you will mostly remember the times that Bane destroyed your character and there was nothing you could do about it!
In Summary: This is not a great superhero game, so we would recommend passing on this one unless you are really into Batman or just want to play something really random.
Summary: If you are looking for a superhero deck builder that has some good solo gameplay, we would recommend the DC Comics Deckbuilding Game over Marvel Legendary. We think Arkham Horror is better than either of these options if you want to play as Batman!
Terraforming Mars: Choose a strategy and plan your turns carefully.
The game will take you around 90 minutes to play, but it’s worth every second!Terraforming Mars is a strategy game for one player.
Wingspan – The Best Solo Board Game?
Wingspan is a worker placement and resource management game for one player. You will create birds and build bird habitats in order to score as many points as possible over five rounds. Each has their own unique characteristics which you must take into account when designing your strategy each round!
This game is very interesting and I would recommend it for anyone looking to play a solo board game.
The game itself is simple and easy to understand, but there are a lot of choices you have to make each round which will keep the players entertained. It only takes around an hour so it makes for a great option if you have limited time or don`t want something too complicated!
Onirim
Shuffle the cards and lay them out in a grid. You must find your way to the door, but it’s blocked by dream monsters! Onirim is a solitaire card game that has become very popular thanks to apps like Hearthstone. It’s simple enough for new players while still providing a solid challenge even after you’ve played hundreds of games.
Onirim is a simple game to learn and teach, but it’s also satisfyingly complex. Each turn consists of either playing cards from your hand or taking the top card from the deck into your discard pile (which can be shuffled later). As you play cards, you can match suit symbols with each other for better scoring, as well as matching suit symbols on the discard pile to create equal signs.
The goal is to work your way through a deck of cards by laying down path cards and opening door cards, which can be done at any time (even mid-turn). Once you find all the doors and exit, that’s it! You win.
FAQs
What is a good game to play alone?
Playing a board game by yourself is much different than playing with other people. You have to be creative and take on the whole world by yourself, which means you’ll need games that are easy to understand but difficult enough to keep you engaged for hours at a time. Solo modes can also help players learn new rules without having their own teams of people to rely on.
Below are some of the best solo board games out there. These games will keep you entertained for months, maybe even years to come! Solo mode is also great if you don’t have anyone around to play with. Many people find themselves playing these types of games when they’re by themselves and enjoy them so much that they want to share them with other people.
A good game to play alone is one that has a lot of replay value and gives you the chance to feel like you’re actually accomplishing something without any help from others. You’ll get sucked into these games quickly, lose track of time while playing them, and then realize several hours have gone by! There are even some games that you can play online, giving you the opportunity to chat with other players and form friendships while playing together.
What is the #1 board game in the world?
“Monopoly,” you say? Not even close. It’s actually chess, followed by connect four and then Monopoly (and checkers).
What games should I play?
The best solo board games are those that can be played independently. You don’t want to have to rely on someone else spending time with you in order for the game to be enjoyable.
Some of my favorite solitaire board games include:
Space Hulk: Death Angel – The Card Game is a cooperative card game with a ton of story driven missions that have you fighting off against hordes of alien Genestealers. You`ll have access to equipment and weapons through cards but it will all cost you resources which are scarce so be careful how often you use them.
Space Alert is a real-time board game where you and your friends are the crew of an interstellar ship, responding to problems as they arise. You`ll be given missions like rescuing important personnel or fighting against enemy ships but each one will require teamwork in order to get done successfully. I highly recommend this for more experienced gamers who can handle a ton of frantic chaos.
Forbidden Island is another cooperative board game that will have you working together with your team members to explore the island, gather treasures and escape before it sinks into the sea. The goal here is for everyone to make it off alive so communication is key when solving puzzles or building paths through this dangerous environment.
What is the best game online?
There are a number of great games that you can play online. Which one is the best for you depends on what kind of experience you`re looking to have, and how much time and money you want to invest.
Video Tutorial: Eldritch Horror – Solo Playthrough
Conclusion
The best board games are not just fun to play, but also challenging. They reward players for thinking creatively and strategically. Solo game modes can transform your favorite multiplayer titles into exciting new experiences that will keep you coming back again and again! Your next adventure awaits in one of these fantastic solo board games!
