Atom, _thank you_ so very much for leading to what seemed an impossible goal-single-player adventure! I live with debilitating psychological conditions, including moderate social anxiety. I have been drawn for over a decade to WH40K and even the most basic D&D, but have been thwarted by the social aspects. This offers the gateway to gaining founding skills and confidence that I may yet be able to begin gaming!! Beginning with myself, and a combination of interest in High Fantasy, and a deeper SF literature interest and inclination, you’ve given me my first hope. Gods bless you!
You speak the truth. I have had a long desire to play games such as D&D, Vampire the Masquerade, Mordheim and many others. But I have social anxiety and just the thought of meeting new people is terrifying to me. My husband and I are looking into Rangers though so we can do some co-op play without needing the grey pile of shame that is our warhammer stuff.
I think there are far more solo players out there than you think. Games companies are finally realizing the potential of this; no solo rules means you are missing out on a huge slice of the market. Two great solo games are the original Warhammer Quest (set in the fantasy setting no AoS) but which is now hard and or expensive to find, and Gloomhaven.
A single player game works for those of us who can't find the time to get out and game with others. Then again, for me, that is time best left for hobby, given the massive pile of plastic I have yet to paint!
That’s a good point: I generally default to hobby time, but I appreciate that some of these games have single player modes so I can learn them on my own terms. Thanks for watching!
Atom that is dead on for me as well. I normally default to hobby time if im alone but i find that if a game has a single player mode i love it to be able to learn it myself before bringing it to my group to play together. Amazing vid as always
Rangers Of Shadow Deep is a great game. It Sits in the space between RPG and skirmish but doesn't feel like a compromise. It's perfect if you've got friends who are WarGamers and friends that are RPGers and you want to get them around the same table.
If a game can be played single player it always gets a bonus tick for me. You’re 100% right about investing in a big box game and then it sits there not getting played nearly enough. It’s one of the reasons I love Silver Tower so much. The Walking Dead All Out War by Mantic is a great example as it can be played solo, co-op and 1v1 which gives it a lot of play options. You can play alone, learn the rules, play co-op and ease a new player into the game and then when up to speed go against each other. Great video Adam 👍🏼
Yup! Big plus for me as I mostly play solo. With Fallout wasteland warfare I could play co-op with the misses which was another plus. I bought silver tower because could play solo but not hammerhal because no solo. Subscriber to your channel Andy 😀
John Long - I looked at Blackstone Fortress but I’ll be honest the initial videos didn’t really grab me as something I’d really enjoy. I’m not big into the 40K lore so far didn’t attract me but I am hearing good things about it now.
John Long, Haven't tried Blackstone and like Andy said, after watching a play through it did hook me. From what you've said, I'll have to have a second look because I loved Silver Tower.
Almost any wargame can be played solo, for many of them their various fans have knocked up some solo rules or you can literally just play the game being both sides... The solo wargaming guide by william silvester is also a very good book on how to run solo campaigns and such so don't be afraid to choose you favourite game whether that be 40k, bolt action chain of command or whatever and have a crack playing with yourself... It's always okay to play with yourself as long as it isn't in public ;)
Ben Woodcock I agree, when I was learning 40k I often played solo using two small armies of about 500 points, it took a while to get used to both armies and the different rules, but it definitely helped me out before I went to the local shop and played against people there
Thank you for covering this topic, I mainly play my board games/miniature games solo, and I keep hearing things like "you should just play video games instead" or "playing these games alone? How sad" I only have few friends I trust and none of them are interested in playing games. I know there are gaming groups where I live but I can't bring myself to sit down with others to play a game. Long story short I have been bullied for longer than half my life, even though I'm in my early 30s now and I managed to or still trying to move on, I can't bring myself to sit down with others I don't know or don't trust to play a game even though I know these people in these groups are just like me, they are there to play games and have fun but even then I still can't join them. Having solo options is a great way for someone like me to join the hobby, maybe it's nowhere near the fun of playing with others, but it's still fun. I know this is an old video, but just wanted to say thank you for it and I hope to see more videos from you covering more single player games :).
You seem like the kind of person someone could sit down with and talk to for hours while playing a good round of tabletop. It's a rare skill and requires a lot of charisma, but you give off a really cool vibe
I was going to mention this as well, not only did X-Wing get me back into wargaming, HOTAC got me into solo wargaming and I've been experimenting with creating a similar system for more common tabletop wargames like 40k, warmachine and even kill team now.
@@aGentlemanScholar For tons of ideas for miniatures and terrain, I recommend going to the Rangers of Shadow Deep facebook page. You will find fans who will gladly help you.
It seems you're missing all the print'n'play options: Sellswords and Spellslingers (by Ganesha, same author of Song of... series of games), Arkeo Obskura, Blood on the Blade (highly recommended) and its sci-fi port, Blood in Space. Also THW (Two-Hours Wargame) is famous for publishing rule-sets playable solo and/or co-op. I'd suggest getting a look at Wargame Vault, these are just the first ones that come to mind.
FFG's Star Wars: Imperial Assault recently had an app released which works as the AI for single player or co-op play. This means it can be played as a single player or co-op campaign game, as an adversarial campaign game (probably still the best way to play it), or as a 2 player skirmish game. It comes with a ton of miniatures (including an AT-ST), has a lot of expansions if it turns out that you enjoy it, and can be picked up for about the same price as Blackstone.
Nice video, as always! They brought me back in the hobby. Even the original Warhammer Quest (my go to love of all time) was(is playable single player since back in the day, by using random card decks and attack rules (AI) for the monsters!
DVG (Dan Verssen Games) have a series of solo wargames/simulators. They've got Tiger leader. Sherman leader, Hornet leader and Apache leader. The concept is the same : you manage pilots/crew and execute missions against an AI opponent.
I'll have to check out Rangers of Shadow Deep. Thanks for the tip! On that note: Last Days is a Frostgrave-style wargame set in a zombie apocalypse world that can be played single player. Massive Darkness is a fun dungeon crawl board game that comes with dozens of minis that can be then used for Frostgrave or D&D (or whatever) that is also single player.
Blackstone Fortress seems like it can be played alone and I will be doing mock battles with my built KTs once I get them painted for practice. Not many people are into wargaming where I live so I have to rely on my friends and wife to play with, which is entirely okay of course, but it still leaves me wanting a community nearby. Edit: I posted this half way through the vid right before you held up Blackstone, go figure. I think I'm going to just build the miniatures for Blackstone just so I can play the game and paint them later. I rand into the issue with KT where I'd buy the kits and go right into painting. Needless to say since this is my first foray into wargaming I still have yet to play a game of KT. I have some beautifully painted models though, which I actually appreciate more because I'm in this to paint.
What! You didn't mention GMT Games. They have tons of solo play games. Navajo Wars Commancheria The Hunters (be German U-Boat Commander) The Hunted The COIN series are highly playable for solo play. Nemo's War (not GMT) Fields of Fire (an excellent company level action game) Dan Verssen Games specializes in solo play games. Field Commander Napoleon is considered by some as the best solo experience out there. B-17 Queen of the Skies is arguably one of the most famous solo play games ever made. The Peloponnesian Wars by Mark Hermon is another amazing solo game where you play as both sides depending on who is winning (It's being re-released! Order it!). I do realized that some of these games are out of print and could be expensive. The games offered on this video are easily available. There is a massive library of solitaire games out there to be discovered. This is especially true if you like historical gaming. The AI in Commancheria is brutal. That "Plague" card always ruins my day. You don't need friends to play solo games. So turn on some Mayhem or Darkthrone and have some fun.
For the historical curious Osprey publishes a game called The Men Who Would be Kings. It's a slightly tongue in cheek set of colonial wargaming rules that have a solo set of rules called "playing against Mr. Babbage"
The reason I play single-player games is very simple: Sometimes I can play 2-3 hours and sometimes only 10 minutes. I never know when my time will be up. There is absolutely no way to play any other way.
There are so many solitaire war games once you start looking beyond miniatures, especially with historical settings. And they can be really complex (e.g. Fields of Fire by GMT)
I like the idea of games that can be played in single player as sometimes I have a gap for times at the club and need to keep myself entertained till my next game and these come in very handy, sometimes the single player sprawls out into a multiplayer which is just an added bonus I think :)
WOW. Did you even take five minutes doing any research, at all, into this niche of gaming? First off, NONE of those games are war games. Where's D-Day at Omaha Beach? Any of the Conflict of Heros or Lock n Load Tactics? Ranger, Fields of Fire? DVG's Leader, Commander and Warfighter series'? How about some old school... ASL? Ambush? Tokyo Express, Mosby's Rangers, Patton's Best, B-17: Queen of the Sky, RAF? I also love how non-solo gamers try to wrap their heads around the fact that some of us ACTUALLY LIKE/PREFER playing alone and the closest they can comprehend is "I want to learn the rules so I name ready to play when I DO play with somebody" or "I have no friends and therefore I have NO OTHER CHOICE". There is a whole world of solo/solo friendly games out there and people that love them. And never once do people like you or Tom Vasel ever consider that we do so because we choose to. Educate yourself.
This seems like a really intense response but I know how it can feel to see something you are well-versed in and care about being misrepresented. I get the impression that Uncle Atom was trying to help some of his audience consider solo play and was drawing on some of the options he was already familiar with. For me, it was helpful to know that a few options like this exist. I enjoy collecting and playing boardgames, and always appreciate solo games/modes or even digital adaptations that let me play myself vs. AI. I’d like to get into war gaming and have been looking for some good starting points and a game that can be played solo sounds like a great fit. The suggestions provided in the video are appealing, and I plan to Google some of the options you laid out to get a better sense of what’s available. If you have any other recommendations of sources for discovering solo war gaming options (a fave site or channel?) I’d happily check it out. If not, I wonder if that’s something you’d ever consider creating content about. You certainly seem passionate and knowledgeable. Perhaps you could help others discover some of the gems out there. Solo war gaming also sounds like a nicely defined niche... Anyways... thanks for your list of titles. I look forward to looking them up. :)
They are a bit more Beer and Pretzels style by I recommend checking out Two Hour Wargames, all of Eds stuff can be played solo, or coop, quite a bit of fun!
KDM is an incredible game! Its awesome solo or with friends. Also just wondering what would KDM be a gateway into though? It is incredibly in depth and involved.
@@tabletopminions The game is coop you end up playing all for survivors instead of other people controlling them and you make all the decisions for the settlement
As much as I love KDM, I would not recommend it as a starting point. It is quite involved, and rather expensive. Also it is extremely NSFW. Gore, body horror, sexual subtext (not even a subtext, really), nudity, the whole shebang. Not a light dessert, to be sure.
Rangers is very cool. I didn't have any houses terrain and ended up being introduced to the world of paper craft. Insane! I went hog wild and built 5 buildings and they worked great for Rangers. I highly recommend Rangers. The creator, Joseph McCullough, is awesome when it comes to supporting his gaming systems. He's already providing additional content on the Facebook group.
@@BlueDemon77 Pretty much. You can get these PDF files for free or cheap and print them on cardstock. Cut them up and fold to make buildings, miniatures, and pretty much anything imaginable. You make them stronger by mounting on foam core or something thicker than cardstock.
I hadn’t much explored solo gaming until recently. In the past, I always had a bunch of willing players (and time!) to game with. As we get older & have much more ‘adulting ‘ to do , scheduling 3-6 uninterrupted hours for more than 2 people is increasingly difficult. While solo gaming has the tendency to be slightly depressing & lonely; it’s better than looking at your armies collecting dust. It can be a really great way to try different tactical application of units, exploring scenarios, and (for me) testing out rules, rules tweaking & balance ideas. It works really well with historical wargaming too Thanks for broaching this subject, while quite useful-is often overlooked completely. I once used my historical & fantasy medieval armies to play out several interesting scenarios from old Robert E Howard “Conan” books during a period when Conan was a general. You can leave it set up on your table & come back to it only for a turn or two (if that’s what your schedule allows) , plan different moves ,etc. it’s also much easier to game in a ‘narrative ‘ style than with some gamers who only prefer super competitive games & lists. Sorry for the rant! Great channel
As always a good video. I love that there are solo version of games as I'm just not up to driving a few hours to play with others on a regular bases. I'm getting into Imperial Assault, Zombiecide and Walking Dead All Out War ( I've a special kinship with zombies lol). But those 3 games are what got me to return to miniature painting after many years of absence. My only problem is taking some of my painting and modeling time for playing.
Any wargame can be solo played, there have been books explaining how published the last 50 years. Donald Featherstone, Stuart Asquith and Charles Grant are the authors to look for if you want to investigate ;)
I actually started getting into single player wargaming soley because i had had enough of video games and the BS that goes on with modern companies these days. Micro-transactions, piss poor polish and overall terrible choices made by these companies actually pushed me out, and now instead of $60-120 a month on a video game, its on plastic crack instead. Ive been able to get my wife into zombicide, my friend into Star Wars Legion and X-wing, and I myself have been rolling solo with Sword and Sorcery, Fallout WW and now im looking into BlackStone Fortress. I can honestly say, Ive been happier for it.
Watching this video and seeing him say "Why would I want to play a game by myself" and I was thinking "Uhh...ever heard of a little thing called Covid?" but then I noticed the video's from 2018. Oops, my bad!
Just recently found this channel. My kids wanted to get into the horus heresy age of darkness and kill team they are both have never played anything like this. So guess who had to set up both games by himself and learn how to play so I could teach them. Actually had much more fun then I thought possibly doing a one player battle. Bottom line it's you cah it's your time being spent you do you and be happy in your enjoyment. Thanks for all the awsome painting and gaming advice it's been a huge help for our new gaming journey.
As a guy who plays a lot of Dungeon Saga / Mantic games there are a couple caveats before recommending Dungeon Saga as a single player game. The "AI" is the Invisible overload deck and not sold in the base game. You will need to purchase the Adventures Companion as well. According to their youtube channel the game is scheduled to be re-released (version 2.0) in May 2019 so it may be worth waiting till then or jumping now while they are selling the expansions for 20 USD/15£.
Single player/solo war games have been around for decades. On the miniatures front, there was a Wargames Research Group scenario book by Charles Grant called "Programmed Wargame Scenarios." The author uses several techniques to run the imaginary opponent's forces. It was published in 1983. The Solo Wargames Association, founded in 1976, has a magazine and blog entitled "Lone Warrior." The currently popular miniature rules by Two Hour Wargames are in various genres - horror, scifi, historical for different eras, fantasy - are all designed for solo, cooperative, or head-to-head play.
3:35 I usually call it "the Modus Operantis", latim for "operational pattern" - like how cops identify if crimes were comitted by the same person by how they were executed, they follow the same pattern, doctrine, methodology, manual, step by step etc
My friends and I have spliced pieces of Shadow Deep into our Frostgrave campaign so we can have advancing troops with more variety. It does make losing someone more painful though.
Also I saw a lust if best solo games and Mantics DEADZONE came in at no1 with a lot of comments agreeing with this choice! It surprised me as I never knew it had single plr options !
This was the first game that came to my mind. Great game and works as a great gateway game for my board gaming friends. Nexus psi is the book you need Adam btw thanks for the great content.
Blackstone Fortress can be played single player.. and as someone from Chicago that can’t play with others(distance and lack of 40k interest in my area) this speaks volumes to me. Very good video that sheds light.
'Ghost of Lion Castle' was the first dungeons and dragons module I ever played and that was single player. I also remember the Fighting Fantasy and the Grail Quest single player book series.
Great video, gaming is gaming whether it be solo or multiplayer. I play solo a lot, and a gaining evening spent solo is just as rewarding as a multiplayer evening.
Fallout wasteland warfare box was just delivered to my wife this morning! It's waiting for me at home so I didn't want to spend another minute at work! Running back home to inbox it!
I love it! Takes a bit to get the rules, loads of little things but the designer has been great at answers on BGG and Facebook. The A.I. is great and is challenging.
J Mac I'm really looking forward to playing this one. The fact that it also has a solo mode is also a plus for me right now. Will get the rules and bring it to my games day when I'm ready! Like Adam said.
voingiappone, also check the Modiphius Fallout Download page, they have additional scenarios and info about solo and co-op. Also make sure to double check your Blue dice, it seems a lot of people got ones with the incorrect symbols.
D&D boardgames, like Wrath of Arshardalon or Legend of Drizzt have an interesting monster mechanic, allowing for them to be solo adventures too. Each player when they explore a dungeon, they draw a monster card, and they are responsible for controlling the monster(s) they placed on the board. These monsters (until they are killed), activate only in that particular player's turn, and the monster cards corresponding to them, have a list of actions the monster can do, as well as conditions when do they apply (these are super easy to interpret). Exception are bosses, that activate and do actions in each player's turn, making some bosses like a dragon Arshardalon, really deadly opponents, especially knowing that these games end, if either one of the player characters die. So far out of many miniature games I played (Silver Tower included), the two games from D&D (Wrath of Arshardalon and Legend of Drizzt) are my favourite. They are also great and easy to play with people who never seen D&D before (or any other miniature system for that matter).
Solo board gaming is really what made that hobby explode for me. That led me to wargaming. Now my first actual war game is Age of Sigmar. I have been working out how to get that to play solo. After I get my models all ready I full plan to setup two armies on a table and play both sides. I will be able to learn the rules, the models' abilities and how the armies work together while taking as much time as I please. I play solo a lot. I work full time and my wife and I are on opposite schedules and we have two kids. I would say most of my other tabletop players I have as friends do not have kids so it is a bit easier for them to drop everything and have at it. Of the literally dozen or so board games I own in shrink, majority of those, I need warm bodies for. My kids are too young for most games but look forward to sharing my hobbies with them. I would say it will be at least 3-4 years before I will be able to let them join in on a more full time basis.
I owned GKR: Heavy Hitters for several months before i had a chance to play with friends. The single player rules were extremely helpful for learning the mechanics, and simply allowed me to get right in and start playing. I'll be sure to check out the other games listed. Im a retired 40k player and i don't want to go back, so boardgames with minis are my thing.
Yep, being able to learn the rules ahead of time and track down the FAQs makes it a lot more fun when trying to explain the game to someone new. Edge: Dawnfall and Giant Killer Robots are the two big ones that probably fit into the category that I've been trying to get someone else to play with me. It's pretty much impossible to find a time to play with anyone in my area of Los Angeles. We don't have winter or rain, so there's not much of a culture developed for indoor activities.
It's been a while since this was published, and this aspect of the hobby has gained a lot more attention, but I wanted to touch on a couple of points about *why* people play solo. First, not everybody can play with others. I live in a rural US town of under 4,000 people. I know every gamer within 30 miles (there aren't many), and none of them have any interest whatsoever of playing anything that isn't an RPG. The nearest game store is about a 140-mile round trip for me. I play solo, or I don't play. Second, I've talked to a lot of people who play games - board games, wargames, even RPGs solo, and the simple fact is that some of them do so by choice. Not as a learning tool in order to later play it 'right', but because they genuinely enjoy the experience of playing it solo. And that's just it - it is a different experience. You're free to fully indulge your imagination in ways that others don't like. You aren't tied to what's popular (or to the most recent version of a game), and you aren't tied to a particular game because it's what your opponent is invested in, leaving you free to choose what you play on a whim. Your experience isn't determined by your opponents playstyle - you don't need to optimize your forces based on stats instead of style, as you won't be facing an optimized opponent. That completely changes how the game is played. Beyond all that, you're able to play your way. Spend 30 minutes analyzing every detail your next turn if you enjoy that - nobody is rushing you. Play for an hour, walk away, come back that evening and play for another hour, then finish the next day. It really is a different experience, neither superior nor inferior, neither the 'right' way to play nor the wrong. It's simply a different aspect of the hobby. As an aside, one interesting challenge can be to play two player games solo, hotseat style - switching sides each turn. There are clearly drawbacks (no secret plans), but it can be a real challenge to take yourself out of the mindset of Side A and do your damnedest to crush them, then switching to Side B and doing your best to crush Side A.
I have had to move because of college, so now I play wargames by myself during the semester to practice; and then on breaks I can make the 2 hour drive to go play with my friends. It isn't as fun as playing with another person but it's a good stand-in when no people are readily available!
Rangers of Shadow Deep fills a really important gap for me. I always wanted a Single Player / cooperative Tabletop Game in the style of Descent 2nd Edition. That board game almost covers everything you‘ll ever wanted from fantasy. But it is sadly bound to a gaming board and doesn’t forgive any failure against the overlord. RoSD does its job right in being the first step in the right direction.
For all of us backers of the Resident Evil board game, a game with a good single player option, we just received the final email about shipping. The US Hub should get everything by January 17th so I would say by the end of January we should all have the awesome game in our hands.
I live in a cabin in the mountains, not to far from some of those lookout towers you mentioned....lol. I don't think anyone is actually at them all the time these days though... Anyhow, I have collected quote a few 40k minis since 5th edition, and also Warmachine and some Star Trek stuff, I'd like to get some of the Star Wars X-Wing game too... Over the years, not having many people to play with, and having to travel quite a distance to go play with people at a game store, I have played quite a handful of SOLO games....just using Warmachine and 40k, and playing smaller games from both sides... I would often take notes on where in the game I was, then stop, and then come back to the hobby room another day and play another game round....then take notes and repeat later.... sometimes I would play a whole small game all at once... I did this a lot to learn the ge mechanics so when I got the chance to go to a store I wouldn't be 100% starting from scratch... my son is 12 now, and my girls are 8 (almost 9), and 5.... I hope to pick up Kill Team, and possibly 8th Ed 40K while it's still snowy here in Idaho, and get at least one of them into gaming with me... my son has played Dawn of War a bit, and lots of the Space Marine PS3 game, and we've watched Ultramarines a few times... he expressed enough interest to pick out an Army of Grey Knights.... now just to get one squad out and do some Kill Teams. ... 2 questions.... Do you do any Warmachine? Can you please do another video on ways to get friends and others who aren't exactly kiddos into wargaming...?
What Ilike about this idea is me and my friend live a couple hours away from each othe you friend to buy this same game, play solo then when you do have time to get together you both have practice playing the game.
I just unwrapped my Walking dead KS from 2016 ( bloody life!!) And I was going to pimp out Black jack Legacy as some great videos on that game I copied his tutorial for improving the paper matts and now I see he's the comment below me! 🤣🤣 Also recommand Guerrilla Miniture games channel Ash is cool and he does great 'lets plays' I watch him to get a rough handle on a games mechanics and rules before getting stuck in myself Ive watched the walking dead games and the Ranger ones. While I have acess to a large gaming club with great people ( LONDON WARGAMING GUILD ) my life is Never simple and getting down to them can be an issue. I do enjoy playing solo and with my 10 year old son ...(its best to know the rules first. Or you loose him to boredom) it also gives me motivation to hobby. Sometimes at the club the pace of gaming is so breakneck its hard to keep up in campains and I loose motivation.
I'd like to see more about single player games. Gears of War the board game is a fantastic experience with any number of players, and it was designed to be played as 1+ from the get go. If you can find it, it's an awesome game with great minis, modular maps and you need to take line of sight (not just "spaces"), cover and obstacles into consideration when taking a shot.
"If only he knew, 2 years after this video, there'd be an event that would catapult Solo Skirmish, Wargame & RPG's _way_ up there..." In all honesty, I would love to see a followup video on this topic in 2024. With the likes of 5Parsecs/Leagues, Psalms, Stargrave/Frostgrave variants, Kuro, Warlord Ascendant, there's far more room for solo gaming, and seeing your takes on the stuff you find would be pretty cool.
When it comes to solo boardgames, Mage Knight board game tends to be acknowledged as a quality reference point. It is quite unique in the fact that it is actually at its best when played solo, even though it allows for multiple players.
Solo gaming wargames can be lots of fun. Its easier to play lop sided battles or uneven campaigns, or if the battle looks like its going to be a massacre you can throw in some new rules for 1-2 of the losing side to become "heroes of the hour", giving them extra saving throws or indomitable bravery, just to make it interesting. Or possibly implement realistic withdrawals rather than "fight to the death battles.
Atom, _thank you_ so very much for leading to what seemed an impossible goal-single-player adventure! I live with debilitating psychological conditions, including moderate social anxiety. I have been drawn for over a decade to WH40K and even the most basic D&D, but have been thwarted by the social aspects.
This offers the gateway to gaining founding skills and confidence that I may yet be able to begin gaming!! Beginning with myself, and a combination of interest in High Fantasy, and a deeper SF literature interest and inclination, you’ve given me my first hope. Gods bless you!
You speak the truth. I have had a long desire to play games such as D&D, Vampire the Masquerade, Mordheim and many others. But I have social anxiety and just the thought of meeting new people is terrifying to me. My husband and I are looking into Rangers though so we can do some co-op play without needing the grey pile of shame that is our warhammer stuff.
The trouble with single and solo games is my opponent...... he always cheats
I have that same problem, I seriously don't like him
Idk, if i'm always trying to do the best things i think are possible. than ill always win. even i didnt outsmart my opponent.
My opponent is great. He's very handsome too.
@@Jimalcoatl :)
So true
I have no friends so this will be good
yeah...
Friends are overrated anyway!
Hey I am not a lonely loser in the middle of the prairie! I’m teaching myself to play in case someone else shows up!
My friends laughed at me so... Yeah
feelsbadman
I think there are far more solo players out there than you think. Games companies are finally realizing the potential of this; no solo rules means you are missing out on a huge slice of the market. Two great solo games are the original Warhammer Quest (set in the fantasy setting no AoS) but which is now hard and or expensive to find, and Gloomhaven.
A single player game works for those of us who can't find the time to get out and game with others. Then again, for me, that is time best left for hobby, given the massive pile of plastic I have yet to paint!
That’s a good point: I generally default to hobby time, but I appreciate that some of these games have single player modes so I can learn them on my own terms. Thanks for watching!
Atom that is dead on for me as well. I normally default to hobby time if im alone but i find that if a game has a single player mode i love it to be able to learn it myself before bringing it to my group to play together. Amazing vid as always
So basically you got no freinds so play single player... Right got you 😝
@@vasili1207 I have no friends that play these games.
Rangers Of Shadow Deep is a great game. It Sits in the space between RPG and skirmish but doesn't feel like a compromise. It's perfect if you've got friends who are WarGamers and friends that are RPGers and you want to get them around the same table.
That’s how it strikes me, as well. Thanks for watching!
If a game can be played single player it always gets a bonus tick for me. You’re 100% right about investing in a big box game and then it sits there not getting played nearly enough. It’s one of the reasons I love Silver Tower so much. The Walking Dead All Out War by Mantic is a great example as it can be played solo, co-op and 1v1 which gives it a lot of play options. You can play alone, learn the rules, play co-op and ease a new player into the game and then when up to speed go against each other. Great video Adam 👍🏼
Yup! Big plus for me as I mostly play solo. With Fallout wasteland warfare I could play co-op with the misses which was another plus. I bought silver tower because could play solo but not hammerhal because no solo. Subscriber to your channel Andy 😀
If you like silver Tower have you played Blackstone Fortress I feel like they took all the best things out of silver Tower and they updated it.
J Mac - I play it sometimes with gaming buddies but nice to just roll it solo too. Thanks so much for being a subscriber 👍🏼
John Long - I looked at Blackstone Fortress but I’ll be honest the initial videos didn’t really grab me as something I’d really enjoy. I’m not big into the 40K lore so far didn’t attract me but I am hearing good things about it now.
John Long, Haven't tried Blackstone and like Andy said, after watching a play through it did hook me. From what you've said, I'll have to have a second look because I loved Silver Tower.
Almost any wargame can be played solo, for many of them their various fans have knocked up some solo rules or you can literally just play the game being both sides... The solo wargaming guide by william silvester is also a very good book on how to run solo campaigns and such so don't be afraid to choose you favourite game whether that be 40k, bolt action chain of command or whatever and have a crack playing with yourself...
It's always okay to play with yourself as long as it isn't in public ;)
Ben Woodcock I agree, when I was learning 40k I often played solo using two small armies of about 500 points, it took a while to get used to both armies and the different rules, but it definitely helped me out before I went to the local shop and played against people there
@@AuroraInbag hey it's a good read hope it helps :)
@Ben Woodcock I have to thank you too👍
You vs. you only works in games where hidden information isn't a thing. God help you if you're trying to play Infinity with Ariadna vs. Shasvastii.
Thank you for covering this topic, I mainly play my board games/miniature games solo, and I keep hearing things like "you should just play video games instead" or "playing these games alone? How sad"
I only have few friends I trust and none of them are interested in playing games. I know there are gaming groups where I live but I can't bring myself to sit down with others to play a game. Long story short I have been bullied for longer than half my life, even though I'm in my early 30s now and I managed to or still trying to move on, I can't bring myself to sit down with others I don't know or don't trust to play a game even though I know these people in these groups are just like me, they are there to play games and have fun but even then I still can't join them.
Having solo options is a great way for someone like me to join the hobby, maybe it's nowhere near the fun of playing with others, but it's still fun.
I know this is an old video, but just wanted to say thank you for it and I hope to see more videos from you covering more single player games :).
You seem like the kind of person someone could sit down with and talk to for hours while playing a good round of tabletop. It's a rare skill and requires a lot of charisma, but you give off a really cool vibe
The Heroes of the Arturi Cluster fan-made campaign for X-Wing deserves a mention here. It's fantastic, and has a single player mode.
I should look into that, I still have a bunch of older X-Wing stuff and never upgraded to the new 2.0 rules. Thanks for watching!
@@tabletopminions you won't regret it.
I was going to mention this as well, not only did X-Wing get me back into wargaming, HOTAC got me into solo wargaming and I've been experimenting with creating a similar system for more common tabletop wargames like 40k, warmachine and even kill team now.
@@PittsPilot I haven't looked into it, but is there a subreddit for that type of thing?
@@Kevathar1138 there is a facebook group called Solo wargaming with miniatures
I recommend Rangers of Shadow Deep, a solo and co op fantasy game by the same author of Frostgrave.
+1
I would get it but I have no idea what miniatures I would need to even start
@@aGentlemanScholar For tons of ideas for miniatures and terrain, I recommend going to the Rangers of Shadow Deep facebook page. You will find fans who will gladly help you.
If you join the group for it. A fellow made a pdf that lists all the models and terrain you'll need.
Never heard of it, but am now interested. Thanks, Rui Luis!
It seems you're missing all the print'n'play options: Sellswords and Spellslingers (by Ganesha, same author of Song of... series of games), Arkeo Obskura, Blood on the Blade (highly recommended) and its sci-fi port, Blood in Space. Also THW (Two-Hours Wargame) is famous for publishing rule-sets playable solo and/or co-op.
I'd suggest getting a look at Wargame Vault, these are just the first ones that come to mind.
FFG's Star Wars: Imperial Assault recently had an app released which works as the AI for single player or co-op play. This means it can be played as a single player or co-op campaign game, as an adversarial campaign game (probably still the best way to play it), or as a 2 player skirmish game. It comes with a ton of miniatures (including an AT-ST), has a lot of expansions if it turns out that you enjoy it, and can be picked up for about the same price as Blackstone.
Nice video, as always! They brought me back in the hobby. Even the original Warhammer Quest (my go to love of all time) was(is playable single player since back in the day, by using random card decks and attack rules (AI) for the monsters!
This is why I love Kingdom Death Monster. It's like playing a survival sandbox game on my table. It's more fun with friends but it's still great solo.
DVG (Dan Verssen Games) have a series of solo wargames/simulators. They've got Tiger leader. Sherman leader, Hornet leader and Apache leader.
The concept is the same : you manage pilots/crew and execute missions against an AI opponent.
Excellent focus on solo gaming! I love it as an alternative to get in some extra gaming when nobody's available.
I'll have to check out Rangers of Shadow Deep. Thanks for the tip!
On that note: Last Days is a Frostgrave-style wargame set in a zombie apocalypse world that can be played single player.
Massive Darkness is a fun dungeon crawl board game that comes with dozens of minis that can be then used for Frostgrave or D&D (or whatever) that is also single player.
For me, as a lonely wargamer in Okinawa Japan, I will definitely be looking into these.
Blackstone Fortress is awesome! When you play it solo it feels like you are playing some type of tactical pc game just on the table top.
Two Hour Wargames (now THW Game Design) has an awesome range of Solo, Coop, or PvP games in many genres.
Blackstone Fortress seems like it can be played alone and I will be doing mock battles with my built KTs once I get them painted for practice. Not many people are into wargaming where I live so I have to rely on my friends and wife to play with, which is entirely okay of course, but it still leaves me wanting a community nearby.
Edit: I posted this half way through the vid right before you held up Blackstone, go figure.
I think I'm going to just build the miniatures for Blackstone just so I can play the game and paint them later.
I rand into the issue with KT where I'd buy the kits and go right into painting. Needless to say since this is my first foray into wargaming I still have yet to play a game of KT. I have some beautifully painted models though, which I actually appreciate more because I'm in this to paint.
Relived to hear I wasn't the only one considering Blackstone Fortress for the game as well as Killteam practice.
I don’t even play tabletop games, but I LOVE each of your videos. You make everything so interesting and accessible. Maybe one day I’ll dive in...
Can we take this one step outside the comfort zone? What about Print-and-Play games!? :)
What! You didn't mention GMT Games. They have tons of solo play games.
Navajo Wars
Commancheria
The Hunters (be German U-Boat Commander)
The Hunted
The COIN series are highly playable for solo play.
Nemo's War (not GMT)
Fields of Fire (an excellent company level action game)
Dan Verssen Games specializes in solo play games. Field Commander Napoleon is considered by some as the best solo experience out there.
B-17 Queen of the Skies is arguably one of the most famous solo play games ever made.
The Peloponnesian Wars by Mark Hermon is another amazing solo game where you play as both sides depending on who is winning (It's being re-released! Order it!).
I do realized that some of these games are out of print and could be expensive. The games offered on this video are easily available.
There is a massive library of solitaire games out there to be discovered. This is especially true if you like historical gaming. The AI in Commancheria is brutal. That "Plague" card always ruins my day. You don't need friends to play solo games. So turn on some Mayhem or Darkthrone and have some fun.
For the historical curious Osprey publishes a game called The Men Who Would be Kings. It's a slightly tongue in cheek set of colonial wargaming rules that have a solo set of rules called "playing against Mr. Babbage"
The reason I play single-player games is very simple: Sometimes I can play 2-3 hours and sometimes only 10 minutes. I never know when my time will be up. There is absolutely no way to play any other way.
There are so many solitaire war games once you start looking beyond miniatures, especially with historical settings. And they can be really complex (e.g. Fields of Fire by GMT)
COIN series are amazing single player.
I like the idea of games that can be played in single player as sometimes I have a gap for times at the club and need to keep myself entertained till my next game and these come in very handy, sometimes the single player sprawls out into a multiplayer which is just an added bonus I think :)
WOW. Did you even take five minutes doing any research, at all, into this niche of gaming? First off, NONE of those games are war games. Where's D-Day at Omaha Beach? Any of the Conflict of Heros or Lock n Load Tactics? Ranger, Fields of Fire? DVG's Leader, Commander and Warfighter series'? How about some old school... ASL? Ambush? Tokyo Express, Mosby's Rangers, Patton's Best, B-17: Queen of the Sky, RAF? I also love how non-solo gamers try to wrap their heads around the fact that some of us ACTUALLY LIKE/PREFER playing alone and the closest they can comprehend is "I want to learn the rules so I name ready to play when I DO play with somebody" or "I have no friends and therefore I have NO OTHER CHOICE". There is a whole world of solo/solo friendly games out there and people that love them. And never once do people like you or Tom Vasel ever consider that we do so because we choose to. Educate yourself.
This seems like a really intense response but I know how it can feel to see something you are well-versed in and care about being misrepresented. I get the impression that Uncle Atom was trying to help some of his audience consider solo play and was drawing on some of the options he was already familiar with. For me, it was helpful to know that a few options like this exist. I enjoy collecting and playing boardgames, and always appreciate solo games/modes or even digital adaptations that let me play myself vs. AI. I’d like to get into war gaming and have been looking for some good starting points and a game that can be played solo sounds like a great fit. The suggestions provided in the video are appealing, and I plan to Google some of the options you laid out to get a better sense of what’s available. If you have any other recommendations of sources for discovering solo war gaming options (a fave site or channel?) I’d happily check it out. If not, I wonder if that’s something you’d ever consider creating content about. You certainly seem passionate and knowledgeable. Perhaps you could help others discover some of the gems out there. Solo war gaming also sounds like a nicely defined niche... Anyways... thanks for your list of titles. I look forward to looking them up. :)
In 33 years of war gaming, I never knew this existed. My friends and I used to theorize about it, but we could never quite figure it out.
UA-cam sent me here. I think it knows I need some games to play whilst in corvid-19 lock down.
I've been "trying to not make it creepy" while sharing my enthusiasm for the hobby for several decades now. 😆
this guy pulls it off, he seems very approachable.
They are a bit more Beer and Pretzels style by I recommend checking out Two Hour Wargames, all of Eds stuff can be played solo, or coop, quite a bit of fun!
Kingdom Death Monster is the best single player game I’ve ever run across. Falls more in the gateway game category than wargame though.
I didn’t realize it had single player. I’ve never played it, but I see people painting the minis all the time. Thanks for watching!
KDM is an incredible game! Its awesome solo or with friends. Also just wondering what would KDM be a gateway into though? It is incredibly in depth and involved.
@@tabletopminions The game is coop you end up playing all for survivors instead of other people controlling them and you make all the decisions for the settlement
As much as I love KDM, I would not recommend it as a starting point. It is quite involved, and rather expensive. Also it is extremely NSFW. Gore, body horror, sexual subtext (not even a subtext, really), nudity, the whole shebang. Not a light dessert, to be sure.
@@SinOfAugust The game was basically made and designed by Slaanesh.
I always play games single player, never have anyone to play them with so I find games like blackstone fortress that you can play single player great.
Yes, please do a batrep of Rangers.
Rangers is very cool. I didn't have any houses terrain and ended up being introduced to the world of paper craft. Insane! I went hog wild and built 5 buildings and they worked great for Rangers. I highly recommend Rangers. The creator, Joseph McCullough, is awesome when it comes to supporting his gaming systems. He's already providing additional content on the Facebook group.
Paper craft? Is that just making things out of paper or...something more?
@@BlueDemon77 Pretty much. You can get these PDF files for free or cheap and print them on cardstock. Cut them up and fold to make buildings, miniatures, and pretty much anything imaginable. You make them stronger by mounting on foam core or something thicker than cardstock.
@@thebrewgeek Thanks mate! Could be an option until I can get my hand on some proper buildings etc.
I hadn’t much explored solo gaming until recently. In the past, I always had a bunch of willing players (and time!) to game with. As we get older & have much more ‘adulting ‘ to do , scheduling 3-6 uninterrupted hours for more than 2 people is increasingly difficult. While solo gaming has the tendency to be slightly depressing & lonely; it’s better than looking at your armies collecting dust. It can be a really great way to try different tactical application of units, exploring scenarios, and (for me) testing out rules, rules tweaking & balance ideas. It works really well with historical wargaming too Thanks for broaching this subject, while quite useful-is often overlooked completely. I once used my historical & fantasy medieval armies to play out several interesting scenarios from old Robert E Howard “Conan” books during a period when Conan was a general. You can leave it set up on your table & come back to it only for a turn or two (if that’s what your schedule allows) , plan different moves ,etc. it’s also much easier to game in a ‘narrative ‘ style than with some gamers who only prefer super competitive games & lists. Sorry for the rant! Great channel
As always a good video. I love that there are solo version of games as I'm just not up to driving a few hours to play with others on a regular bases. I'm getting into Imperial Assault, Zombiecide and Walking Dead All Out War ( I've a special kinship with zombies lol). But those 3 games are what got me to return to miniature painting after many years of absence. My only problem is taking some of my painting and modeling time for playing.
Any wargame can be solo played, there have been books explaining how published the last 50 years. Donald Featherstone, Stuart Asquith and Charles Grant are the authors to look for if you want to investigate ;)
Nice to run into someone who knows wargaming didn't start with Warhammer ☺
@@unpaintedleadsyndrome You meet many people who have never seen pewter Napoleonic Wars soldiers? 🤔 *hope in humanity quickly diminishing*
Uncle Atom, is there a battle report of single player Rangers of Shadowdeep somewhere? :)
The Walking Dead All out War, and Zombicide are my two faves. Considering the Black Fortress game.
The Blackstone Fortress models are amazing, and they do double duty if you play 40k or Kill Team. Thanks for watching!
I actually started getting into single player wargaming soley because i had had enough of video games and the BS that goes on with modern companies these days. Micro-transactions, piss poor polish and overall terrible choices made by these companies actually pushed me out, and now instead of $60-120 a month on a video game, its on plastic crack instead.
Ive been able to get my wife into zombicide, my friend into Star Wars Legion and X-wing, and I myself have been rolling solo with Sword and Sorcery, Fallout WW and now im looking into BlackStone Fortress. I can honestly say, Ive been happier for it.
Watching this video and seeing him say "Why would I want to play a game by myself" and I was thinking "Uhh...ever heard of a little thing called Covid?" but then I noticed the video's from 2018. Oops, my bad!
You just changed my life thank you.
Just recently found this channel. My kids wanted to get into the horus heresy age of darkness and kill team they are both have never played anything like this. So guess who had to set up both games by himself and learn how to play so I could teach them. Actually had much more fun then I thought possibly doing a one player battle. Bottom line it's you cah it's your time being spent you do you and be happy in your enjoyment. Thanks for all the awsome painting and gaming advice it's been a huge help for our new gaming journey.
Really looking forward to that batrep. Ranger sounds like a very interesting game
could you please make a video of a list of solo player games?
Love the work you put into these videos.
As a guy who plays a lot of Dungeon Saga / Mantic games there are a couple caveats before recommending Dungeon Saga as a single player game. The "AI" is the Invisible overload deck and not sold in the base game. You will need to purchase the Adventures Companion as well. According to their youtube channel the game is scheduled to be re-released (version 2.0) in May 2019 so it may be worth waiting till then or jumping now while they are selling the expansions for 20 USD/15£.
Warfighter is really great. Especially the WWII versions.
You should do a follow-up video to this. There are so many new great solo games that have come out in the last 5 years.
Single player/solo war games have been around for decades. On the miniatures front, there was a Wargames Research Group scenario book by Charles Grant called "Programmed Wargame Scenarios." The author uses several techniques to run the imaginary opponent's forces. It was published in 1983. The Solo Wargames Association, founded in 1976, has a magazine and blog entitled "Lone Warrior." The currently popular miniature rules by Two Hour Wargames are in various genres - horror, scifi, historical for different eras, fantasy - are all designed for solo, cooperative, or head-to-head play.
3:35 I usually call it "the Modus Operantis", latim for "operational pattern" - like how cops identify if crimes were comitted by the same person by how they were executed, they follow the same pattern, doctrine, methodology, manual, step by step etc
My friends and I have spliced pieces of Shadow Deep into our Frostgrave campaign so we can have advancing troops with more variety. It does make losing someone more painful though.
That’s a really cool idea!
I just play all my war games by myself because no one wants to play with me.
Feels bad man
@@garrettdaly9893 Feels bad
Also I saw a lust if best solo games and Mantics DEADZONE came in at no1 with a lot of comments agreeing with this choice! It surprised me as I never knew it had single plr options !
I never knew that Deadzone had single player, either! I own that one, too. And I even have painted figures and terrain for it. Thanks for watching!
This was the first game that came to my mind. Great game and works as a great gateway game for my board gaming friends. Nexus psi is the book you need Adam btw thanks for the great content.
Honestly your recent game Station Zero is a fine example of this. As is your Oculus Spear campaign for Reign In Hell.
Blackstone Fortress can be played single player.. and as someone from Chicago that can’t play with others(distance and lack of 40k interest in my area) this speaks volumes to me. Very good video that sheds light.
Yes Rangers of Shadow Deep my new favorite game. Thanks for this video. Also Blackstone Fortress is awesome.
'Ghost of Lion Castle' was the first dungeons and dragons module I ever played and that was single player. I also remember the Fighting Fantasy and the Grail Quest single player book series.
I do not think it is lost on anyone that this video has taken on an entirely new level of relevance over the past 12 months.
Great video, gaming is gaming whether it be solo or multiplayer. I play solo a lot, and a gaining evening spent solo is just as rewarding as a multiplayer evening.
Fallout wasteland warfare box was just delivered to my wife this morning! It's waiting for me at home so I didn't want to spend another minute at work! Running back home to inbox it!
I love it! Takes a bit to get the rules, loads of little things but the designer has been great at answers on BGG and Facebook. The A.I. is great and is challenging.
J Mac I'm really looking forward to playing this one. The fact that it also has a solo mode is also a plus for me right now. Will get the rules and bring it to my games day when I'm ready! Like Adam said.
voingiappone, also check the Modiphius Fallout Download page, they have additional scenarios and info about solo and co-op. Also make sure to double check your Blue dice, it seems a lot of people got ones with the incorrect symbols.
D&D boardgames, like Wrath of Arshardalon or Legend of Drizzt have an interesting monster mechanic, allowing for them to be solo adventures too. Each player when they explore a dungeon, they draw a monster card, and they are responsible for controlling the monster(s) they placed on the board. These monsters (until they are killed), activate only in that particular player's turn, and the monster cards corresponding to them, have a list of actions the monster can do, as well as conditions when do they apply (these are super easy to interpret). Exception are bosses, that activate and do actions in each player's turn, making some bosses like a dragon Arshardalon, really deadly opponents, especially knowing that these games end, if either one of the player characters die.
So far out of many miniature games I played (Silver Tower included), the two games from D&D (Wrath of Arshardalon and Legend of Drizzt) are my favourite. They are also great and easy to play with people who never seen D&D before (or any other miniature system for that matter).
Solo board gaming is really what made that hobby explode for me. That led me to wargaming. Now my first actual war game is Age of Sigmar. I have been working out how to get that to play solo. After I get my models all ready I full plan to setup two armies on a table and play both sides. I will be able to learn the rules, the models' abilities and how the armies work together while taking as much time as I please. I play solo a lot. I work full time and my wife and I are on opposite schedules and we have two kids. I would say most of my other tabletop players I have as friends do not have kids so it is a bit easier for them to drop everything and have at it. Of the literally dozen or so board games I own in shrink, majority of those, I need warm bodies for. My kids are too young for most games but look forward to sharing my hobbies with them. I would say it will be at least 3-4 years before I will be able to let them join in on a more full time basis.
Please do a review of Rangers of Shadow Deep. I'm very interested in the game, especially to try to bring my D&D friends to play (skirmish) wargames.
You have a very pleasant speaking voice sir. But bugger you for pointing out 3 new games I now want. Great vid.
The Men Who Would Be Kings (Osprey Publishing) is a 19th century colonial wargame with rules for an AI-controlled opponent called Mr Babbage.
I owned GKR: Heavy Hitters for several months before i had a chance to play with friends. The single player rules were extremely helpful for learning the mechanics, and simply allowed me to get right in and start playing.
I'll be sure to check out the other games listed. Im a retired 40k player and i don't want to go back, so boardgames with minis are my thing.
Yep, being able to learn the rules ahead of time and track down the FAQs makes it a lot more fun when trying to explain the game to someone new. Edge: Dawnfall and Giant Killer Robots are the two big ones that probably fit into the category that I've been trying to get someone else to play with me. It's pretty much impossible to find a time to play with anyone in my area of Los Angeles. We don't have winter or rain, so there's not much of a culture developed for indoor activities.
Really good video! Love boardgames that you can also play singleplayer :)
Lapahn - yeah I’m a big fan of single player board games too. Just means they may well get played more often.
My solo-wargaming buddy is a very accommodating chap!
It's been a while since this was published, and this aspect of the hobby has gained a lot more attention, but I wanted to touch on a couple of points about *why* people play solo.
First, not everybody can play with others. I live in a rural US town of under 4,000 people. I know every gamer within 30 miles (there aren't many), and none of them have any interest whatsoever of playing anything that isn't an RPG. The nearest game store is about a 140-mile round trip for me. I play solo, or I don't play.
Second, I've talked to a lot of people who play games - board games, wargames, even RPGs solo, and the simple fact is that some of them do so by choice. Not as a learning tool in order to later play it 'right', but because they genuinely enjoy the experience of playing it solo. And that's just it - it is a different experience. You're free to fully indulge your imagination in ways that others don't like. You aren't tied to what's popular (or to the most recent version of a game), and you aren't tied to a particular game because it's what your opponent is invested in, leaving you free to choose what you play on a whim. Your experience isn't determined by your opponents playstyle - you don't need to optimize your forces based on stats instead of style, as you won't be facing an optimized opponent. That completely changes how the game is played. Beyond all that, you're able to play your way. Spend 30 minutes analyzing every detail your next turn if you enjoy that - nobody is rushing you. Play for an hour, walk away, come back that evening and play for another hour, then finish the next day.
It really is a different experience, neither superior nor inferior, neither the 'right' way to play nor the wrong. It's simply a different aspect of the hobby.
As an aside, one interesting challenge can be to play two player games solo, hotseat style - switching sides each turn. There are clearly drawbacks (no secret plans), but it can be a real challenge to take yourself out of the mindset of Side A and do your damnedest to crush them, then switching to Side B and doing your best to crush Side A.
Definitely gonna see if I can try some of those games
Every game is a single player game, if you're introverted enough
Playing single is a great way to try new rules, mechanics and cenarios. And this knowledge can make your co-op and vs games more fun!
Caught your Firewatch reference and I had a good chuckle
I have had to move because of college, so now I play wargames by myself during the semester to practice; and then on breaks I can make the 2 hour drive to go play with my friends. It isn't as fun as playing with another person but it's a good stand-in when no people are readily available!
I'm really interested in Rangers of Shadow deep. Glad that you covered it!
Why you might want to look into single player wargames: Coronavirus.
I particularly like Scythe. A little complicated for new players, but overall great game. Both multiplayer and single player formats too.
Rangers of Shadow Deep fills a really important gap for me. I always wanted a Single Player / cooperative Tabletop Game in the style of Descent 2nd Edition. That board game almost covers everything you‘ll ever wanted from fantasy. But it is sadly bound to a gaming board and doesn’t forgive any failure against the overlord. RoSD does its job right in being the first step in the right direction.
I play a narrative warhammer campaign solo. I enjoy writing little stories and quests for my army to engage with.
For all of us backers of the Resident Evil board game, a game with a good single player option, we just received the final email about shipping. The US Hub should get everything by January 17th so I would say by the end of January we should all have the awesome game in our hands.
Anyone who's interested in solo-play, check out Two Hour Wargames. Great rulesets!
I live in a cabin in the mountains, not to far from some of those lookout towers you mentioned....lol. I don't think anyone is actually at them all the time these days though...
Anyhow, I have collected quote a few 40k minis since 5th edition, and also Warmachine and some Star Trek stuff, I'd like to get some of the Star Wars X-Wing game too...
Over the years, not having many people to play with, and having to travel quite a distance to go play with people at a game store, I have played quite a handful of SOLO games....just using Warmachine and 40k, and playing smaller games from both sides... I would often take notes on where in the game I was, then stop, and then come back to the hobby room another day and play another game round....then take notes and repeat later.... sometimes I would play a whole small game all at once...
I did this a lot to learn the ge mechanics so when I got the chance to go to a store I wouldn't be 100% starting from scratch...
my son is 12 now, and my girls are 8 (almost 9), and 5.... I hope to pick up Kill Team, and possibly 8th Ed 40K while it's still snowy here in Idaho, and get at least one of them into gaming with me...
my son has played Dawn of War a bit, and lots of the Space Marine PS3 game, and we've watched Ultramarines a few times... he expressed enough interest to pick out an Army of Grey Knights.... now just to get one squad out and do some Kill Teams. ...
2 questions....
Do you do any Warmachine?
Can you please do another video on ways to get friends and others who aren't exactly kiddos into wargaming...?
Very enjoyable...seeing what games are kicking around as one player👍
I am about to start rangers of shadow deep! I can’t wait!
What Ilike about this idea is me and my friend live a couple hours away from each othe you friend to buy this same game, play solo then when you do have time to get together you both have practice playing the game.
I just unwrapped my Walking dead KS from 2016 ( bloody life!!) And I was going to pimp out Black jack Legacy as some great videos on that game I copied his tutorial for improving the paper matts and now I see he's the comment below me! 🤣🤣
Also recommand Guerrilla Miniture games channel Ash is cool and he does great 'lets plays' I watch him to get a rough handle on a games mechanics and rules before getting stuck in myself Ive watched the walking dead games and the Ranger ones. While I have acess to a large gaming club with great people ( LONDON WARGAMING GUILD ) my life is Never simple and getting down to them can be an issue. I do enjoy playing solo and with my 10 year old son ...(its best to know the rules first. Or you loose him to boredom) it also gives me motivation to hobby. Sometimes at the club the pace of gaming is so breakneck its hard to keep up in campains and I loose motivation.
5 Parsecs from Home! 5 Leagues from the Borderlands! These are amazing and very lovingly crafted
The best thing with solo gaming is that nobody gets to steal your precious components.
I'd like to see more about single player games. Gears of War the board game is a fantastic experience with any number of players, and it was designed to be played as 1+ from the get go. If you can find it, it's an awesome game with great minis, modular maps and you need to take line of sight (not just "spaces"), cover and obstacles into consideration when taking a shot.
"If only he knew, 2 years after this video, there'd be an event that would catapult Solo Skirmish, Wargame & RPG's _way_ up there..."
In all honesty, I would love to see a followup video on this topic in 2024. With the likes of 5Parsecs/Leagues, Psalms, Stargrave/Frostgrave variants, Kuro, Warlord Ascendant, there's far more room for solo gaming, and seeing your takes on the stuff you find would be pretty cool.
When it comes to solo boardgames, Mage Knight board game tends to be acknowledged as a quality reference point. It is quite unique in the fact that it is actually at its best when played solo, even though it allows for multiple players.
I'm looking forward to getting my copy of Blackstone Fortress in my stocking this year.
Phil Hitchings that’s a big stocking!
Solo gaming wargames can be lots of fun. Its easier to play lop sided battles or uneven campaigns, or if the battle looks like its going to be a massacre you can throw in some new rules for 1-2 of the losing side to become "heroes of the hour", giving them extra saving throws or indomitable bravery, just to make it interesting. Or possibly implement realistic withdrawals rather than "fight to the death battles.
Hmm I am really interested in the fusion of Wargaming and RPG.