OK folks, fess up on what your favorite solitaire wargames are!
Not computer games, that's too easy. Boardgames, old school, chits, and dice falling off the table to be chased by the cat.
I'll start:
1) B-17, Queen of the Skies
2) Tokyo Express
3) Carriers!
4) Mosby's Raiders
5) Ambush! (and variants)
Don't forget 'Patton's Best'! And I with I had 1st hand knowledge of 'Raid on St Nazaire's gameplay to chime in with but the prices have been a little too steep for me to take the plunge. Anyone else have that game?
-VG Carrier
-Silent War
-Hornet Leader
-Fields of Fire
-Solitaire ASL
I enjoy Silent War more now that I've started to use a spreadsheet to track the misadventures of individual subs in my fleets. Fields of Fire can be an exciting play if you can get past the issues with the rules (disclaimer: haven't tried 2nd edition of the rulebook yet). The first edition 'Solitaire' module for ASL that I picked up on eBay is high on my todo list. My expectations are high for that one. In the mean time, VG Carrier is the top dog of my solitaire game collection.
Good titles mentioned here.
I'd like to add.
Fields of Fire (GMT) if you can cope with the book keeping.
And also Ranger (Omega games).
...maybe you like to check out the new Thunderbolt-Apache Leader also
here its discussed at Grogs
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=2272.0
Quote from: jomni on September 21, 2012, 12:06:10 AM
Good titles mentioned here.
I'd like to add.
Fields of Fire (GMT) if you can cope with the book keeping.
And also Ranger (Omega games).
Glad to see these 2 mentioned, they are both on my Christmas list. There are many good ones out there and I have just found a solitaire ruleset for Wooden Ships and Iron Men but as for my personal best nomination, I would have to go with SASL (Solitaire Advanced Squad Leader).
VPG's States of Siege games are pretty spiffy, and are designed as solitaire games.
We reviewed Empires in America (http://grogheads.com/rev-eia.html) a few months back.
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.
Would also love to get Carrier back on the table. It's been years since I last played it.
I'm also looking forward to the release of "The Hunters: German
U-Boats at War, 1939-43" coming out fairly soon from GMT Games.
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.
I hear that the SASL rules are tough to digest...but well worth the effort. I plan to take to make learning SASL a top priority this winter. That project will have to contend with the new copy of Field Commander: Napoleon I've had sitting on a shelf since the spring. FC:N is another solitaire game with some exceptionally good buzz about it.
I could easily make a web based app that could do all of the dice rolls, chart referencing and log/record campaign missions once I do finally learn the SASL rules. Yup, think I need to prioritize my new game learning a bit as well.
Double post to pad my post count, ignore.
Carrier is a pretty awesome game.
LnL's space Infantry is a good one.
I love the idea of being able to play one of my board games solo but since I have never done so I have a hard time understanding how it can be entertaining. It seems like your omnipotence would undermine the game's flavor.
What am I missing here?
I posted an extensive answer to "why solo game a two-player game" over at Brant' site sometime ago. Check out the "game talk" comments at grognews.blogspot.com.
Thanks, good read. After looking a little deeper I noticed several of the games listed above as favorites are in fact single player games such as Ambush and Patton' Best. This makes more sense since the rules and game play are built exclusively for solitaire play.
Since I play primarily play ASL & FC, I think this is why I'm having a hard time getting my head around the why and how.
The only ones I've played are :
Ambush!
Phantom Leader
Hornet Leader
Field Commander : Napoleon
I find that LnL's WaW games are gernerally not too bad for solo play, and the same applies to NaW, since in most scanario's there are pretty clear 'Attacker / Defender' objectives. Its still not as good as F2F, but not bad.
One game that I have played solo quite a bit is Storm of Stalingrad, which does lend itself quite well to single player games.
I guess there are any number of multi-player games that you can play solo in a sort of left-hand-againt-right-hand way, provided you maintain some sort of objectivity. Most of my wargaming is played this way as the number of times that I can do F2F stuff with buddies is limited.
Still not awake yet. West End Games had a solitaire Battle of Britain game that was really pretty good.
You played Fighter Command, set up your forces and reacted tot he German moves. Luftwaffe was played by the game. Could be very tight, and the germans had a good chance of pulling out a victory.
The Barbarossa Campaign by Victory Point Games is a lot of fun, though if you get out of the gates badly because of bad chit or card pulls, you stand little chance.
Fields of Fire by GMT is brillant but has major growing pains, if you don't have patience dedicate to a learning a system I would wait for second edition.
Quote from: ABD on October 08, 2012, 08:45:14 PM
Fields of Fire by GMT is brillant but has major growing pains, if you don't have patience dedicate to a learning a system I would wait for second edition.
I so want to give that game a try but I've heard about the horror stories with the rules (though I hear the newest version is a big improvement). I read the AAR's on CSW from FoF players and it sounds pretty detailed and very intense. Maybe I'll meet somebody some day that has the game and wouldn't mind walking me through a few turns.
I have read through this thread, and I have every single game mentioned, with the exception of the DVG Napoleon game, and the twins hornet leader/phantom leader.
I am not in any great hurry to spend 100 dollars on a board game. The missus would shit.
Which of the three DVG games is the best? Rommel, Alexander, or Napoleon?
Oh...Patton's Best is excellent, if it wasn't for the German 88's that kill you, first time, every time.
Raid on St. Nazaire is pretty fun..although much of the fun is ramming the docks with your destroyer!
Ambush is not a super good game. Step right ... THERE, and a German machine gun fires from right THERE. So..don't step there, and step at the most advantageous position to set off the enemy.
Tokyo Express is a very elegant system, that generates some extremely difficult battles for the Americans. Savo Island, and Ironbottom Sound, and sometimes, your light forces are screwed!
If you want a fun solitaire game, Mosby's Raiders is very good. Stir up the countryside, get the Union forces stirred up and moving all over the countryside, and when it gets too hot, skedaddle! I used that term at work, years ago, and we here highly amused to read that it meant "to flee in a panic." Awesome!
I broke out my copy of Ambush a couple of weekends ago because of this thread. I too wasn't impressed. Paragraph checks for every hex you enter (less Event hexes) just got very old, very quickly.
I'd still like to learn SASL one of these days, though all of those chart look-up's may get tiresome as well I'd suspect.
Carrier still tops my fav solitaire game. Yes, lots of charts there too but it gets more and more intense with every chart reference. A game that truly had me on the edge of my seat each time that I played. The learning curve is fairly steep however and it's been years since I've played so I'd have to start the programmed instructions from scratch. Would be worth the effort though from what I recall.
Ambush's fatal flaw is the amount of time it takes to play the damn thing. All of those checks and status changes and everything else...4 and a half hours later, you MIGHT be done the scenario.
Quote from: GJK on October 09, 2012, 10:50:08 PM
Carrier still tops my fav solitaire game. Yes, lots of charts there too but it gets more and more intense with every chart reference. A game that truly had me on the edge of my seat each time that I played. The learning curve is fairly steep however and it's been years since I've played so I'd have to start the programmed instructions from scratch. Would be worth the effort though from what I recall.
It is true that Carrier has many many charts, second only to ASL in my experience. It also includes a turn sequence chart, which is more than just a reference, it is a working feature of the game (even includes chits for use with the turn sequence diagram) and does an exceptional job of simplifying both learning and playing of the game. While there are piles of charts, most are fairly simple to understand and use. Organizing their use is the bigger challenge.
Field of Fire is the only solitaire game that comes close to generating the atmosphere and suspense I've experienced with Carrier. Both games require you to keep a copy of the rule book in arms reach. FoF has a lousy index, which can be a real burden with a complex game. The bigger issue was that many times the rule being looked up was absent from the rule book altogether. Many times I had to resort to parsing through 3rd party examples of play or forum posts to find an answer. I should mention that the game designer is exceptionally good about answering questions (and is an active Marine officer if I remember correctly).
For those overburndened by FoF rules and bookkeeping, you will be glad to know that there are digital versions (iOS and PC) in the works. Hope they see the light of day.
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.
Would also love to get Carrier back on the table. It's been years since I last played it.
I'm also looking forward to the release of "The Hunters: German
U-Boats at War, 1939-43" coming out fairly soon from GMT Games.
Where did you find this and what was the cost? This is impossible to find.
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 02:02:34 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.
Where did you find this and what was the cost? This is impossible to find.
A number of years ago, MMP found a bunch of parts in their warehouse and had a fire-sale. All were missing the boxes and some they had to include a scanned copy of the rules, but otherwise they put them in ziplock bags and sold them off. I was lucky and got the actual Ch. S pages. Oh, they also did this for Red Barricades- and I was lucky enough to get a copy of that one as well during this same sale. :)
Quote from: GJK on October 15, 2012, 05:10:45 PM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 02:02:34 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.
Where did you find this and what was the cost? This is impossible to find.
A number of years ago, MMP found a bunch of parts in their warehouse and had a fire-sale. All were missing the boxes and some they had to include a scanned copy of the rules, but otherwise they put them in ziplock bags and sold them off. I was lucky and got the actual Ch. S pages. Oh, they also did this for Red Barricades- and I was lucky enough to get a copy of that one as well during this same sale. :)
Lucky man.
Does anyone know of any third party SASL rules or a simplified conversion from ASLSK or ASL?
Look at the document entitled "SK to Full ASL.doc" in the Dropbox folder. I found that posted on BGG. It looks to be a fairly detailed list of what the differences are between SK and full ASL and what rules sections from the Big Book you'll need to learn.
Otherwise, I don't think that there's been any other SASL-like stuff done, either official stuff or 3rd Party. I've thought about how I would do it though - and didn't get further than just a simple PC app that would randomly move possible enemy units and have them shoot if the right conditions lined up and random number fell within the "do shoot" range. Very primitive compared to what SASL offers from what I can see.
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
Copies of Solitaire ASL do appear on eBay from time to time. None at the moment I see.
I picked up a ver 1.0 edition last year, unpunched, for ~$60 bucks.
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 08:24:03 PM
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
I don't believe the game has actual solitaire rules but is very solitaire friendly. There's a copy of the rules here:
http://www.locknloadgame.com/userfiles/BnBManNoS.zip
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 05:30:43 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 08:24:03 PM
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
I don't believe the game has actual solitaire rules but is very solitaire friendly. There's a copy of the rules here:
http://www.locknloadgame.com/userfiles/BnBManNoS.zip
Interesting. Board Game Geek shows that it is solitaire playable?
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges)
Quote from: DV8 on October 16, 2012, 05:36:24 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 05:30:43 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 08:24:03 PM
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
I don't believe the game has actual solitaire rules but is very solitaire friendly. There's a copy of the rules here:
http://www.locknloadgame.com/userfiles/BnBManNoS.zip
Interesting. Board Game Geek shows that it is solitaire playable?
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges)
Oh it's solo playable but there are no rules for solo specific play.
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 07:43:03 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 16, 2012, 05:36:24 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 05:30:43 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 08:24:03 PM
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
I don't believe the game has actual solitaire rules but is very solitaire friendly. There's a copy of the rules here:
http://www.locknloadgame.com/userfiles/BnBManNoS.zip
Interesting. Board Game Geek shows that it is solitaire playable?
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges)
Oh it's solo playable but there are no rules for solo specific play.
So you play as God? Controlling both sides with full independence in your moves?
Quote from: DV8 on October 16, 2012, 09:11:49 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 07:43:03 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 16, 2012, 05:36:24 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on October 16, 2012, 05:30:43 AM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 08:24:03 PM
Has anyone had experience with LnL's World at War? It's my understanding that the game has solitaire rules and scenarios in each expansion.
I don't believe the game has actual solitaire rules but is very solitaire friendly. There's a copy of the rules here:
http://www.locknloadgame.com/userfiles/BnBManNoS.zip
Interesting. Board Game Geek shows that it is solitaire playable?
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35035/world-at-war-blood-and-bridges)
Oh it's solo playable but there are no rules for solo specific play.
So you play as God? Controlling both sides with full independence in your moves?
God? ;) Maybe not, but yes you have full control of both sides. It takes a bit of practice, or a split personality disorder, but you try to do the best moves for the side you are currently playing.
It can cause analysis paralaysis as you begin second guessing and preplanning the others sides response to this sides current move etc. But with some practice you just make the best move at the time then switch sides.
I find games that have you switching sides often, chit pull activation or impulse activation, lend themselves better to solo play as you can't really plan that far ahead anyway. Some people play one side then wait a period of time, an hour or a day, before playing the other side. Whatever works.
I'd say, before I got into VASSAL, 90% of my wargaming was done solo.
Back in the 60s, most board games were played solitaire by almost all owners. There weren't a lot of game clubs outside of big cities, so it was solo play or PBM.
The simple rules generally made this possible, playing right hand versus the left. I always thought that one of AH's games, Guadalcanal, failed as a product because it used hidden movement, and most gamers couldn't play it solo.
(Well, you could play it without hidden movement, but the Japanese forces were too small to have a good chance at taking out the marine enclave. It wasn't a good game without the hidden movement.,)
Top five
1) RAF (West End Games)
2) London's Burning (AH)
3) Carrier (VG)
4) Phantom Leader (DVG)
5) B29 Superfortress (Kyber Pass Games)
Not sure why air warfare is so prevalent in solitaire wargames.
I picked up U-Boat Leader from Dan Verssen Games. Got it on sale from here:
http://yhst-12000246778232.stores.yahoo.net/dvggase.html
Prices on this site are vastly cheaper than anywhere else I have seen.
Anyway, U-Boat Leader is pretty good! I have run to small campaigns, got "Adequate" and "Good" rating for both. I can see, with aggressive play, possibly getting an even higher rating. I can also see my subs getting sunk, too, as a result of that more aggressive play! I recommend this, unconditionally. Beer and pretzels complexity, and you can finish a short campaign in an hour or so.