Best Solitaire Games

[Nefaro]

I just set up the Southwest Pacific-only campaign scenario for Silent War on the table. 

It's been awhile since I played only a couple of Patrol scenarios.  Instead of doing another to reacquaint myself, I'll just start this one up and relearn as I go. 

I figured the SWPac campaign should help since it cuts the useable map zones down to a fraction of the full campaign along with fewer subs to run and having set times for torpedo quality and war phases.  The only drawback is having to sort through multiple years' reinforcements to find the proper ones as specified in the scenario because some are just transfers from Pearl.  In other words, the dates on the counters aren't as much of a help.  I need to dig up an alphabetical list of subs that also has the reinforce dates to narrow down my searches if the game advances far.  But that would still be a very long game.

The Allied Sub OB spreadsheet I mentioned has the subs sorted alphabetically and includes the entry dates

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/file/download/6l837muhsr/Silent_War_Submarine_Roster.xls

Thanks!

I thought that was probably the one.  I just need to sort it as I want & print it out.

[Nefaro]

Sooo.. thinking of picking up a new Co-Op/Solo themed game.

Gears Of War board game?  Or maybe Zombicide? 

I'm not really sure.  There are probably a few more that would fit into that category.  I think a couple people suggested the Gears of War game awhile back as something with tile-based variable "maps", and variety in general, along with some card-driven facet.  I suppose Level 7: Escape also qualifies as the type although I've heard mixed views on that one.

[Nefaro]

Nobody played Gears Of War Boardgame or Zombicide to compare?

It's a tough decision.  I'm leaning towards GOW just because it has more cardplay & hand management.  But Zombicide would be a bit better game for varied age groups, so the young gamers in the family would be able to learn that one much easier. 

It may come down to price in the end, since Zombicide is more costly.  However, I never played Gears of War and I'm not sure if the theme appeals to me beyond the usual sci-fi stuff.  Then again, I'm not a Zombie superfan either.  *shrug*

[BanzaiCat]

That's a tough call. GOW looks good and is highly rated on BGG. Zombicide, strangely enough, has been out since 2012 and has zero ratings on BGG. There has to be some play videos on YouTube somewhere, but I don't see any linked on the BGG page.

[PanzersEast]

Nobody played Gears Of War Boardgame or Zombicide to compare?

It's a tough decision.  I'm leaning towards GOW just because it has more cardplay & hand management.  But Zombicide would be a bit better game for varied age groups, so the young gamers in the family would be able to learn that one much easier. 

It may come down to price in the end, since Zombicide is more costly.  However, I never played Gears of War and I'm not sure if the theme appeals to me beyond the usual sci-fi stuff.  Then again, I'm not a Zombie superfan either.  *shrug*

I looked into GOW then thought Galaxy Defenders may be a better long term experience or possibly Omega 7.   I have Forlorn Hope and is a ok game as well.... There was another game Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident that was kickstarted and released, but hard to find.


I'm really, really enjoying Labyrinth right now although I am totally just trying to learn, but a great game imho.




PE

[Nefaro]

That's a tough call. GOW looks good and is highly rated on BGG. Zombicide, strangely enough, has been out since 2012 and has zero ratings on BGG. There has to be some play videos on YouTube somewhere, but I don't see any linked on the BGG page.

??

Zombicide has been pretty popular.  The expansions probably more so.  There are also a good amount of Lets Plays on the 'Tube.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113924/zombicide

It seems to have been pretty popular since it's release.  I was a bit hesitant about the cost involved with it but I'll probably have to at least get one of the base games at some point. 

I looked into GOW then thought Galaxy Defenders may be a better long term experience or possibly Omega 7.   I have Forlorn Hope and is a ok game as well.... There was another game Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident that was kickstarted and released, but hard to find.

I'm really, really enjoying Labyrinth right now although I am totally just trying to learn, but a great game imho.

PE

I was unsure of Galaxy Defenders.  At first glance it looks interesting but I'm unsure whether I'd like some of the game system.  I'll probably put that off for awhile until I've seen more vids. 

Dunno anything about Last Frontier but Level 7: Omega Protocol seems to be well-loved.  However, it's not a purely Cooperative game and I'm looking more for a Dual-Purpose one right now (Co-Op & Solitaire) and I'm not sure how easily solo-able it is.  Level 7: Escape fits that bill but that earlier one in the series has received a little criticism about some mechanics.  I'd definitely like to pick up one of the Level 7 games, however. 

What saddens me is that I've had Dark, Darker, Darkest sitting around unplayed since it was released.  There was a Revised Manual released a short time ago, and a quick glance shows it to be much improved.  I'm still rather 'Meh' about some of the AI opponent stuff and the AI difficulty being so heavily die-roll focused.  I think cardplay is generally a better way for a programmed opponent to be unpredictable yet still have some control over the difficulty scaling, as opposed to pure luck of the dice zerging you.

Thanks for the replies guys.  If you have any other suggestions, input, or thoughts I'd be happy to hear them.

[BanzaiCat]

That's REALLY weird. I just looked up Zombicide this morning, and it had no ratings on it. Maybe my work filter blocked some of the content? Sorry about that.

[Nefaro]

That's REALLY weird. I just looked up Zombicide this morning, and it had no ratings on it. Maybe my work filter blocked some of the content? Sorry about that.

You probably clicked on a future version that hasn't been released yet. 

Now PE also got me thinking of Galaxy Defenders in this mix.  Hrmm.  I think my hesitation with that one is due to the predictable AI opponent behavior.  The mechanics are okay, it's just that they're displayed right out in the open and do not change from turn-to-turn as with a card-driven style.  I wonder if the other card play in GD mixes things up enough to overcome this?

[Arctic Blast]

Thoughts on all the games to be mentioned thus far (that I've played) :

1. Zombicide - I've got the base set, the big Prison Outbreak set and the Toxic City Mall expansion. They can be fun, BUT I snagged both of the big, expensive boxes in trades. Had I paid out the money needed for all 3 boxes, I would likely not be quite so charitable. The rules are something of a mess for such a simple game, but it isn't hard to houserule things and create a game that works for what it should be : a big, dumb shoot-a-thon. Think Left 4 Dead : The Boardgame, and you've pretty much got it. For that reason, it's a thousand times better with lots of people than it is alone. The publisher has yet another season Kickstarter coming, but it looks like they're bolting a bunch of minutia and complexity onto a system that only works because it's simple.

2. Galaxy Defenders - On initial plays, I loved this. I've since traded it away with zero regrets. The basic game works fine...it's basically one of the recent D&D adventure games, but with more complexity and options for the board AI aliens. The thing is, it's one of those games with a bunch of fiddly little side rules. The setup ends up being a bear because you need to build custom alien spawn, alien action and event decks specific for each scenario. The combat system can be really annoying, since you roll a defense die for each hit scored. That leads to a lot of rounds of "I got 4 hits...and the target got 3 shields and has 1 power armor, so nothing happens." And since the aliens don't have ammo limits, and you do...yeah. A lot of the difficulty really stems from the combat mechanics being a bit askew. And it really doesn't seem to scale well whatsoever, so you pretty much have to control multiple characters. Match that with a Zombicide-esque price point, and I would recommend doing A LOT of research into this before diving in. It isn't bad, but it sure as Hell isn't great.

3. Level 7 : Omega Protocol - This really wouldn't work that well as a solo game, simply because the Overlord player gets to seed the board with event decks for each room (that you build beforehand out of a selection of cards) that can add alien hunting parties, jammed doors, tile flips and the like. It is a fantastic game, though. The way that Adrenaline controls how much players can do, and the amount of Adrenaline they spend then transfers to the Overlord and controls how much he has to spend, really balances the whole game out very well. Lots of options for both sides. And none of that 'you'll find better guns inside' stupidity - you go in packing the big heat. It won't work well for solo, but this game is every bit as good as Space Hulk (and better in some ways). Everyone I've introduced it to loves it.

4. Gears of War - One of those rare games that I really regret trading. This is perhaps the best solo action game available. Your hand of cards not only controls your abilities, but also represents your health points. So burning through cards to do cool things and 'follow' onto actions by your fellow marines keeps you active, but also makes you vulnerable. The rules are simple, but the game just works. The downside : Setup. Lots of custom decks and board building and all of that jazz does make setup prohibitive. This game is also difficult, but it feels more 'fair' than Galaxy Defenders does.

[Nefaro]

Thanks for the quick & dirty rundown AB!  That was superb!

It also backs up the impressions I've had from watching some vids of the games in action.  Gears Of War has been my fore-runner if for no other reason than it has some interesting hand management and card-driven mechanics to keep things from getting too predictable.  Some at The Geek likened it a bit to the Mage Knight game, which is good praise.

The setup time doesn't really bother me for solitaire games, and isn't bad with a little pre-planning with a group, so it will likely be Gears Of War at the top of my shopping list on Monday.   ;) 

Maybe I'll get lucky and the game store will also have the Eldritch Horror expansion although I wouldn't be surprised if I showed up between shipments after they've been sold out there but it's a great store and deserves a first pass on my business.

Oh... and I just started watching an LP on Level 7: Escape, the Co-op/Solo one.  Some people panned it a bit, especially after Omega Protocol came out, but maybe that has as much to do with it's components not being as fancy as Omega rather than the mechanics?  The LP looked a bit interesting thus far.  I may keep that on my future Want List too.

[PanzersEast]

Finished my first play through of Labyrinth this weekend.  I when through the entire deck and I nor the Jihadist ai reached our instant win thresholds so it to the numbers at the end..... I won the game because I doubled up my Good Resources to his Jihadist resources..... it was a back and forth game, but I believe as the game progressed I got better.  There where times where I was not sure what the best decision was to make.  I believe I probably screwed up on some rules early on, but feel good and will do another play through.  Overall a very well designed game and a enjoyable experience.


PE

[Nefaro]

Finished my first play through of Labyrinth this weekend.  I when through the entire deck and I nor the Jihadist ai reached our instant win thresholds so it to the numbers at the end..... I won the game because I doubled up my Good Resources to his Jihadist resources..... it was a back and forth game, but I believe as the game progressed I got better.  There where times where I was not sure what the best decision was to make.  I believe I probably screwed up on some rules early on, but feel good and will do another play through.  Overall a very well designed game and a enjoyable experience.


PE

Did the programmed opponent's flow chart start to become second nature after awhile?

[PanzersEast]

Finished my first play through of Labyrinth this weekend.  I when through the entire deck and I nor the Jihadist ai reached our instant win thresholds so it to the numbers at the end..... I won the game because I doubled up my Good Resources to his Jihadist resources..... it was a back and forth game, but I believe as the game progressed I got better.  There where times where I was not sure what the best decision was to make.  I believe I probably screwed up on some rules early on, but feel good and will do another play through.  Overall a very well designed game and a enjoyable experience.


PE

Did the programmed opponent's flow chart start to become second nature after awhile?

By the end it did.... for the most part I knew what Events would play, and what actions the Jihadist player would take.  I did have to look at the chart some by the end, however I could breeze through it as I knew what would play and what would not.  So by the end of the game I referenced the chart far less than I did before and even then I was more aware of the actions that could be taken.

PE

[BanzaiCat]

I took time out of my unfortunately working weekend to play one round of In Magnificent Style, which is a solitaire game that simulates Pickett's Charge on the third day of the Gettysburg battle.

My feelings are somewhat mixed. For one, it is a very interesting microcosm of gaming, focusing on just one aspect of the battle (and arguably the one that pretty much marked the end of Southern offensive operations and was the high water mark of the Confederacy), so all of that drew me to it.

What gives me mixed feelings is, I had some substantially spectacular rolls when moving my Confederate brigades across the open ground, making it feel a hell of a lot easier than it felt while reading the rules. I thought it would be a slaughter, as it was historically, and it was for one of the three divisions. Pickett's Division, on the far right, got the furthest the fastest. Pickett himself was killed mere steps from the Union line, but his Division carried on and was first to secure positions in the Union line.

Now, I can't recall if Pettigrew's division was on the far left, or if it was Trimball's - I think it was Pettigrew's. Trimball's division, the one in the middle, also captured all of the Union positions in front of it, with more losses than Pickett's Division, but still plenty of strength to carry their lines.

Pettigrew's Division, on the far left, got hammered. Only one of its three Brigades made it to the Union lines, and this, oddly enough, was the Brigade that directly faced 'The Angle' in the Union's stone wall line. The other two Brigades were slaughtered to a man; one of them I couldn't even get halfway across the field; it routed twice and on the third try, it was mowed down by artillery.

As I took 7 of the 9 Union positions, I had a 'Decisive Victory' which is one step below whatever they call a total victory. What scares me is playing it again and getting my ass kicked, which is what I think should have happened. The rules are very easy to follow; the only thing that slowed me down was looking up the Event chits.

I will try it again sometime, certainly. It was fun but the whole time my two Divisions crossed the field and easily pimp-slapped the Union troops out of their line, I was thinking what happened to Pettigrew's poor Division on the far left is probably what should have happened to everyone...but my rolls were phenomenal, something that never happens normally. 

[PanzersEast]

B-29 is on my table at the moment waiting to take off.....

Anyone played the expansion for B-29 -  Hell Over Korea?  Any thoughts on it or is it worth it?

Also, has anyone else played the 2.0 version of the rules for Picket Duty and what are others opinion of the game?

I have the following in the cart:  Cards of Cthulhu and Warfighter (Base Game).  .....And a couple of unboxing pics I have been needing to upload of some games.


PE