May is Solitaire Gaming month
Albert Hernandez
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United States
Greenville
SC
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May is a tough month here at the 1 Player podcast househould. Mrs. 1 Player works in theatre and May is super busy for her. That means that Mr. 1 Player is busy with the 1 Player kids. So, we (I) tend to have less opportunity to meet up with friends and game. Therefore, I have decreed that May is the 1 Player podcast solitaire gaming month.

I encourage everyone to try and play a solo game you wouldn't normally try and post your experience here. Maybe you'll pick something that takes more time than you can normally commit to. Maybe you'll pick something you've never tried solo. Who knows. Post your plans and experience here!
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1. Board Game: Nightfighter [Average Rating:7.39 Overall Rank:3643]
Albert Hernandez
(fractaloon)
United States
Greenville
SC
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My goal this month is to try out Night Fighter. This game doesn't support solitaire play but someone made a very compelling set of solo rules for the game. I've yet to play the game at all so I need to learn all the rules.

Status:

2013-05-02: I took the game to work this week. I was hoping to start reading the rules at lunch time. I think tomorrow I'll bring the game back tomorrow and hope to start reading the rules at home.

2013-05-03: The game came home today. After getting the kids to bed, I separated and trim all the large counters and read about 1/2 the rules I need for the 1st scenario. I don't think I need to use any of the small counters when playing the solitaire variant.

2013-05-04: We had lots of rain on Sunday. I got up around 8:00 AM and went down to the basement which has recently started flooding during heavy rainfalls. I shop vacked at least 100 gallons of water over the rest of the day. I had periods were I could, theoretically, sit down and read rules but was so exhausted I didn't bother. The last vacuuming of basement water was around 11:30 PM! I did manage to print and put together Land of Enin.

2013-05-07: Okay, I finally sat down and read the rest of the rules. At least, I read enough for the first scenario. I'm now ready to try a 2 player game. Next time, I'll sit down and read the solitaire rule book.

2013-05-09: I read through enough of the solitaire rules for scenario 1. I think I'm to tired because they are really confusing. I get the impression they shouldn't be. I also started looking at some really good session reports and realized I will need to trim more counters, but not tonight.

2013-05-14: I spent another hour trimming counters. It's a nice way to procrastinate. I still have another hour or so to go... probably this weekend.

2013-05-19: It's been a very busy week. I finally spent a little time this evening and finished trimming the counters. I am finally ready to play. However, we are getting close to the end of May and I won't have much free time but then again, I have a long weekend coming up. I'm expecting to record another podcast and am on track for that.

2013-05-25: I just managed to play the 1st scenario. It's a very unfair scenario in that you are unlikely to succeed. I never managed to find any enemy planes, much less shoot one down. I want to re-read the rules before trying scenario 2. It didn't feel right. I was a bit confused in a few parts so I probably got something wrong.

2013-05-30: Tonight is my last chance to game this month. I made a concerted effort to read the rules last night and get ready for scenario 2. I played it this evening and very nearly had a decisive victory. I shot the 1st plane down and was able to tally and shoot the 2nd plane but was 1 point short of shooting it down in the last turn.

The game is interesting. The 1st scenario was downright dull because it was so random. This 2nd scenario is still terribly random but a bit better because having searchlights helps locate the plane. You have a reasonable chance of succeeding. If I didn't know these 2 scenarios are really supplied to give a historical sense of how night-fighting evolved I would have written the game off at this point. But, knowing what they represent makes the game more interesting. I look forward to seeing how night-fighting evolved over time.
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2. Board Game: Village [Average Rating:7.54 Overall Rank:129]
Mo
(mo7189)
United States
Downingtown
Pennsylvania
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Well, there aren't many games in my collection that I haven't already played solo, but I won a copy of Village from the recent TMG/BGG contest and haven't gotten it to the table yet. With the end of school only five weeks away, the kids are extra busy this month. Since the family probably won't have time to learn a new game any time soon, I'll give this one a try solo.

First, I'll play a multi-player game by myself to be sure I've got the rules down and the basics of the gameplay. And then I see that someone posted a solitaire variant in the forum, so I'll give that a try and see how it plays out. I've played several of my non-solitaire games alone, so I'm sure I'll get enjoyment out of this one as well.

Thanks for setting up the geeklist, Albert! I'll post progress as it occurs.

Mo 1

05/04/2013: I got through the rules and watched a couple of vids (quick plug of MiWi's Walkthrough video). Last night I played a solo 3P setup to be sure I got all the rules and gameplay down. I still made several mistakes, though, and didn't use the time/death mechanism very well. The game went a little long. That will come down with another play or two, I'm sure.

P1 focused on the Market (6 tiles) and made a late push for the Church. He did zero Travel. P2 went to the Church and Village Council early, then Travelled late in the game. And P3 had a complete Travel set by the end, and tried to get into the Church and Council late. Both P2 and P3 had 1 Market tile each.

Scores were P1=45, P2=54, P3=61. Overall this was a learning session, but it was fun. I'll probably go through the rules one more time and play one more multi-player setup before trying the solo variant.

05/11/2013: Well, I had intentions to play this again as a solo multi-player session to be sure I had all the rules down and had the gameplay in order. However, my youngest daughter, K, asked if she could learn my new game. You bet!! K is 10 and my main gaming partner. I quickly ran through all the rules but decided playing is the best way to learn since there are a lot of options.

By the end of the first round, she was good to go. I didn't need to explain much or help her with basic strategies after that. In the end, I won 50 to 49. Unfortunately, I realized right before the game ended that I made a critical error and had one of my 2nd generation family members pass away before my final 1st gen. This probably would have caused the game to end sooner and may, or may not, have changed the outcome. Oh well, we both had fun, and I look forward to another 2P (or more) session of this.

Next up will by my first attempt at the solo variant posted in the forum...

05/17/2013: I finally played a solo game using the variant created by PunTheHun (Lutz Pietschker). It worked pretty well. After my first solo 3P session, I was interested in something a little more streamlined for solitaire play. I don't mind pretending to be many people sometimes, but it makes it difficult when I just want to focus on my own gameplay and decisions.

Lutz set up an Order of Preferences for the AI to choose his actions during his turns. I basically just went down the list until I reached the first one he could accomplish and performed that action to the best of his ability. This did exactly what I wanted...it made the game move along at a quicker pace and I didn't have to think too much about my opponent's choices.

There are a few hiccups with this method, however. Since the AI will make his choices based on a specific order, I could easily plan a turn or two ahead knowing what actions the AI will choose on those turns. And I could leave an action available knowing the AI wasn't going to “steal” it from me any time soon. Obviously, playing a human player would mean I could only guess what they may or may not do on a turn.

So, the ultimate goal of this variant is high score. For this session, I scored 51 points, which was right in line with my two “normal” games. I'll have to play with this variant a few more times to decide where my first true solo score falls.

Overall, I think this solo variant is a success. It could probably use some tweaking, but I'm happy with my first attempt. I doubt I would recommend this game as a mainly solitaire experience, but if you enjoy classic, cube-pushing Eurogames, I think this one is a solid choice for mulit-player sessions. And, if you get the urge some night and no one's around, this solo variant can definitely help you pass the time.
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3. Board Game: Pax Porfiriana [Average Rating:7.67 Overall Rank:434]
Franco
(loquitur)
Canada
Ottawa
ON
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I have it set up now, and I'm attempting the official solitaire variant, but with rules in the components list, and rules in the rules sections, and rules in the glossary, the addition of solitaire-specific rules all makes for a hard go. It's going in my bag this weekend on my trip to Spain, so hopefully I'll get a game or two in (as I'm on my own).
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4. Board Game: Galactic Emperor [Average Rating:6.61 Overall Rank:1938]
Jorik
(HerrJork)
Netherlands
Utrecht
Utrecht
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I just received this in the mail and only the vps are hidden so theoretically there isn't much to stop me. It usually plays 3-6
It is also a good way to learn the game before teaching it to the rest
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5. Board Game: Friday [Average Rating:7.18 Overall Rank:349]
Brian P Lewis
(tqboz)
United Kingdom
Torquay
Unspecified
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Well without even realising its solo month, yesterday I played Friday for the first time, great quick fun game. I lost twice but cant wait to play again.

Fits on a small coffee table as well.
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6. Board Game: Space Hulk: Death Angel – The Card Game [Average Rating:6.99 Overall Rank:576]
David Rice
(UofLHoops)
United States
Louisville
Kentucky
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I was recommended this game by several people in a forum post so this is on its way. After checking out a few of the walk-through videos I can't wait for it to arrive. It looks brutal and challenging....looking forward to it!
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7. Board Game: Voyage of the B.S.M. Pandora [Average Rating:6.73 Overall Rank:4359]
Ryan
(Ryanmobile)
United States
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I've been playing a 30 month game this month.

Everything was going along just fine and I was on track to have a successful and profitable voyage. Then I lost two crewmembers on one expedition due to a surprise attack and a plunge into a deep abyss. Fortunately the robot sherpa made it back, but that loss cost me 20 VPs that can't be made up.

This is my second play of this game. It's a little gem. The random and unforgiving seem appropriate for the theme.

Now, to finish exploring with the remaining months of voyage, or head back early and admit failure...
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8. Board Game: Outdoor Survival [Average Rating:4.71 Overall Rank:17667]
Martin Ralya
(Martin Ralya)
United States
Seattle
Washington
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I bought this because of its place in the history of D&D (the map was recommended for use as a wilderness map in the original edition of D&D), but I got the urge to try it out.

I played three solo games of the Lost scenario last night and died of thirst every time. I made it within 10 hexes of the map edge just once. It's brutal! Despite its randomness it's kind of charming in a fatalistic sort of way. I enjoyed playing it.
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9. Board Game: Andean Abyss [Average Rating:7.59 Overall Rank:816]
Brian Boyle
(sysyphus)
Australia
Sydney
NSW
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Inspired by this post, I thought I would go back and try Andean Abyss solo again last night.

Didn't get very far in until my brain melted (again) with the complexity. Playing Labyrinth: The War on Terror, 2001 – ? solo is a cake walk (thanks to wonderful piece of code here on BGG) compared to this.

Really want to get into this game, but for me its as impenetrable as the Amazonian jungle.
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10. Board Game: Where There Is Discord: War in the South Atlantic [Average Rating:7.92 Overall Rank:2106]
David Low
(dlow)
Australia
Canberra
ACT
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May is, of course, the perfect month to finally get around to playing this.

I may not be able to follow Let us Bring Harmony, Fourth Annual in realtime; but I will see if I can find enough space to leave it setup long enough to reach the landings!
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11. Board Game: Power Grid: The Robots [Average Rating:7.14 Unranked] [Average Rating:7.14 Unranked]
Kyle
(Woelf)
United States
Up Nort' Der
Wisconsin
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DV: Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him.                 AT: Then I will avenge his death.             DV: Revenge is not the Jedi way.             AT: I am no Jedi.
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Almost all of my gaming over the past six months has been split between playing with my 3-year-old daughter, and playing solo.

None of the games I own are designed specifically for solo play, but I've played quite a few of them solo and will continue to do so whenever the multiplayer option isn't available (which is most of the time).


Some of the games I intend to Solo soon:

[COMPLETED! (Kinda...)] Power Grid with Robots - The Robots aren't technically designed for solo, but work remarkably well for it. Playing with two is far better than with one, and the next time (hopefully very soon) I'm going to attempt it with three.
DETAILS:
(05-15-13) So, I did manage to play this, but it wasn't a solo because the Robots got replaced with actual humans (which is far, far, better). They weren't in the same room as me and one wasn't even in the same country(!), but it was a great play nonetheless. We played using Google's "Hangouts" video conferencing setup and each of us tracked things on our own physical boards, so without the laptop sitting there, it would have looked just like a solo game!

[COMPLETED!] Merchants & Marauders - I place three NPC ships on the board (1 Pirate, 2 Naval), then set up a 15-card Event deck. The goal is to hit 10 Glory Points before that deck runs out or my captain dies, and as an added twist, stashed gold doesn't count for any points.
DETAILS:
(05-07-13) The game ended in a loss when my captain died, but it was a glorious death in battle against two Man-O-Wars back-to-back. The first went down fairly quickly, but the second proved too much for what was left of my Brig. I could have played it safe and avoided them entirely, but the "clock" was running out and that was the only possible way to reach 10 points in time.

[COMPLETE and Ongoing] Rallyman - This was a new acquisition for me and I played it solo a whole bunch of times over the past month. Like most racing games it works perfectly solo by running several cars at once.
DETAILS:
(05-10-13) I did a few speed runs using individual cars last night. Just one stage, but I should be able to get a few more in tonight or tomorrow.
(05-17-13) It took a few extra days, but I finished off the remaining two cars in the first stage and ran the entire second stage. The third stage may happen later this month sometime, but I'd like to get one or two of the other games played first.
(05-23-13) I've now managed to get through several more plays of this great game. This has the big advantage of having a super fast set up and it plays relatively quick too. It's also fairly easy to track progress if you do need to stop mid-game.

[COMPLETED] Zombie in my Pocket - A new addition the list, I'd downloaded this one a while back but only just remembered I had it a few days ago.
DETAILS:
(05-18-13) Played two full rounds and lost both. The first was really close because I died burying the totem, but if I'd had even one more health point it would have been a win. The second round wasn't even close; I barely made it out of the house before getting swarmed and chewed apart.
(05-27-13) Snuck in a quick (literally 5-minutes) game the other day while waiting for a computer program to load. I wasted a ton of time/cards backtracking through the house when the layout left the temple and the exit on opposite ends, but I made up for by finding the graveyard almost immediately after exiting the house. There was just enough time to bury the totem using the final card of the deck. Success!


[COMPLETED!!] The Omega Virus - I've never actually played this solo before, but I've wanted to for quite a while. The catch is that it's really noisy, so I can't play it during my usual solo gaming time after the kids are in bed. It pretty much has to wait until sometime where I'll be home alone for a couple hours.
DETAILS:
(05-24-13) WOW! I unexpectedly found the opportunity to play this again! I did four solo runs - two controlling all four players, and two with just a single player. I set it at the highest difficulty each time, but for the first three I also used the "Jumpy Virus" trick which ended it making it too difficult. The fourth round I kept the difficult at the highest level, but went without the jumpy Virus and won easily.

[COMPLETED!!!] Mage Knight Dungeons - One of my favorite games of all time, and being a dungeon-crawler makes it fantastic for solo play. The problem is that is uses a crapload of miniatures, and with young kids and a pair of cats in the house I can't really leave it set up for long periods of time.
DETAILS:
(05-26-13) Success! My wife and kids went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend, so I ended up having enough free time on Sunday to pull this out and get it played a few times in between watching new episodes of Arrested Development. The first game was a "Lone Wolf" with just one Hero vs. another, but neither survived long enough to escape with treasure. The second was a two vs. two (100-ish points each) battle where the team I expected to win got beaten down with some really bad luck while the other team dominated throughout. The third was another Lone Wolf game, but with much stronger (and higher level) Heroes this time; one was fast and had a higher damage output, while the slower one had better armor and some limited ability to heal. The former was surging ahead until he get smacked down by a Slag Troll, while the latter was forced to take a more cautious approach that made it easy to sweep the dungeon completely clean of monsters (including that Slag Troll) and walk out with a load of treasure. It was great getting it played again, but like usual there's never enough to do everything I'd like with it so I've already got several good ideas for what to do the next time I'm able to get it out.


-------------------------
The games listed below are on my solo play "wishlist", but I'm not holding out much hope to get them played this month or any time within the immediate future. With the month almost finished and the next few days quickly filling up with stuff to do, the odds of either of these getting out are slim to none. Maybe next month...

The Phantom League - This is similar in scope to Merchants & Marauders, but I'm yet to figure out a good "timer" mechanism like the event deck so I usually treat it more like a multiplayer game and control two or three different characters at once.

Stronghold - I haven't played this one at all in a very long time, but it's always a contender when considering games to solo. It'll get there sooner or later...
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12. Board Game: Rune Age [Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:1016]
Brian Sturk
(telengard)
United States
Hudson
New Hampshire
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Have played a handful of solo games, all playtesting my solitaire scenario. This is one of my favorites when I don't have a lot of time (which is most of the time w/ a new house and 2 little ones).

I hope to tackle 1830 solitaire before the end of the month using the 1829 Mainline rules. A much bigger undertaking than Rune Age.
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13. Board Game: Mage Knight Board Game [Average Rating:8.10 Overall Rank:23]
Dave Howe
(tazz)
Singapore
Singapore
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I've been wanting to try the solo play of Mage Knight, so this might be the motivation I need to get it to the table. Thanks for putting up the suggestion!
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14. Board Game: Pocket Civ [Average Rating:6.66 Overall Rank:3265]
John Farrell
(Friendless)
Australia
Rozelle
New South Wales
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After not playing this for several years I had a bash at it last week. I was a bit frustrated by my components, so today I printed out some cards describing the disasters, sleeved everything, and found some wooden cubes to use as tribes instead of the other markers I was using, and played again.

Logistically this time was much smoother, and I had more idea of strategy, but I was hammered by disasters over and over. Yes, that's always the way, but it seemed worse. I finally achieved Government on my way to trying to get Diplomacy, and started getting hammered by Corruption. For the last 3 eras I gained no new technologies.

I increased my rating from a 5 to a 6. Although the game is working better for me and I can see some strategy in it, the disasters are so brutal there's very little joy in the game. I have some more ideas on improving my components further, but I'm not so motivated to do so.
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15. Board Game: Dominant Species [Average Rating:7.85 Overall Rank:51]
Chris Tappan
(tapwater12)
United States
Sarasota
Florida
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Played this as a multiplayer solitaire this past Friday. Only ever played this as a three or four player in the past.

I was very concerned of the complexity, analysis paralysis, and utter brain overload with this title, but it actually wasn't too bad! Sure it took me close to four hours, but it absolutely flew by. It was an awesome experience and reminded me how much I love this game.

If time permitting I would definitely play this solo again!
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16. Board Game: The Napoleonic Wars (Second Edition) [Average Rating:7.47 Overall Rank:1463]
Derek Rowe
(thegamer)
Canada
High River Canada
Alberta
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Currently playing Nappy Wars and got to the 3rd turn last night. This is one of those games that I had to set up and play the first turn while reading the rule book. The French has a big lead at the moment and surprisingly I have made few mistakes with the rules.

I really do enjoy these card driven games when you get surprised by some of the cards. I like seeing the cards for the first time during play then later after the session, read tidbits of history about that particular action or event. Found out not to mess around with Napoleon cause he can definitely bring the hammer down on your armies with his superior skills in the field of combat.

Good fun and great experience so far..

Status: Well game has wrapped up at the end of turn three with a peace die roll of seven, due to Europe exhausted being in play. The French won this game with a score of 5. Fun solo experience with some very cool battles on this last turn. Britain managed to take Paris and the French had control of both Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia took Moscow back with an amazing five dice roll containing 4 6's and a 5. France did not surrender in the surrender phase then managed to win.

Having played this game for the very first time I had thought that maybe allying Prussia with the French was a good move at the time but actually benefited the French greatly. Turn Three had Prussia switch Camps but by that time the French army had already penetrated deep into Russia.

Having control of both Spain and Denmark gave the French considerable depth of play as well. Britain was plagued by bad card draws and un- lucky neutral proxy event plays which were always foreign wars.Austria never surrendered due to the fact that Russia had staved off the French assault there with great rolling and battle card play.

Time wise I suspect around five or six hours total, and over a week to play due to my limited time I can afford to play a game. Good time.

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17. Board Game: Bibliogamo [Average Rating:6.46 Overall Rank:11661]
Brendan McGuire
(Sculder_8P)
United States
Glendale
Arizona
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Working off of John F's posting of Pocket Civ, I have decided to include my own favorite PnP game.

There is a bounty of solitaire PnP games here on BGG. Games of this theme and mechanic do not hit the table very often with our game group. So I searched BGG for a solitaire version. This one struck my fancy so much that I went out and bought a nice printer, a good cutting board, and some quality card-stock. So, this game not only started my solitaire obsession, but my PnP one as well.

I plan on printing out a new one this month to fit the theme of this GL (one that I would not normally try), but until I do, I thought I'd blow the dust off this one and give it another go in honor of Solitaire Gaming Month.

EDIT:

I finally got around to playing this. Turns out this was a perfect month to be solitaire gaming month. I am moving into a new house this month and found myself many times alone with my games in a big empty house waiting for various services to be turned on.

Bibliogamo - Unfortunately, I did not pack a game with cubes so I wound up having to track everything via paper and pen. It was horrible. I wouldn't recommend it. First thing I did when I got internet back on was make a meeple purchase for cubes.

Onirim and Urbion - Onirim is still my favorite of the two, but Urbion is quickly growing in my favor as an interesting mathesque puzzle game.

Friday - This I played the most, and with good reason as it is my favorite solitaire game of all time. (I even managed to win a couple times. The trick is to burn cards quickly)

Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule! - Recently got this in the mail have backed it on kickstarter. Found there to be solitaire rules, so of course I had to play it. Not a game you want to play with a card counter. After just a few games I had already inadvertently memorized the flip side to certain cards. However, this game wasn't intended for me and will be excellent for the little niece I intended it for.

Room-25 - Holy wow, this game was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. At first the game started rather easy. I was able to make it safely to the edge without any mishaps. But then I found we were on the wrong side. We then had major problems getting to the other side. In the end we all made it out, but it wasn't a guarantee. I like how it fooled you in the beginning into thinking it is an easy game.

Legendary - I played this one late and was falling asleep in the darkness. I won easily but then after reading the rules the next day, I found that I played it almost all completely wrong. I'll have to give it another go after I review the Watch It Played series on it.

Sentinels of the Multiverse - I still like this better than Legendary because the idea that each hero is a deck appeals to me more. However, I have to remind myself that I played Legendary all wrong so I really shouldn't make a comparison at this point.

Lord of the Rings; The Card Game Before I was introduced to Friday, this was my favorite solitaire game. Therefore, I had to get in many games of this along with Friday.

Flash Point, Zpocalypse, Legends of Andor Meant to break these out and give them a go, but between Friday and LotR Card Game, I never got around to them. Oh well, there is always next month.

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18. Board Game: Field Commander: Napoleon [Average Rating:7.72 Overall Rank:1378]
Moe45673
(Moe45673)
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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I love this game, not least of which is the reason that it feels like you're playing against, at worst, a decent videogame AI. I got a superior victory in the 1796 campaign and got my ass handed to me in the 1798 Egyptian campaign. The supply points trickle in and by the time you can get a decent amount, you're disallowed from reinforcements. Then the enemy gets some crazy flanking reinforcements late in the game (which I prepared for) but I had to move one of those units to a frontline (during a Fog of War roll) weakening them and then...... dammit, it's tough. I don't know how anyone could possibly capture Acre.

But after I finish it, I still have 9 more scenarios to get through!

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19. Board Game: Malta Besieged: 1940-1942 [Average Rating:7.48 Overall Rank:6153]
Marc Nelson Jr.
(marcnelsonjr)
United States
Cumberland
Maryland
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This isn't anything unusual for me, as I'm a big VPG States of Siege fan.

I got this and We Must Tell the Emperor: The Great Pacific War, 1941 to 1945 for Christmas. I'm in a bit of a rut in WMTtE, so I think I'll give Malta a try.
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20. Board Game: Dungeon Run [Average Rating:6.27 Overall Rank:2927]
Jeremy Hope
(Taegukki)
New Zealand
Auckland
Auckland
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I played my first solitaire game of Dungeon Run last night.

It started off well, but I quickly realised that it was too damn easy! I took back all the components, shuffled them again, and then added 3x more tiles than the rule book said to to make it interesting.

After about 30 minutes, I successfully destroyed Ra-Alal, the zombie boss! I had a blast playing this, it was way less 'forever alone' than I thought it would be! I can't wait to try out my copies of Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island and Mice & Mystics solitaire! When I do, I'll post here with my findings





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21. Board Game: Urbion [Average Rating:6.91 Overall Rank:2091]
Kyle Currie
(Elyklord)
United States
Oakland
California
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This geeklist has inspired me to attempt to put a few solitaire games on the table I've neglected now for some time.

Today, I played Urbion after buying it yesterday. I loved Onirim, so when I saw this at my FLGS I couldn't help myself. A great (and portable) game, similar to its brother but unique enough to certainly warrant owning both.

I'll probably add the other games I play this month here as I get to them. Thanks for the inspiration!
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22. Board Game: Defenders of the Realm [Average Rating:7.33 Overall Rank:442]
mateenyweeny
(slinkydink)
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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After not being able to get this one to the table yet, I decided to take a crack at it solo (4 heroes) this weekend while my wife was away.

Had a great time and it was tense the whole way through. Would love to get this out with a group. It's a little long but a fun time throughout. I won by a hair.

I also got out Urbion and played that for the first time (losing after collecting 11 of 12 cities) and I have Red November set up on the table to play tonight. Hopefully I can figure it out this time. Yay solitaire month!
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23. Board Game: Struggle for the Galactic Empire [Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:4596]
Keith Dennard
(Akden)
United States
Winchester
Virginia
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All the counters are punched and divided, and I plan to get this to the table this week-end, but right now I'm playing "Struggle to get through the Rulebook!"


I've been on a sci-fi kick recently, so I'm looking forward to an epic conflict.
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24. Board Game: Locomotive Werks [Average Rating:6.80 Overall Rank:3029]
Johannes cum Grano Salis
(rarevos)
United States
Finger Lakes
New York
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Well this is pretty fortuitous.

I lost a few regular gaming opponents recently to various Life Events, so outside of my monthly 18xx Day, I don't play very much any more. However, I work from home and am trying to make a concerted effort to get away from my computer over lunch, and to shut the damn thing off at the end of the day, so playing online or using computer AIs is not much of an option. So I decided solo gaming is my draw, at least a few days a week.

So my first projects are to design plausible AIs for a couple of my games. I started with Lokomotive Werks, and have three in-progress inflexible/predictable strategies to try and play against. I also want to play London (whch is solitairish anyway) to learn the cards and maybe glean a thing or two about card interactions or Good Play. I also want to try and create a few Game Problems in a couple things I enjoy but don't play often (e.g., Baltimore & Ohio, Notre Dame, Manoeuvre). I'd rather embrace my inner Calandale than play a solo variant that changes rules; I'm terrible at retaining rules, and I'd rather not confuse myself with solo rules exceptions, if it can be helped.

I also have Space Empires: 4X that I am going to solo, and I might borrow that Labyrinth War on Terror game from a friend just because it has a solo option. I don't own very much that works purely solo, so some of what I do will be multiplayer-solo, if that makes sense. Luckily I'm not very good at games, so a "beat a high score" approach is perfectly valid.
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25. Board Game: Arkham Horror [Average Rating:7.28 Overall Rank:278] [Average Rating:7.28 Unranked]
Mikolaj Laczynski
(mikolajl)
Poland
Warsaw
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I got this in a mathtrade in october. This Gaming month might motivate me enough to try it out solo.

If I don't find enough time I want to try out some games I created while testing how artscow works:
1. Lord of the Rings: The Adventure Deck Game - I actually already played this twice, but got a couple of rules wrong
2. Epic Solitaire Notebook Adventures
3. Pocket Pro Golf

Edit: Played on Sunday the 12th of May - description below in the comment.
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