Smashbomb

"Wait, you can play boardgames on your own? How does that work? Isn't it dull? and wouldn't you just rather play a video game?"

These are the most common questions I see asked whenever someone says they play solo boardgames and, if you have never experienced modern boardgames with solo rules, then you are quite right to wonder what, why and how. Let me shed some light on this side of our wonderful hobby.

You can never play enough games

Whilst we have a great group to play games on a Tuesday, 3-4 hours a week is not always enough to scratch that itch, especially if you want to play something bigger and more involved.

There are a lot of great games that need a good few hours to really get into and are not really suitable for playing in the pub on a Tuesday. If you can't meet up with anyone on other nights, then being able to play a game solo is a valid option.

Some benefits include:

*Being able to really get into the theme of a game

*Not having to worry about being slow and annoying anyone else

* Being able to play without distraction.

*Getting away from computer screens/technology.

So why play solo?

There are many reasons why people play solo games, from not having the time to get to game nights, needing something to do when the kids are asleep to just wanting to relax.

For me, I work on computers and my eyes are suffering from looking at screens all day so being able to sit down and play a boardgame is a great way to unwind and rest my eyes whilst still keeping my brain active. I can come home from work and play a short game (like Friday, Onirim or Deep Apace D6) for half an hour or more to unwind - much better than just vegging out in front of the TV.

I love deep, thematic games which tell stories. If I get a few hours free on a weekend, I can spend a Sunday afternoon lost in another world, no distractions, no stress, just me enjoying an interesting story. It's like reading a book but you are actually involved in the adventure.

So how does it work? Do you just play both sides against yourself?

No. Well, yes, you could and people do, but there is much more.

The solo gaming community has grown massively over the last few years with the 1 Player Guild on the Boardgame Geek website boasting well over 15,000 members worldwide and games designers are taking note (many of them being actively involved in the solo community themselves).

As such, many games released nowadays will have either variant rules for solo play or whole expansions or sets of cards designed purely for solo play. There are even games designed purely for solo players.

The easiest games to play solo are co-operative games. This type of game has players working together to reach a common goal in order to win the game. With a few exceptions (games with hidden traitor mechanics), all co-op games can be played solo either playing one character or taking control of two or more characters. This can get a bit heavy and confusing having to keep track of multiple characters' cards, skills, and what not, but if you know the rules fairly well, it gets easier. A lot of people do this to learn a game before bringing it to the club to teach to the rest of us.

Some good solo co-op games include:
* Robinson Crusoe
* Gloom of Kilforth
* Space Cadets: Away Missions
* Legends Untold

Then there are the games that have specific components purely for solo play. These will sometimes change the basic rules or add "Automa" or "dummy" players which function as close to a human player as possible. Usually this is a separate deck of cards that give instructions on what the dummy player will do each turn.

Games with Automa cards include:
* Scythe
* Viticulture
* Xia: Legends of a Drift System (The Automa is included in the Embers of a Forsaken Star expansion)

Finally there are the solitaire games, the ones designed from the start to be 1 player only games, these include:
* Friday
* Hostage Negotiator
* Deep Space D6
* Unbroken

A lot of these tend to be smaller, shorter games that are ideal for sticking in your bag and taking with you to play wherever you are. I often play a quick game of Deep Space D6 at lunchtime at work and when I am out working as drum tech for bands, it's cool to be able to fill in the downtime with a game of something.

Kudos

Debbiereadsbook (1487 KP) rated Mr April (Calendar Men #4) in Books

May 14, 2018

Mr April (Calendar Men #4)

Bailey Bradford | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

good, but not as good as March

Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Will thought the charity shoot was a good thing, til his boyfriend, Geoffrey got all jealous of nothing. So Will dumps him and takes himself out to dinner. And has an instant and powerful reaction to Baz, his server. Baz is a swan shifter, and they mate for life so Baz needs to be careful with Will. Then Geoffrey turns up dead and both men are prime suspects.

Book 4 in the Calendar Men series, but you don't need to have read the other first. It will give you a better picture of what has happened on the photo shoot, but very little of the shoot appears here.

I liked this, a lot. Not as much as March, but I did like it. I just didn't love it and *insert whiny voice* I don't know why!

It carries drama of a different nature to the other books, but I liked that here. It also has shifters of a different breed: swans and coyotes. I did not see whodunnit until it was revealed in the book!

The heat level between Baz and Will is hot and steamy, but also deep and emotional, especially when Baz is talking about life mates and things.

I just LIKED it, but I didn't love it.

BUT!! Still a four star read and I'm interested how the rest of the year will play out.

4 GOOD solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Kudos

Doodle Devil™

Games and Education

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If You Love Doodle God…Embrace Your Dark Side with Doodle Devil! OVER 185,000,000 PLAYERS...

Cruising Right into Love

JP Sayle

9.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

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À new life brings hope. But will it also bring Victor pain - or the love he craves? A chance...

Contemporary MM Romance

Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Losing Princeton Charming in Books

Apr 10, 2019

Charlie and Spencer have been through a lot in their short time together. When Spencer lies to Charlie about his plans for then evening and then subsequently, finds her naked in her best friends apartment(it's a guy by the way), they make the decision that maybe they aren't the best for each other. But somehow they can't stay out of each others lives. Will they be able to either stay away from each other, or find a way to make it work no matter the consequences?

Thank you to C.M. Seabrook and Frankie Love for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is book 3 in the Princeton Charming Series. I think that this one has been my favorite so far. It made me cry. Charlie and Spencer aren't together, but both of them are miserable. When vandalism hit both Charlie's room as well as Ava's, Spencer's sister, it brings them together like never before. Not only Spencer and Charlie, but also their friends. But is it enough for them to stay together and make it last?

There is one last episode in the story of Charlie and Spencer and I can't wait to find out where their relationship is headed to next.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2400 KP) rated The Ghost of Christmas Past (Molly Murphy #17) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

December of 1906 finds Molly Murphy Sullivan hoping that the new year will bring some changes and good news. When she, her husband Daniel, and their son Liam get invited to a house party for Christmas on the Hudson, Molly thinks this might help take her mind off everything going on in her life. However, she finds the household has a weird tension to it, with relationships she can’t quite read. Then she learns that a child disappeared from this house 10 years before right before Christmas. Molly is determined to figure out what happened, but has it been too long?

As is often the case, we start out with some updates on the series regulars before Molly fully plunges into the mystery, but once she does, I was hooked. In fact, as soon as I got off work, I sat down to finish. While I don’t feel like Daniel has grown, I love the rest of the cast, and the new characters are very strong. There is a more serious tone than you might expect from a Christmas mystery, but the contrast works well in this case.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-review-ghost-of-christmas-past-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

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Dee R (8 KP) rated Midnight (Skulduggery Pleasant #11) in Books

Sep 11, 2018

Midnight (Skulduggery Pleasant #11)

Derek Landy | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Quikly captures the reader (3 more)

Paints the images clear

Cover work is enticing

Great next installment

Derek Landy is amazing

Contains spoilers, click to show

So fans of Skulduggery Pleasant had been waiting for this installment of the series for a year. Derek Landy had said this was the last in the series so it was highly anticipated and most of us had preordered copies and some lucky fans got to get theirs signed.
Starting the first page you are instantly teleported into the world of Valkyrie and Skulduggery.
How Derek focused on the after affect of Valkyrie becoming Darquesse, shows dedication to the main characters and that even though they may only be real within the words he types, that there is love there.
He portrays Valkyrie going through a difficult transition and coming to terms with what she had done but she knew once she had the individuals in the magic world would not forget.
The tale gets intense within a few chapters, as they work on a case as unoffical investigators. Meeting new and important people throughout, helping them once more save the day.
But the best thing of this book is the fact right at the end Derek Landy gives us a short snippet of the next book! Which like this one is now highly anticipated.