Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Tinfoil knight on August 09, 2016, 07:06:20 PM
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Has any one found any success with a solo tabletop game? I know many board games and card games now include single player variants but I haven't seen much out of tabletop stuff. The closest is Frostgrave and I haven't got round to trying that yet but look forward to it.
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Many of the skirmish level games mentioned here like IHMN and Pulp Alley are easily adapted to solo play. I have used them and more over the years whgen I have not been able to find an opponent.
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Any wargame can be solo play especially when you play each side to the best of your ability.
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take a look on two hour wargames. Best solo/coop games available ;)
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I've had a lot of success with my Old West game, Shoot N' Skedaddle...but it's more of an accidental by-product than a real attempt at designing a solo game. Also, the impossible-to-replicate complexity which is out-witting your opponent is obviously impossible.
However, SnS involves random gang or posse creation (players draw characters from a deck and then arm them randomly from a weapon deck). This removes any army building or cheesing on one side, etc. It also allows for immense replayability of a single scenario.
Next, activation is handled by two matching poker decks (each character is assigned a poker card...two are shuffled into the activation deck and you take turns drawing). This means that when a character is drawn it's relatively easy to simply act in that character's best interest. Again, sadly the mischief of out-smarting your opponent isn't present, so it's never as good as a genuine game vs. an opponent but I can really enjoy running a game solo.
I'm not here hocking my wares, moreso I think you should look for games with similar mechanics. Failing that I find a lot of games are just a card deck away from being relatively solo-friendly. Adding some randomness or variety or unexpected events is a good way to entertain yourself. I find that wargames can be quite difficult to enjoy if you have control of two opposing armies and you know your own strategies before you put them into play. You could randomize deployment or randomize an army build...you could develop a quick D12 or D20 table to determine how a unit acts? Lots of simple ways you can massage a set of rules to be more solo-friendly.
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Elbows also put out his Elbowtech rules which I used for a solo game (See http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=80910.105) page 8 shows my battle report. To play solo it helps if you give one or both sides a clear objective that indicates victory. In my example one side had to get off the board and the other had to stop them simple precise objectives. The use of cards and die rolls to determine actions and movement helps. Elbows rules worked well in that regard.
Do you still have your stuff up on the web somewhere Elbows given that all your images have disappeared in the thread? I know you were talking about adjusting some aspects of the rules at one point. Are you still toying with them?
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I have the updated cards on my blog (link on my signature), but since that project I've left a job...moved...and life has gotten in the way. I was actually looking at my box of Elbowtech stuff today. I'll add that to the list of stuff I need to update.
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We recently released a 1-page guide and a new Solo Deck specifically designed for playing Pulp Alley solo scenarios.
Here what one of our avid Pulp Alley players had this to say about his first encounter with the new Solo Deck (from ragsthetiger) --
"I set up my first solo game of Pulp Alley last night after dinner and played a couple of turns before retiring to bed. I was very impressed with how well the solo rules and deck work, and what an interesting game they provided. Too often, playing a game like this solo devolves into a tedious checklist of procedural moves that lack drama and spontaneity, but the Pulp Alley Solo Deck is full of twists and surprises, and gives the game the kind of dynamic ebb and flow that makes it unpredictable, lively, dramatic, and fun.
"I really don't think one could ask for a better rendition of this game for solo play -- there was a lot of thought and care put into designing this expansion, and anyone who plays solo, or has thought of doing so, is going to be thrilled with how well it opens up Pulp Alley for the solo gamer. Solo gamers, your Pulp Alley expansion has arrived, and it works great."
HAVE FUN
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Games based on the "Pony Wars" type system can be alot of fun where enemy units come on the table edge randomly and react to your units on a probability table.
Developed originally for US Cavalry/Indian Wars, it works best for convoy or mission type scenarios. I was thinking of trying it in a Byzantines vs Arabs setting using Saga as far as possible.
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I'm surprised I'm the only one who speaks about two hour wargames ? They created great reference games like NUTS or All Thing Zombies.
The system is table driven (don't be afraid, for most situations you will soon don't need it), where coop and solo gaming is directly integrated in the basis of the game, not some kind of "upper coat" or optional way to handle solo gaming.
Campaign rules are often (always? not sure since I don't own all the thw rules) very detailled, wich is perfect in solo gaming in my opinion : what you cannot find (a human intelligence) is replaced by story telling.
The game system is very cleverly made, so situations still credible, but still with "heroic" felling.
All rules may not be the easiest to learn, but game support is first class on the official forum or blog.
I play solo most of the time, due to my geographic situation, and I bless THW games everytime I play this way ! Even with casual gamers, or people of diferent level or comitment, you can play solo VS the game system, instead of humiliating the newbie (or simply be bored to play with newbies) simply because you know the game a way better.
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I have only played one Two Hour Wargames...the gladiator one (I believe it's that company) Red Sand, Blue Sky. It was one of the worst games I've ever played, and as such I've never bothered even glancing at their other titles.
:?
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You should take a look on their last free titles : 2D6 system, chain reaction 2015 and swordplay 2015. It's free, so risk is minimal lol
I didnt try the gladiator game, and not a THW specialist, but I believe it's a quite old game. Maybe that's the problem. You'll see that chain reaction 2015 is pretty straight forward.
But I can understand that it's also a matter of personal taste. I know a few games wich are very popular here or other forums, that I tried, and never liked at all. ;)
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Any wargame can be solo play especially when you play each side to the best of your ability.
My solo opponent is a cheating no good low down bastard. I hate him!
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My solo opponent is a cheating no good low down bastard. I hate him!
lol
You could try looking at some of the ideas presented at Shaun's blog:
http://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.com/ (http://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.com/)
He does a fair amount of solo gaming and rules tinkering.
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If you are looking for some inspiration then try Donald Featherstone's Solo Wargaming. Although written in the 70's it has some fantastic ideas that can be adapted for modern wargaming. Link to Amazon below if you are interested.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donald-Featherstones-Solo-Wargaming-Curry/dp/1409260119
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I have only played one Two Hour Wargames...the gladiator one (I believe it's that company) Red Sand, Blue Sky. It was one of the worst games I've ever played, and as such I've never bothered even glancing at their other titles.
:?
This. Made me sell off my gladiator collection. Move em together, roll dice, look at a chart, repeat,.knock a guy down, game over. Weeeee ......
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You should have kept your gladiators, then you could have used them for Jugula, which is excellent, although more of a deck building game with added gladiators than a gladiator game. But very thematic, and lots of hard choices at all times; many gladiator games turn into 'run into combat and hack away'. Jugula doesn't.
If you are interested in Solo games, then 'Programmed Wargames Scenarios' (Charles Grant) should be on your 'to buy' list.
Lots of Solo games in there with built in unpredictable plans for the enemy.
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I really enjoy THW games. Most often than not, the story writes itself.
I played a game of ATZ where a lonely survivor came upon a small camp made out of two tents and a lonely jeep.
I used their Risk & Reward deck and I flipped a card for each of the tents and one for the vehicle to see if I could find something useful.
I found keys in one of the tent, so my survivor got the jeep to continue his journey.
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I also bought the ATZ cards, and atz is one of my favorite game, solo and coop. ATZ is a must have for sure.
But I'm still interested by the other ideas people gave us on this topic, I didn't know some of the books.
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I think any ruleset with random activations should work fairly well for solo. I play Chain of Command solo, using Platoon Forward to randomly generate the opposing force that starts under blinds. It works well enough for me.
I'm currently considering starting some Pulp Alley solo - they've just brought out a solo deck
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I am also avid solo player, mainly FoF.
Regarding THW, guess it is not the worst game, but I tried play THW Nuts! and honestly couldn't go through that game. Agree on that it is highly praised game and also it is game dedicated for solo play, so should be highly recommended game for all solitary gamers, but I got lost in starting something beyond quick example in rulebook...
Maybe it is good game but difficult to start.
I have only played one Two Hour Wargames...the gladiator one (I believe it's that company) Red Sand, Blue Sky. It was one of the worst games I've ever played, and as such I've never bothered even glancing at their other titles.
:?
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The THW I agree I want to love it and use it, by all of the dice gods I have tried but >:( for ages now I have been trying to add the random quirks of THW with mechanics I inow well (W40K 3rd ed for my sins) the random stuff is good but the war gamey bit less so o_o
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You should start easy, and try for free chain reaction or swordplay 2015, or the new 2D6system (even simplier, and also free). Personaly I have NUTS, and I plan to adapt some chain reaction 2015 mechanics inside.
I also discussed with some french players wich appreciated the western thw game too.
ATZ is also pretty easy to catch (that's probably why it also has been made as a classic boardgame). The new nuts big battle game is also pretty easy, for what I readed so far (I bought it yesterday, I didn't print it already). You can have a look on the official blog :
http://2hourblog.blogspot.fr
On latest releases (at least the ones I purchased), we can see a real effort of making things easier, each page (or new rule/concept) have a reminder, and/or examples and schemes to explain. I've got a few older thw games, the improvement is really noticeable.
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"I have only played one Two Hour Wargames...the gladiator one (I believe it's that company) Red Sand, Blue Sky. It was one of the worst games I've ever played, and as such I've never bothered even glancing at their other titles."
Now, Elbows, don't hold back on your feelings, just tell us what you really think! lol
Actually, I'd like to know why you thought the system was so bad? Truly. I've hemmed and hawed over their rules but when I read about them, well, I get nervous about allowing any of my treasure out of its chest. Wise?
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March was the 40th anniversary of the Solo Wargamers Association. They've published a journal (which is now primarily web delivered) since the 90s.
Sample articles
http://lonewarriorswa.com/sample-articles
Blog
http://lonewarriorswa.com/blog
As for THW's gladiator game, I found it very different from their other titles. Anyone wondering what their normal games are like should go check out the free rules. They are complete games.
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"I have only played one Two Hour Wargames...the gladiator one (I believe it's that company) Red Sand, Blue Sky. It was one of the worst games I've ever played, and as such I've never bothered even glancing at their other titles."
Now, Elbows, don't hold back on your feelings, just tell us what you really think! lol
Actually, I'd like to know why you thought the system was so bad? Truly. I've hemmed and hawed over their rules but when I read about them, well, I get nervous about allowing any of my treasure out of its chest. Wise?
I don't remember much of the specifics (it was maybe 3 years ago), but it was a really boring rinse-repeat game which didn't really flow at all with the actual way gladiator combat worked. Now I'm sure I'm also biased as I've been playing Furt's amazing Blood on the Sands (best gladiator game I've played) so that probably didn't help. But it was boring, and exceptionally repetitive.
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I just tried Donnybrook as a solo game and absolutely loved it! Well worth a look.
http://www.leagueofaugsburg.com/shop/product-520.html (http://www.leagueofaugsburg.com/shop/product-520.html)
I'm using it for fantasy none the less. Check it out.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=93155.0 (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=93155.0)
http://givemlead.blogspot.com/2016/08/up-smoking-river-donnybrook-comic.html (http://givemlead.blogspot.com/2016/08/up-smoking-river-donnybrook-comic.html)