Do you ever play the solo variant of your board games? (1 Viewer)

[centen]

I've just started trying out the solo play of board games I own. It's super fun! And maybe I'll accidentally get super good and crush my friends next time we play.

 

[eclipsoul]

i didn't know it was a thing ngl, i should try this because i barely have time to play with friends these days and i LOVE board games

 

[ChiaraStar169]

yeah, I did when I was a teen and young adult living with my parents! Scrabble especially

 

[centen]

i didn't know it was a thing ngl, i should try this because i barely have time to play with friends these days and i LOVE board games

I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was! I thought it might feel like a less good version of the normal multiplayer, but they really make games these days thinking of all aspects.

 

[Selfmate]

I've just started trying out the solo play of board games I own. It's super fun! And maybe I'll accidentally get super good and crush my friends next time we play.

do you ever find that not being super good is better for casual play?
like if all your friends were super into board games and they were equally as good then that would seem fair but do you feel like if one person is super talented at an activity it takes the fun out of things

 

[centen]

do you ever find that not being super good is better for casual play?
like if all your friends were super into board games and they were equally as good then that would seem fair but do you feel like if one person is super talented at an activity it takes the fun out of things

Depends on the group, tbh. With my family, they prefer everyone be sort of bad at the game, they don't like very complicated games, they don't like games with competitive mechanics, etc. They like very reliable "we have always played these games" sort of games. Growing up with them, I didn't even really think about the fact that you could break out a board game for an occasion other than a family gathering, because no one ever played them outside of holidays, etc.

With my friends, one group is SUPER into board games, so I'm currently probably the worst at them, but I don't care if I win or not? So I think they actually wouldn't mind if I was more competitive. These people are probably my favorite to play with. And everyone has a different type of board game they're better at. I'm decent at resource management ones, one friend is great at deception games, another is great at puzzlers, etc. so we play all sorts of games and no one is handily the best at all the things.

I have another friend group who is in the middle of the two, where they play a lot of games, but they don't really like it if you're really good at them. Like if you bring a board game to the table, they don't want you to win, like it's "cheating" or something to be good at the game you own. I brought a very simple roll and write game once (if you're not familiar with that sort, think Yahtzee, where the dice get rolled and you write down how you apply them to your sheet) and one of them was really bad at it, and made it out like I hid the rules or something.

 

[Ahsoka]

I don’t really have games with a solo version. I could do the trivia ones but that feels a bit like cheating in case I remember the trivia

 

[Selfmate]

Depends on the group, tbh. With my family, they prefer everyone be sort of bad at the game, they don't like very complicated games, they don't like games with competitive mechanics, etc. They like very reliable "we have always played these games" sort of games. Growing up with them, I didn't even really think about the fact that you could break out a board game for an occasion other than a family gathering, because no one ever played them outside of holidays, etc.

With my friends, one group is SUPER into board games, so I'm currently probably the worst at them, but I don't care if I win or not? So I think they actually wouldn't mind if I was more competitive. These people are probably my favorite to play with. And everyone has a different type of board game they're better at. I'm decent at resource management ones, one friend is great at deception games, another is great at puzzlers, etc. so we play all sorts of games and no one is handily the best at all the things.

I have another friend group who is in the middle of the two, where they play a lot of games, but they don't really like it if you're really good at them. Like if you bring a board game to the table, they don't want you to win, like it's "cheating" or something to be good at the game you own. I brought a very simple roll and write game once (if you're not familiar with that sort, think Yahtzee, where the dice get rolled and you write down how you apply them to your sheet) and one of them was really bad at it, and made it out like I hid the rules or something.

Yeah I think one has to play according to the people is playing with whether they be super competitive or otherwise

It's the same with most other activities

I remember my friends and I going to karaoke and just singing for the shits and giggles half the time wrong pitch wrong lyrics etc
Then one time one mate bought his gf and she was like bloody good and that sorta caused the mood to shift since the rest of us were all shit

Anyways back on topic give us an example or two of a board game that can played solo and with others

 

[centen]

Yeah I think one has to play according to the people is playing with whether they be super competitive or otherwise

It's the same with most other activities

I remember my friends and I going to karaoke and just singing for the shits and giggles half the time wrong pitch wrong lyrics etc
Then one time one mate bought his gf and she was like bloody good and that sorta caused the mood to shift since the rest of us were all shit

Anyways back on topic give us an example or two of a board game that can played solo and with others

Agreed. I think that's the one tricky part about getting into board games is thinking about the kind of people you will most often play with and what their temperaments are.

I have a lot of luck with roll and writes! I like them because they're relatively easy to teach other people, but can have some complexity. So this past week, I've been playing French Quarter, Railroad Ink, and Welcome To.

And not a roll and write, but Wyrmspan has a solo player variant I want to try out too. It just requires more setup than the others, so I haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[Selfmate]

Agreed. I think that's the one tricky part about getting into board games is thinking about the kind of people you will most often play with and what their temperaments are.

I have a lot of luck with roll and writes! I like them because they're relatively easy to teach other people, but can have some complexity. So this past week, I've been playing French Quarter, Railroad Ink, and Welcome To.

And not a roll and write, but Wyrmspan has a solo player variant I want to try out too. It just requires more setup than the others, so I haven't gotten around to it yet.

never heard of them before but then again the only board games I play these days are like monopoly and snakes and ladders lol

 

[centen]

never heard of them before but then again the only board games I play these days are like monopoly and snakes and ladders lol

Ah, board games for people who don't really play board games.

There's a whole range to the entertainment form, tbh. At the other end are "board gamers' board games" which requires hours just to learn how to play the game. Some people like a high barrier to entry.

I don't. You could play all of the games I listed with 5-10 minutes of explanation.

 

[Selfmate]

Ah, board games for people who don't really play board games.

There's a whole range to the entertainment form, tbh. At the other end are "board gamers' board games" which requires hours just to learn how to play the game. Some people like a high barrier to entry.

I don't. You could play all of the games I listed with 5-10 minutes of explanation.

I have children lol

I think I'm generally pretty ok with board games since I like strategy generally

 

[centen]

I have children lol

I think I'm generally pretty ok with board games since I like strategy generally

Do you have a favorite board game? When you're not constrained by your kids' choices?

 

[Selfmate]

Do you have a favorite board game? When you're not constrained by your kids' choices?

my fav game would be mahojng but not really a board game per se right since it's not like played on a board

my fav board game if one would consider it a board is a Chinese game called Jun Qi (Army Chess) the english similar equivalent is a game called Stratego

Luzhanqi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Stratego - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[centen]

my fav game would be mahojng but not really a board game per se right since it's not like played on a board

my fav board game if one would consider it a board is a Chinese game called Jun Qi (Army Chess) the english similar equivalent is a game called Stratego

Luzhanqi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Stratego - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Those look like fun! I like really tactile board games with interesting pieces.

 

[Selfmate]

Those look like fun! I like really tactile board games with interesting pieces.

I guess I like to play a lot of strategy computer games so I'm pretty sure I'd like various strategic board games too