I’ve written a good bit about my solo gaming over the last couple of years, both for the Opinionated Gamers and for my personal blog…

…so I decided that I’d continue that trend into 2022 by doing a solo gaming post every four months. What you’re reading is the second solo gaming post of this new year – the end of year review from 2021 is available at the Opinionated Gamers link in the paragraph above! 

And even though I have (since being vaccinated & boosted) been out playing games with friends, there’s still been a LOT of solo gameplay over the past few months – 22% of my gaming was solo. For comparison, the yearly total for 2021 was 33%, 2020 was 19%, and 2019 was 6%. 

I’ll repeat my same caveat as each previous report:

I know, I know – there are plenty of board game apps on iOS and Steam… and I own many of them. But there’s something really satisfying about physically playing a game: shuffling cards, moving pieces, seeing it all spread out in front of you. 

I’d also add that board game apps must – for perfectly understandable reasons – hide portions of the game from you. One of the delights of a physical game is that the whole thing is spread out across the table where you can soak in whatever details you need. This is true, BTW, for solo or multi-player play. (Example: I’m enjoying the Maracaibo iOS app a lot right now – but “seeing” the game status is really tricky between the various sideboards which I have to remember to access and check.)

So, what follows are my thoughts on a variety of solo games I’ve played in the first eight months of 2022 – ordered by number of times I’ve played them. (Note: this is not necessarily how much I like a particular game for solo play – for example, I think Nemo’s War is a brilliant design but I have only played it once this year – so far!)

Trails of Tucana (10 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

A really lovely little flip-n-write route building game that I found courtesy of a Twitter friend (hi, Daniel!). Less rules overhead than Cartographers, but with the same “make the best of what you get” vibe. It’s become a travel staple for me – easy to play in a small space with lots of press-your-luck angst on many flips of the cards.

I have had the chance to play with the Ferry expansion maps now, and they add a couple of small twists without doing any damage to the very solid base game.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (7 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

This specifically solo game design from Daryl Andrews & Morgan Dontanville was a Kickstarter that arrived early this year… and I played one game to figure out how many rules I’d misplayed (more than I’d like it to admit) and then a four game campaign (which I won, even though things looked really dice-y near the end of the second book/game. A second campaign ended after two games when the Mutant Leader won our “boss battle” and pounded the Dark Knight into the ground.

I’d put The Dark Knight Returns in the same complexity range as the Pandemic Legacy games – while the rules are clear and filled with examples to make learning easier (particularly with the combat system), there are a lot of plates to keep spinning as you play – a Doomsday Clock that ticks toward Armageddon; Batman’s Grit, Health, and Sanity; the number of riots that have broken out in Gotham; and successfully finding and defeating the villain in each game (Two-Face, Mutant Leader, the Joker, and – spoiler alert – Superman) before time runs out.

This means that the best audience for this game are folks who (a) have read and enjoyed The Dark Knight Returns, AND (b) enjoy learning and playing relatively complex board games. (I count myself a part of both groups.)

I’m looking forward to playing through the campaign again sometime in the next couple of months… and I’ve published my promised review of The Dark Knight Returns right here on the Opinionated Gamers site!

Aquamarine (6 plays – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

The second print’n’play roll’n’write (could I possibly use more apostrophes in this sentence?!) from Postmark Games… I find it a little less brain-burning than Voyages (which is also in this list) and great fun to play.

I laminated my copy of this game – and I carry the two Aquamarine boards (plus the five Voyages boards) in my laptop case along with three d6 and a dry erase pen so I can play pretty much wherever I go.

Ark Nova (6 plays – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

There’s a reason so many people are nuts about this game – it’s really that good. And, as you can probably guess by my number of solo plays, it’s an excellent solo game.

The solo design forces you to win the game (get your Conservation & Appeal markers to cross) before time runs out – so you can set your difficulty by where you start your Appeal marker. 20 was too easy – 10 is a good medium range challenge, and 5 is kicking my butt (but I’m getting closer).

I’ve had great experiences playing this game solo, with 2 players, and with 3 players.

Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale (6 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

An incredibly pleasant flip’n’write game that works like a charm as a solo game… and will also work well as a “over Facetime/Zoom” game if you use the solo rules for monster attacks. The Skills mini-expansion adds another level of decision-making that works well. I’m glad the game is in my collection… adding a set of colored pencils makes my maps look even better!

I’ll also throw in kind words for the Heroes stand-alone expansion & the three new map packs (which were all under the tree for me this last Christmas)… they add some variety to the game without overly complicating the system. (And three more map packs have been released this summer by the publisher!)

Undaunted: Normandy (6 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

One of the last Christmas boxes to arrive in 2021 was a copy of Undaunted: Reinforcements… the expansion that offers extra units, new scenarios, 2 vs 2 play, and – most importantly for this recap – solo play. The AI is smart and keeps me on my toes… and while it takes a minute to figure out how to set up and run, it’s worth the time. I’ve been slowly working my way through the Normandy campaign as the Americans and enjoying each time it hits the table. (One of the bonuses of the design: I can flip to the Axis side and play through the campaign again – both come in the Reinforcements box!)

The AI plays “faster” than we have normally played (in other words, it chases objectives and unit elimination pretty hard)… which has forced me to take more chances and ‘fail boldly’ against it. Makes for a very exciting game.

I’m stoked about two more boxes of Undaunted goodness on the way – Stalingrad (with a major campaign) late this fall and Battle of Britain next summer.

Boonlake (5 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

Boonlake is not a difficult game once you wrap your head around it… but it’s not a game that’s particularly easy to learn from the rulebook. I played my first solo game as a two player game, playing both sides to make sure I had the rules worked out in my head.

Since then, I’ve played it using the solo rules – which are even trickier to get right than the base game rules. There are some eccentric bits in the AIs engine which absolutely make sense in order to simulate a two player game – but are difficult to remember and caused to spend the first couple of solo games flipping through the solo rules.

That said, it’s a solid solo game with intriguing gameplay. I’m a fan of the game as a solo or 2 player – but I’m not sure I want to bring it to the table with more than that.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr’n’Write (5 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

This is my favorite game in the Dinosaur Island franchise.

And it’s a solid solo game – the variety inherent in the set-up combines really well with the “drawing your own park” mechanic to give a Dino Island experience without extensive set-up time or fiddly bits.

I still don’t get the “amber” dice – thematically, they work, but they are hard to read without a strong light source (and that problem is amplified in multi-player games).

Dune: Imperium (5 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

I’m not really a Dune fan – oh, yeah, I read the first three novels back in high school (late 70s/early 80s) like every well-behaved sci-fi/fantasy nerd – but it was never a world or story that captured my imagination. And, yes, since I’ve been a gamer for a very long time, I actually owned the AH version of Dune (aka “Cosmic Encounter meets the Spice Worm”).

Fast forward to 2020/21 and all the hype about the upcoming Dune film… and just enough people said nice things about Dune: Imperium to get me to take a chance on it. 

And – wow! – it was worth it. Much like Lost Ruins of Arnak, Dune: Imperium blends deck-building and worker placement to evoke the feel of the novels/film in an incredibly playable format. Particularly for solo players, the solo deck works like a charm – and Dire Wolf also posted a free app to automate the solo process.

The addition early this year of the Rise of Ix expansion just added to the fun – I like the new variety of cards and technologies… and it feels like the AI is even stronger with this mix of choices.

For What Remains: Streets of Ruin (5 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

My oldest son played a game of this solo/2 player skirmish game with me and quickly declared that it felt like playing the X-COM video game. Having never played X-COM (the video game), I just have to trust him.

For me, I really like the immersive storyline/background of a world struggling to contain the breach opened up to The Basement (another dimension) by underground nuclear testing… and the inevitable battles between factions that make up the three stand-alone boxes of the For What Remains game system.

I also that the chit-pull system for activation works brilliantly here – and the solo system makes solid decisions for your opponent and challenges you to think tactically in order to survive. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the mythology and play styles as you can choose between the six different factions, each with their strengths and weaknesses.

Designer David Thompson has really shown up on my radar in the last few years – what with this game, the Undaunted system, War Chest, and my old favorite, Armageddon from Queen Games.

It’s A Wonderful Kingdom (5 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

This solo/2 player card drafting game is a stand-alone cousin to It’s a Wonderful World… but uses a “you cut/I choose” mechanic in the 2 player game which is morphed into a press-your-luck mechanic in the solo mode.

It’s a game that rewards multiple plays, as it is swingier than Wonderful World and learning how to ride the development wave is a bit trickier. The different modes all work well – but I think I’m partial to Advisors or Conquest for solo play.

I wrote a pretty extensive review of the game for Opinionated Gamers earlier this year.

Minigolf Designer (5 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

I liked the look of this game – a tile-layer with a strong theme of building a miniature golf course – but once I finally scared up a copy, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the puzzle of the gameplay. In a multiplayer game, tiles are drafted in a similar manner to Kingdomino… while in the solo game, the player picks two tiles and places one of them. Both the solo game and the multiplayer game are fun – they are slightly heavier than Carcassonne with a greater variety of scoring decisions.

There’s now a mini-expansion (“Putt of No Return”) to the game that adds new tiles, better artwork cards(!), and double layer boards for tracking par.

If you want to know more, I wrote a glowing review of Minigolf Designer back in 2021 for the OG.

Lost Ruins of Arnak (4 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

My pick for Kennerspiel last year was this fantastic multiplayer game of adventure… chock full with a myriad of pathways to win. The solo module (included in the game) works like a charm… and CGE even posted an update to that module that adds increased difficulty and challenge. For variety, you can even play on the more difficult Snake Temple side of the board.

Additionally, they released the long-promised solo campaign – a 4-game series with interesting rules twists and an online app (which I had some struggles with, so I resorted to printing out the files and building myself a paper set.) I’m currently working through it a second time and enjoying it again.

I haven’t used the Expedition Leaders expansion with solo play yet – but it’s great for multi-player!

Roll Player (4 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

One of two “RPG character creation” board games I acquired in 2019 (the other is Call to Adventure)… but with the Monsters & Minions expansion added in, Roll Player is the best choice for solo play. (In fact, I think this is one of the “required” expansions for multiplayer play as well… it offers more variety and more options for players on their turn. Most importantly, it gives the game an ending via fighting the big boss that is much more satisfying than “hey, look – I built a character”.) The Fiends & Familiars expansion is also quite good – it adds some complications but builds on the good ideas in the M&M expansion.

Wreckland Run (4 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The newest game in the Renegade Solo Series was on Kickstarter earlier this year (weirdly enough, at the same time as Restoration Games thematically-related reboot of Thunder Road). In my preview here on the Opinionated Gamers, I described it as “a tower defense game… if the tower was barreling down a dirt road at 60+ mph while being fired upon by the cast of all four Mad Max movies and a couple of scary refugees from a Michael Bay film.” That just about covers it for this dice-allocation game/campaign.

I liked it enough that I went ahead and backed it so I could have a production copy… and that KS should deliver in the next few months!

Xia: Legends of a Drift System (4 plays – approx. playing time: 120 minutes)

Xia is a sprawling nutty over-the-top wonderful mess of a space exploration/trade/piracy game… and the system for solo play is very enjoyable. It’s not for the faint of heart – a full 20 point game can last 2-2.5 hours for solo play & cover most of my gaming table with pieces & cards. (I think it’s much better solo than the similar Star Wars: Outer Rim – and much more open world than Outer Rim.)

Late last year, I started the solo campaign… and I’m having a blast with it. So far, I’ve accomplished 2 of the 10 objectives and still have a positive score… but I’m guessing it will take another 10-15 games for me to finish the campaign. I’m up for that.

Flamme Rouge (3 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

During the Tour de France, I set up multiple Flamme Rouge tracks and used three “bot” decks to race against – one “Peloton” team and two “Muscle” teams. (BTW, the solo rules and cards are in the Peloton expansion.)

I also used the excellent Grand Tour app (which is evidently about to become a full boxed expansion).

It’s not the same as playing Flamme Rouge with a raucous group of players… but it made a nice backdrop while I watched Tour de France coverage.

Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North (3 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

While I’m a big fan of 51st State: Master Set, the dark apocalyptic tone makes it a little tough to get to the table sometimes. Add that the solo module for it is not enjoyable and it hasn’t seen much play in the last couple of years.

This frustration led me to Empires of the North, the cleaner, friendlier, and more coherently put together cousin to 51st State and Imperial Settlers. The two player is quite enjoyable… and so is the well-thought out solo mode. (And the plethora of expansions just means you have lots of options in how to try each solo scenario.)

I’ve been trying to go back and play some of the simpler solo scenarios with the more complicated decks, which has been a lot of fun.

There is an entire solo campaign box coming soon – Wrath of the Lighthouse – which I’m very excited about!

Oh My Goods! (3 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

Solo play requires the Longsdale in Revolt expansion… but there are some clever things going on in this tricky little card game. I received the Escape From Canyon Brook expansion last year – which adds more story and more campaign.

Oh My Goods ranks up with Friday and Palm Island for the best games for solo play in small places (like hotel room desks). I like Expedition to Newdale better (it’s in the same game family), but Oh My Goods is MUCH more portable.

Unfair (3 plays – approx. playing time: 50 minutes)

I found a copy of Unfair for a great price – and as I’m a fan of the “idea” of a game that imitates Rollercoaster Tycoon/Planet Coaster, I was willing to give it a try. Turns out that my son and I like it a lot as a 2 player game… and the newest expansion that was on Kickstarter this spring will include a solo mode.

Part of that KS released the print’n’play files for the solo mode… and I’ve been poking at it a bit, trying to figure out how to get close to beating it. So far, no success – but I like the tableau building puzzle of the game.

Voyages (3 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

This print & play game system just got published via Kickstarter right before Christmas 2021… and the portability (I played both paper/pencil and using a paint app on my laptop) is extremely high. They’ve already published four more maps, each with their own set of rules. (This would be an excellent Zoom/Teams game, btw – for those who enjoy gaming online.)

As I noted earlier, I’ve laminated a set of the maps and carry it everywhere with me in my laptop bag.

Era: Medieval Age (2 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I found an incredible deal on this Matt Leacock 3D design (and the expansion)… and didn’t really think about the solo mode until it arrived. It’s actually a lot of fun – and it’s just stinkin’ cool to build your city, especially when you add the rivers and roads.

Note: I haven’t seen it as cheap again – so this isn’t really an impulse buy, but I’m glad it’s in my collection. The collector sets became available again through Plan B Games right before Christmas and I hit the “splurge” button… both solo games this year have been kitchen sink games with nearly everything thrown in. 

Final Girl (2 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

My younger son decided to get himself a solo game… and, despite not being a particularly big fan of horror films, went with Final Girl – which takes the base system of Hostage Negotiator and adds layers of variety and theme. He’s a big fan.

So, of course, I asked to learn how to play. He’s sat with me in both games I’ve played (against Faux Jason and Faux Freddy Kreuger) and I have to say it’s a really solid game system with enough twists and turns to more than justify its existence. I’ll be playing more of this throughout the year.

Honshu (2 plays – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

A cheap thrift store copy and some solo rules downloaded from BGG… and this makes for a very compact travel solo game/puzzle. I’m still not particularly in love with the game as a multi-player… but it’s clever and workable as a solo exercise.

Nemo’s War (2 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

This solo game somehow got left out of my top 100 games list… which is a complete mistake on my part. It manages to blend Euro mechanics and old-school wargame elements along with a compelling theme. On top of that, the various objectives change the game and how you play by just changing the scoring to reflect Nemo’s vision of a “better” world. 

My copy of the new Journey’s End expansion arrived last month and I’ve only got to play with it three times… but it dramatically expands the number of possible adventures, adds two more objectives, and has a rewritten rulebook that makes the game easier to learn and play.

I did try Nemo’s War as a multi-player cooperative – which was actually much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. (The rules in the newest edition for this work very well.) Still, I prefer it as designed – an amazing solo game.

Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms (2 plays – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

I’ve managed to win both plays of Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms so far… but I’ve been playing without the Tactics cards and without the various tweaks in the rulebook to increase the difficulty. Both wins were solid – but the game has plenty of nail-biting moments when everything feels like it is about to come apart.

David Thompson’s solo game design for this historical event (during the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland) is top-notch – and I’m looking forward to my next attempt to rescue the non-combatants and frustrate the onslaught of German troops.

Stop Thief! (2 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

Yes, the new edition. Yes, played solo. Yes, I’m REALLY bad at this game… which makes me want to play again and figure out why I’m so bad at it.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (2 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

The much-discussed card game version of the board game hit Terraforming Mars – which, quite honestly, really does feel and play like you crossed Race for the Galaxy with TM. It’s a competent solo game that doesn’t take up nearly as much table space as its big brother… and I appreciate them upping the quality/consistency of the artwork. That said, I’d rather be playing the original game with my 3D pieces.

I keep waffling back & forth on this one… I considered selling/trading it, then decided to keep it. My most recent games were really enjoyable – which convinced me to wait and see if the upcoming expansion modules push the game from “like it” to “love it”… or if it ends up on the trade pile.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

This extremely clever flip’n’write doesn’t actually contain any writing – instead, you place explorers (cubes) on your map and by completing regions, place village buildings. At the end of each round, all of your explorers are removed from the board, but your villages stay to give you new starting places.

There are four different maps in the original box, with 2 more maps available as an expansion from AEG. It’s been a hit with everyone I’ve taught it to… and I find it relaxing and enjoyable to play as a solo game.

The Siege of Runedar (2 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

Runedar is a Knizia-designed cooperative tower defense game… that actually works as a solo game as well without major modifications. The box is the board (with some 3D elements) and there’s a nifty resource collection/deck-building mechanic that allows you to improve the actions you can take.

We’ve managed to beat it on the lowest difficulty level, but moving up a single step in difficulty has proved daunting.

Tiny Towns (2 plays – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

This 2020 Christmas present was on my wishlist in hopes that my wife might enjoy it… well, I still haven’t got her to play it (yet!), but I’ve become intrigued by playing it solo. It’s short, the puzzle is interesting, and I love the chunky wooden pieces. I went ahead and picked up the expansions when I found them on sale… and they add some nice twists to the decision-making.

Call to Adventure (1 play – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

The original rules for solo and cooperative play feel rushed and tacked on – which is disappointing, as I really enjoy this character-building/story-telling game with multiple players. This time, I tried a more extensive ruleset posted on BGG… which was better, but still didn’t work as well as I wanted it to.

I’m hoping that the new Epic Adventures box coming in the next few weeks will help fix this… as I love the way the game plays and how the theme unfolds each game.

Civilization: A New Dawn (1 play – approx. playing time: 150 minutes)

My younger son is a big Civilization computer game fan – so I hoped I could get him to join me in the newest version from FFG. I think the action system is really interesting and keeps players from over-focusing on one particular element of developing their civ – which may be a good tactical play but isn’t interesting to play against.

However, once we added the expansion, my son showed less interest – so I’ve been using the solo AI rules developed by FFG and adapted for the expansion by Stahre on BoardGameGeek. It’s long… but the AI is smart and plays a tough game.

Core Worlds: Empires (1 play – approx. playing time: 120 minutes)

I had the privilege of playtesting Andrew Parks’ newest design, a board game set in the Core Worlds universe. The published copy finally arrived and is well worth your time to look at both as a solid space epic/worker placement multiplayer game AND as an excellent solo game, thanks to a deck mechanic similar to Dungeon Alliance.

I like the huge play space – not the really big map, mind you, but the variety of heroes, units, events, etc. that make each game have a different flavor.

Excavation Earth (1 play – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

This is the last game I played before writing this article – and I only managed to get in the first round (of three). It’s a think-y puzzle of a collect & sell game with very nice bits. I’m looking forward to getting it back to the table.

Note: I’m pretty sure I’ll use some of the suggestions to decrease the difficulty – the Zu (the AI bot) was shellacking me after a single round.

Habitats (1 play – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

A one-time experiment using a ruleset for the ‘Geek… it was just OK. Again, I’m sad because I’d love to play this game more.

Hadrian’s Wall (1 play – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I wrote a positive solo review for the OG back in May 2021 of this flip’n’write game. I’m intrigued by the choices I have as a player and the myriad pathways you can attempt in your quest for accolades and glory. After the first couple of plays that ran about 60-70 minutes, I’m now knocking out games in about 35-40 minutes.

The same kinds of resource management issues that draw me into games like Terraforming Mars, Oh My Goods (and it’s cousin, Expedition to Newdale), and Empires of the North are an integral part of Hadrian’s Wall as well. (I’m not saying it’s just like those games or “if you love TM, you’ll love HW”.) These kinds of decisions make for solid solo designs – and Hadrian’s Wall has a lot of them.

In addition, the set-up/tear-down time (due to the flip-n-write design) is minimal, meaning a large chunk of your time is spent actually playing the game. And it has a relatively small table footprint, which means it will work well in my travel kit when I’m stuck in a hotel and need something to play on a less-than-roomy hotel desk.

Finally, it’s always a good sign when you’ve played a game 8 times before reviewing and still get in more plays in after that.

Imperium: Classics/Legends (1 play – approx. playing time: 85 minutes)

My birthday last June was filled with goodness from Osprey Games… including my favorite new game of 2021. Want more detail? I wrote an extensive review for the OG this summer!

One of the things that caused me to put the Imperium boxes on my birthday list was the promise of a robust solo play system – and David Turczi (who is specifically credited on the cover of the solo play rulebook) delivered.

Each civilization has its own AI set of tables. Five slots are set up and numbered (with provided cardboard counters).The die included in the game (only used for solo play) is rolled and that eliminates one of the slots (or doesn’t – sixes are not a friendly roll in solo play)… and then the remaining cards are revealed and dealt with in order. Impressively, each AI civilization retains a good bit of its character… for example, Egypt accumulates materials in the early going, uses them to attract hordes of population, and then, if conditions are right, converts those masses into Progress. 

In the meantime, the player civilization is running by the exact same rules as the multiplayer game – allowing you to learn the ins and outs of the various decks as well as consider different tactical and strategic decisions.

There is also a simple way to vary the difficulty of solo play… and even a campaign mode in the solo rulebook (which I still haven’t tried).

My only complaints about solo play? Putting the charts for resolving the AI behavior in the rulebook rather than providing them as large cards. Thankfully, a BGG user (props to DocZagreus!) has taken it upon themselves to fix this problem and posted files that do just that. The other issue is that the Qin charts needed to be changed – and the files I just linked to have the changes needed!

I was very excited to see Imperium: Classics recognized in the most recent Golden Geek voting… and to find out that there is another box of civilizations coming next year!

Return to Dark Tower o (1 play – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

Let’s be clear – this is likely to be my #1 new (to me!) game of 2022. If you want to know more, you can read my review here on the OG.

Solo Return to Dark Tower works like charm – with one exception.

The app already has a single player setting and the challenges are scaled appropriately for a single hero. I played my solo game in about 45 minutes (not including set-up and tear-down of the game) and it was very enjoyable.

The exception? When the Tower spits out skulls to the kingdom opposite you, you’ve got to go chase them. (Here’s where the neoprene mat version of the board is nice… the original board works great but has some “bounce” so skulls can go skittering across the table and onto the floor.)

My verdict as someone who enjoys solo gaming? A solid two thumbs up – though not the most portable of solo experiences.

Sentinels of the Multiverse – Definitive Edition (1 play – approx. playing time: 55 minutes)

I’m a big fan of the original Sentinels game… and both of my sons decided to get their own copies of the new version as they get ready to leave the nest in the next couple of years. In preparation for a review of the new game, I got in one solo play (as well as five plays multi-player).

The game ramps characters and villains up faster than the original game – and in many cases cleans up characters with confusing and/or uninteresting card choices. So far, I don’t feel like the changes are negative in any way.

Solo works just like solo worked in the previous incarnation – you play multiple characters against the system. I’m unlikely to do that with the new box much when I’ve got the excellent iPad app to play original Sentinels with.

Note: I received review copies of Core Worlds: Empires (prototype – but I bought my own copy of the published game), Hadrian’s Wall, Northgard, and Wreckland Run (prototype).

Second note: in case you’re curious, the games pictured at the top are:

• First row
  • Tiny Towns
  • Terraforming Mars: Ares Project
  • Ark Nova
• Second row
  • Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms
  • Lost Ruins of Arnak
  • Boonlake
• Third row
  • The Guild of Merchant Explorers
  • Excavation Earth
  • Aquamarine