In the last year, I’ve played seventy-one (71!) different games solo… and this annual post is my attempt to share my impressions of those games and make some recommendations to my fellow solo gamers.

I’ve been writing these solo gaming reports since March of 2020… but my solo gaming started a lot farther back than that – being a wargamer in the 1970s/80s meant that a lot of your collection only saw table time if you played against yourself – choosing actions and rolling dice for both sides of the conflict. There were some actual solo games (Chainsaw Warrior, Ambush!, Mosby’s Raiders, RAF, etc.) – but the new era of well-designed automata and solo modes for multiplayer games was still a decade or two away.

Solo gaming is now a decent-sized chunk of my gaming experiences – while I still play a lot of games with friends and family, nearly 24% of my gaming in 2025 was solo. For comparison, the yearly total for 2024 was 31%, 2023 was 20%, 2022 was 22%, 2021 was 33%, 2020 was 19%, and 2019 was 6%.

So, what follows are my thoughts on all those solo games I played in 2025 – ordered by the 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 Voidfall is an excellent solo game design but I didn’t play it at all in 2025. It’s also not a measure of how much I enjoy a game as a multi-player experience – another example: I think the solo mode for Rome & Roll is not very enjoyable – but I like it a lot as a 2-3 player game.)

Yes, it’s a ridiculously long post – you can read the whole thing OR you can simply use it as a guide for finding solo games you might be interested to try. I’m good either way.

Coming tomorrow: a post about six years of solo gaming & what I learned from crunching the data!

Quarters

Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread (37 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

2025 has been filled with a LOT of Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread. I waited for the Kickstarter to finally ship – and between production delays and personal issues for the designer (still praying for Cody & his family), the waiting was, as Tom Petty says, the hardest part.

And it was worth it. I’ve spent 53+ hours exploring Arydia and leveling up my two characters as they interact with the amazing world Far Off Games has created. I wrote a mash note of a review for the game here on the OG back in early March. I’m currently at the higher levels, chasing down unfinished quests and taking on the big adversaries as my heroes struggle to come back from exile.

You can probably guess that it’s a great solo game simply based on the number of hours/plays I’ve recorded. (By the way, each play is somewhere between 45 minutes & 2 hours – I have the luxury of leaving it set up in my game room.) The only thing missing in solo play is some of the cleverly written RPG-lite interaction with NPC characters – but the game still works like a charm.

No surprise – this was my #1 game on my Best New (to me!) Games of 2025 list.

Dimes

Flamme Rouge (12 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

I’ve tried solo-ing Flamme Rouge prior to the release of the Grand Tour expansion – and while I was and still am a big fan of the game, those experiences were only mildly interesting. (Seriously, I like the game a lot – read my review from back in 2017.)

However, the addition of Grand Tour (which gives a solid system to build multi-stage “tours” with) and some helpful solo rules ideas from the folks over on BGG makes for a great solo experience. I’ve finished my first seven stage tour… and I’m in the middle of a full 21-stage Tour de France (by way of Hendersonville, TN)!

Nickels

Undaunted 2200: Callisto  (8 plays – approx. playing time: 55 minutes)

I’ve been a big fan of the Undaunted series from the original release of Normandy… and the addition of the solo mode with the Reinforcements expansion made me leap for joy. When the word began to spread last year that the newest entry in the series would be science fiction themed and include mechs, I was over the moon (well, in this case, over one of Jupiter’s moons.)

Undaunted 2200: Callisto is best production of any of the Undaunted series – mounted mapboards (double-sided), easier to follow rulebooks, great graphic/art design, and wildly creative scenarios. I have a couple of nits to pick: I wish the solo book would have (a) been divided into a rulebook/folio and a scenario book, and (b) that it wouldn’t have been perfect bound. (Unlike Reinforcements, the solo instructions for your bot opponent are in the book – and getting it to lay flat without breaking the perfect binding is not for the faint of heart.)

I’ve played all 8 scenarios solo – and won my campaign as the Breakers. (Honestly, we were better at damaging evil corporation mercs and mechs than we were at winning scenarios… but that’s the whole “lose the battle but win the war” thing, isn’t it?)

Clank! Catacombs (7 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The newest entry in the very successful Clank-i-verse involves a modular board, a totally new deck of cards, and some interesting twists (freeing prisoners, using lockpicks, etc.). It’s been a wild success with my sons and with other folks as a new take on “standard” Clank!… and I appreciate that the rules even include ways to integrate the Adventuring Party expansion into the game.

As usual, Dire Wolf has done a splendid job of supporting the game with a well-written app-driven solo game. They haven’t updated it yet to include the Lairs expansion… but that didn’t stop me from using it to play through the solo campaign again.

I received the Underworld expansion for Christmas – I’m not sure how it is going to change/warp solo play, but we had fun with it multi-player.

BTW, I also got in a play of “vanilla” Clank! as a solo game… I prefer Clank! Catacombs for solo due to the campaign system.

Pirates of Maracaibo (7 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

The first time I saw Alexander Pfister’s Maracaibo played, it took a crew of dedicated heavy gamers 4+ hours to finish. (They all loved it – but it was, well, “a lot”.) So, rather than invest in the physical game, I picked up the iPad app and played multiple games against the AI. It was, still, “a lot”.

So I was hopeful that Pirates of Maracaibo would be a little more manageable. What I didn’t expect is that it would have all of the stuff I liked about the original game with all of the churn surgically removed. What’s left is a tight and enjoyable game that entranced my son (who tried multiple heavy Pfister games I love – Great Western Trail: New Zealand, CloudAge, Skymines – and pronounced them “your kind of games, Dad”) and has been a blast for me to play against the solo bot.

I got the Commanders expansion for Christmas… it’s on my “to be played” list (behind my recently acquired copy of Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles). I’ve also actually seen (but don’t own) a copy of the Bermuda Triangle expansion – it’s a deck of 60 cards with a new module for the game (a treasure hunt)!

Terraforming Mars (7 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

Exploring the newest expansions – maps, Prelude 2, and especially the Automa – has kept this on the table in 2025. While I own all of the Terraforming Mars expansions (including the very cool 3D terrain), I think the best solo configuration uses both Preludes, Venus Next, and the Automa. My win rate continues to be about 50%, which seems right for this style of game.

I’ve come to realize (thanks, Melissa & Fraser) that I’d been playing Colonies incorrectly – so I’ve been including that in my last couple of games and it works way better when you’ve got the rules right. (Ha!)

By the way, I’ve played a lot of TM with the original “beat the timer” solo system (which is great) – but the Automa is MUCH better. Just sayin’. (Seriously – it works well with almost any combination of expansions and maps I’ve thrown at it. And I haven’t still haven’t begun using the solo automa corporations.)

Minigolf Designer (6 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

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 is a mini-expansion (Putt of No Return) to the game that adds new tiles, better artwork cards(!), and double layer boards for tracking par… and a second expansion, Minigolf Empire, that adds a campaign element to the game. (I particularly like the news cards from Empire, which can be used when playing non-campaign games as well.)

Minigolf Designer has the virtue of being very easy to set up – which means it work nicely when I just want something to tickle my mind for 30 minutes or so.

The Guild of Merchant Explorers (6 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 Guild of Merchant Explorers box, with 2 more maps available as an expansion from AEG. This year, I chose to solo play through all six of the maps over a weekend – I won four out of six of the games at “hard” level.

Ancient Knowledge (5 plays – approx. 35 minutes)

The arrival of the Heritage expansion for Ancient Knowledge gives you two major reasons to own it: first, if you play with four players (which you’ll notice is not recommended by a lot of BGG users), it adds more cards to the technology piles. Second (and more important – at least to me) is that it offers two different solo systems to play Ancient Knowledge: a way to play one-off games and a way to play a campaign. The solo system is simple to administer and lets you marinate in the puzzle of saving the knowledge of your decaying civilization.

My Heritage campaign is more than halfway completed – I had a bit of a scare with a VERY low scoring win (since your low score affects the set-up of the next game), but I managed to pull out of that nosedive.

Heat: Pedal to the Metal (5 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

After a long solo break for Heat (nearly three years), I brought it back to the table this summer and ran five races solo, using the Legends module and the Heavy Rain expansion to add six AI drivers for me to compete against. (Note: I’d strongly suggest using the Legends module to fill out the field every time you play, regardless of the number of “live” players.) The campaign mode works well – but I never seem to finish more than 4-5 races before I end up wanting to bring something else to the table.

Path of Civilization  (5 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

I’m a sucker for civilization building games – and this one has an intriguing mechanic where you continually are getting rid of earlier “technology” cards in order to progress forward. Path of Civilization works very well both with 2-5 players and and as a solo game. The first time we set up the game was a lot of work – but once you’ve done the exertion of putting things together in a logical manner, it’s pretty easy to do. The rulebook felt heavier than the rules actually are – the game itself is very straightforward (and interesting) after you’ve learned it. There is a lot of variety in the various challenge and battle cards, as well as the various leaders and wonders that appear.

The solo system is surprisingly effective, especially once you progress beyond the basic level by increasing the difficulty and/or using the “tougher” side of the five possible opponents.

My only quibble with the game is the need for the Compendium – Challenge cards, Wonder cards, and Personality cards occasionally need an explanation as their iconography is a little tricky. (This problem eases with more plays – but the game still occasionally throws me a curve ball.)

Unstoppable  (5 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

This is my most recent “solo-only” game purchase… and I’m happy that I plunked down some of my hard-earned cash to put it in my collection. Unstoppable has a rather extensive backstory that boils down to “bulk up your team to keep plinking away at the big bad” – but you do so by deck-building AND card-crafting. More importantly, the cards you put in your deck also are creating new adversaries for you to deal with as the game progresses.

My first game went smoothly – and I eked out a win. The next four games showed how vicious the system can be: one was “close but no cigar” while the other three were “hasta la vista, baby”. I’ve got it in my travel bag to get some more plays in soon!

Waypoints (5 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

I think this is probably my favorite roll’n’write game from Postmark Games… and possibly my favorite roll’n’write period. The creative use of topographical maps and a hiking theme leads to interesting push-your-luck decisions and lots of variety (five maps so far!). As I’ve done with other games from this company, I’ve laminated my copies of the Waypoints boards so I can take them whenever I travel.

World Wonders (5 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I am a sucker for well-made components… which is different, by the way, than wanting every game to have plastic miniatures. (Example: while I enjoy Monumental, the thought of trying to read the board with scads of plastic minis covering each space gives me hives.) World Wonders has a plethora of very classy wooden structures of various ancient wonders – and while they play a key role in the game, they are not the only reason to enjoy this drafting/tile-laying super-filler.

The solo mode for the game uses a card deck to “act” like a second player – drafting pieces from the lineup to both score resources and keep you from getting them. It’s not a particularly sophisticated solo design – but it has an annoying tendency to screw up your plans, which is exactly what you want a solo bot to do. It’s also very easy to administer.

I have some small gripes: I wish there was a better storage system for the game (a friend 3D-printed me one); I think some of the icons used on the cards (particularly in the Mundo expansion) are confusing until you look up the text in the rules; and I don’t understand how a five player game only comes with three player aids.

But overall, I’ve enjoyed this immensely both as a two-player & solo game. (And it looks great once you’ve got your city built.) It was actually #9 on my Best New (to me!) Games of 2025 list.

Four on the Floor (or Table)

Endeavor: Deep Sea (4 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

My copy of the deluxe edition FINALLY arrived just before Thanksgiving. (Braeden & I had played it at Gulf Games this summer and I promptly came home and ordered a copy from Game Steward. BTW, a unsolicited plug for Game Steward’s customer service – they dealt with my questions and concerns quickly and kindly as the waiting dragged on.)

The production of Endeavor is top-notch, the puzzles inherent in the game are interesting, and I like the rhythm of how the game plays out… with two or three players or as a solo game. As I dig deeper into the included scenarios, there are a number of clever twists on the system just by changing the Impact chart and the scoring goals.

The real measure of how much I like Endeavor – it took me eight games to finally beat an opponent (yes, the solo system or a real live human). And I still enjoyed each and every game… so much so that it was #3 on my Best New (to me!) Games of 2025 list.

Great Western Trail: El Paso (4 plays – approx. playing time: 50 minutes)

I’m still not sure what I think of GWT: El Paso. It’s a shorter/streamlined version of the Great Western Trail system (which is nice) with a clever switch to card-based employees (also nice) and a relatively small table footprint. OTOH, there are some very weird component choices (punch-out cardboard of 3D cubes instead of, you know, wooden cubes; wooden player pawns [cowboys] that are DOUBLE the size they need to be) that grate… and the solo system seems to be tuned a little too tough even at the lowest levels.

And don’t get me started on the needed glossary document for explaining cards – that you have to print yourself from the company website. In general, the production feels rushed – which is too bad, as I like the direction they’re trying to go.

New Frontiers (4 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

The Starry Rift expansion for Tom Lehmann’s board game in the Race for the Galaxy universe utilizes a similar solo system to Tom’s Jump Drive – where solo players must complete a variety of goals over multiple games to win the campaign. I tried the simplest campaign four times last year: twice on “short” mode (1 win & 1 loss) and twice on “long” mode (I lost both times). This summer, I gave campaign #2 a try on “short” mode and lost in the final game. It sounds like a lot (4 games in order to get a “win”?!), but in practice games of New Frontiers move quickly and it’s an easy game to reset.

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (4 plays – approx. playing time: 95 minutes)

SETI has turned out to be a very divisive game from 2024 – some folks loved it, while others were completely underwhelmed by the design. Despite that mixed reaction, it’s been nominated for (and won) multiple awards. I personally really enjoyed my first three player game of it – and when the chance to pick up a lovingly used copy became available (thanks, Doug & Shelley!), I jumped at it.

I’ve had four opportunities to play against the solo bot system – and I’m hooked. Similar to the solo bot design for Lost Ruins of Arnak (also published by CGE), the card system is simple to implement which means that most of your playing time is spent obsessing over your own choices as you try to find alien life.

I’m waiting breathlessly for the expansion which adds asymmetric starting positions and more aliens!

Three is a Magic Number

Ascending Empires: Zenith Edition (3 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

As a long-time fan of the original game, I was excited by the possibility of a working solo mode for the new edition – in addition to blinging out the game with cooler bits and using neoprene mats to fix the rough edges. (I’ve also written an extensive review of Ascending Empires which goes into a lot more detail.)

Two of my three solo games were not against the solo rules but simply me playing multiple positions. (Anyone who has been into chit wargaming knows exactly what I’m talking about here.) The solo mode game frankly kicked me around… I desperately need to give it a second go.

Call to Adventure: The Stormlight Archive (3 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

The original rules in the base box of Call to Adventure for solo and cooperative play felt rushed and tacked on – which was disappointing, as I really enjoy this character-building/story-telling game with multiple players. Earlier in 2022, I tried a more extensive ruleset posted on BGG… which was better, but still didn’t work as well as I wanted it to.

Thankfully, the new Epic Origins box created a much better solo experience (and a great multiplayer experience as well). The revised Adversary system is much cleaner. My review of Epic Origins is right here on the OG.

Then I found an inexpensive copy of The Stormlight Archive version – which is a stand-alone game that, like Epic Origins, is designed around cooperative play – making it a better choice for solo gaming as well. (And I finally finished the first couple of books in the The Stormlight Archive series – which meant the references on the game cards make more sense now.)

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

Lovely production coupled with lots of variety in the puzzles you face makes for a great filler solo game. Sustainable fishing is a smart theme – forcing you to balance priorities.

So far, I’ve completed the first three months at standard level – on to “April”!

Dune: Imperium (3 plays – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

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 of the Rise of Ix & Immortality expansions just adds 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. (It’s possible I’m understating my case here – I’ve only beat the AI once with both expansions in.) The addition of the Bloodlines expansion just gave me new ways to lose. (I’m OK with that – it’s a great game.)

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

Based on the recommendations of others (esp. fellow OGer Chris Wray), I splurged on the Everdell Complete Collection without ever having played the game. For the record, this was an excellent decision on my part and makes up for my hairstyle and wardrobe choices as a teenager which were, shall we say, not excellent.

There are two solo modes: Rugwort (which is only mildly entertaining) and Mistwood (Nightweave & her spider crew) that really shines. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the personalities, plans, and plots available in the Mistwood expansion.

BTW, Chris posted a weeks worth of Everdell reviews that are a great read if you’re interested. (These reviews pre-date the newest expansions, New Leaf & Mistwood… but I covered them in my review/overview of the Everdell Complete Collection.)

Galactic Cruise (3 plays – approx. playing time: 95 minutes)

Galactic Cruise isn’t a huge step forward in gaming innovation – it’s a worker placement game with a variety of ways to score in-game and end game points. But the design accomplishes that with such style and thematic integration that I was instantly won over. 

The solo mode is – despite multiple pages of rules – actually pretty easy to administer. The automa works much like World Wonders or Lost Ruins of Arnak or GWT: New Zealand – flip a card from the solo deck and do what it says. (No, it’s not quite that simple – some of the actions are a bit tricky – but it doesn’t require extensive lookup tables or protocols.)

Interestingly, Galactic Cruise seems to slip past the defenses of folks who “don’t like long games” – I’ve had the experience multiple times of teaching someone who was surprised by their enjoyment of the game. For me, the combination of great game design, thematic fidelity, and impeccable UI/graphics makes for an excellent gaming experience… and the #2 spot on my Best New (to me!) Games of 2025 list.

Hamlet: The Village Building Game (3 plays – approx. playing time: 65 minutes)

When I originally played Hamlet at BasementCon in November 2022 this is what I wrote:

I had the opportunity to play Hamlet using the solo rules… now, this (unlike Akropolis) is a for-real city-building game. Both the odd-shaped village pieces and the “anyone can use resources or buildings” rules do some very interesting things to your typical game of this genre. I’d like to try it again, both solo and multiplayer. (I will note that I got to play using the KS edition, which was quite nice.)

Fast forward a couple of years… to when I found a copy of the Deluxe edition (Kickstarter) at a used bookstore (shoutout to McKay’s) for a very reasonable price. I picked it up and found myself enjoying the quirky cooperative/competitive vibe of it all over again. Some of the potential flaws with the initial release were still evident – the not-terribly-well-designed cardboard church (which managed to be both flimsy AND an active block to seeing key elements on the board) is the most glaring example.

Thankfully, the intriguing game play does a good job of overriding some UI issues – and on top of that, the second Kickstarter for the Hamlet: By the Lake expansion also introduced an upgraded version of the base game: new wooden church with a lower profile, better icon size on the village pieces, easier to handle pieces, and (most importantly for solo players) an excellent solo player aid. Thanks to the one-man show that is Upstart Boardgamer, I picked up a copy of the deluxe version of the expansion bundled with the upgrade materials.

The combination of the player aid (making solo administration much cleaner) and the fishing elements of By the Lake are a winning combination – if anything, the AI bot (Botric is his name) is tougher to beat with the additional ways to score points. The expansion also adds an additional game end condition that throws another wrench in your potential plans for greatness.

I really like the puzzle-y nature of the game – having to balance getting tasks accomplished without leaving resources for Botric to scoop up and turn into a path towards victory. I also think that the random order of appearance for the various parts of the village changes the flavor of each game in ways that make me want to set it up and play it again.

Lost Ruins of Arnak (3 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

My pick for Kennerspiel in 2021 was this fantastic multiplayer game of adventure… chock full with a myriad of pathways to win. The solo module for Lost Ruins of Arnak (included in the base game) works like a charm.

Earlier this spring, I played through The Missing Expedition expansion – which has a solo (or 2 player co-op) campaign that expands the original print’n’play solo campaign to six games. It’s excellent… even though I failed at the end. I’ve just started a second run at the campaign – this time using the Mystic from the Expedition Leaders expansion.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been playing with the new boards from the Twisted Paths expansion (included in the Adventure Box). Both of them add some VERY interesting twists (ha!) to the already tremendous game system. I’ll also note that Twisted Paths has heavy cardboard versions of some of the solo tiles that were only previously released as print’n’play. (Thanks, CGE!)

Return to Dark Tower (3 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

This was my #1 new (to me!) game of 2022.

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 play most solo games in about 45 minutes (not including set-up and tear-down of the game) and it was very enjoyable. The Covenant expansion is a welcome addition to the game… adding more characters, a greater variety of quests, new monuments to build, and doom skulls.

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.)

A solid two thumbs up – though not the most portable of solo experiences. If you want to know more, you can read my review here on the OG.

The reason for my solo plays this year was playtesting the new material for the Expeditions expansion. (It’s really good – and doesn’t require any changes in the app. And late pledges are available for the Kickstarter.)

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

Dale Yu – our head honcho here at the OG – is fond of calling Rise “Tracks: the Game”… and he’s not wrong. When a very cheap copy became available, I picked it up based on a single play right after it was released. It is a tech tree game development game with an interesting mechanism for picking your actions for each turn.

Now, there is not a solo mode in the box – it’s really not a solo game. Enter the users of BGG – here’s the solo homebrew I’ve been using. It’s not as good as actually playing the game with real live people, but I still had fun with it.

Sniper Elite: The Board Game (3 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

As a multi-player “one vs many” game, Sniper Elite is a bit like playing Scotland Yard if Mr. X had a gun and could shoot the people chasing him. It’s a lot of nail-biting fun, for both the Allied sniper/spy and the Axis soldiers trying to hunt him down.

As a solo game, a number of changes happen to the system that still evokes the feel of making a nighttime raid on an Axis submarine base – but the soldiers are controlled by a card deck AI that moves them around a good bit to foil your plans.

I’ve played three times solo – but I think the strength of this game (as least with the base box) is with the multi-player mode.

Tiny Epic Galaxies (3 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

It had been a long time since I’d pulled out this – the best of the Tiny Epic series (designed by Scott Almes)… but I had to hit the road for work and wanted a solo game that would work in a hotel room yet offer a bit more oomph.

And I had so much fun playing Tiny Epic Galaxies (with the Beyond the Black expansion in the game) that I played it three times in a couple of days. Granted, the game is stronger when playing against other players, but once you ramp up to medium difficulty against the bot, it’s a near thing to squeeze out a win.

Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game (3 plays – approx. playing time: 120 minutes)

I’m a sucker for zoo building games – and this is flat-out the most like a computer zoo-sim of any I’ve played. That means it has a bit of a rules overhead (at least getting started) and some fiddly bits when you’re tracking the progress of your species – but it makes up for it with interesting (and tricky!) decisions and gorgeous components.

At first blush, the solo system seems a little punishing… so I tweaked the difficulty a bit and found myself enjoying it even more. (In other words, I used the easy setting in the rulebook.)

The reprint & expansion finally made it to the U.S. – and that got me another couple of plays with the expansion. Though there are more rules now (thanks to the Vivarium and water-based animals), I think I like the game even better with the greater variety and the extra challenge.

I wrote a review of both the original Zoo Tycoon board game and the expansion in the summer of 2025.

It Takes Two

52 Duels (2 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

I’ve played the newest Postmark Games release four times – twice as a solo game (which works really well) and twice as a head-to-head battle (which also works really well). 52 Duels is more than a “slap your cards down and see what happens” – it’s a game where paying attention to your cards matters. Have you seen certain suits or ranks end up in your wound pile? Did you put a bunch of face cards into leveling up? How is that going to affect your ability to play certain attacks?

In other words, it’s a real game with real decisions.

52 Realms: Adventures (2 plays – approx. playing time: 20 minutes)

This recent release from the good folks at Postmark Games doesn’t use dice – instead, it employs a deck of standard playing cards to act as items, loot, equipment, monsters, and wounds. There are four dungeons and eight characters already available for 52 Realms – it’s well worth your $6 to pick up and print yourself a copy. This solo-only design is really quite something.

A Gentle Rain (2 plays – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

A beautifully produced solo tile-laying game that does exactly what it sets out to do – create a zen-like peaceful experience while giving your brain a puzzle-y challenge. It’s kind of an amazing accomplishment from Kevin Wilson (yep, the same guy who designed Android and Kinfire Chronicles!) – and my two plays this year are no reflection on what a great design it is.

Bad Company (2 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

This nifty game of planning heists and escaping the police with your gang of thieves & getaway drivers feels like it takes the best parts of Space Base and makes a better game of it. What surprised me is how well Bad Company works as a solo game since part of the design appeal is that it is enjoyable with up to 6 players.

Canopy: Evergreen (2 plays – approx. playing time: 40 minutes)

I’ve come to believe that the optimal number of players for Canopy: Evergreen is 3… but playing it solo is a close second. The solo system acts like an actual opponent. So far, I’ve only blown the automa out of the water a single time – and we’ve split the other games.

If you haven’t seen Canopy: Evergreen, I recommend playing it. It’s got a very sweet drafting mechanic at the heart of the game that I find really enjoyable.

Dead Reckoning (2 plays – approx. playing time: 100 minutes)

For a game with this many interactive elements, Dead Reckoning manages to make the solo mode work and work well. Each time I play, I’m fascinated by the balance between the various victory pathways and the variety in the system.

But as much as I enjoyed the base game solo, I’m infinitely more jazzed about playing it with the Saga and Sea Dog expansions… the addition of a campaign mode for solo play coupled with the constant drip of story elements meant I had a two week Dead Reckoning festival on my gaming table last fall.

I finally started in on my Letters of Marque campaign – combining it with the new Port of Call expansion. So far, I’m loving the variety added by the new stuff, though it has upped the complexity of the game a bit.

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

My #1 new (to me) game of 2024 is also an excellent solo game. All of the standard bits of the multiplayer game are still there – drafting/buying ingredients & equipment, distilling your spirits, bottling and selling it – but instead of simply creating a “beat your previous” solo element, the design/development team came up with three decks of goals you have to complete to score a win. Traversing the goal layout and making decisions to build a distillery to meet those goals raises this terrific game up a notch in my solo play repertoire.

And yes, it’s weird (and a little funny) that a non-drinker like me likes this game about making alcoholic beverages so much. Then again, I also love Memoir ’44 – and I have zero desire to fight in a war or own a gun, so there’s that.

This year, I added the Africa/Middle East expansion and the Cask Strength variant cards… which are making the solo game a bit more challenging. (And, yes, I’ve already backed the Cocktails expansion – but not the branded cocktail shaker.)

Draft & Write Records (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

Another thrift store find – with both expansion/alternate decks in the box as well! I’ve played a good bit of this flip’n’write game solo on BGA… it’s a bit more fiddly IRL (what with all the coloring of spaces) but it has some fun interactions between the various game elements.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising (2 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

For players of Dune: Imperium, a lot of this is going to feel very familiar – but there are enough interesting twists (particularly the use of spies and the rejiggered board configuration) to make it a new-ish experience. Thanks to the excellent insert system I received (and reviewed here on the OG), I’ve added the Bloodlines expansion to the box and it made for two nail-biting games!

Lightning Train (2 plays – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

The newest design from Paul Dennen (he of Clank! and Dune: Imperium fame) is a bag-building train game… and while the game itself has some interesting rail building/delivery network things going on, the rulebook is eccentrically organized in ways that made it much more difficult to learn. My first solo game was aborted when I realized how many rules I’d gotten wrong… but the second game went much smoother.

NEOM (2 plays – approx. playing time: 25 minutes)

I love this multi-player game that mixes city-building and 7 Wonders-ish drafting… and the solo game manages to capture most of that feeling through the clever use of “packets” of tiles. I typically play 2-3 games of this at a shot… since once you’ve got it laid out, it’s easy to reset and try again. I’ve defaulted to play NEOM with all the tiles in, which offers more variety and some interesting decisions since you know that you can (sometimes) wait for the tile you need.

Interestingly, I read that Neom is the name of a planned city/community being built (or maybe not) in Saudi Arabia. (It’s an interesting internet rabbit hole to dive down.)

Pioneer Rails (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

A clever flip’n’write from OG writer Jeff Allers (and Matthew Dunstan – another designer I quite like) that actually does some nice things both with rail-building and with poker. The solo challenges in this game ramp up well – you can experiment to find the appropriate level of difficulty for you.

Sanctuary (2 plays – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that this is streamlined Ark Nova… and being an Ark Nova fan, I knew I was likely to enjoy this before I got it to the table. Even with that, I was impressed at how well-done this version was. The solo game of Sanctuary was great (incredibly simple to manage the system) and my two & three player games have been enjoyable as well. I do think that downtime could be an issue at the higher player counts (4 and 5) and would likely suggest something else with that many folks.

SpaceCorp: 2025-2300 AD (2 plays – approx. playing time: 120 minutes)

Fascinating multi-stage (including multiple boards and card decks) game of space exploration. It works really well as a solo design. I add the Ventures expansion to the game – but haven’t really touched the extra stuff yet as I’m still wandering around in the original system.

Not the same game – but John Butterfield (the designer) – is working with GMT on a new game in the BSM Pandora universe. (For those who weren’t around in the ’80s, the two BSM Pandora solo games originally published in ARES magazine were pretty nifty.)

Tenpenny Parks (2 plays – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

The production and artwork of this tile-laying “park builder” are quite lovely… and the solo bot (named Becky) plays a solid but predictable game. I think the game is great for 2-4 players… I’m less likely to bring this one out for solo play. Still, I enjoy the vibe of it enough that I brought it out again this year.

Good news! There are two expansions coming this year for Tenpenny Parks… which I’m hoping will add more depth to the solo game.

Wild Tiled West (2 plays – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

Despite my enjoyment of Wild Tiled West, it didn’t end up on my Best New (to Me!) lists for 2024 because I’d played it originally in 2023 as a multi-player game. And that first play of Wild Tiled West was just OK – but when I found a deal for a copy, I went ahead and picked it up since I tend to like Paul Dennen’s designs. And it turns out that it’s a really sweet solo game… made even more playable with the excellent Dire Wolf Studios app and the solo campaign (which I’ve played through twice now).

One Is the Loneliest Number

Age of Comics (1 play – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

I love the theme (making and selling comics in the Golden Age of funny books) but the solo mode is clunky and not particularly enjoyable to administer.

Ark Nova (1 play – approx. playing time: 90 minutes)

There’s a reason so many people are nuts about this zoo-building game – it’s really that good. And, as you can probably guess by my number of solo plays last year, Ark Nova is 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… and my solo games with the Marine Worlds expansion are very enjoyable. With the plethora of cards in the base game, it’s always a question if “more stuff” will actually be better for the game… and, to their credit, the Marine Worlds expansion adds interesting decisions without gumming up the works of the original game. I particularly like the improved action card draft, which nudges players in new (and often different) directions.

Core Worlds (1 play – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

Part of the Core Worlds: Empires Kickstarter back in 2021 was the Nemesis deck expansion for the original Core Worlds game… and it is a very solid solo AI that (so far) has pounded me pretty hard. (Nice touch: the deck is set up to vary difficulty and work with any combination of the original expansions.) Even on the easiest setting, it edges me out at the end. (But I’m getting closer.)

Dinosaur Island: Rawr’n’Write (1 play – approx. playing time: 45 minutes)

This is, hands down, 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). You can read my full review here on the OG.

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

I’m slowly working my way through the avalanche of new content in the stand-alone Horizons box… and while I love the innovations with the Trade module, it turns out I’m not very good at leading civilizations with it in the game. I do appreciate the improved quality components, the solo “bot” cards, and the updated rulebook.

Want more detail about the game system? I wrote an extensive review for the OG!

It’s a Wonderful World (1 play – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

You get four pairs of five-card “packets” (with the option to discard 2 cards in order to look at five & keep one)… which makes for a great solo version of this card-drafting game. This excellent game was augmented early in 2021 by the release of the Corruption & Ascension expansion as well as the War or Peace and Leisure & Decadence campaign boxes. My younger son & I played through both campaigns… and then I played through the same campaigns solo. (I wrote a review of the new expansions for the Opinionated Gamers.) 

Let’s Go To Japan (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

The production of the game is top-notch… the artwork is gorgeous… and it has actually has the solo play to match those. It’s “just” a drafting game – but when playing solo, the things you don’t choose are being fed to your opponent, the rival travel agent. (Dale wrote a really great preview/review of this game that convinced me to back it on Kickstarter.)

I’ve only played one solo game with my physical copy – but I’ve played it on BGA a number of times (both solo & multi-player). It’s an excellent online adaption.

I also gave the Day Trip expansion another try in my last solo game – and I’m just not convinced it adds enough to the game to warrant the extra hassle.

Mosaic: A Story of Civilization (1 play – approx. playing time: 100 minutes)

I’ve immensely enjoyed both my multiplayer and my solo plays of this 90-120 minute civilization building game. There isn’t a direct combat system in the basic game – as your primary objective is influence across the various countries of the Mediterranean.

The solo bot (by noted solo mode designer, David Turczi) can be adjusted for difficulty and for “personality” – which means I’ve won some of my games and lost others… but I’ve always had a wonderful time. 

I am frustrated that Forbidden Games is not currently planning to update the automata to include the expansion components – and I’ve made my frustration known both on BGG and in reaching out to the company. There is a fan-made variant that is functional – I’ve only played it twice and enjoyed it – but I do wish the company had followed through.

My one play in 2025 was with the game stripped back to the original (no expansion).

Motor City (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

A thrift store roll’n’write find – it’s just complicated enough to be frustrating but easy enough to want to work as a solid solo game. (There’s some UI issues with it that don’t do it any favors.)

Nemo’s War (1 play – approx. playing time: 70 minutes)

Nemo’s War 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. 

The newest expasnion – Journey’s End – 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.

Paperback Adventures (1 play – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

I borrowed my younger son’s copy (while he was out of town) and gave this one a whirl. Let me be clear: while I didn’t particularly enjoy it, I can see the genius of the design. If you like deck-building and/or word games, I’d strongly recommend that you give it a try.

Riftforce (1 play – approx. playing time: 30 minutes)

I’m not sure why Riftforce is on sale pretty much everywhere – it’s a clever two-play battler with nice variety. On the other hand, I’m clear that my single play of the solo mode was more than enough – it’s not fun to play solo. (The expansion contains the solo mode and a bunch more potential faction sets – get it for the faction sets.)

Sleeping Gods: Primeval Peril (1 play – approx. playing time: 60 minutes)

I decided to give the Sleeping Gods system a try – it was clever but not my cup of tea. (I’ve since found out from folks who are fans of the system that I started with the worst box of it – in their opinion – but I’m not sure I have the energy to try a bigger box.)

Strange World Above the Clouds (1 play – approx. playing time: 15 minutes)

One of those games I’m really glad that I played someone else’s copy.

Tales of the Arthurian Knights (1 play – approx. playing time: 75 minutes)

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Tales of the Arthurian Knights as a 2-4 player “choose your own adventure” game in the mold of Tales of the Arabian Nights. Designer Andrew Parks has fixed/smoothed out a number of rough edges mechanically with the original game as well as compile a fantastic book of Arthurian lore for players to dive into. It will easily be in my top ten “new to me” games for 2025.

The solo rules included in the game work well – but the game loses something when there isn’t at least one other player to enjoy it with. Something about the creation of epic stories cries out for multiple players. Again, I think the solo system is completely functional – but my single game by myself lacked the joy & laughter of my 2-4 player games.

The Artemis Project (1 play – approx. playing time: 35 minutes)

A six round engine builder of settling Europa (the ice moon of Jupiter)… it’s primarily a dice placement game that is reminiscent of Jeff Allers’ Order of the Gilded Compass/Alea iacta est games – only with more random events and sci-fi theme… that received a “glow up” from an expansion & 2nd edition printing that fixed some issues with the original game board & rules. The solo version is solid – with the random events changing the challenge of the game. I’m not sure the expansion is worth the hassle for solo play – but I like what it does with multi-player games.

Undaunted: Normandy (1 play – 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. I’ve finally finished Normandy… now on to North Africa! (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 want desperately to play Undaunted: Stalingrad (released in 2022)… but the lack of a solo option and no consistent opponent may have that one wait a while – but I did pick up a copy when it was on sale, so I’m ready.

Slappy Panda Goes to Boise (1 play – approx. playing time: 5 minutes)

OK, you got me. There isn’t a game named Slappy Panda Goes To Boise… but there should be.

The OG writers have the most interesting discussions as we’re bantering about various gaming topics – and when this name went by (in jest), I realized that I really wanted someone to design such a game.

I’m also a bit curious of who will spot this bit of meta silliness in the midst of all of my real solo gaming reports.

Update (late 2023): after putting Slappy Panda into play back in May 2023, there were extended discussions about the solo version (Lonely Panda Goes to Boise), a potential designer for the suggested solo version (David Turczi, of course), and then a bit of crossing our fingers to hope that the Slappy Pandas could be a civilization in the upcoming Imperium: Horizons.

I wanted to add a picture of Slappy Panda to this article – but there isn’t one. I am willing to take potential submissions.

Update to the update (January 2025): Slappy Panda took a break for 2024… but since all great games get an expansion, I’m pleased announce that my (non-existent) game company is considering both Slappy Panda Goes To Boise via Catapult and Slappy Panda Legacy.

Yet another update (January 2026): I am now interested in suggestions for stretch goals for the Slappy Panda Deluxe Edition coming soon to a crowdfunding platform near you!

A few games I played solo were just to learn rules and/or try out new characters and strategies: Colt Express, Heroscape, Memoir ’44, Thunder Road: Vendetta, and Unmatched: Battle of Legends. None of them are worth your time as solo games – even though all five of them are in my last top 100 games list. (Yes, I’m aware some folks play Memoir ’44 solo using a card-driven system – but I get enough head-to-head Memoir play thanks to BGA that I don’t ever do that myself.)

I received review copies of the Dune: Imperium – Uprising PlaySystem, Flamme Rouge, Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game, Call to Adventure, the Renegade Heroscape releases… and a discounted review copy of Galactic Cruise. The rest of the games on this list were either purchased by me or given to me as a gift.