Top 10… Solo Games!

Skye Skye

30 Aug 2023

Welcome back to my top 10 series! Today we're looking at my top games for solo play, with some specific personal framework: I like my solo games to have as little setup as possible. So, while there are many excellent solitaire games and variants out there, I've narrowed down the ones I can pickup, setup, and go, to get me gaming as fast as possible. Maybe I'm lazy, but I like leaving the setup to share with others, you know? I'm generous like that. A select few listings also have honourable mentions (HM). So, without further ado and in no particular order, let's start with...

  1. Regicide

    If you enjoyed the original Solitaire card game with a deck of playing cards and want a similar feel but more choice, then Regicide is one I love to rave about whenever I get the chance; like now! I've written about this one before, *link to previous article* but the rundown is this: you have to beat the royals, which get progressively harder, by best using the suits' abilities (clubs = double damage, spades = shields/defense, diamonds = drawing cards, hearts = healing your deck). This the best "classic" feeling solo game for me, by far.

  2. Shahrazad

    Shahrazad could technically be played with any standard Tarot deck, but I'm a big fan of the production of this one, using thick tiles that reskin the major arcana with cute storybook-style art for a calming solo experience. The pacing is very relaxed, you're simply trying to play your numbered tiles in ascending pathways, as best you can, with groups of the same colour. The kind of game that's great with a cup of tea and a biscuit. This and #10 are my personal favourites for absolute ease of setup, often without having to so much as glance at the rulebook, and keeping me off my phone when I have a spare few minutes.

  3. Wingspan

    This is a cheeky entry because I like to play this solo via the digital game: a truly beautiful adaption of the board game, offering the same automata experience found in the box. It simply removes setup and pack-down for me, meaning I can lounge in a chair after a long day and get right into the gorgeous art and music (+ individual birds calls for all the unique bird cards!). Wingspan has long been a favourite of mine, not just because it's absolutely lovely to look at, but because it's an excellent engine-builder. All of the elements intertwine in such a clever way that every aspect is important, and I like that a lot. Maybe you've got your eye on that adorable Atlantic Puffin because you need more water birds, but he's going to need a lot of fish first... meanwhile you find out that puffins have a wingspan of 53cm and that their breeding areas are being threatened by climate change, via the information on the card. It's beautiful, it's strategic, you learn stuff, and the solo mode is fantastic.

  4. Three Sisters

    Three Sisters, my #1 roll and write game, works just as beautifully played solo as it does with others. In both theme and design, this game absolutely wows me. As a gardener, you are in charge of what feels like a genuine ecosystem of relationships, based on an agricultural technique that uses three crops — pumpkins, corn, and beans — to support each other's growth. And you feel it, the exchange of growth from prioritising your beehive to then grow more flowers, for example, or investing in tools that will help you in the farmer's market... you start to notice connections that you could utilise next game, support systems that would've made your peach trees flourish. And although it's incredibly deep, the gameplay is as streamlined as picking one dice, planting or watering in that field, then taking the assigned action. That's it, over and over again until you have a full and glorious garden.

  5. Under Falling Skies

    If I'm asked what my favourite solo game is, my automatic response is Under Falling Skies, although I would have a different response for my most played, this is the one I often lament not making more time for. Reminiscent of 1978's Space Invaders, aliens steadily move down towards you; your job is to kill them before they reach the city, using your dice and abilities as efficiently as you can. If you line up the aliens just so, you can even blow up a cluster, which never fails to be my ultimate goal. I just love the dice placement and the control I can mitigate from them, as well as the ongoing threat of the aliens and the giant mothership inching closer to me, making me tense in a focused way -- the tighter the puzzle becomes, the more I endeavour to beat the odds. I like that feeling. It also just so happens to have an in-built campaign! I adore this one.

  6. Turing Machine + HM

    Oh, Turing Machine, how you blow me away. One of the greatest deduction games I've ever had the pleasure of playing, I am constantly fascinated by the physical design of this one. To discover the randomised 3-digit code, you have to insert your hypothesis into an enquiry and deduce the results. This functions like a physical computer via cut-out cards to reveal ticks or crosses to confirm or deny your proposal. It's a puzzle like nothing I've ever seen, and it works really, really well. There is also a daily challenge with the accompanying app that I think is fantastic for anyone who could keep their copy of Turing Machine open to solve each morning. Alternatively, there is also my fabulous favourite, The Search For Planet X, which I personally prefer to play with others more than I do solo, but is worth mentioning for anyone who adores deduction.

  7. MicroMacro + HM

    If you loved Where's Wally picture books or spot-the-difference, then MicroMacro is a sure bet: a detective game of visual crime-solving puzzles. But what's special is that the map isn't a freeze-frame, it's a living thing. People move around the map, and your job is to trace their steps. This is a whole new world of hide-and-seek, with mission cards to search for particular people in particular situations, and then following them through the map to solve and discover what happens in the end. This is a unique puzzle that I hugely appreciate. A similar, albeit very different, game is Mazescape: an interactive maze with folding pages that remind me of M. C. Esher's illusions or David Bowie's stairwell in Labyrinth.

  8. Oniverse Games *

    * Many of the Oniverse games make for some of my favourite solo experiences. Stellarion is the newest, but my personal favourite is Sylvion (tower-defense forest elementals), closely followed by Aerion *link to previous article* (Yahtzee-style airship construction). Onirim, Castellion, and Nautilion are all similarly fantastic. Great art, in-built expansions, and they double as 2-player cooperative games! They're just quality games: as light or as deep as you want, extremely replayable, with interesting choices and elegant designs.

  9. Paperback Adventures

    Like Wingspan, this is a cheeky entry because I play this one digitally. But it's a fabulous little deck-builder, and I love deck-builders. I also love words. I also love roguelikes. Paperback Adventures sees you defeating a series of enemies with the deck you build. Cards represent letters, which you use to build a word, which may then be splayed left or right to activate certain effects. If you happen to like both Scrabble and Star Realms, this really is a treat. Otherwise, if you ever played the video game Slay the Spire, give this one a go, and pick from one of three protagonists: Plothook, Ex Machina, or Damsel for a different style of thinking each way.

  10. Orchard / Grove

    I think Orchard just edges out Regicide for my most played, only because I tend to prefer the latter in 2-player. Regicide is the game I keep in my bag at all times. Orchard, on the other hand, is the game I keep on my desk for a quick 10-minutes when I'm feeling distractable, so it gets a lot of love. Orchard has you shuffle the deck, deal 9 cards out of 18 (leaving the remainder open for an immediate second game), and tactfully overlap them one at a time to score the most points. Unless you choose to spoil, trees can only be overlapped with trees of the same colour, increasing the dice value (your score) of fruit each time. It's just crunchy enough to always have me searching for the best possible overlap, and taking a picture of my finished orchard when I'm done, because I'm so pleased with myself at the reveal of a good score. It manages to make a micro game feel genuinely satisfying. Grove is the sequel and adds recipes to aim for as a win/loss condition. I have both, I think I prefer Grove, but both are excellent.

 

Games for Further Research: For those so inclined, I also like to supply a sample list of some games I considered when writing this article. They're great, but mightn't've made the cut for a myriad of reasons, including: didn't meet the brief; not currently available; or prefer multiplayer than solo... I also hear constantly wonderful things about Final Girl, but I haven't played it myself.

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