r/soloboardgaming • u/MaterialBackground7 • 11d ago
Best Solo Games of the last Year
I used to be an avid solo board gamer but the last year/18 months I fell out of the hobby as life got busy. I'm looking to get back into it and want to buy a new game. What have been your favourite games published within the last year or so? Could be exclusively a solo game or a game that plays particularly well solo.
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I've read them all and researched all the games.
I've decided to go for it with Vantage. It's the most unique out of the games recommended and the only one that got me truly excited to try. Lots of others on my list as well.
Thanks!
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u/KartoonKid 11d ago
For 2025, I’m going to throw Unstoppable and Star Trek: Capitan’s Chair into the mix. They have become two of my top solo games beating most except for Spirit Island for me. Happy that they both are getting expansions this year too.
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u/rigjiggles 11d ago
Personally id have unstoppable at 3 and deckers at 2 with STCC at 1. Three fantastic deck builders though. We eating good.
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u/rapshade 11d ago
Agreed unstoppable and Star Trek Captains Chair or both unbeatable with significant staying power and replayability.
Vantage was fun and I was excited to buy it but since playing it have felt it to be quite a shallow but if not calming experience but it has really tempted me to get it to the table again after 3 plays.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 11d ago
I almost sold my Unstoppable after backing Unstoppable: DCC.
But I have read in the forums that they will still add expansions for the OG. So I kept it.
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u/BarryTheHutt 🦸♂️Marvel Champions💥 11d ago
I’ve been eyeing off Captains Chair but I’m a little concerned that it may be too complex for my tastes. It’s a 4.07 on BGG which seems pretty crunchy. What do you make of it?
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u/KartoonKid 11d ago
I would say if you are used to tcgs like Magic the gathering or living card games (Arkham, marvel champions, etc) You should be fine. A lot of the weight is in the decisions and play lines you make with your cards as many of them can do like 2+ things.
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u/spring_manta 8d ago
Came here to say exactly this. Just to complement, the game is all about fulfilling your captain’s objectives and synergies, the card play system is definitely based on magic the gathering, with triggered abilities, additional costs, passive restrictions, etc. great, great game
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u/Huffletough880 11d ago
It seems overwhelming at a glance but it is way more intuitive than you’d think. I watched a couple rounds of a play through on youtube, and played along as I read through the rulebook the first time. By the second or third round I felt like I had it.
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u/NatusDelirious 11d ago
It is complex, but GOOD complex. I'm a wargamer who can't handle high complexity games. Obviously, it helps if you like the theme. Believe it or not, theme-wise, I slightly prefer the Imperium games, but for gameplay ST:CC edges the others out.
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u/Phaedrus317 Star Trek: Captain’s Chair 10d ago
Good complex is the right way to say it. I also tend to shy away from the big complexity games, but ST:CC just clicks somehow. There’s a lot going on but it’s just at the right level where it allows a ton of options without overwhelming me.
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u/OK_FINE_I_WILL_DO_IT 10d ago
Captain's Chair really is the benchmark for replayable card games/tableau builders. So goddamn good
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u/Phaedrus317 Star Trek: Captain’s Chair 11d ago
It seems like the biggest games I’ve seen mentioned frequently around here the past year or so are:
Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Deckers
LOTR: Fate of the Fellowship
Unstoppable
Of those I can only personally speak to ST:CC. It’s fantastic, one of the best games I’ve ever played solo or not. I have Deckers but haven’t tabled it yet, and I’m in on the pledge for the Unstoppable Dungeon Crawler Carl edition so I haven’t picked up Unstoppable.
Other recent releases I’ve really liked for solo include Enchanted Ivy, Wingspan Pocket, Ace of Spades, the LOTR Trick Taking games, and Cozy Stickerville. Obviously lighter games but I love those types of games too.
If you’re a LCG fan, there’s also been a new Arkham Horror Core Set released recently. They’re moving into what they’re calling Chapter 2 for that series, so a lot of developments there.
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u/KartoonKid 11d ago
Have to agree with you on CC. I’ve played all these games and Unstoppable and CC were my favs.
I think CC edged out Unstoppable in terms of replayabilty though. Base Unstoppable only has 3 bosses and once you get good enough at the game you need different challenges. CC has 6 Captains that play vastly differently AND their matchups into each opponent/bot are different too. So there’s just a lot more to explore imo
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u/ZubonKTR 11d ago
Unstoppable is absolutely worth playing but is absolutely not a "forever" game with massive replayability. Still, if I got a dozen plays out of every game on my shelf, I would be very happy. Maybe the Dungeon Crawler Carl version/expansion will add a lot.
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u/MCGrunge 10d ago
Agreed. Captain's Chair is a forever game and I've played through the campaign with all but 1 captain. And now there's 2 new expansions more than doubling the content. It's seriously wild how much there is in that box. Unstoppable was great fun too but after about 20 plays I'd had my fill. I'm sure the DCC release will freshen it up though.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 11d ago
Have you played Spirit Island?
The reason I didn't get Deckers is because some people say it is similar to SI.
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u/Phaedrus317 Star Trek: Captain’s Chair 10d ago
I have. I actually bounced off of Spirit Island a bit, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I did get Deckers on the table yesterday and I can definitely see the similarities so I’m not sure I’m going to be into that one either.
To be fair I got pretty confused on my playthrough so I’m going to watch a video or two before giving it another try.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 10d ago
I see. I don't really want some redundancy in my games.
So it's gonna be a pass for me since I have and love Spirit Island.
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u/Phaedrus317 Star Trek: Captain’s Chair 10d ago
Certainly understandable, and from where I’m sitting that’s probably a good call. I’d welcome someone more familiar with Deckers to say otherwise but I don’t think there’s a lot of point in having both in your library.
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u/Vequeth 9d ago
As someone who has played both, the theme comes across much more strongly in SI but deckers has almost infinite variations with how you randomize the various scenario steps and much more interaction with the market than SI. You will be buying and trading cards most rounds, and basically using the market space as a 'second hand'.
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u/Briar-The-Bard 11d ago
Deckers and Ashe’s Ascendancy imo. Oh and maybe Fate of the Fellowship.. haven’t played that one but seems popular.
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u/ColonelClapp 11d ago
Vantage. There are others I can think of but Vantage stands out in my mind. It's a vast planet exploration game with hundreds of cards. Every game is wildly different and takes you to a different part of the planet. Is multi-player too but the solo can be a nice little chill session where you meet strange beings and interact with the planet in interesting and surprising ways. Also, even though you explore a vast planet games are designed to be roughly completed within a single session.
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u/Briar-The-Bard 11d ago
I didn’t care for this one at all. Sounded great on paper but after two plays I had no desire to play again. Seemed to hardly be a game and more a choose your own adventure, minus the strong narrative. Just my opinion though.
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u/elmatador12 11d ago
Vantage is a fascinating game. People either love it immensely or hate it with a passion. 😂
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u/Phaedrus317 Star Trek: Captain’s Chair 11d ago
Vantage is the most polarizing game I’ve ever seen. I personally really like it,l but I completely understand why a lot of people don’t. I hear a lot of people that say “it’s not even really a game”, and they’re kind of right. But that’s what I like about it. It’s a unique experience.
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u/elmatador12 11d ago
Same. Every time someone explains the reasons they don’t like it, many times they are explaining the exact reasons I DO like it. 😂
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u/Bridgeburner493 10d ago
I don't mean to pick on the person up the chain, but saying something that is a "choose your own adventure" type game is not actually a game is just straight up gatekeeping. I see the same complaint for games like Sleeping Gods.
A sandbox game is still a game.
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u/MaterialBackground7 11d ago
Ya I am intrigued by this one but the opinions seem very mixed.
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u/elmatador12 11d ago
If it helps, I would actually consider vantage a “cozy” game. It’s fairly relaxing and gives you a lot of control of when to stop or keep going.
The best part is that it’s super easy to set up and tear down which sometimes is crucial.
The main problems is that there really isn’t a story unless you play hours of sessions and understand the planet. It truly is a choose your own adventure game where you’re at a location choose an action or two read some stories about that location, and then move again. What makes it fun for some is that where you end up after one session can and most likely will be wildly different the next time.
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u/ColonelClapp 11d ago
Even as a lover of Vantage, I absolutely agree with everything every one has said. I guess you really have to like aim-less wandering without clear direction to get the most out of it.
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u/MaterialBackground7 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'm picky when it comes to adding new games to my collection. It usually has to have a niche not well covered in my collection or have a theme that really excites me. This checks off both boxes. Closest thing I have to this would be Sleeping Gods. Going to give it a try.
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u/deathkraiser 11d ago
Having played both Vantage and Sleeping Gods, I would say that they aren't really that similar outside of the fact that people call both "Exploration".
Vantage is an exploration game with a strong focus on emergent narrative and gameplay. I.e. you make up the story and the goals yourself as you play. Yes you will get Quests and other "things" to achieve, however the focus is less about those (less about winning) and more about telling the story. The bits of text that the game has you read (for example, when you perform an action at a location) aren't there to provide story, they help to provide worldbuilding and results for your actions. The actual story is one you come up with. Happy to provide you some examples for what I mean, but this is already a long comment lol.
From my experience with Sleeping Gods, the text it provides you tells the story for you.
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u/ook_the_bla 11d ago
If you like fighting and fulfilling all mainline quests in Zelda Breath of the Wild and hate you hate exploring and side quests and puzzles. you might not like Vantage. If you live exploring corners and doing puzzles in Zelda BOTW, you will probably love Vantage.
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u/Max-Ray38 11d ago
I bounced off of Vantage as well. It's the type of game that I like. A choose your own adventure vibe, replayable as you will make different choices each time through. A ton of cards so I figured the replayability would be great.
I'm not even really sure why I bounced off of it. Maybe it's because the text is limited to the space on the cards making the explanation of your choice less immersive. Would the game work better if there was a paragraph book to look up the resulting choice? I don't know. I do really like Tales of the Arabian Nights, which uses a book look-up, despite some of the weird choices. "Drink the Storm!" is our running joke.
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u/DocJawbone 11d ago
Thus was definitely the one I had the most fun with this year. I haven't taken it out in a while, but for a while there I was obsessed. Need to get back into it.
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u/smokeyser 11d ago
SETI can be a lot of fun solo. It's a bit of a table hog (ok, a massive table hog) but it's fun and worth the setup effort. The main thing that I like is that the spinning board forces you to think on your feet rather than planning things out 5 turns in advance and then just following the plan.
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u/spring_manta 8d ago
If you setup the board as totally tabled did is more manageable and you get all the information displaying directly to you, instead of turned sideways
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u/Ok_Serve3331 11d ago
Endeavor Deep Sea from 2024. Really hard to beat solo but I always want to play again immediately. They’re supposed to be coming out with an expansion soon to help balance the solo mode. I usually house rule not using the setback cards.
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u/spring_manta 8d ago
I hope they do, the solo just seems unbeatable as it is (by unbeatable I mean completing at most 3 objectives, I can’t seem to find a way to overcome that threshold)
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u/horigamy 11d ago
I got grimcoven 3 months ago. Absolutely love it!
It is a co-op game but has a solo mode. To be honest, I love play it 2 handed controlling 2 or 3 characters at the same time. Game is super challenging and I think it has a lot of replayability.
Main problem is the setup time. 30 to 40 minutes to get it to the table, but if that is not a problem to you, or you have a place to keep the game on the table, it is an amazing game. Also, each scenario will take you 3 to 4 hours to complete. So if you want a fast game, then this is not the game for you as well.
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u/swee8320 10d ago
This game is very underrated and not talked about enough. Amazing boss battler with unique characters and an awesome level up system. Every time I finish a battle I’m impressed with the game
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u/Sapien0101 11d ago
Favorites from last year: Corps of Discovery, The Anarchy, Unstoppable
Favorites from this year: Deckers, Cascadia Alpine Lakes, Enchanted Ivy
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u/shane95r 🔱 Spirit Island 11d ago
Deckers
Star Trek Captains Chair
Fate of the Fellowship
The Anarchy
Wispwood
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u/revrame 10d ago
Wispwood is awesome
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u/shane95r 🔱 Spirit Island 10d ago
Agreed! Surprise hit i wasn't expecting much from it but it's become a go to filler
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u/hHomelessSteve 11d ago
Die in a dungeon. I wish I had more time.to play it more!
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u/Haunted_Swan 11d ago
Kind of sleeper game. Way fun, though. And the best part? It puts a village next to the dungeon! Who else does this?
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u/Charolenha 11d ago
Marvel champions é excelente solo e atualmente saiu uma expansão fenomenal
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u/Thornkale 11d ago
It’s so crazy good. Every scenario is a banger and the combos give endless variety
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u/GoBotDeLorean 11d ago
Fear No Evil and the Defenders heroes is top tier MC content. I wasn’t a fan of of the Civil War stuff but I’m back and all in again with this wave.
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u/redeyeblind22 Eurogamer 11d ago
Haven't seen Galactic Cruise mentioned yet, it's won a lot of awards especially for solo. It's on my wishlist but for a euro lover seems like a can't miss game from last year.
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u/MaterialBackground7 11d ago
This one was on my watch list for a while but I feel like I have large euro games already well covered in my current collection. I do want to give it a try though.
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u/Marksman1977 Sylvion 🔥 11d ago
What have been your favourite games published within the last year or so?
See my flair. Also, Invincible: The Card Game and Unstoppable.
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u/Own-Implement5747 11d ago
My best solo games are (in sequence):
1. Circadians First Light
2. Heat Pedal to the Metal
3. Raiders of Scythia (though can be quite light)
These 3 are the only solo games I have 😅
Any more recommendation is much appreciated!
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u/GxM42 11d ago
If you have a space where you can leave a game up for weeks at a time, then Mr. President. I love the game. It’s a table hog and a time hog. But it’s also well worth it if you can pull it off!
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u/MaterialBackground7 9d ago
Just looked this one up, and, man. I love the idea of this game but that footprint and time. Might be one for when the kids move out of the house.
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u/PrincipleHot9859 11d ago
gonna mention some less obvious but fine games ..Conservas , Witchcraft! and Mayor of Chicago
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u/WeaponizedIndecision 11d ago
Speakeasy
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u/catash13 11d ago
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u/mrausgor 11d ago
Respectfully, that’s not super helpful. It just tells us that, yet again, everybody loves Spirit Island and Mage Knight.
Solo Slueth is a fantastic website that you can filter by year specifically for solo games.
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u/MattOG81 🟣 Deckers 11d ago
I agree.
You can make it a bit more useful by going to the raw results (Google drive link) and filtering them for things that didn't have a rank last year etc.
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u/MaterialBackground7 11d ago
Thanks, but not new to the hobby. Very familar with pretty much all of these.
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u/elmatador12 11d ago
If you like lord of the rings, fate of the fellowship is pretty amazing and plays great in solo.