Friday Night Shots – Should Solo Games Exist?

Last week, I was reading a Boardgame Geek forum post that I thought would be a goldmine for some Friday Night Shots posts.

And it is!

The thread is entitled “Do you have an unpopular opinion that is TRULY unpopular?”

As opposed to those “unpopular opinions” that people put forth that, in reality, most people agree with.

There may be more coming from this one, but tonight I’d like to talk about one post in particular, from Boardziggy: “Solo gaming shouldn’t exist. That’s what apps and videogames are for.”

Are they taking the piss? Or is that a serious thought in their mind?

Let’s take it seriously just for the sake of this post.

Reading that, it’s unclear exactly what they mean by that.

Do they mean that solo games themselves shouldn’t exist? That publishers should never publish a solo game?

Or do they mean that adding solo modes to otherwise multiplayer games is a waste of time and resources?

Taking the statement as written, it sounds like it’s just the very existence of solo games that is the problem.

(Note: I have not read further in the thread before writing this post, so I have no idea if anybody has actually discussed this or whether it’s gone further than this. I’m using this as a springboard for my own post).

With the thousands of games every year that are published, it’s flat out insane to be saying that they shouldn’t exist at all.

One of the finest games I know is Final Girl, a wonderful solo game that wouldn’t exist if this person’s opinion were to become law.

(Don’t forget that you can click on a picture to make it larger)

But let’s extrapolate further and instead talk about solo modes in games.

Are they useful?

Should publishers spend time and resources trying to include a solo mode for those gamers who prefer to play alone?

I have a confession to make.

I’ve never played the solo mode of any of the numerous games I’ve purchased.

In my case, it’s not because I feel that they’re a waste or too difficult or whatever.

Instead it’s just a matter of space and time.

My table at home is not very big.

Final Girl barely fits on it.

There’s no way I’m going to be able to play the solo mode for Paladins of the West Kingdom on that table.

Not to mention the fact that most of my solo gaming is done at lunch on days where I work remotely, which means what I play has to be done within an hour (or so).

During the COVID lockdowns, however, I started to really become attracted to solo games in general.

Resist! quickly became a favourite game, this solo card game where you are members of the Maquis in Spain during the reign of the fascist Franco government.

That was soon superseded by my love of Witchcraft, the sequel to that game and one I think is a much better one, for a number of reasons outlined in my review.

Solo games can be a godsend when you are alone and not able to get out to a game day for whatever reason (like Father’s Day, where I did play Final Girl instead of going to our normal game group because our restaurant didn’t have room for us).

“That’s what apps and video games are for?”

What planet is that coming from?

Because we’re boardgamers, we enjoy shuffling cards, moving pieces around on the table, rolling dice.

Apps and video games don’t do that.

Sure, solo games don’t give you that social interaction.

But does playing on Boardgame Arena with total strangers and not actually talking (maybe using the chat, but I’ve only had a few people do that in my games) count as social interaction either?

Let’s get back to the solo mode of games.

Whenever a new game is announced, inevitably the question comes up: “does this have a solo mode?”

And then you get the back and forth about why do publishers have to force a solo mode into a game that doesn’t call for it, responded to by saying “some people prefer to play solo” and then the metaphorical (hopefully not literal!) knives come out.

Some solo modes are truly forced in and pretty much unplayable unless you’re desperate.

This isn’t solo mode, but the 2-player mode for 7 Wonders is widely-considered a waste of time and effort.

Some solo modes seem to be overly complicated, but I can’t speak to that because I haven’t played them.

Most of the really complicated games that are coming out now come with a solo bot, or cards that give you an “adversary” to play against.

Civolution and Speakeasy are two games that come to mind.

I know when I unbox a game, though, I’m basically putting all the solo components into one bag that will never be opened.

But that’s me!

And I wouldn’t be averse to trying one if I had the time and the space.

Solo gaming has become so prominent that GMT Games has done a couple of things in recent years (well, one in recent years and one upcoming).

First, they adapted Stuke Joe’s famous solo-CDG (card-driven game) system to enable playing many of their wonderful CDGs in a solo mode.

I’ve only tried this once, and it’s pretty cool.

It’s not a solo bot, and it doesn’t play “against” you.

Instead, it just enables 2-handed solo play by limiting some of your decisions so that you can’t always act on the universal information that you have, but wouldn’t if you were playing an actual opponent.

The second thing was just recently announced and it seems very cool: Combat Commander: Adversary.

This truly is a solo bot to help you play Combat Commander solo, and it sounds incredible.

Blurbing from the web site:

“Through a combination of control logic and guided randomness, the adversary sets up its own forces (on any map you throw at it), activates units, determines targets, advances into melees, rushes towards objectives, and certainly won’t hesitate to interrupt your turn with opportunity fire or the play of an inconvenient wire.

The system was designed with a care towards maintaining the ebb and flow – the feel – of a typical CC engagement: simple action resolutions and quick turnarounds, with surprises galore. The adversary acts logically, implementing tactics that produce results without turning into a predictable automaton. Underestimate that guy at your own peril.”

It’s also quite expensive!

The P500 price is $79 US with a retail price of $122.

However, there is a lot of content and design space in it to probably make it justified.

Will I buy it?

I’ll have to see how my finances are, but I don’t do P500 games any more due to shipping costs to Canada (thanks, Trump!)

But the idea of it is amazing, and I can’t wait to see it in action.

All this to say that solo gaming is an important part of our hobby.

Why should we leave out people who, through necessity or their own choice, are only able to game by themselves?

Why shouldn’t they be able to push counters around and roll dice?

Why should they be limited to electronic bits on a screen, or multiplayer games against totally silent people on some online gaming platform?

Solo gaming is wonderful.

Hell, I don’t even cheat…much.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Let me know in the comments.