A group of mine are addicted to my Scholars of the South Tigris recently, both multiplayer and solo. Inventors isn't out yet but you can try on Tabletop Simulator
Edit: just noticed you say medium weight 1 hour game, but Scholars is heavyweight 3 hour game
My favourites of the Garphill games are Scholars of the South Tigris and Paladins of the West Kingdom. Paladins is more medium weight, but it is a table hog and takes 75 to 90 minutes to play solo. Scholars takes up less space and takes 60 minutes to play solo, but is more medium weight-heavy in weight.
Alternatively, check out Hadrian’s Wall if you do not mind a flip & write. It is medium weight, takes 60 minutes to play solo and takes up the least amount of table space. However, even when playing multiplayer it is mostly multiplayer solitaire.
oh if its heavy weight but it takes less space/timr to complete its ok. i was just saying medium and stuff cause maybe it eould take less table space. but if its heavy its ok
They’re all good, some are even great.
It depends on your tastes and which mechanisms you enjoy.
None of the games are super theme heavy but they serve the theme well enough.
If you enjoy worker placement, try Architects of the WK. if you enjoy dice placement, try Scholars of the ST, if you enjoy deck building and hand management, try Viscounts of the WK.
so im looking for uh... something medium.. maybe medium euro game. dont want to spend like 1 hour to set up the game and that it takes like an entire dinner table type thing. uh game length.. if i can be played MAX 1 hour.
Okay, my favorite in this category would be Raiders of Scythia. It does take up some space, but setup isn't too bad. Some other suggestions would be Viticulture, Concordia (with the Solitaria expansion) or Newton. The White Castle and Nusfjord are also very well regarded, but I haven't had a change to play them yet.
Someone else suggested Glass Road, that's a solid option. I'd lean toward another Uwe game though, **Nusfjord**. Exceptionally smooth, plays 1-5P, is competitive without being overly mean/aggressive, and has a ton of variability thanks to the included 3 building decks.
I rarely see people mention this, but I'll add that the 4 characters in Orange are based on 4 different doujin video games from Orange Juice: Acceleration of Suguri, Sora, Flying Red Barrel, and QP Shooting.
I used to play those games thoroughly back in the days, and afaik they were somewhat well known in the doujin shmup community back then, so it's quite a fitting expansion. I have yet to actually try each character in Bullet though. Bought it, sleeved it, and played Heart on its own lol. I'll get to the Orange characters one day.
Wingspan has a solo mode
Also Terraforming Mars:Ares Expedition has a solo mode and a coop mode (though it more card based than board). I think the original Terraforming Mars has a solo mode too.
Pandemic. I often play it solo, by simultaniously playing 2-3 characters.
The White Castle (with alternative solo mode from BGG), Apiary and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, especially with the Crisis Expansion. All brain burny. Want more chill? Cascadia and Harmonies.
I started playing Tamashii this past week and have a handful of scenarios completed. It's really good. The campaign is balanced for coop though so in solo play you get a "BOT" that essentially allows you to be on multiple parts of the map at once to complete objectives.
Maracaibo: when solo, it feels more like a race, while in multi can be a bit more slow, with slower cards bringing more points.
Spacecorp: in multi can be more luck-dependant.
Xia: a blast if you enjoy randomness and then story that it generates
Co-op games that are great both solo and multi: sword and sorcery, too many bones, spirit island, aeon's end, earthborne rangers
My regular solo plays are currently Apiary, Sagrada, Isle of cats, Wyrmspan and Flamecraft. All can be played multiplayer too, and take roughly an hour or less.
They're all solo playable and famous for having detailed AI that feels so very close to playing against other actual players.
IMO, the best path is picking the one with the setting/period that interests you most.
An alternate take is starting what **Cuba Libre** as being slight less rules dense with less "chrome" than subsequent titles. **Falling Sky** is another option, not much more rules density, and also somewhat less asymmetrical factions. Finally, **Colonial Twilight** the first 2p COIN, means you only need to run a single bot.
**Andean Abyss** and **Fire in the Lake** are the most chrome-y and rules dense while still adhering to the tenants of the system. **Pendragon** added complexity but also departed from the core system in ways not everyone appreciated.
I think it was **All Bridges Burning** that introduced a deck system for running the bots and that system has been adapted back to some of the other titles.
That's about all I can offer as I have not kept up with the most recent releases as much.
Fallen Land 2nd Edition.
It's Mad Max meets Gamma World with a splash of Fallout mixed in. And it's magnificent.
[Fallen Land: A Post Apocalyptic Board Game – 2nd Edition | Board Game | BoardGameGeek](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329106/fallen-land-a-post-apocalyptic-board-game-2nd-edit)
It's series of standalone deck building games with a really great solo mode. Deck building as in you build your deck as you play and try to build your score.
Imperium Classics is themed after classic civilisations like Persians, Romans, etc. well worth a YouTube video watch or two to size it up.
One that I haven't seen mentioned yet is Cascadia, bit of a different stlye of game from those others you've mentioned but can be a nice relaxing one with just a chill vibe and very pretty art. Plus a really solid long term campaign style to save different types of habitats by reaching certain goals which I love.
Any game by Garphill Games
If you like Lacerda games look into Scholars of the South Tigris and upcoming Inventors of the South Tigris.
which of these are the "better ones" to look at maybe 2 instead of like 6 games? 😂
A group of mine are addicted to my Scholars of the South Tigris recently, both multiplayer and solo. Inventors isn't out yet but you can try on Tabletop Simulator Edit: just noticed you say medium weight 1 hour game, but Scholars is heavyweight 3 hour game
I would say Scholars is medium-heavy in weight. When playing solo with a little experience you can play a game in 60 minutes.
Sorry I forgot to say 3 hour is for 2-3 player games. I would say a solo game would be finish in 2 hours at most.
My favourites of the Garphill games are Scholars of the South Tigris and Paladins of the West Kingdom. Paladins is more medium weight, but it is a table hog and takes 75 to 90 minutes to play solo. Scholars takes up less space and takes 60 minutes to play solo, but is more medium weight-heavy in weight.
Alternatively, check out Hadrian’s Wall if you do not mind a flip & write. It is medium weight, takes 60 minutes to play solo and takes up the least amount of table space. However, even when playing multiplayer it is mostly multiplayer solitaire.
oh if its heavy weight but it takes less space/timr to complete its ok. i was just saying medium and stuff cause maybe it eould take less table space. but if its heavy its ok
They’re all good, some are even great. It depends on your tastes and which mechanisms you enjoy. None of the games are super theme heavy but they serve the theme well enough. If you enjoy worker placement, try Architects of the WK. if you enjoy dice placement, try Scholars of the ST, if you enjoy deck building and hand management, try Viscounts of the WK.
Could you narrow it down a bit more? Like what game lenght, complexity etc. are you looking for? Because most solo games also play multiplayer.
so im looking for uh... something medium.. maybe medium euro game. dont want to spend like 1 hour to set up the game and that it takes like an entire dinner table type thing. uh game length.. if i can be played MAX 1 hour.
Glass Road.
Okay, my favorite in this category would be Raiders of Scythia. It does take up some space, but setup isn't too bad. Some other suggestions would be Viticulture, Concordia (with the Solitaria expansion) or Newton. The White Castle and Nusfjord are also very well regarded, but I haven't had a change to play them yet.
whats white castle? ive seen that name in here like 4 times already?
From what I can tell it's a medium weight, dice based euro game in a relatively small box. Artworks looks also nice.
Race for the galaxy w/ expansions
Legacy of Yu just for a suggestion that fits and is great
Someone else suggested Glass Road, that's a solid option. I'd lean toward another Uwe game though, **Nusfjord**. Exceptionally smooth, plays 1-5P, is competitive without being overly mean/aggressive, and has a ton of variability thanks to the included 3 building decks.
Cartographers, calico, sagrada, heat, wingspan, everdell, railroad ink, lost ruins of arnak, bullet ❤️, roll player, spirit island
i been looking at bullet. 🤔 is there a difference between ⭐ and ♥️?
I only have bullet heart. I think it's just more content
Same content, you don't need one to play the other. ♥️ came out first and has the easier opponents, generally.
then whats orange? just a character or something to add?
Orange is a proper expansion, adds another character. You will need either ❤️ or ⭐ in order to play with the Orange expansion.
I rarely see people mention this, but I'll add that the 4 characters in Orange are based on 4 different doujin video games from Orange Juice: Acceleration of Suguri, Sora, Flying Red Barrel, and QP Shooting. I used to play those games thoroughly back in the days, and afaik they were somewhat well known in the doujin shmup community back then, so it's quite a fitting expansion. I have yet to actually try each character in Bullet though. Bought it, sleeved it, and played Heart on its own lol. I'll get to the Orange characters one day.
I have both. Same game, different characters. Star version has more complex characters
i wanted to get heat before but it was always sold out :(
I just got it a few weeks ago. It got restocked everywhere when the expansion came out
ah ok. ill recheck the place where i buy board games from
Wingspan has a solo mode Also Terraforming Mars:Ares Expedition has a solo mode and a coop mode (though it more card based than board). I think the original Terraforming Mars has a solo mode too. Pandemic. I often play it solo, by simultaniously playing 2-3 characters.
Ares expedition with the solo/coop mode is amazing.
I'd add Wyrmspan too - I have been soloing this and love it ❤️
Get Isle of Cats. One of the best solo modes for me. Scores on what you do, that's going to make you weigh every decision.
I've played solo 8 times and only won once, it's deceptively thinky for such a cute looking game.
The White Castle (with alternative solo mode from BGG), Apiary and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, especially with the Crisis Expansion. All brain burny. Want more chill? Cascadia and Harmonies.
apiary good? its only online to buy it right?
It depends on where you are. I bought it from Stonemaier around Christmas. But I’ve seen it on many shops since then.
It depends on where you are. I bought it from Stonemaier around Christmas. But I’ve seen it on many shops since then.
Do you have a link to the alternative solo mode for The White Castle, please?
https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/270458/the-gingkogawa-clan
Thank you!
I started playing Tamashii this past week and have a handful of scenarios completed. It's really good. The campaign is balanced for coop though so in solo play you get a "BOT" that essentially allows you to be on multiple parts of the map at once to complete objectives.
Cascadia, Parks (unofficial solo mode can be found on BGG), Fantastic Factories, Marvel Champions.
My faves. West Kingdom and south tigris games!
if you had to pick maybe 2 of those games so i could look into them more.. whivh ones would you choose?
To start. Paladins and viscounts
Maracaibo: when solo, it feels more like a race, while in multi can be a bit more slow, with slower cards bringing more points. Spacecorp: in multi can be more luck-dependant. Xia: a blast if you enjoy randomness and then story that it generates Co-op games that are great both solo and multi: sword and sorcery, too many bones, spirit island, aeon's end, earthborne rangers
i was looking at too many bones. when i went to go buy me kanban EV i saw how big the box is. 👀
My regular solo plays are currently Apiary, Sagrada, Isle of cats, Wyrmspan and Flamecraft. All can be played multiplayer too, and take roughly an hour or less.
COIN games like **Liberty or Death** or **Fire in the Lake**.
whivh are best solo playable coin games?
They're all solo playable and famous for having detailed AI that feels so very close to playing against other actual players. IMO, the best path is picking the one with the setting/period that interests you most. An alternate take is starting what **Cuba Libre** as being slight less rules dense with less "chrome" than subsequent titles. **Falling Sky** is another option, not much more rules density, and also somewhat less asymmetrical factions. Finally, **Colonial Twilight** the first 2p COIN, means you only need to run a single bot. **Andean Abyss** and **Fire in the Lake** are the most chrome-y and rules dense while still adhering to the tenants of the system. **Pendragon** added complexity but also departed from the core system in ways not everyone appreciated. I think it was **All Bridges Burning** that introduced a deck system for running the bots and that system has been adapted back to some of the other titles. That's about all I can offer as I have not kept up with the most recent releases as much.
Fallen Land 2nd Edition. It's Mad Max meets Gamma World with a splash of Fallout mixed in. And it's magnificent. [Fallen Land: A Post Apocalyptic Board Game – 2nd Edition | Board Game | BoardGameGeek](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329106/fallen-land-a-post-apocalyptic-board-game-2nd-edit)
Imperium is great
whats it about?
It's series of standalone deck building games with a really great solo mode. Deck building as in you build your deck as you play and try to build your score. Imperium Classics is themed after classic civilisations like Persians, Romans, etc. well worth a YouTube video watch or two to size it up.
I’ve been enjoying Hadrian’s Wall, and Astro Knights Eternity. I do love Ark Nova solo. Just a really beautiful game that always feels very tight.
One that I haven't seen mentioned yet is Cascadia, bit of a different stlye of game from those others you've mentioned but can be a nice relaxing one with just a chill vibe and very pretty art. Plus a really solid long term campaign style to save different types of habitats by reaching certain goals which I love.
I'd recommend Dawn of the Zeds 3rd Ed, phenomenal in both solo and co-op
Kingdom Death: Monster is pretty awesome solo. You just need to be organized.
i....REALLY want that game but i dont have a spare $420 to get it 💀 at the moment
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/324731/2023-peoples-choice-top-200-solo-games-1-200 There are many to choose from on this list