I'm looking to increase my gaming library and I'm on the hunt for some recommendations of games that are designed for solo play or have a good (or better) solo play mechanic from you fine folks.Era of play: I am interested in all periods (ancient thru to modern and even future).Playtime: Ideally it should be less than 3 hours but I have a dedicated space where I could leave a game set up for days if need be.Complexity: if I find the subject matter interesting enough, I'll go up to ASL level in complexity.Thanks in advance.Edit: add more info. I am a big fan of the COIN games, but I am not crazy about them solo. For most of them, you have 2 options solo.
Game Design #55: Solitaire Wargaming - Designing NPC 'AI' - Part 1 First of all, I'd like to clarify what I'm talking about. This is not co-operative wargaming, which is becoming trendy through hybrid boardgames like Descent and Imperial Assault.
Either play all the factions (this can be fun but can also rob you of the feeling of winnign) or play solo against 3 bots. This can be really time consuming, as you spend way more time following the flowchart than actually playing the game.However, there is good news. The latest COIN game is called Colonial Twilight, and is the first COIN game for 2 players. That makes soloing much more enjoyable. I would highly recommend it.
I have A Distant Plain, and do feel that I enjoy playing all four sides more than using the bots. It doesn't feel like playing against acual players, and the fact that they're made artificially stronger means you can't really use them to help learn strategy. I've heard the later COIN games have improved on the design of the bots though.I think the biggest thing with playing all four sides solo is that you just know you're only getting a taste of the experience. I can only imagine what it's like playing with four people around a table all making and breaking deals with each other as they go. I hope to be able to manage it at some point, but I've yet to find anybody interested:(. I have had Fields of Fire on my coffee table for the past two nights, learning it and playing the beginner rules.
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I'm really taken by the system. It's really quite straightforward so far, despite the density of the rules.The enemy AI is robust, yet quite simple to actually implement. I'm really happy with it so far.I have Enemy Coast Ahead: The Doolittle Raids to clip and learn next.The COIN games are also fantastic, but I find I prefer just playing all sides to using the bots.Another bot solitary game is Chirchill: Big Three Struggle For Peace that is a quite nice change of pace.