Never apologize, brother. It's your list. My favorite game of all time is Euphoria, but that never even pops up on anyone's Top 100 games. So, to each, his own.
@@TimothyRiel Maybe people don't connect with the theme, but I enjoy dystopian settings. I think it's one of Stonemaier Games' best, but it gets overlooked due to Scythe, Tapestry, Wingspan, etc...
I haven't played any of the games from your cozy list but own/played/wishlisted almost every single one from the stressful list. Not sure how I feel about that 😅
I bet most players favor one group of games over the other. I definitely lean more towards this list -- these are some of my favorites of all time. But I mostly don't game for relaxation but rather entertainment, so I enjoy exciting, tense decision making with high stakes. Thanks for watching!
Another great video, thank you! This morning I actually just finished my 4th play of Halls of Hegra, and got a win! Probably the most stressful game I play (I actually put it above Final Girl, due to the game taking longer).
That's a good point. The length of the game definitely contributes to the stress. Final Girl is a bit of an outlier because it is comparatively quick -- at least compared to This War of Mine, Halls of Hegra and Frostpunk. It always hurts more to die after 3 hours rather than 90 minutes. Thanks for watching!
I appreciate the effort to get these high quality videos published as often as you do. They are the absolute best! Thank you! Marquis, Robinson Crusoe, & The Grizzled are among my most favorite. I find these a pleasure to play and not so stressful. I would like to get Resist! & Hall of Hegra which I think would be stressful for me. My friends that I play X-wing with have This War of Mine & Nemesis that I hope to play soon.
I appreciate those kind words. Thank you. Ah, the Grizzled is tough and bleak. I've played it once or twice a long time ago and found it depressing but clever. An underappreciated card game. Thanks for checking out the video!
You nailed this list man. I won’t play some of these because of the tension. Lol I mean- coffee roaster vs this war of mine. It’s an obvious choice for me haha.
I recently got Resist as a first foray into solo games (and board games in general) and it really does emulate that feeling of being an outnumbered and dwindling resistance. That being said I think I'll check out your cozy games list for my next game😅
City of the Great Machine co-op certainly qualifies for that for me. Firstly, it is set into a sort of victorian city, ruled by a human build machine (AI), that is trying to slave all its residents. Secondly, it is a hidden movement game where the AI is hunting you while you try to stimulate a rebellion. Although you don't lose on the spot if your hero is caught, you still get punished for it and you are soft limited on how many turns you have before the Great Machine finalises its plan.
Great list. Halls of Hegra just arrived at my favorite store, it seems more wildly distributed now. A great game will make its way to the top naturally!
What a list! Usually, I don’t feel stress when I play BG, but you open my eyes. I think my favorites games are in that list. Frostpunk, TWOM, Nemesis, Final Girl, etc. Just WOW! I play ISS Vanguard now and it’s kind of a mix of cozy and stressful game, pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing. 👌
Is 'Under falling skies' already mentioned? The constant threat of ships coming down at you and the mothership slowly approaching... You're always in need of energy and fire power, while at the same time you want time for research, now that's stressful! But very satisfying when everything works out.
I don’t have most of the games on your “stressful” list. But I’d personally rate Maquis high on that list. The theme is great. But it seems like the designer did everything possible to make you lose. As just one example, the town’s morale drops every turn even if nothing bad happens. So often you’ve got to ignore your goals and just concentrate on propping up morale. Ugh.
This is exactly the list i hoped for after the cozy game list. 😁 Arkham Horror is on my top spot. I enjoy the game but sometimes things are going horribly wrong. Dawn of the Zed is on my second spot. Your lines are really well defended but you still have to roll these two dice.... 😱 How many times i rolled snake eyes and yelled at my cardboard defenders how incompetent they are. 😤
This War of Mine, Halls of Hegra, and Final Girl are solid stressful picks. Others to consider would be Soldiers In Postmen's Uniforms and Castle Itter by David Thompson, and published by DVG. Any version of Dawn of the Zeds, and maybe Plum Island Horror, too.
Great list. I think you covered pretty much all the goodies. (Final Girl, Nemeses, This War of Mine, Frost Punk) Only editions I could think of are the 7th Continent/Citadel series (which one could like Robinson Crusoe play as comfort game, and City of the Great Machine.
Besides the stress that Final Girl puts me through, it’s my favorite solo game.. can’t wait to get season 3. Have you tried some of the other scenarios?
I have tried several other scenarios, all from season 1. I have a couple boxes from season 2 but I don't think I've played those yet. I could be misremembering. I plan on filming a season 3 scenario when they come in. Thanks for watching!
All my fave solo games are on the high-stress side. Resist. This War of Mine-I’d have been so disappointed if that wasn’t number one. I don’t know what this says about me and what I do in my spare time to “relax” 😂
I hope you find a game you really enjoy. Check out my playthroughs to really get a good sense if the games will work for you -- or if you want to learn how to play. Thanks for watching!
I do love Final Girl, and the game it takes its mechanics from, Hostage Negotiator is also quite stressful. There's not as much set up, the dice are a little meaner, and the theme is more harrowing than the fun horror tropes of Final Girl. Fuse & / or Fuse Countdown make for a fun, quick (10 minute timer), stressful solo play, though the scoring system doesn't really mean anything due to variables.
None of these type of games stress me out, unless they have a timer. Games like Taboo, Stay Cool, and Magic Maze, those can be stressful unless you decide ahead of time that it doesn't matter, it's just a silly game.
I don't think I play any solo games with timers (in fact I cannot think of one off the top of my head). Certainly, multiplayer opens up a host of different options, like Galaxy Trucker. I find the Crew weirdly stressful because you don't want to let down the team. Thanks for watching!
Sees title of video and thumbnail of This War of Mine, nods in agreement. Great list and run through. I have Frost Punk and really want Halls of Hegra (along with most of this list 😞).
XCOM: The board game solo All 4 stations, real time, nothing like it. great list by the way, I've enjoyed 8 out of 10 of these and would have 9 if frostpunk didnt cost and arm and a leg.
Great idea for a video! The most stressful games for me are the tight games with really consequential choices… (the ones that induce high levels of AP! Top of the list foe me would be (dis)Spirit Island. (the waves of invaders 🥵)
Now I know what games NOT to get...🤪🤪 although I already have a couple of them. I have found that I don't want to be stressed out during game play, which is why I find myself avoiding games like final girl, even though the concept looks exciting.... I have Season one, and haven't broken down and played it yet!
I totally get that. I personally have moods where I want something intense and other moods where I need something more mellow. It's all a matter of taste and what you want to get out of gaming. I think a lot of people use gaming as a way to unwind after a long, hard day, and games like Frostpunk and This War of Mine are the worst picks for that job. Thanks for watching!
Of all of these games I have only played Arkham Horror LCG, but it didn ´t catch me at all. I found out that the whole Cthulhu theme is not for me, I thought the game was rather boring, so: no stress for me 😂 Agricola was a very stressful game for me: farming the right way and feeding your family - I hated it. I prefer cosy games, life is stressful enough. But I do have to admit: the more I hear about This War of Mine, the more intrigued I am by this game, although it is not a game for everyday, as you said, you have to be in the right mood for this experience. Thanks for showing the games 🎉
I think I just realised why I disliked Final Girl so much - it's stressful! I think I can manage Resist levels of stress but clearly not Final Girl! Thanks for the video, always great content in your channel.
well added Resist to the games I should get, thanks for showing it and as much as I want nemesis I can't pull the trigger on something like that I feel like it's a lifestyle game where you keep buying and buying more of it. For a game for you should look up "Iron Helm" by Jason Glover, it's a hard push your luck card game.
Lux Aeterna for me - even with the "easy" (BS!) 15 minute time limit i still find myself getting flustered due to the firefighting. Speaking of firefighting The A.R.T Project also needs a mention!
That's a good point. I always think of it as the noise I'm making but you are right. It is the noise the aliens are making around you based on your movement. Either way, it feels very dramatic and intense. Love it. Thanks!
Pandemic is definitely up there! And Robinson Crusoe. But I understand why you didn't put it on there. I'd say two big ones for me are Voidfall and Marvel Champions. Both have that feeling of trying to overcome overwhelming odds and seeing your enemies' power grow while dishing out multiple things for you to try and deal with at once. And there can be that feeling of there's no way for me to do everything that I need to.
Marvel Champions is a really good one. I think boss battlers in general are pretty stressful. I've been playing a lot of Primal and I should have put it on the list. These challenge scenarios are super tense. Thanks Laurence!
I can totally understand that. Games like Ghost Stories go from bad to worst to not quite as bad to hopeless. You never get a chance to catch your breath (or maybe I'm just not very good at it). Thanks for watching!
I have yet to play Nemesis Lockdown, though I recently acquired it and hope to try it soon. So no preference, I've just been playing the original for years now. Thanks for watching!
Unfortunatly, most of those stressful games, just came from the pure randomness from random tokens, randoms cards, random dices... I wish there was an other way to be hard, without being too much based on luck, like in those Final girl, Resists and ghost stories... etc... To me, most of those are just lacking developpement and ideas to make them hard, yet not based on pure luck most of the time to do so.. Gears of war - the boardgame, is another exemple of an excellent game, yet really hard and based on dice rolls for the most part of the "hard / stressful" part of it... Final girl was the last of those "unfair" boardgames i tried, and the bad stuff and losing just based on dice rolls... was enough for me to get rid of it. Wich is a shame, coz the theme and materials are great
I, too, find Robinson Crusoe comforting! My number one is definitely Arkham Horror LCG. The tension in the butthole it provides is impeccable. Spirit Island stresses me out too, for different reasons. Honorable mentions: Nemo's War, Dawn of the Zeds, John Company, Pavlov's House and Navajo Wars. But still I find them comforting and laid back.
That's a great list of games. I still need to play most of those. Spirit Island was on the short list for sure. Thanks so much for checking out the video!
No, I bet you are in the majority actually. Plenty of people express annoyance at the word. I'm not sure why. It seems like the perfect word to describe this type of game (I use it here in this thumbnail as a silly reference to my previous list). I like it because so many games (especially video games) are so overwhelmingly focused on violence, action, dexterity, aggression, dark and disturbing themes, etc. that having a term to describe casual, low stakes, cute, relaxing, meditative, happy, colorful games -- that are not necessarily for kids -- is very useful and welcoming. Thanks for watching.
Never apologize, brother. It's your list. My favorite game of all time is Euphoria, but that never even pops up on anyone's Top 100 games. So, to each, his own.
I've always wanted to try it. But not only it isn't sold in my country, but also I've never seen it at a reasonable price.
In my top 5. I hear you… get a lot of eyerolls for that one.
@@TimothyRiel Maybe people don't connect with the theme, but I enjoy dystopian settings. I think it's one of Stonemaier Games' best, but it gets overlooked due to Scythe, Tapestry, Wingspan, etc...
I haven't played any of the games from your cozy list but own/played/wishlisted almost every single one from the stressful list. Not sure how I feel about that 😅
I bet most players favor one group of games over the other. I definitely lean more towards this list -- these are some of my favorites of all time. But I mostly don't game for relaxation but rather entertainment, so I enjoy exciting, tense decision making with high stakes. Thanks for watching!
Another great video, thank you! This morning I actually just finished my 4th play of Halls of Hegra, and got a win! Probably the most stressful game I play (I actually put it above Final Girl, due to the game taking longer).
That's a good point. The length of the game definitely contributes to the stress. Final Girl is a bit of an outlier because it is comparatively quick -- at least compared to This War of Mine, Halls of Hegra and Frostpunk. It always hurts more to die after 3 hours rather than 90 minutes. Thanks for watching!
it's long out of print, but Space Hulk: Death Angel remains my ultimate stressful solo experience. cheers!
Great call! I forget about that one and it hasn't hit my table in a while, but I should bring it back out. It's a wonderful game. Thanks!
Learning the rules from the provided manual is a stressful activity in upon itself. 😉
@@mattkutrik lol so true.. ten or so pages of pure confusion.
I appreciate the effort to get these high quality videos published as often as you do. They are the absolute best! Thank you! Marquis, Robinson Crusoe, & The Grizzled are among my most favorite. I find these a pleasure to play and not so stressful. I would like to get Resist! & Hall of Hegra which I think would be stressful for me. My friends that I play X-wing with have This War of Mine & Nemesis that I hope to play soon.
I appreciate those kind words. Thank you. Ah, the Grizzled is tough and bleak. I've played it once or twice a long time ago and found it depressing but clever. An underappreciated card game. Thanks for checking out the video!
You nailed this list man. I won’t play some of these because of the tension.
Lol I mean- coffee roaster vs this war of mine.
It’s an obvious choice for me haha.
"Black Orchestra " has an ebb and flow for me that gets tense then lessens then builds again.
I recently got Resist as a first foray into solo games (and board games in general) and it really does emulate that feeling of being an outnumbered and dwindling resistance. That being said I think I'll check out your cozy games list for my next game😅
Oh another soothing video from TT. I really appreciate your solo "whatever" videos. Thanks for making my evening more relaxing 😉👍
City of the Great Machine co-op certainly qualifies for that for me. Firstly, it is set into a sort of victorian city, ruled by a human build machine (AI), that is trying to slave all its residents. Secondly, it is a hidden movement game where the AI is hunting you while you try to stimulate a rebellion. Although you don't lose on the spot if your hero is caught, you still get punished for it and you are soft limited on how many turns you have before the Great Machine finalises its plan.
Great list. Halls of Hegra just arrived at my favorite store, it seems more wildly distributed now. A great game will make its way to the top naturally!
What an awesome list. Just what I'm looking for. I'll have to keep rewatching this list , great idea.
What a list! Usually, I don’t feel stress when I play BG, but you open my eyes. I think my favorites games are in that list. Frostpunk, TWOM, Nemesis, Final Girl, etc. Just WOW! I play ISS Vanguard now and it’s kind of a mix of cozy and stressful game, pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing. 👌
Great video! These kind of games can be very cathartic in overcoming them finally IF you can enjoy the challenge.
Great list, brother, and awesome video as always ❤
Is 'Under falling skies' already mentioned? The constant threat of ships coming down at you and the mothership slowly approaching... You're always in need of energy and fire power, while at the same time you want time for research, now that's stressful! But very satisfying when everything works out.
I don’t have most of the games on your “stressful” list. But I’d personally rate Maquis high on that list. The theme is great. But it seems like the designer did everything possible to make you lose.
As just one example, the town’s morale drops every turn even if nothing bad happens. So often you’ve got to ignore your goals and just concentrate on propping up morale. Ugh.
This is exactly the list i hoped for after the cozy game list. 😁
Arkham Horror is on my top spot. I enjoy the game but sometimes things are going horribly wrong.
Dawn of the Zed is on my second spot.
Your lines are really well defended but you still have to roll these two dice.... 😱 How many times i rolled snake eyes and yelled at my cardboard defenders how incompetent they are. 😤
This War of Mine, Halls of Hegra, and Final Girl are solid stressful picks. Others to consider would be Soldiers In Postmen's Uniforms and Castle Itter by David Thompson, and published by DVG. Any version of Dawn of the Zeds, and maybe Plum Island Horror, too.
Great list. I think you covered pretty much all the goodies. (Final Girl, Nemeses, This War of Mine, Frost Punk) Only editions I could think of are the 7th Continent/Citadel series (which one could like Robinson Crusoe play as comfort game, and City of the Great Machine.
Besides the stress that Final Girl puts me through, it’s my favorite solo game.. can’t wait to get season 3. Have you tried some of the other scenarios?
I have tried several other scenarios, all from season 1. I have a couple boxes from season 2 but I don't think I've played those yet. I could be misremembering. I plan on filming a season 3 scenario when they come in. Thanks for watching!
Love the creative theme for this list!
One of the most stressful things about solo gaming is how expensive even a modest solo game can be, what with relatively tiny print runs.
Tiny towns! Yes, definitely very tight and stressfull. But I love it.
The mention of Robinson Crusoe got me cracked up! 😂 Though won’t be surprised if it appears on this list as well.
I've played This War of Mine the video game and it's soooo good. Really need to get a copy of the board game!
Yeah, it feels quite different than the video game. Check out my playthrough video to see it in action. Thanks for watching!
All my fave solo games are on the high-stress side. Resist. This War of Mine-I’d have been so disappointed if that wasn’t number one. I don’t know what this says about me and what I do in my spare time to “relax” 😂
Added a few entries to my wishlist ...
I hope you find a game you really enjoy. Check out my playthroughs to really get a good sense if the games will work for you -- or if you want to learn how to play. Thanks for watching!
I do love Final Girl, and the game it takes its mechanics from, Hostage Negotiator is also quite stressful. There's not as much set up, the dice are a little meaner, and the theme is more harrowing than the fun horror tropes of Final Girl. Fuse & / or Fuse Countdown make for a fun, quick (10 minute timer), stressful solo play, though the scoring system doesn't really mean anything due to variables.
None of these type of games stress me out, unless they have a timer. Games like Taboo, Stay Cool, and Magic Maze, those can be stressful unless you decide ahead of time that it doesn't matter, it's just a silly game.
I don't think I play any solo games with timers (in fact I cannot think of one off the top of my head). Certainly, multiplayer opens up a host of different options, like Galaxy Trucker. I find the Crew weirdly stressful because you don't want to let down the team. Thanks for watching!
Sees title of video and thumbnail of This War of Mine, nods in agreement. Great list and run through. I have Frost Punk and really want Halls of Hegra (along with most of this list 😞).
XCOM: The board game solo All 4 stations, real time, nothing like it.
great list by the way, I've enjoyed 8 out of 10 of these and would have 9 if frostpunk didnt cost and arm and a leg.
Great idea for a video! The most stressful games for me are the tight games with really consequential choices… (the ones that induce high levels of AP! Top of the list foe me would be (dis)Spirit Island. (the waves of invaders 🥵)
Currently playing Once Upon a Full Moon for the first time with Final Girl!
Now I know what games NOT to get...🤪🤪 although I already have a couple of them. I have found that I don't want to be stressed out during game play, which is why I find myself avoiding games like final girl, even though the concept looks exciting.... I have Season one, and haven't broken down and played it yet!
I totally get that. I personally have moods where I want something intense and other moods where I need something more mellow. It's all a matter of taste and what you want to get out of gaming. I think a lot of people use gaming as a way to unwind after a long, hard day, and games like Frostpunk and This War of Mine are the worst picks for that job. Thanks for watching!
Of all of these games I have only played Arkham Horror LCG, but it didn ´t catch me at all. I found out that the whole Cthulhu theme is not for me, I thought the game was rather boring, so: no stress for me 😂 Agricola was a very stressful game for me: farming the right way and feeding your family - I hated it. I prefer cosy games, life is stressful enough. But I do have to admit: the more I hear about This War of Mine, the more intrigued I am by this game, although it is not a game for everyday, as you said, you have to be in the right mood for this experience. Thanks for showing the games 🎉
I think I just realised why I disliked Final Girl so much - it's stressful! I think I can manage Resist levels of stress but clearly not Final Girl!
Thanks for the video, always great content in your channel.
Mike, I love your channel!
I'm happy you enjoy the channel. Thanks so much for the kind words!
well added Resist to the games I should get, thanks for showing it and as much as I want nemesis I can't pull the trigger on something like that I feel like it's a lifestyle game where you keep buying and buying more of it. For a game for you should look up "Iron Helm" by Jason Glover, it's a hard push your luck card game.
Lux Aeterna for me - even with the "easy" (BS!) 15 minute time limit i still find myself getting flustered due to the firefighting. Speaking of firefighting The A.R.T Project also needs a mention!
Robinson Crusoe comfort food? You lie. 🤪
Ha, well you need to play it like 60 times and then it becomes comforting. :)
In Nemesis, does it make thematic sense for noise markers to stay there long after your character caused them to appear?
Yes, it's not the noise caused by your character. It's the sound of intruders creeping nearby that your character heard.
That's a good point. I always think of it as the noise I'm making but you are right. It is the noise the aliens are making around you based on your movement. Either way, it feels very dramatic and intense. Love it. Thanks!
Duuude you need to try Space Hulk: Death Angel! I promise you it will go right into this list! 😉
Pandemic is definitely up there! And Robinson Crusoe. But I understand why you didn't put it on there. I'd say two big ones for me are Voidfall and Marvel Champions. Both have that feeling of trying to overcome overwhelming odds and seeing your enemies' power grow while dishing out multiple things for you to try and deal with at once. And there can be that feeling of there's no way for me to do everything that I need to.
Marvel Champions is a really good one. I think boss battlers in general are pretty stressful. I've been playing a lot of Primal and I should have put it on the list. These challenge scenarios are super tense. Thanks Laurence!
I tried Last Bastion (Ghost Stories re-skinned) a handful of times. Lost horrible, not worth the stress :P
I can totally understand that. Games like Ghost Stories go from bad to worst to not quite as bad to hopeless. You never get a chance to catch your breath (or maybe I'm just not very good at it). Thanks for watching!
I had no idea that was a re-skin. Thanks for hipping me to that info dude.
I believe Last Bastion also has streamlined rules compared to Ghost Stories, so not a straight re-skin but close.
i enjoyed the video! one question: i own nemesis lockdown, do you prefer the first nemesis? and why?
I have yet to play Nemesis Lockdown, though I recently acquired it and hope to try it soon. So no preference, I've just been playing the original for years now. Thanks for watching!
In fact it is Robinson Crusoe that gets stressed whenever you play it 😂 and win (unlike the rest of us mortals 😆)
Unfortunatly, most of those stressful games, just came from the pure randomness from random tokens, randoms cards, random dices...
I wish there was an other way to be hard, without being too much based on luck, like in those Final girl, Resists and ghost stories... etc...
To me, most of those are just lacking developpement and ideas to make them hard, yet not based on pure luck most of the time to do so..
Gears of war - the boardgame, is another exemple of an excellent game, yet really hard and based on dice rolls for the most part of the "hard / stressful" part of it...
Final girl was the last of those "unfair" boardgames i tried, and the bad stuff and losing just based on dice rolls... was enough for me to get rid of it. Wich is a shame, coz the theme and materials are great
Tiny towns ?! 😂
I was wondering when Ghost Stories would show up...
I, too, find Robinson Crusoe comforting!
My number one is definitely Arkham Horror LCG. The tension in the butthole it provides is impeccable.
Spirit Island stresses me out too, for different reasons.
Honorable mentions: Nemo's War, Dawn of the Zeds, John Company, Pavlov's House and Navajo Wars. But still I find them comforting and laid back.
That's a great list of games. I still need to play most of those. Spirit Island was on the short list for sure. Thanks so much for checking out the video!
Bullet stress me the hell out
Good one! That can be super stressful, especially towards the end. Thanks for checking out the list!
Top game longer play more than 2H pls
Am I the only community oddball who isn't a fan of the new descriptor, "cozy"?
No, I bet you are in the majority actually. Plenty of people express annoyance at the word. I'm not sure why. It seems like the perfect word to describe this type of game (I use it here in this thumbnail as a silly reference to my previous list). I like it because so many games (especially video games) are so overwhelmingly focused on violence, action, dexterity, aggression, dark and disturbing themes, etc. that having a term to describe casual, low stakes, cute, relaxing, meditative, happy, colorful games -- that are not necessarily for kids -- is very useful and welcoming. Thanks for watching.
👍🎲
I’d put on my list;
Carnival Zombie
Space Hulk Death Angel
Nemo’s War
Burncycle
Black Orchestra
Darkest Night
Dawn of the Zeds
To name a few! 😉