You are both very kind. Feel free to look back at all of the videos I have on my channel. There are hundreds that do a pretty good job of cataloging most of the solo games from the last 4 years.
Twilight inscription surprised me with how tuned and fun it was. Besides how the boards change the faction powers and relic powers you get drastically change the game. Can make it a little swingy but fun to play into them.
Thank you sooo much for being the best and most prolific solo board game channel! Being someone who hates AI opponents, this list is right down my alley! Love Newton, Ark Nova, Underwater City... But there are now 3 new games on my wishlist (Twilight Inscription, Distilled and Findorff). BYOS games I also like: Santa Maria, Revive, Expedition to Newdale, Crown of Emara, Empires of the North, Faiyum. Again, thanks for your 4 year dedication! Happy solo gaming everyone!
You are quite welcome. I also like those you mentioned but just could not fit them into my top 10! Glad to be able to add a few to your list to explore in the future. If you like them after you try them, please let me know. Take care!
By the way, I've always played the unofficial Faiyum solo mode which is to remove 18 cards in setup and try to achieve 150 points. I guess it makes it a little more like Findorff in the replayability department. By the way, I bought Findorff! Thanks for the recommandation!
Glad to see you enjoy Findorff. I did try that unofficial Faiyum solo at one point. I still ended up parting with the game. It just did not have enough tension for me.
I am only missing Roads & Boats from your list - very tough to find at any price that is not equal to a mini vacation lol! I've got 1862 due to your review and am planning on breaking it out in April. However one that has rapidly become my favorite is Rebuilding Seattle - this one is so addictive! Agree Uwe games are classic for this. Thanks so much John! I love your channel - so so helpful for us solo gamers - esp. those that have tastes similar to yours.
Thanks for the nice feedback. I also have Rebuilding Seattle and really enjoy that one as well. It is try that there is not much overhead on that one, I do find the automa really can mess with your plans. It’s a great game! I hope you enjoy 1862. Take a look through some of the BGG files to find a good solo cheat sheet. That game can get a little confusing at times.
Need to add some of these to my list. Love to see how high Twilight Inscription is. Sooooo good. And Underwater Cities is so fun. One of my favorites. Great list!
Great list, John! Thank you so much. I love Underwater Cities and like you, I have never won. I play with the expansion which raised the winning number to win to 125 points. I would love to have Roads & Boats & Etc. but the cost is too prohibitive for me. On the other hand, I hated the solo mode for Newton, lol. Clinic sounds terrific! I may have to try and track down a copy. I still need to get Ark Nova to the table!
Newton is a funny one. Either people love it or hate it. There seems to be no middle ground. All Splotter games are way overpriced which is too bad because they make it tough for people to justify buying them. Roads & Boats & Etc. is the only one that I ponied up the cash for…
Great video series. I had one (Ark Nova). A couple more to add to shopping list. Almost worried to watch Uwe list. 😅 I enjoy Terraforming Mars and Ares as good BYOS games.
@@keithnemes5466 I have a whole video on my complex feelings about Everdell. For just the base game for solo play only, it is a pass. However, when you add in enough of the expansion, it becomes pretty good. The problem is, you have to spend so much money to do so. All in, it is a good medium weight solo experience, but it is very pricy to get there.
Great list as always! Tramways and Roads & Boats are two very OOP games that I would love to get my hands on. Hopefully we get some re-releases of those in the future. Clinic, UC, Praga and Gates of Loyang (not on this list) are some of my favourite BYOS games.
As always, another very good video, John. I almost skipped this video as I really dislike BYOS solo games. However, I had a suspicion about something and watched the video anyway -- sure enough it was confirmed. The term BYOS was once again applied improperly (IMHO). I realize I'm in the minority with this position, but it does make searching out good solo games that meet MY definitions much more difficult. I contend that solo games come in 3 main varieties: 1) AI - playing against a simulated opponent (if done well, my favorite type of solo game). 2) BYOS - Playing the game, setting a score, and either trying to beat that score (your own) with further plays or comparing the score to a chart that does NOT indicate a "win". 3) Win Condition - i.e. Terraform Mars in 12 Generations, Cross your score markers within set number of turns, Acquire X amount of a resource by games end (and many others). Terraforming Mars and Ark Nova are two of my all-time favorite games precisely because they have set win conditions...your actual score does not matter because you either win or lose. I think the only BYOS game I own and enjoy is Nemo's War, but only because you FIRST must survive to the end (what I consider a win) and THEN compare your score to a very difficult ranking chart. Once again, good job, John!
I have and enjoy Newton and Ark Nova from this list. Played Inscription with 2 but it was kinda forgettable unfortunately. My other no automa favorites include Hardrian's Wall and The Magnificent. Cheers! Thanks for putting this list together. I enjoyed it.
Next please make a video Top 10 solo mode design by david turczi, i think that would be cool😎❤❤❤ maybe bitoku number 5, weather machine number 4, kanban EV number 3. Idk, you make it with your experience about the game.
Thanks for the list. Unfortunately the only game I love on the list is Underwater Cities. I played the PNP version of distilled during Kickstarter and didn't care for it. Ark Nova and Findorff had the opportunity multiplayer and did not like. As always enjoy your list😊. Until next time
Fantastic list! Many of my favourites there, Newton, Ark Nova, Clinic.... but man, I need to get your number 1 game, they have it locally 😁. How heavy it is? If you can compare it to ... let's say Pfister/Rosenberg/Garphill Games/Lacerda?
@realdealastrology in some ways it is debatable which is the heavier game but they are so different it is tough to say. A Top 10 Heavy list is a good idea. Thanks!
That is EXACTLY why I bought 1862. It then exceeded my expectations. It is not too hard to learn but does have some confusing rules and so it takes some time to get right. Once you do get it in your brain, figure out how to get a high score is a whole separate challenge!
@@JohnLaRuffa Okay, I put it in my wish list, but it is currently out of stock at the online game store I use. Good timing as the board game budget category is empty this month...
@@JohnLaRuffa Got the email alert my online game store had it back in stock so I ordered it. had to move budget items around a bit. Can't wait for it to arrive!
I subscribed a couple of weeks ago, and I think you have a fantastic channel 👍 I love what you do and the way you do it. Just awesome, thanks.
Quickly becoming my favorite content creator in the industry. ❤
You are both very kind. Feel free to look back at all of the videos I have on my channel. There are hundreds that do a pretty good job of cataloging most of the solo games from the last 4 years.
Twilight inscription surprised me with how tuned and fun it was. Besides how the boards change the faction powers and relic powers you get drastically change the game. Can make it a little swingy but fun to play into them.
Recently discovered your channel. Thanks! I’ve got about half the games on your list. Loving Distilled solo right now.
Welcome! I love Distilled solo! Such a fun and tough experience!
Your solo videos are great. Thanks!
Thank you!
Thank you sooo much for being the best and most prolific solo board game channel! Being someone who hates AI opponents, this list is right down my alley! Love Newton, Ark Nova, Underwater City... But there are now 3 new games on my wishlist (Twilight Inscription, Distilled and Findorff). BYOS games I also like: Santa Maria, Revive, Expedition to Newdale, Crown of Emara, Empires of the North, Faiyum. Again, thanks for your 4 year dedication! Happy solo gaming everyone!
You are quite welcome. I also like those you mentioned but just could not fit them into my top 10! Glad to be able to add a few to your list to explore in the future. If you like them after you try them, please let me know. Take care!
By the way, I've always played the unofficial Faiyum solo mode which is to remove 18 cards in setup and try to achieve 150 points. I guess it makes it a little more like Findorff in the replayability department. By the way, I bought Findorff! Thanks for the recommandation!
Glad to see you enjoy Findorff. I did try that unofficial Faiyum solo at one point. I still ended up parting with the game. It just did not have enough tension for me.
I've always been thinking about 1862, especially as I was born and grew up in Colchester
I have a review video and a solo play through published on my channel you could check out to see if it is for you. I love it!
I am only missing Roads & Boats from your list - very tough to find at any price that is not equal to a mini vacation lol! I've got 1862 due to your review and am planning on breaking it out in April. However one that has rapidly become my favorite is Rebuilding Seattle - this one is so addictive! Agree Uwe games are classic for this. Thanks so much John! I love your channel - so so helpful for us solo gamers - esp. those that have tastes similar to yours.
Thanks for the nice feedback. I also have Rebuilding Seattle and really enjoy that one as well. It is try that there is not much overhead on that one, I do find the automa really can mess with your plans. It’s a great game! I hope you enjoy 1862. Take a look through some of the BGG files to find a good solo cheat sheet. That game can get a little confusing at times.
Need to add some of these to my list. Love to see how high Twilight Inscription is. Sooooo good. And Underwater Cities is so fun. One of my favorites. Great list!
Thanks for watching!
Great list, John! Thank you so much. I love Underwater Cities and like you, I have never won. I play with the expansion which raised the winning number to win to 125 points. I would love to have Roads & Boats & Etc. but the cost is too prohibitive for me. On the other hand, I hated the solo mode for Newton, lol. Clinic sounds terrific! I may have to try and track down a copy. I still need to get Ark Nova to the table!
Newton is a funny one. Either people love it or hate it. There seems to be no middle ground. All Splotter games are way overpriced which is too bad because they make it tough for people to justify buying them. Roads & Boats & Etc. is the only one that I ponied up the cash for…
Great video series. I had one (Ark Nova). A couple more to add to shopping list. Almost worried to watch Uwe list. 😅
I enjoy Terraforming Mars and Ares as good BYOS games.
I like Ares, but I eventually got tired of the original game solo.
@@JohnLaRuffa How do you feel about Everdell?
@@keithnemes5466 I have a whole video on my complex feelings about Everdell. For just the base game for solo play only, it is a pass. However, when you add in enough of the expansion, it becomes pretty good. The problem is, you have to spend so much money to do so. All in, it is a good medium weight solo experience, but it is very pricy to get there.
Great list as always! Tramways and Roads & Boats are two very OOP games that I would love to get my hands on. Hopefully we get some re-releases of those in the future. Clinic, UC, Praga and Gates of Loyang (not on this list) are some of my favourite BYOS games.
Thanks! Good recommendation in you comments as well.
As always, another very good video, John.
I almost skipped this video as I really dislike BYOS solo games. However, I had a suspicion about something and watched the video anyway -- sure enough it was confirmed. The term BYOS was once again applied improperly (IMHO). I realize I'm in the minority with this position, but it does make searching out good solo games that meet MY definitions much more difficult.
I contend that solo games come in 3 main varieties:
1) AI - playing against a simulated opponent (if done well, my favorite type of solo game).
2) BYOS - Playing the game, setting a score, and either trying to beat that score (your own) with further plays or comparing the score to a chart that does NOT indicate a "win".
3) Win Condition - i.e. Terraform Mars in 12 Generations, Cross your score markers within set number of turns, Acquire X amount of a resource by games end (and many others).
Terraforming Mars and Ark Nova are two of my all-time favorite games precisely because they have set win conditions...your actual score does not matter because you either win or lose. I think the only BYOS game I own and enjoy is Nemo's War, but only because you FIRST must survive to the end (what I consider a win) and THEN compare your score to a very difficult ranking chart.
Once again, good job, John!
True. I didn’t think to specify win conditions but as you saw, many of these games in the list have that.
@@JohnLaRuffa No problems, John. No one specifies those types of games (except me). Have fun gaming!!!
I have and enjoy Newton and Ark Nova from this list. Played Inscription with 2 but it was kinda forgettable unfortunately. My other no automa favorites include Hardrian's Wall and The Magnificent. Cheers! Thanks for putting this list together. I enjoyed it.
Thanks! Hadrian’s Wall is a good pick for sure. I got a little tired of The Magnificent after several plays and ended up selling it.
Next please make a video Top 10 solo mode design by david turczi, i think that would be cool😎❤❤❤ maybe bitoku number 5, weather machine number 4, kanban EV number 3. Idk, you make it with your experience about the game.
That could be my next Top 10. There is a lot of good content to work with there. Thanks for the recommendation!
No Uwe game? Well good list to explore. Thank you
That’s only because I have a Top 10 list dedicated to his solos already. I note that in the beginning and the end of the video.
Oh yeah, sorry I wasnt paying attention at the start, the amazing games at your back got me distracted... 😅
😂 no worries! I just commented back to let others know.
Thanks for the list. Unfortunately the only game I love on the list is Underwater Cities. I played the PNP version of distilled during Kickstarter and didn't care for it. Ark Nova and Findorff had the opportunity multiplayer and did not like. As always enjoy your list😊. Until next time
To each their own I always say. Thanks for watching!
Fantastic list! Many of my favourites there, Newton, Ark Nova, Clinic.... but man, I need to get your number 1 game, they have it locally 😁. How heavy it is? If you can compare it to ... let's say Pfister/Rosenberg/Garphill Games/Lacerda?
Heavier than all of those you list but not unapproachable. You should check out my play through to see if it is something you would want to check out.
@@JohnLaRuffa will do, thank you!🙏
@realdealastrology in some ways it is debatable which is the heavier game but they are so different it is tough to say. A Top 10 Heavy list is a good idea. Thanks!
Great video.
Sigh, I've always wanted to try an 18xx game but play mostly solo. You have me really wanting to get 1862...
That is EXACTLY why I bought 1862. It then exceeded my expectations. It is not too hard to learn but does have some confusing rules and so it takes some time to get right. Once you do get it in your brain, figure out how to get a high score is a whole separate challenge!
@@JohnLaRuffa Okay, I put it in my wish list, but it is currently out of stock at the online game store I use. Good timing as the board game budget category is empty this month...
I know how that is!
@@JohnLaRuffa Got the email alert my online game store had it back in stock so I ordered it. had to move budget items around a bit.
Can't wait for it to arrive!
Sweet! Let me know if you have any questions!
No, just don't like BYOS at all.
Great video for sure, just can't stand that kind of solo 😂
Well at least you can avoid these ten games then 😀