My Top 7 (or 10) Solo Dungeon Crawler, Sci-fi and Fantasy Adventure Games | A List of Thematic Games

[@lilianempls]

What an insightful and meaningful intro, intro to the video and intro of your channel to me. Subscribed solely based on the first minute and looking forward to exploring more of what you have.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you so much for the kind words, and for choosing to subscribe. I really appreciate the support and I hope you find some videos on the channel you enjoy.

[@marcolai9735]

Such an amazing intro to this video... I wish you a lovely holiday period

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you for watching, and a very happy holiday to you too!

[@SouthernWolf]

I just picked up No Respite for Blackstone Fortress, the last expansion I needed to complete my collection. It was stupidly expensive, but I'm still looking forward to finally playing it. And I agree, I think Blackstone Fortress is easy to manage all 4 characters once you know the rules well. Have a merry Christmas!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Oh well done. No Respite was available for such a short period of time, and I think it got overlooked a bit because of the recycled miniatures; but it's a really solid addition to the game. I hope you really enjoy it.

[@cgs7226]

Thanks!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you so much for the generous contribution. I really appreciate the support.

[@BrewsGamesRides]

Happy Holidays and Cheers from Southern California. I enjoy Shadows of Brimstone solo, have most of the collection and it's fun. Going to check out some of your other choices but I also really enjoy 5 Parsecs from Home and 5 Leagues from the Borderlands. What's great about the Brimstone mini's is they are useful in other solo/skirmish games out there as bosses and another favorite of mine is Core Space (mini's are great in any sci fi setting as crew members). Happy Holidays, I've enjoyed your content for several years now. 🍻

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you so much for supporting the channel, and happy holidays to you too! I have toyed with the idea of picking up 5 Parsecs. I have plenty of sci-fi miniatures and terrain I could use with it.

[@goodjessehobbies]

My friend, you have done it again. It is difficult for me to express the sense of glee I feel when I hear somebody chatting lovingly about something that I have such a love for yet have very few people I can share that experience with, and that is solo board gaming. I do a lot. First off, just the theme of this video had me shouting out with glee, appropriate parallel to Rudolph I realize. I just recently finally got a close friend to take real interest in solo gaming and now I can send them this video. Next, your experience with Jaws of the Lion parallels mine as well. I really did not like it as a solo game and am still struggling to give it away. It just doesn't work in my opinion. THEN, you say you just got into Shadows of Brimstone. I have spent a ton of the last month doing a deep dive on SoB and just finally ordered it for my birthday (In the HeroQuest tradition) and it arrives in a few days. You have had an uncanny sync with my taste in games and it's just been a real delight, so I want to thank you yet again for this channel and for taking the time to share your experience with us. Now back to the video... I will likely run back over here again during making breakfast as I just did.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks so much. I will have a lot more to say about Jaws of the Lion and Shadows of Brimstone in the new year! I know there are definitely a few games on this list that you like.

[@Oluabayo]

Core Space has some of the best AI mechanics in my opinion. The AI can control the enemies, workers, scavengers, police, bounty hunters, all sorts:)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Core Space is still a game I haven't had a chance to play yet, but would like to at some point. I hear that the original core set is still the better one to get of the two. What are your thoughts?

[@Drizzi88]

I second this. i've played solo and with a friend before. i've got every release expansion released to my country, but hadnt had much of a chance to really grind it out. but the core set is extremely fun and i am happy i didnt get star-saga first. :) If you're refering to firstborn - yes. in my opinion it's better suited for solo play. Core Space itself has a great campaign Setting without the need of notorious bookkeeping. Firstborn seems a bit more like an skirmisher? Also - the timer in corespace is a lot like the timer in andor, but without the "game over" looming over your head. luming? looming? nvm. If you have the funds i'd recommend both, but if you want to play just the core game - core space is your choice. with all the expansion packs you'll rack up a lot of gaming time and the battle-systems terrain is beautiful.@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@Oluabayo]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring The first one is the best for me as I like the setting and the idea of being chased around by robots:) I think it plays better to.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That seems to be the general consensus. Thanks for your opinions.

[@jameswhitehouse5706]

Nice video. I saw Runebound in your shelf and I think that’s one with good solo potential

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Runebound is great and I do play it solo, but I don't have the expansion that makes it a true solo game. When it comes to combat, I just flip the tokens for the monsters and make the best choices I can for them.

[@Ben_Mdws]

Superb - I’m going to bookmark this one!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I hope the video is useful for you.

[@Thirty3_1Third]

The D&D Adventure games are my absolute favorites. I’ve now got my daughter hooked to play with me. We also loved Horrified - nice to see some love for those still, thank you!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Horrified is great. I have all three so far and I hope they release more. I'm glad to hear you have been enjoying the D&D games with your daughter.

[@davidjacovelli5986]

Great stuff, loved this video. Have a terrific Christmas, you and yours.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you too.

[@nickgraney2119]

Great selection, most i would have placed a bet on seeing them appear in your 7 (or 10), others like Shadows were nice to see make it up there. Look forward to hearing what joins your gaming shelves in the next week. All the best to you and yours Kevin, hope the kids have a fab Christmas 🎄

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Shadows of Brimstone was one of the closer calls on the list, because I do have more fun with it as a group game, and it does have that potential to get quite busy later on. However, it really is such a simple game at its core, and it always makes fun stories. That, combined with the effort they went to adding true scaling for solo players, meant I had to include it. Thanks so much for watching, and I wish you all the best for the festive season.

[@thehighlandhobbyist]

Love Dark Souls for the exact same reasons as you! My fav solo game!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I love the puzzle that each new room presents, and trying to make the most efficient moves to clear it.

[@mcashed]

Great picks! Blackstone Fortress is available at the Warhammer online shop as well as in many a gaming store. Some still carry expansions, as well. At least here in the EU:)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes, the base game is still available, but it's leftover from the last print run and there won't be more. I don't think I was very clear in the video when I said it was out of production. I meant they won't be making more and support is done. I am surprised you still have expansions kicking around though. They are highly sought after!

[@jamesbatesmusic]

Nice to see Aliens in there! I remember printing that off as a kid and then getting a rollicking for using all the printer ink in the study 😂

[@joevespaziani]

Thank you for this! And thanks to folks in the comments giving suggestions. Much appreciated 🙏

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching. There are some great suggestions in the comments, including a few I would like to show on the channel.

[@danielbuday1895]

What is he game to the left of Camel Up? The art is fantastic.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That is Fireteam Zero. I really great game about a military team fighting Eldritch horrors.

[@danielbuday1895]

I’ll have to check it out. I like that theme.

[@walt776]

Suggestions from me: Arkeis, a dungeon crawler with a pulp/steampunk Egyptian theme. A campaign game with story elements but very simple mechanisms that lets you easily revisit it after setting it aside for a while. Saurian: Basically Jurassic Park with the IP scratched off. You are trying to get a bunch of survivors out of a dinosaur theme park while completing objectives and avoiding dinosaurs and a volcano. if you like dinosaurs, there is also a game called Escape from 100 Million B.C., where your Time Machine has crashed in the Jurassic and you are gathering parts to fix it while rescuing famous figures from history. The components for this game are not great, and it is on the long side, but I enjoy it. The Castle Ravenloft line of D&D games are hard to get hold of these days expect for secondhand copies. I was able to get Tomb of Annihilation, which I enjoy mainly because I find the jungle theme interesting. I was able to play four characters solo with no problem.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The D&D games used to be very easy to get and incredibly cheap for the content. It's a shame they are getting harder to hunt down. I don't recall ever hearing about Saurian before so I might go and take a look at that.

[@christophergough5366]

I’d recommend trying Raptor Claw Island by the Drowned Earth. It’s a “jungle crawler” and I am enjoying it so much I’ve replaced the poster map with homemade board and all the standees with miniatures.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Dinosaurs were my thing growing up, so I do have a soft spot for them. I have glanced at Raptor Claw Island but will need to take a closer look. I thought it was more of a skirmish game than a crawler!

[@christophergough5366]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring it is definitely strongly influenced by its parent skirmish game and uses many of the same mechanics but it is a fully cooperative game with enemies controlled by their unique AI decks. It consists solely of a scenario based campaign that tells a story of pirates, treasure and dinosaurs, has multiple different endings, includes levelling and equipment for the heroes and, although I’m only two scenarios in, I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s not cheap at £55 but it is packed full of stuff.

[@zombiedad]

Nice! Thanks ABNB.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching.

[@JevousGaming]

Love these picks. Andor doesn’t get enough mention as a good solo game for obvious reasons. But as you said, it’s really a puzzle and controlling 4 characters is extremely easy.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Andor is a lovely puzzle to while away a quiet afternoon on. It's great.

[@rudyjansen4242]

Great list, wonder what you think of Warhammer quest Lost relics (a B&N exclusive bookshelf game, solo to 4 pl) If you ever going to play it. Love to see you do a review of that one. Cheers.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I downloaded and read the Lost Relics rules to see whether I thought it would be worth jumping through hoops and paying international shipping fees and import duties. I decided I couldn't justify the cost for what the game was doing.

[@rudyjansen4242]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I did and no regret.

[@carlwoods4564]

Great list. Thanks.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you for watching.

[@carlwoods4564]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Whats your view on Four Against Darkness?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I think it looks great, but I've never had a chance to play it.

[@cgs7226]

Salutations and happy Holidays! Excellent list. I do have a few questions if you don’t mind answering if you have the chance: 1) Funny you should mention not having Heroquest on your list as that is related to my question. I was thinking about purchasing a copy of the game but with Hasbro in financial troubles I am wondering if it’s worth it for me getting it now? I will be playing it solo however not using the app but rather a deck of cards called Axianquest(I’ve heard very good things about it). 2) Have you heard of any rumors regarding a remake of Lost Patrol? Cheers!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Hasbro is slashing jobs like nobody's business at the moment, and Avalon Hill (the subsidiary responsible for HeroQuest) have been impacted by that. However, I think HeroQuest is pretty safe. It's been doing incredibly well, and they had a road map of new content for 2024 and I believe even if they decided to pull the plug on the system right now, all that content would still come out due to the lead times involved in production. Even if nothing else was ever made for the game, at this very moment you already have a core set, seven quest expansions, and two character packs to play through, which is a ridiculous amount of gameplay. At this point, Lost Patrol has been remade once and used as a foundation for two other games. The remake was back in 2016, but it was fouled up because they replaced the enemy tokens with miniatures which lead to some serious issues with gameplay. Since then the core gameplay has been adapted for Crypt Hunters and then again for Doomsday Countdown. In the case of the reskins there were quite a few rules changes, but the heart of the game was still tucked away inside, so there's every chance Games Workshop will use the system again, either for another game or for a more direct reprint of the original Lost Patrol.

[@jayandreas1131]

1:20 GREAT hair on that mini 😍

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Tsubasa is one of my favourite minis from Anima Tactics.

[@Modge17]

I know Space Marine Adventures got a special mention but SMA Doomsday Countdown is really good fun solo!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Unfortunately I never got a chance to pick it up. I would have liked it to add to the other SMA games I have.

[@thedalewardens9106]

Hey old man! Have you tried the fan made hex crawl supplement for Brimstone? If puts the game over the top for me.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I only have one core box of the game at the moment, and I don't ever use fan made content so it's not that likely I will ever try it.

[@thedalewardens9106]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringI am going to make my case: The Hex Crawl adds a Legacy element to the game. Ex: We failed a mission and a town got consumed by a deluge of evil. There are traveling outdoor encounters. There are a lot of new adventure hooks In the supplement. It really adds to the verisimilitude of the game. My friend had the fan made content printed out and perfect bound. I could not tell that the books were fan made....it's not just some black and white Pdfs with charts. For me it passes the look test as well as the game play test. After playing Hex Crawl Brimstone I would not want to go back to core box.

[@steelman774]

Horrified is great! I wan to get the Greek monsters next, but one missed mention is Alien:Fate or the Nostromo. It is published by Ravensburger (also), with a selection of crew with and individual power to with one or two villains (the Xenomorph with a randomizable end game requirement and the android that’s similar to the InvisibleMan from the Universal Monsters) trying to get the players while they collect items on the board to cash in for things to beat the villain with. It’s basically Horrified in the setting of the first Alien movie. If you like Alien and you like Horrified, this is a home run.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Hi. I have Fate of the Nostromo, and you can find my review and playthroughs on the channel. In my top 50 games list I positioned it at number 33. The reason it didn't make it onto this list is simply because it's very similar to Horrified in a lot of ways and Horrified was already on the list, so I wanted to offer up suggestions for different solo experiences.

[@ctorus]

Castle Ravelnloft and the other D&D games my definite favourite. Couple of other scifi options: Gears of War and Terminator: Genysys are excellent fast-paced and easy to play games.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I used to have Gears of War but I got rid of it because I just never played it, and because I had never played the video games I always felt I wasn't quite in the loop enough to understand a lot of the flavour text for the missions. Terminator Genisys looked good. I wonder if it suffered by association with the film.

[@elijahherstal776]

I have always loved Blackstone Fortress- to a point where now I've got a "Bring your own Miniature" rule for people to encourage kitbashes/creative modeling- and I'll either let them proxy the model or use some of the blank cards to make them a character. I've got an aversion towards 'cardboard miniatures', simply because they're not as fun to a manchild like me, and plus- I like to have a lot of things to paint. Got a recommendation for you: Nemesis. It's a lot of fun, and you can play it co-op or "Co-Op" (think 'Alien' where people have their own hidden agenda). And the miniatures aren't bad at all.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've been recommended Nemesis a number of times. For some reason, it just hasn't appealed to me when I've read reviews and watched playthroughs. Maybe part of the reason is I have a bunch of official Alien/Aliens games in my collection already so it hasn't fired me up. Maybe I will get a chance to demo it one day.

[@elijahherstal776]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring the first time you get your "friend" to go into a room to activate a computer and then throw a thermite charge in there and lock the door on him, you'll see the appeal.

[@freakyzed8467]

Whats the game i. The thumbnail that has a masked dude holding two daggers? Looks so familiar!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That is Fireteam Zero.

[@freakyzed8467]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringooooo yeah. Was looking into that one a while back. Is it a good one? Love the horror sci-fi look of it.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@freakyzed8467 I like it a lot but it's out of print and hard to get (especially the expansions). My review is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4qoloB8ltaeotE

[@SlabBulkhead]

Mage Knight Board Game (they couldn't fit a "the" in there?) is my favorite solo game, especially with the Lost Legion expansion. It's definitely more toward the puzzly/resource management end of the spectrum than the dice chucker end. Nothing like romping around the countryside, raiding dungeons, torching monasteries, and hiring powerful underlings to help you sack cities or defeat General Volkare. Great card-driven adventure game.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Mage Knight is another game I really enjoy, and I have the Lost Legion expansion. I actually put it number 11 on my list of top games ever, but I have only ever played it solo. I left it off the list here because in recent years I have found myself less inclined to get it to the table because it is such a deep puzzle that requires so much effort and concentration. Additionally, I wanted to keep this list a little lighter. It's another really good choice, though!

[@jasonnewell7036]

My fav solo games... hmmmm.... If I'm in the mood for something chunky, I'll play Townsfolk Tussle. It's a boss battler in the same vein as Kingdom Death Monster, but more charming and less arbitrarily cruel. Nothing like old timey cartoon style characters being unreasonably violent to one another. What other games are there when an enemy tries to bite you, but you end up biting them back with your deceased husband's dentures? I also fully endorse Final Girl. Being a completely solo game in the first place means it is an easy choice, but the 1980's home video horror aesthetic is great, and it is a real brain-burner of a game. Managing dice, cards, energy and resources, all while the killer getting stronger and stronger. It's a good, tense experience. But, my fabourite game to play solo is Tiny Epic Zombies. Of all the Tiny Epic games, it is still my favourite. It is the best zombie survival game out there, in my opinion. Not a zombie brawler like the numerous Zombicides, but a cunning puzzle to solve. There are multiple combinations of goals to achieve, while the zombies are getting more numerous and whittling down youelr defences. On top of this, you are running out of time until the deck runs out and you get overwhelmed. Plus, all the weapons you find can be held by the meeples you use to represent your characters. Combat is simple, with melee being dangerous but with the chance of extra attacks against zombies, while range is safe but uses valuable resources. Each character available has a zombie side which gives a unique power to the zombies, and every survivor that dies gives the zombies another power. It really balances well between tension and fun, and I highly recommend it.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

All games I haven't tried. I thought Final Girl looked interesting, but I had my eye on Don't Look Back for a solo game in that theme. Maybe next year I will get around to picking it up. I used to have Kingdom Death Monster but that left my collection last year sometime.

[@jasonnewell7036]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringit always seemed waaaaaay too pricey for me. And unavailable. And pretty dumb in parts.

[@mikkexh]

Thanks! What happend to Fireteam Zero? 😊

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Nothing happened to it. It sits on my shelf. I struggle to get it to the table these days, but it's still a great game. It didn't make it into the list on the grounds that I don't like it as a solo game. Controlling multiple characters with their own decks of cards that interact with each other in every character's turn meant it failed one of the selection criteria I discussed at the start of the video.

[@mikkexh]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thanks! I was only asking since it was prominent on the thumbnail. 😀 I would love to play Blackstone Fortress. Unfortunate it is so difficult to get a hold of the expansions.

[@Siygess]

I find that the 2016 Buffy game from Jasco to be one I frequently find myself playing solo. You can play a single character and the difficulty scales reasonably well, with bad stuff happening each time a character uses all their actions; thus with more characters on the board, there is more bad stuff to deal with. Another one that sort of straddles the line between board game and miniatures game that I often play solo is Star Trek Alliance : Dominion War. The core box includes everything you need to play and the designers get a lot of mileage out of the limited number of components in the box (though that only becomes apparent when you buy parts 2 and 3 of the campaign). The only downside is that this game is from Wizkids. When it comes to distribution, these guys couldn't organise a **** up in a brewery so it can be a pain to get a copy, even though it is technically an in-print game.

[@nick_hansolo]

Would have been good to include a brief synopsis of the games. Like the Brimstone one looks cool - and is maybe Wild West meets eldritch horror maybe? Based on artwork filmed. Otherwise great vid as always

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Most of the games in this list have been discussed on the channel extensively. Shadows of Brimstone is relatively new to my collection, but has already popped up several times in other conversations and there will be more about it on the channel in the new year. Wild West meets eldritch horror is only the tip of it really - it's a game about portals to other realms, and depending on which core set you start from, you could be playing as cowboys, samurai, conquistadors, or vikings. I only have one of the original Wild West sets at the moment.

[@nick_hansolo]

I’m going to check it out! Thanks for the suggestion

[@tiredguy2753]

For dark souls will you be getting the new sunless city starter set ?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

No. I have the Painted World of Ariamis, but because I have the original core set, the character expansion, and the explorers expansion, the Sunless City doesn't really have enough value in it. All I would need is the deck of campaign cards, which I could download and print if I need to.

[@tiredguy2753]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring would you say the r sunless city is a good starting point for someone wanting to jump into DS for the first time or should one go with painted world / tomb of giants instead ?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's tricky really. I have said before (and I still maintain) that the original core set is still the best way to get into the game. It really is the best value, giving you four heroes, and a good variety of enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses. The old core set is also compatible with all content up to the release of the three new core sets. The biggest downside is you aren't getting any of the new campaign content, and you are losing compatibility with any new content. However, you can download the revised rules and the campaign cards for Sunless City. If you go for one of the three new starter sets, you are getting a smaller range of enemies and only three playable characters in each box, but you are getting the revised content with the new campaign system. If you go for one of those, they are all pretty much the same format and offer the same kind of introduction to the game, so your decision comes down to which setting (which enemies) you prefer the most.

[@tiredguy2753]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Interesting, that being said I think I will go for the Sunless city as that appears to be SFG newest "jumping off point" for someone looking to get started with the DS board game.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Sunless City is the newest core set, but it's pretty much the same format as Ariamis and Tomb of Giants. Sunless City reuses content from the original core system so it feels closer to that set and they may have had a chance to fold in any feedback from players who picked up the other cores sets. Double check the characters in each set as well to see if they are the ones you are most interested in playing.

[@kajkun1384]

Good call on hero quest not all region has the app

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm hoping they will continue to roll it out in the other territories.

[@raincoast_bear]

Ummm. Blackstone Fortress base game is still available from GW in Canada. But yes - the expansions were very hard to get and long out of circulation.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes you can still get the Blackstone Fortress base game but it’s residual stock at this point. It’s not a live game system so you have to get into it understanding that you aren’t going to be getting support, new expansions, or easy access to previous content.

[@jandukanocraft]

ROSD is a masterpiece. I agree with you. It is a great game for crafters but not so much for normal people, who just want to play a game in a box.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Rangers is great, but even with loads of terrain and miniatures it always used to throw something at me that I didn't have!

[@jandukanocraft]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring true. You have to compromise or be happy to be crafting forever! My only “complain” about ROSD and Frostgrave is that it needs too much specific terrain and too many different enemies and in large quantities.

[@Sammo212]

I love Horrified. Such a great game. Have you looked into mini agnostic games like Rangers of Shadow Deep? I'd also suggest Mansions of Madness or Lord of the Rings: journeys in middle-earth. I know you said you weren't crazy about apps but I think you'd dig them.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I talk about Rangers of Shadow Deep in this video. I had the first edition of Mansions of Madness and don’t have any interest in app-driven games.

[@roto6500]

Legends of Andor solos very well. It my fav solo fantasy game

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's great solo - just a nice puzzle to ponder over in the evening.

[@ObsidianKnight90]

If you like Dark Souls the Board Game I think you'd really enjoy Dark Souls the Card Game. It has that push-your-luck combat with a huge variety of enemies, items, and bosses when you combine both expansions into the core box. The game's also much cheaper and much more compact thanks to being entirely card-based with a few tokens and no miniatures. The combat also uses no dice or output randomness, with randomness instead coming from which cards you draw from your deck and which enemies you'll face, plus every boss having its own unique behavior deck that changes what kinds of damage it's vulnerable to each round. In fact, most enemies have armor that reduces all damage they take except from one particular type of damage (with 4 types in the game), so part of building a good party composition is having a variety of types of attacks to bypass enemy armor. I use a pretty simple homebrew with Dark Souls the Card Game that enhances the game even further, with cardplay that's a mix of Gloomhaven's discard and burn systems and Slay the Spire's energy pool. It requires zero extra components, just what's already in the box, but really enhances the impact of getting new, better equipment while keeping the game's high difficulty.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's definitely on my list of games I would like to try. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.

[@goodjessehobbies]

Itching for more fellow Solo Players? I feel that Kevin and I have extremely similar tastes so here is a list of additional games I'd recommend looking into if you simply can't get enough. Assassinorum Execution Force (thanks Kevin, Games Workshop.), Resident Evil 2 or 3 (Steamforged Games, 3 is waaay cheaper. 2 is better but so many parts are illusive.), Mini Rogue (Nuts!), Tin Helm (Jason Glover games), Space Hulk Death Angel (GW), Warhammer Quest adventure card game (Fantasy Flight), Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition (Fantasy Flight), Mice and Mystics (Plaid Hat), Warhammer Quest 1995 (GW, Lifestyle Game, huge investment required). Oh, and Dark Darker Darkest! Which can be found brand new for as low as $15. Enjoy!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Assassinorum is a great game, and another one that I think works really well solo. I keep meaning to do a playthrough of it. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy the Warhammer Quest card game. I thought it was very clever, but it left my collection pretty quickly as I just couldn't connect with it. I used to have the first edition of Mansions of Madness, but eventually got rid of it, and Space Hulk Death Angel I enjoyed. Other than Warhammer Quest, the rest I haven't tried, although Resident Evil has been on my "maybe" list for a while.

[@nickj8127]

what about dungeon universalis?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I reviewed it on the channel previously. While I appreciate what it does, I don't enjoy it.

[@the1stoldman]

While I love SoB and have nearly everything for it, I have so much stuff that can be a bother of a bother to pull stuff out for a sole game. I also have cthulhu death may die, I suggest you also have a look at it a very good solo game that is also very contained

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

My biggest complaint with Shadows is that it's such a big game. There are so many decks of cards, so many tokens and miniatures and reference sheets. It doesn't take long for it to become quite unwieldy. Thanks for the suggestion. I followed Death May Day through the Kickstarter and have watched quite a few playthroughs, and it doesn't appeal to me at all.

[@the1stoldman]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring oh yes SoB doesn't leave my house, when a game is to big to transport there may be a problem, but still I love it. No problems about not liking cthulhu death may die, we all have things we do and don't like, I am the same about Gloomhaven, I just see it as an inferior SoB

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I wouldn’t say no to a game if I ever got the chance at some point - there have been games that I was not enthusiastic about which I liked a lot more when I played them myself - but it isn’t something I’ve been tempted to buy into.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Best solo game is Space Hulk 1st ed.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I do like Space Hulk solo. I did rule it out based on my selection criteria though. Even if I hadn't, I don't think it would have made the cut.

[@roto6500]

Dungeon Quest doesn't even come up on BGG. it's that it's full title?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

DungeonQuest - all one word. I have (and prefer) the 1985 edition. It's a reimplementation of Drakborgen.

[@roto6500]

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring ty

[@davidt4233]

Can you recommend any house rules to make Shadows of Brimstone more of a game and less role playing? meaning there is so little meaningful decision making with the core rules. Other than using a crit or ability token, where is the agency? I own Forbidden Fortress unfortunately. Big disappointment and I can't sell it and invested much time and money into painting it. Realized it's not my type of game. Much prefer Mage Knight and Too Many Bones. I'm thinking to make movement have more agency by being able to fight first and them move might help? FYI, I own Blackstone Fortress and think it's OK. Prefer BF to SoB as it has more agency. Thanks

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I don't really use any house rules. Shadows of Brimstone is very much about the story. What crazy things will happen? How are you going to string together different missions to create your own story in this world? I even take on a sort of dungeon master role, filling in plot points, and selecting missions that make narrative sense. I don't find there is a lack of agency, especially once you have developed your characters with lots of skills and equipment, but it is a sort of storytelling game, with more focus on the adventure than tight rules.

[@davidt4233]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring thanks for commenting. I’ve been playing single scenarios without leveling up. Maybe that’s the issue

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@davidt4233 Shadows isn’t really designed for single games with vanilla characters. It’s all about linked campaigns and developing a hero based on your preferred play style.

[@carlosbarreto4695]

I would still add HeroQuest to the list of solo games. I agree that HeroQuest is best played with a human Zargon, but when that's not possible (which is my experience so far), it's still a good game. I would love to have the three D&D boardgames, but they are so expensive right now.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I just can't bring myself to recommend HeroQuest for the purpose of solo play. Having the app is a huge plus point for the game, and definitely a selling point, but I still consider it to be quite inferior to the "original" format of the game, and if you are looking for something specifically to play solo I think there are way better options out there. Plus, there are still places where you can't access the app, and I don't ever like to rely on an app for a board game experience anyway. For those reasons, it just didn't make the cut.

[@carlosbarreto4695]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Sure, I got these points from the video and I understand your reasoning. HeroQuest is my only boardgame so far and I don't have anyone nearby willing to play it with me, so perhaps Perhaps I may overestimate it as a solo game, but I still have fun playing it, nonetheless. I also remember someone saying in the Facebook group that he was unable to download the app in his country. That came as a surprise to me.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's definitely still fun, and I am sure there are plenty of people who would still assign it a spot on their solo list. I do hope they continue to make the app available in other territories that don't have it yet.

[@ralfbrechtel8803]

I know it is not really a dungeon crawler. But my favorite is CHAINSAW WARRIOR. If you know movies like "The Raid" or "Dredd" you got the feeling. You are a warrior, who fights his way through a building full of monsters and traps. And that against the clock. I revised the rules from 1987 and made a coop modus. Be warned ! This game is brutal, merciless and nearly unwinable....but fun, fun fun..........

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Chainsaw Warrior is another great GW title. I still don't have a copy in my own collection, but one day I will get one so I can sit it next to DungeonQuest and Curse of the Mummy's Tomb.

[@HivisoftheScale]

Hmm... I'm already alone (romantically speaking) I don't think I could handle playing a game solo... But I am intrigued by the prospect of designing a game that can be played with little or no outside input.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I do a lot of solo gaming. It isn't for everyone, but I will tend to lean towards a solo board game over doing something else alone like watching a movie or playing a video game.

[@HivisoftheScale]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring To each their own. Still I respect the skill it takes to design such games! 😊

[@jasonnewell7036]

And remember, every single co-operative game is a solo game!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

True, but as I said in my intro, I think there are exceptions (for me, personally). For example, Goomhaven is co-op but I think it's too fiddly to play multiple characters alone. Another example is Fireteam Zero, which is an excellent game, but the card system requires you to play at least two characters and it's really not easy to manage that way.

[@Lwilibert]

Legends of Andor is the only game not a single player in my group liked...

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's an unusual design. I can see why some groups would really dislike it. We have had some of our most exciting and celebrated co-op wins playing Andor, though.

[@the250mikec]

Cool👍

[@Flayne009]

No love for ALIENS: Another Glorious Day in the Corps? It's a great game and has a solo component built in, Give it a shot if you haven't.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It’s on my Christmas list, actually. Hoping Santa got it for me, but I won’t know until next week!

[@PACEUK22]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring if Santa brings you some aliens joy, please do a painting tutorial

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@PACEUK22 If you look up my AvP playlist I already have painting guides for aliens (two types), alien eggs, powerloaders and colonial marines. I may redo some of those videos to update them, but I would most likely use those same techniques for the GF9 stuff.

[@PACEUK22]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringof course… sorry, I had forgotten about those. Still… I’d watch some more if you make them. As a partially colourblind painter who tends to use CitadelColour paints, your painting guides are essential viewing. Merry Xmas dude

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@PACEUK22 I will see what I can do! Merry Christmas

[@rodento3220]

How the Grinch stole Christmas game?!?!? Please do a video on this game!!! please.....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I actually already did. It was my Christmas special video 4 years ago.

[@rodento3220]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Saw that right after I posted the question, and in a typically impatient move I watched it thinking I would have time to come back remove the question before you saw it. Thank you for sharing it. I hope you and the elf helper have many a Merry Christmas and keep up the tradition!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@rodento3220 I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@Ross-f4x]

Am sorry you should of added them lol 😆

[@jasonnewell7036]

Must... see... rest of... collection! So far, we have 4 games in common (Jim Henson's Labyrinth, Thud!, Flamecraft and Legends of Andor. Also Winter Tales, but I'm trying to move that on as I did not like it as a game at all.) I also used to have Cadwallon: City of Thieves, but I moved it on as I found the gameplay lackuster and repetitive. More like City of Muggers than actual thieves.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I try to keep my collection modest. The need to cycle in new games for review means a lot of games only stay in my collection if I love them, and eventually the games that don't see table top fall out of the collection. Even so, there are still a lot of games spanning a considerable space in my home. Flamecraft was a gift for my birthday, and I've only had a chance to play it a few times so far. My wife got it for me because she fell in love with the art!

[@jasonnewell7036]

​​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringmy wife wanted it because dragons. It fine as games go. It's not a fantastic game, but it is fun. I just have a bunch of games I'd much rather play than that one. It is very pretty, and I do appreciate the puns.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

My daughter and wife both really liked it, so it go bonus points for that. I don't have a massive number of worker placement games in my collection, so Flamecraft does earn its place.

[@pez5767]

City of Thieves... say more.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

City of Thieves is a really good game, and I have the expansion for it too. I did loads of coverage for it back in my blogging days. Perhaps I need to spruce up the written review and do a Stick to the Script video with it.

[@harveydents]

dungeonquest is such a brutal game but fun! Very hard too! I would LOVE to see an Expansion for HORRIFIED using the HAMMER FILMS Characters and graphics and miniatures!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

DungeonQuest is such amazing fun. Horrified with a Hammer theme would be fun, but they would have to do something different mechanically with the monsters as there would be a lot of crossover. I would appreciate the reskin for the art, though!