Solo Playthroughs' Top Solo Games List: 2022 Edition!

SOLO PLAYTHROUGHS' PATREON PAGE: / soloplaythroughs
SOLO PLAYTHROUGHS' MERCHANDISE: www.teespring....
It's that time of year again...time for the third annual Solo Playthroughs' Top Games List! And, unlike most of the top lists on this channel, Greg expanded the field to 24 of his favorite solo games!* The last 12 months have included LOTS of new games for the channel...and there are even more on the way. So, which ones made the list this year? Are there any risers and fallers from the 2021 Top 10? Will Greg make it through all 24 games without passing out from excitement?! You're gonna have to watch to see!
*=Three games (and four expansions) mentioned in this video were given to Solo Playthroughs as review copies and this is mentioned in the video in ALL circumstances in which this is the case.
#bestsologames #soloplaythroughs #oneplayerboardgames

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

One of my favorite days of the year is Top Games Video Day! :) Excited to get this one out into the wild, and looking forward to some comments! Happy Gaming! Greg

[@hermannluttmann1637]

Thanks so much for making Zeds #3! I am honored.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

On cue as usual, Hermann! I appreciate you supporting the channel by popping up here. :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

I hate anything with zombies and I want my copy! :D

[@arjuna1234567]

Thank you for your game, sir...as a middle-aged zombie fanatic, really is one of the favorite games I've ever played across 30+ years of gaming! Bravo!

[@xcpenguin9954]

Coming in 3rd behind Mage Knight and Spirit Island is no small feat! Hmmm.. I just noticed how old this comment is. Maybe I need to watch more KZbin.

[@EHngelic]

Gaia Project is now near the top of my list due to your playthroughs. I picked it up at the beginning of 2022 and struggled early on until I started watching your playthroughs. They were a great source of knowledge on understanding and excelling at the game. Thanks to you and all your commenters that helped in making those playthroughs a pleasure to watch

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the kind words, EHngel! My Gaia Project videos were easily some of the most rewarding videos I put on the channel. Glad you found them helpful!

[@jakobvarsson840]

This is fast becoming my favorite board game channel. I like the laid back down to earth approach. You're not trying to be manic 'youtube guy,' just a dude talking about games he likes

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Jakob! Appreciate the kind words.

[@mgranvee8549]

Love how you rate Dawn of the Zeds so high. Such a great game with so much personality. Great solo experience that tells a story.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Well said! The high level combo of storytelling and mechanics and strategy is so incredibly good. :)

[@Corroyeur]

The first thought I had when hearing top 24 was "hey, like the number of spirits in Spirit Island!"

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

It’s the perfect number! 🤣

[@DMBuc2k1]

Totally agree with Middara. The mechanics are so good once you get them and the character building is amazing! I find myself spending so much time just thinking of what skills I want to unlock!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

No doubt! I’ve spent so much time in some of those story rounds just looking at all the options! 🙂

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

1:46 -- "I'm not even sorry!" -- LOL I love it! (You shouldn't be.)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! I agree! 🤣

[@crisdavis8629]

You are awesome, loved the detail given in each of your picks and your enthusiasm. Can't wait to watch some of your playthroughs! Definitely have similar taste in gaming.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment and kind words, Cris! Glad you found the channel. :)

[@ragnar3434]

You introduced Middara with so many caveats that it really stands out to me that you put it so high. I've never heard of it and I'd probably have walked away on the spot when I saw the art, but I think I need to look into this.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

This is a really good point, ragnar! There is little chance I would have bothered continuing to get past so many initial hurdles in a game that didn't offer promises of being worth it. And Middara delivers on so many levels when it comes to gameplay. :)

[@mauriceandrewsjr5929]

I'm afraid to get deep into Arkham Horror. I'm already fully invested into Marvel Champions and I love the idea of a story-based LCG, but my wallet is telling me to chill LOL! Nice list my dude!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Maurice! And yeah - I don't know how people invest in multiple LCGs at once the way they do. If you were to get into Arkham, I honestly think you could just get the first three full cycles and stop there without missing too much. But even that is quite the investment!

[@pheasantSI]

Enjoyable list, as ever! I think like last time I watched your list I took a close look at Dawn of the Zeds, but probably waiting for that new edition :D My continual sadness is that I bought Spirit Island before Mage Knight, so poor ol MK never got a chance to be my favourite solo game. Clouspire looks intriguing too!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, peasant! And there's an insane amount of goodness in that top 5...one day Mage Knight will understand that there can only be one number one! :)

[@XHuntinatorX]

Great list! I can’t argue with your top three. They are among my favorites as well. I have been looking at some of the “Coin” series games and I may just take the plunge. They look really strategically deep.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, XHuntinatorX! The COIN games are on my radar as well. I'm hoping I'll get Red Dust Rebellion late this year, and that will likely be my first excursion into the genre. :)

[@XHuntinatorX]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I haven’t heard of that title... I’ll have to check it out. I was looking at Colonial Twilight because it is a two player game so only one bot to run. Would be sweet to see some of these on the channel. Keep up the good work man... L8R.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks! As a sidenote for Red Dust Rebellion, it was designed by Jarrod from 3 Minute Board Games. GMT seems to be really behind in its manufacturing schedule so it's unclear when it will actually be produced and shipped. I might have to check out Colonial Twilight while I wait! :)

[@MSRLE63]

Thank you for NOT glossing over the sexist art in the Middara game. Maybe you will encourage other content creators to find the courage to do likewise. It was a refreshing and welcome perspective. Great video! Darkest Night/Dawn of Zeds /Nemo/ Undertow are also some of my fav solo games.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, MSRLE63! Middara was definitely jarred me a bit when I first got it. It just felt like another level of unnecessary and I'm happy that more and more companies seem to be moving away from that kind of stuff in the community. Meanwhile, always good to hear from another Victory Point fan (and TMB, too ;) )! I'm hoping to feature Nemo's War soon. :)

[@MSRLE63]

@@SoloPlaythroughs looking forward to Nemo playthrough

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Me too! :)

[@PoeticArson]

Great video! It's been awhile since I've checked into the channel (haven't been solo gaming at all) and it's cool to see all these new games cropping up on your list. Love to see it!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Thomas! Yeah - it was a crazy year. Not sure I'm going to try to learn as many new games in the year to come, but maybe... :)

[@PoeticArson]

@@SoloPlaythroughs If these publishers keep being foolish enough to send you review copies then you have to capitalize 🤣 In all seriousness, it's cool to see this channel grow even if solo games are currently in a valley for me. It'd be interesting to see how your top overall games shapes up now.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@PoeticArson Ha! I'm honestly still at the stage in which it feels a little weird when a publisher tells me they are sending me something! :)

[@PoeticArson]

@@SoloPlaythroughs That Imposter Syndrome hits hard sometimes 😅

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You aren't lying!!

[@martinrauchegger6861]

Thanks for the great list. Last time gaia project was your " in depth" game. Then i ordered it and its great! This time it is cloudspire and i thought i dont like tower defense games. Then i ordered it to. Its awsome!!! Perhaps better then too many bones.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for this comment, Martin. Glad Gaia and Cloudspire have been hits for you. 🙂 To me, Too Many Bones has a much higher enjoyment ceiling but Cloudspire is more consistently good and thinky, which is why I like it a bit more.

[@jinsoloboardgames]

I'm always surprised at how many people love Spirit Island. I love heavy games with strategy and walked into Spirit Island thinking that I would obviously love it. I tried Spirit Island solo, one-handed and two-handed, for about 10 games in total. I tried to love it, I wanted to love it, but ultimately I could not love it. I eventually sold my copy. My main problem with Spirit Island is that it causes me too much stress constantly throughout the game with no rest. It feels like a long exhausting game of wack-a-mole. In games, I want moments of stabilization, take time to rest and appreciate my small wins but this game does not allow me to do that. The whole journey is stressful from the beginning and then you are only relieved of the stress at the end of the game. The game literally starts with many dudes on the island that cannot get cleared out, and even if you do clear some out, more come out every turn. If too many dudes are there, your island gets blighted which really stresses me out and I feel like I'm just getting pounded throughout the whole game. Even if I have an amazing turn that kills literally tens of dudes, I can barely take a breather because I have other areas to worry about right away. The only moment when I can take a breather is when I'm nearing the end and can see that I can win. I have won more than I lost in my 10 games of solo plays, but all of them felt like I was getting wrecked throughout except at the end. Maybe I'll learn to love it later in my gaming life. I do want to someday give it another shot and understand why people love it so much. But as it stands, I would rather play something else that balances out the level of stress and reward... If the game had several waves instead of constant stream of dudes, I think I would enjoy this a lot more. For example, you need to fend off 5 waves to win 1 game, and after each wave, you start fresh (blights remain though). Each wave is harder than the one before it. This would balance out the level of stress and reward for me.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Great comment, Jin! To be honest, the widespread popularity of Spirit Island surprises even me. Obviously, I love it now, but I was pretty lukewarm about it until I got the first expansion and got a couple dozen plays under my belt. The game definitely does not let up. One thing to consider is that each game is generally only 8-10 turns. The game generally has two stages: 1. You are scrambling to gain some semblance of control of the island; and 2. You are scrambling to win before winning becomes impossible as the invaders start acting even faster. And, if you're playing at challenging levels, the "victory window" is short-lived as the next Ravage-Build-Explore is right around the corner!

[@otis892]

Yeah sometimes I get turned off cause of that

[@ragnar3434]

I love Spirit Island, but this is why I like to pull out Feast for Odin sometimes. No loss conditions, and I always feel like I'm winning until I count up the points and realize I've gotten the lowest VP I've had in 10 games, but even that is sort of gratifying, since the game is big enough that I'll have learned something despite the fact that I've played it 60+ times at this point. I find Mage Knight even more stressful than SI. Have you I tried it?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Mage Knight can be stressful for sure. :) As for Feast For Odin, I played it once and it kind of felt like a bit of a Frankenstein game for me with too many ideas coming together for my tastes. At this point, I'm more of a Caverna fan but I'm open to giving Feast another shot. Either way, I haven't played either solo. I own Caverna but I play it a fair amount competitively and I try hard not to solo games I play a lot with friends considering it can give me a pretty sizeable experience advantage - see what I said about Scythe in this video! :)

[@jinsoloboardgames]

@@ragnar3434 Feast for Odin is on my list! I would love to try that out. It has great ratings and reputation. I actually think Mage Knight is a lot less stressful than Spirit Island for this reason: in Mage Knight, you have autonomy. That is, you can pick and choose your battles. Whereas in Spirit Island, you have no autonomy - you are forced to fend off several waves non-stop. In Mage Knight, you can choose to go for a rampaging orc, or keep, or burn a monastery. Or, you can explore! Or recruit units to get stronger and fight a harder battle next turn. In Mage Knight, you can choose to pick your tempo and take rests as needed with your ultimate goal in mind (taking down cities.) This is why Mage Knight is less stressful for me. In fact, Mage Knight is my #1 solo game of all time :)

[@olegyd]

Spirit is best agree

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

It's so good! :)

[@tajmahalfred]

I feel like The Lost Expedition might work for you: Good story, good art, you'll probably die a lot, interesting avatars (Teddy Roosevelt? Genderqueer Swiss adventurer? The choice is yours), small box footprint. We don't have a ton of overlap--which is why I watch compulsively--but if I had to guess that might be in that part of the Venn diagram. Great list; I love how you get me to (re)consider games that aren't in my usual comfort zone. Definitely got a better grasp of what Spirit Island is up to, for one.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the recommendation, Alfred! Added Lost Expedition to "the list" - looked it up on BGG and I'm certainly intrigued. :)

[@markdandridge4433]

I am really enjoying learning Spirit Island.❤❤❤

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! Exploring this game was definitely one of my favorite periods as a solo gamer.

[@boardgametime3727]

Grabbing a snack for this! Thanks for the upload, Greg! :D

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, BGT! Hope the snack was good. :)

[@alucardjp1]

Love the channel but some constructive feedback Would be awesome if you showed pictures if the game instead of the box , also would be amazing if you said more about what the games are about for new people too the hobby

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Sebbe! Thanks for the feedback. I have been considering incorporating some B-roll into future Top 10s. There are some logistical and technical things for me to figure out but it seems doable. As for adding a little bit about each game, that is also something I'd be happy to pay a little more attention to as well. As it turned out, this video got far more "reach" than anything else I've ever published - which makes your feedback so much more important as I'm speaking to a wider audience than those who have already heard me talk about many of these games already through the channel. Thanks again!

[@otis892]

Ain’t watched it yet, but wow 24 games🤪. Nows a good time to say me and many others appreciate this channel and all its videos so thanks for being such a valuable piece of entertainment in ones life:)

[@otis892]

And I’ll come up my patron challenge soon. Exciting that it’s been 6 months supporting a great channel❤️

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Otis!

[@Amuny666]

Writing this as I'm watching. Curiously eager to know your top since our tastes match very often. For Aeon's End, I'd definitely recommend both Legacies, especially the latest ! I'm surprised to see Imperium this low considering how it showed super high for so many solo gamers this year. Still haven't tried it myself. Ahh Friday... sometimes I get a little burned, but it always come back at some point. Perfect "quick game before bed". Darkness Night: I literally never heard about this ? I'm curious now. Final Girl is another I'm surprised to see that low. Middara - How many characters are you playing ? I absolutely love Middara, but solo seems like hell of a slogfest. Never heard of Champions of Hara either. Looks super interesting. And seems easy to find for decently cheap. Damnit. You know... been a while I played Gaia Project. Might be doing exactly that after watching ! I'm also surprised to see MK still that high. I don't know, it kinda fallen flat for me through the years. It's not that it's bad or anything. It's just... "not as good as others". Might follow your tip and undust it soon. But I feel like the overall effort to play MK isn't as rewarding as other games. And I agree with you; for me Spirit Island is just a top 0 at this point. It's not even a "rankable" game. It's just too good. It's good from 1 to 6. True solo, 2handed, 3 handed, I don't care, it's always just SO GOOD. Spirit Island started as a great game, but for me, Jagged Earth elevated this game to some kind of godhood holy grail of board games. I'll say I'm surprised to see no Sleeping Gods. Have you played it ? Tainted Grail, 7th Continent, Black Sonata and Under Falling Skies would be somewhere in a "top 24" that I haven't seen either. Been playing a whole lot of Bardsung lately but still a little new to call it a "top game" !

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Amuny! So many fun little comments here. :) Some thoughts/replies: 1. I play Middara four-handed solo and...yes, it's a lot! I know they have variant rules for playing with 2 or 3 characters but everything I read suggested that 4 players was really a better experience if you can manage it. The fact that the turn order is set every round really helps, since it's not like you have to analyze who should go first every round. :) 2. For me, the fact that Imperium and Final Girl are even on here is a testament to their quality...especially with Imperium because of how un-player friendly that production is. Games tend to grow on me over time... 3. Like a lot of complex games, Mage Knight rewards regular play. Once a lot of the upkeep and rules of the game become second nature, the game feels less like work and provides more "rewards" in terms of an immersive in-game experience. But Mage Knight in particular is definitely not for everyone. And, with so many choices, it's always better to move on from a game you're not going to like sooner rather than later. I certainly dislike my share of "fan favorites"! 4. I haven't played Sleeping Gods and close friends who like the game have pretty much agreed with my assumption that I probably wouldn't like it all that much from what I know about it. Maybe one day though... :) 7th Continent is a tremendous experience but is hard to put on a list like this because it hold ZERO replay value for me. Rounding out the other games you mentioned, Under Fallen Skies was fine IMO but I bounced off it pretty hard after finishing a campaign on Level 4, Tainted Grail intrigues me...but seems like such a grind of a time commitment that I'm not sure I want to take on any time soon, and I just haven't gotten around to getting a copy of Black Sonata. Finally, I'm hopeful to get my hands on a copy of Bardsung as soon as as the retail versions become available. :)

[@Amuny666]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thanks for the thorough answer ! On Middara, we're currently about halfway through Chapter 4 as 4 players, and I really struggle to imagine playing all 4 characters myself. 2 already seems like a lot ! But I it's true that fixed order might make it less daunting than it seems, and you have the luxury of not waiting your turn too much. Part of the good of solo gaming in general ;) We'll see long term for Final Girl and Imperium then ! Final Girl has been fantastic too me, but I found it surprisingly easy - I do have my fair share of experience with Hostage Negotiator prior to it. But I think I lost... one out of six or seven games so far ? Though, I loved it enough to back the second batch, and I definitely intent of playing more of it. And I agree Mage Knight gets faster, but still. It's not that I never liked it. I considered it almost to the level of Spirit Island years ago. But I played dozen and dozen of games, and through times and new games, it just slowly fell behind for me. As for now, Mage Knight stands as the ultimate meme game in my group. Because once, like 4 years ago, we began a 4 players games at 1AM. The game ended at 7AM. So now, we're often joking around when it's getting late; "may be a quick game of mage knight?". At this point I'd rather play some Twilight Imperium ;) I also very much agree with 7th Continent. Same holds for Tainted Grail imo, and many other campaign games (Roll Player Adventure and Legacy of Dragonholt comes to mind). I consider these games to be "experience" rather than actual "replayable games". I often say that while Spirit Island is my absolute favorite game of all time, Tainted Grail was still my favorite *experience* of all time. They are quite alike in many ways too. So if you liked 7th Continent but thought "damn I wish the story would hook me", then there it is. Tainted Grail writing is absolutely fantastic, and there are still instances of story I can't believed happened considering how conditional it was. The way your choice affects all 3 campaigns is absolutely insane. And I will 100% restart a full playthrough (all campaigns) this summer. Teacher benefits :) As for Sleeping Gods, I can't help but recommend it. It has been a phenomenal experience. I finished a campaign solo and 2x 2players, while another is about currently through. The length feels perfect to me, and while I'm not sure I'll work on getting those 75 totems... the list of ending REALLY piqued my interest. You have 75 totems to collect and 13 possible endings. You get about ... 5-10 totems per "campaign" (12-15hours). I don't know if I'll work out the 13 endings either, but you bet I'll play 3-4 more campaigns. There are parts of the map I have yet to set foot after almost 4 campaigns ! So tl;dr: They aren't cheap or easy to find, but I can't help but recommend Sleeping Gods and Tainted Grail. Much more than Bardsung to be honest (which has good things going on, but definitely more on the grindish hack&slash side). Ah, and Black Sonata too. Fantastic little box game. But I am 100% biased for heavy story-adventure games. After all... I did plunge into board games from a D&D background.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yikes! Please don't start Mage Knight at 1am again!! :) That's great to hear about Sleeping Gods. Still feel pretty strongly that it's not a game for me but open to being wrong on this one. I'll put it on my radar for sure. :)

[@mendicant1981]

Your sooo spot on with the Descent ending as well. Totally bummed me out. Why we can’t use the app to carry on making our own missions and levelling my team is a mystery as I feel I could have had some real fun with 5xp builds. Strange, but brilliant game nonetheless

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - being able to keep replaying side missions and developing your character in an arcade mode of sorts would be great! I just hated how the flavor text really undercuts the accomplishment of beating the game, seemingly as a marketing ploy to make you ready to buy Act II when it comes out. Fantasy Flight never seems to miss an opportunity to lessen player experience in favor of trying to increase profit margins…

[@mendicant1981]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I’m fairly new to the space so I’d have to give FGG the benefit of the doubt! But as you said in your video, it’s more likely to annoy people than incentivise them to buy the new act/expansion. That being said I love using an app (just wish I had an iPad/tablet!) and really enjoying creating the map as you explore. Also make sure you play it four player (even solo) as the maps can be larger. Suck a brilliant and underrated game (imo)

[@mendicant1981]

Oh and not getting Forteller to voice the script is such a shame!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

While they do seem to be getting slightly more player friendly, FFG is probably one of the companies least likely to get the benefit of the doubt from me! Of course, that probably just means that they are really good at knowing how to print money. :) As for Descent, I've played it 3 players a bunch with friends, but I've yet to play it with 4. Seems like it could be a lot of fun!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - I would definitely have appreciated a bit more voiceovers to really bring some of the scenarios to life a bit more. Seemed like an odd place to cut costs while including so much text in every scenario. The Forteller narration is a strong selling point for Middara!

[@drewkennewell4267]

Sometimes I'll think that maybe it's time to buy a new game. And then I'll look over at the Mage Knight UE box sitting on my shelf and ask myself "why?"

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! I know this feeling well, Drew...and then I end up with a new game anyway. :)

[@airmarkus]

Love these lists, looking forward to next year's now.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Mark! And I'm already looking forward to next year's as well! :)

[@rickypoon6406]

Great list! Have you played Freedom: Underground Railroad? It's a nice game to play if you want less luck / variability and more meticulous planning!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Ricky! And thanks for the recommendation. Freedom had been on my radar for a long time...and now it's back on it! It definitely is a game that I'd like to try.

[@IllBuythePopcorn]

Loving the list. I'm new to the solo games and always looking for recommendations. I just ordered Friday as I have seen it in pretty much everyone's favorite solo games list. I need to try out gaia project, mage knight and spirit island. I just picked up scythe, so trying to figure it out. Every time I go to the game store I always mean to grab arkham horror and end up getting something else. I only have the Undertow version of TMB but I do want to get more bones.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Popcorn! Thanks for the comment and sounds like you’ve already amassed a solid collection. 🙂 Friday is just silly fun in a very inexpensive small box, so that’s a great pickup. Hope you enjoy it when it arrives!

[@peterxu5043]

Wow. The number one solo Spirit Island. The best mathematic depth solo game Mage Knight. BGG ranking five Gloomhaven Jaw of the Lion. Classic Friday mentioned. Gala project found.... And return to tower game part photo just shown in community group! Never played return to tower, however, good to see it again!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, Peter! As I've grown my collection, I've really tried to get a variety of games that do different things that I also enjoy, so this list is fairly reflective of that. So many amazing solo games out there!

[@synthastro]

I have just 2 of these - Arkham and Spirit Island. So I guess I have lots of good options! I absolutely LOVE Nemesis by Awaken Realms. I never tire of it, like SI, but for very different reasons. Its basically the Alien experience, which is right up my dark crawlspace, with full solo, coop and semi coop modes. It does an amazing job at providing a tense cinematic experience. Also the minis are great to paint. I just got Lockdown, and am looking forward to finding time to explore it. Thanks for all your recommendations, it also prompts me to watch more of your videos as I am very curious about some of them now!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, David! My friend and neighbor is waiting on his copy of Nemesis, so I suspect that will live in my basement for a while later this year. :) I'm really excited to try it!!

[@synthastro]

@@SoloPlaythroughs so cool!!!

[@lithracSolo]

Amazing picks, especially Spirit Island (not that I'm really suprised, though)! You've made some pretty sound points on Arkham Horror. I'm a huge solo player, but the game is just way better for me to play with someone else.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, Cyril! Arkham LCG used to be great for true solo play with the early cycles. It's disappointing to see how much that has changed since TFA, but I'm glad to have friends to play it with for the later cycles. :)

[@schrankp]

I have 2nd ed Zeds along with the Director's Cut. Still trying to find 3rd ed at a decent price. Can't wait to see your take on Nemo's War. That is one of my top solo games and is always such a fun puzzle. Really glad to see SE4x on here! The solo experience is like none other. The scenarios play so differently, it is like you are playing a whole other game. Replicators is so worth the buy, even at a high price point. For your chanel, the planet hexes will pop off the screen.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Phillip! I definitely wish I got Replicators back when I got Close Encounters last September, but didn't realize that it was going to become this hard to get!

[@mm678]

So good. And so much energy! Sponsored by Surge Cola. But seriously, you’ve cost me a lot of money and I love it- just one example is thinking you had a Cloud Age solo playthrough. “That’s weird” I thought, then realized my error. And forked out for Cloudspire the next day.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Lol! I’ve been looking for a sponsor so you might be onto something! Thanks for the comment and glad the channel’s helped put some games more on your radar. Hope you’ve gotten your money’s worth of enjoyment! 🙂

[@mm678]

🤦‍♂️ugh. Now Champions of Hara owes you some kickback. Give a brotha a break.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! You’re the second person who told me they purchased CoH after seeing this video. It’s a weird one - but so good!

[@dayoltay]

So many of my favorites in one list. I was afraid if TM would pop somewhere but all is good!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! Yeah - no TM. There was a day that it would have appeared for sure, but that day has long since passed. :)

[@timgrossman8346]

I enjoy watching your lists. Would love to see one where you rank your favorite TMB Gearlocs.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Tim! This is absolutely something I look forward to doing in the future. At this point, I only have the original 4 gearlocs. With another half dozen or so due to arrive in a few months, I'm hoping to do my first TMB Top 10 sometime after that. :)

[@ophirgonen1772]

Thank you for that top 24! Interesting to see the shift over the years. Was a little bit bummed to see that drop of Arkham Horror, and your explanation for the fall. End of an era for that game I suppose. But we all grow and move on and change our taste. I'm still exploring the game, with Dream Eaters, Circle and Edge. 100% spot on regarding Middara - mechanics, gameplay, story and exaggerated female postures wise. The story and female art do hinder me from really immerse myself in that great game. I, myself, emensly enjoyed Gloomhaven the big box, and was very meh regarding JotL. Liked that huge box, exaggerated amount of everything. Really the opposite of those points you mentioned as a plus for JotL. I'm in the process of buying Dawn of the Zeds with expansions, after viewing your playthroughs. You enthusiasm really sells! I think I've re-bought Mage Knight thanks to your playthroughs (though havn't got to it yet). Will also check on Space 4X, actually never heard of that. And finally, how do you find the time to play SO MANY games each week? I manage to play once a week, maybe... so many games await me on that shelf. Keep on this awesome channel!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for such a great comment, Ophir! Definitely interesting to see how things have changed. Note that my general ranking of Arkham (including non-solo) would still be higher. I really enjoyed TCU at 3 and Dream-Eaters would definitely play better at 3 or 4 instead of 1 or 2. As for Edge, there’s still a lot of love out there for the whole campaign - I just found the second half to be disappointingly bad. One interesting aspect of evaluating an LCG is how the constant stream of content can hurt a ranking. If Arkham never printed another card after TFA, I guarantee you that game would have remained up there with Zeds and Mage Knight! As for time, I totally get it. For me, I have more free time than is ideal at this stage in my life. And, until that changes, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to invest more time in the channel, as well as in games generally. 🙂

[@carmelthomson9917]

Interesting selection. Gaia Project is my favorite. I could not get into Spirit Island. Have you played Nemo's War?? Brilliant solo play...

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Carmel! I can definitely understand people not loving Spirit Island. As much as I now love it, it was a bit of an acquired taste even for me. As for Nemo's War, I received the Ultimate Edition and I've played it a few times. Still a lot to explore with it. I definitely like it...but I'm not sure where it ultimately lands for me yet. Should be on a future list for me though, even if it's unlikely to crack my Top 10. :)

[@mikesmith9501]

Great list. Spirit Island is not even in my top 20 although Mage Knight & Dawn of the Zeds are still in my Top ten.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Mike! Honestly, I'm surprised at how universal love for Spirit Island seems to be so it's a little refreshing to see a counterview. :) It was an acquired taste for me, and not something I loved until after adding Branch & Claw, but it's definitely got some qualities I can understand others not liking. But I always enjoy hearing about some Zeds love!

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

For me it's 1. Mage Knight 2. Too Many Bones 3. Gaia Project 4. Gloomhaven 5. Arkham Horror 6. Pax Pamir 2e 7. On Mars But I haven't played many of these and haven't experienced the Arkham Horror fall off that I'm sure I will as I play the later cycles. I have Cloudspire on the way and am looking forward to that...

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hard to argue with that list! I have my friend’s copy of Pax Pamir 2E, so I plan on learning that solo mode soon. Haven’t played On Mars yet and I’m def intrigued! Good luck getting into Cloudspire. Cloudspire was one of the worst experiences I had learning a game but it was worth it in the end. 🙂

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Lacerda games are definitely worth a try!! The Gallerist was on of my first 5 or so solo games ever. I can't recommend them to everyone, but I quite enjoy them. Pax Pamir 2e is one of my favorite games. It's definitely worth a play just to experience the design whether or not it ends up being for you. I am expecting the worst with the rulebook and have already started watching teaches and playthroughs. I feel like I should be able to make it, but I have heard nothing but horror stories about learning it 😄

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@johnathanrhoades7751 Nice - appreciate these thoughts. As for Cloudspire, my best advice is to struggle through a couple waves. And then read the entire rules reference cover to cover. As far as I'm concerned, the actual Rulebook is more of a "Learn to Play" with a terribly balanced walkthrough. Meanwhile, the Rules Reference is in reality a very good rulebook...that would be a great rulebook if it had some of the diagrams and visuals of the actual Rulebook. But then of course you will need to closely read the extra solo rules at the beginning of solo book so you don't completely mess up basic AI movement concepts like I did for a while. I remain hopeful that Chip Theory Games figured out this rulebook thing more for Hoplomachus: Victorum!

[@davidriemaker]

Love the energy! My 2 solo faves are Terraforming Mars & Ark Nova. Greetings from the land of fries and beer and chocolat.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, WuKhi! I played a ton of Terraforming Mars in the past and kind of cooled on it, but I can definitely see people why so many people adore that game. I'm excited to try to Ark Nova soon, as two of my friends both have it on pre-order. And I want to get back to your land - my wife would add liege waffles to your list!! :)

[@bryanscollick8305]

I have not watched full video yet, but my prediction for your top 3 - #3 Mage Knight. #2 Arkham Horror LCG #1 Spirit Island. Let's see how I do!!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Close in a lot of ways! :)

[@cristiandelaplaza7813]

hello greg, today would you change orders in your preferences? I have seen that you have many more videos of too many bones than cloudspire, but this one is on top, as is gloomhaven jaws of the lion. Or are they higher up for pleasure but you don't like to record game as much as with too many bones? I listened to you and I'm starting with the spirit island, I opened the branch and claw but still playing the first scenarios with the initial box. I also got the dawn of the zeds and its awesome, I know that too many bones and cloudspire will arrive in Chile, possibly at the end of the year, which one would you go for? A hug !

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Good question! There have been no changes in my Top 10. Too Many Bones just does better on the channel. Campaign games like Jaws have always attracted smaller view counts because of spoiler concerns. And it took me a while to really learn Cloudspire. Glad to hear you’re enjoying Spirit Island and Zeds. As for TMB v CS, I would watch a couple playthroughs and see what appeals to you more. They are both great. But both expensive, so I can understand not buying both. 🙂

[@cristiandelaplaza7813]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Perfect, I understand. And yes, both are very expensive, so I'll see which one to go for. Thank you!

[@robertdascoli949]

Wow, Robinson Crusoe didn't even make the top 24. Now if you excuse me I have to spend some more money on some games I never even heard of. Thanks, Greg.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

He’s the main character in Friday if that counts! 😉 Good luck with the shopping and thanks for the comment!

[@inwoolee4051]

Hi Greg! Do you have any thoughts on solo Nemo's War and/or Robinson Crusoe?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Inwoo! I have thoughts about both, and both have been featured on the channel 🙂: 1. I really don’t understand why Crusoe is so popular. I liked it a lot when I first got it but the shine wore off quickly with repeat plays. The action economy is ridiculously tight, there is little in the system to allow for interesting decisions, and the whole game comes down to needing to get lucky with absurdly punishing dice. My rec is to approach it like an escape room that you play until you win once - IF that’s a kind of game you like, I can recommend it. I played until I beat the 7 scenarios in the base game a couple times each and then happily sold my copy. 2. Nemo’s War: Ultimate Edition is good. It got some wildly unbalanced swinginess, which can be very jarring in a game that relies on scored-based win conditions. But the gameplay is engaging with a nice variety of motivations and events to keep it interesting from game to game. All in all, it’s a good game that likely cracks my next Top 20…but maybe not.

[@shawnmckenzie8699]

I bought Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion after watching this. It's as amazing as you say.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! Glad you like it!

[@inwoolee4051]

Hi Greg! Can I get your thoughts on something? I reallyyy love Gaia Project. Probably my favorite solo game with Marvel Champions. However, I could not stand Spirit Island or Gloomhaven, as they felt too fiddly for me xD. Not sure why but GP was a brain burn I enjoyed but SI felt more like an annoying chore. Do you think I would like Mage Knight??

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Great question, Inwoo! Honestly, it's hard to answer as all three games are so radically different from each other. Mage Knight will give you some of the strategic number crunching feel and a strong need for turn-by-turn optimization. But, at its core, it's a hand management game with an insane character progression, lacking the engine building and resource management aspects of Gaia. I'd watch a couple of playthroughs of different scenarios and see if it grabs you.

[@inwoolee4051]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Great idea! I'll check out your playthroughs

[@benjoslin3782]

Making a Mage Knight insert as I watch this. Nice vid!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Nice! And thanks, Ben!

[@lenakimarctaedius3056]

I watched it on a friday 😉. I think you are enough similar and enough different than me to make it very interesting and informative and enjoyable for me to watch. Have you ever tried a COIN game. Or do you not like ”puré” conflict games?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey LenaKim! I am very curious about the COIN games, so not entirely opposed at all. That said, historically themed games don't grab me as quickly. I'm very much looking forward to getting Red Dust Rebellion (a COIN game set on Mars designed by Jarrod from 3 Minute Board Games) whenever GMT gets around to fulfilling the pre-orders for that one, but I'm definitely open to playing another one sooner than that.

[@shawngillette1414]

Enjoyed the input. TMB is my board game comfort food.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Shawn! And "board game comfort food" is a great phrase!

[@Wonderflonium]

Oh man, now I really want Dawn of the Zeds to get the ultimate edition treatment that Nemo's War received!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Me too! But I'm not sure my bank account or my shelves do... :)

[@spazticdrummer7]

Spirit Island is the best, obviously. I can't even imagine new content for it (I am so used to my family of 24 Spirits!), but I am excited for it, and I am sure it will fit right in! I received Jaws of the Lion for Christmas and have been slowly progressing through it (about 1 scenario per week if I have the time). I will say that I am enjoying it, but after each session I always think I would be having more fun playing it with other people. I'll see how I feel once I finish my first campaign. Right now I am using Hatchet + Red Guard, so maybe I will go through it again with Voidwarden + Demolitionist just so I can experience everything. It seems like you are more into Jaws than I am, but also I have no prior Gloomhaven experience. Perhaps being able to contrast the main Gloomhaven to Jaws can help aid in the excitement. That isn't to say I do not like it; I still am itching to play Gloomhaven when I am not playing it. But I don't know, I feel like something is missing. Perhaps I was spoiled with Spirit Island since it was my first solo game I ever got into. Or maybe that is just why Jaws is not #1 here! I'll definitely need to check out your Jaws videos though! Maybe I will pick up on some new ways to view the game I hadn't seen before. And as always, thanks for all of your amazing content and what you provide to the gaming / solo gaming community!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

What's up, Aaron?! Interestingly, as was the case with Spirit Island, Gloomhaven was a serious acquired taste for me. I was probably 15-20 scenarios in before I really started to love the game. I'd give Jaws a couple more scenarios and see how things develop - Level 5 is pretty cool for both those characters. If you switch, I'd caution against the Voidwarden unless you really love support character archetypes. Demolitionist is wildly fun but can be very hard since they start with a smaller deck each scenario than the other characters. Hatchet is probably the most loved character in the box and Red Guard is a nice variation on the standard "tank".

[@spazticdrummer7]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thanks for the heads up about getting more scenarios down! I am currently on scenario 9 in the campaign, but I have also done 3 of the extra ones you randomly unlock as well, so I am approaching that 15-20 number. Both of my characters also just got to level 5 though, and it seems like that is where they start to get more interesting. I am looking forward to discovering more! As for Voidwarden and Demolitionist, I have seen similar things said online before. I do enjoy support characters (Serpent or Fractured Days anyone?), so perhaps I will pair Voidwarden with Hatchet or Red Guard if I go through it all again. I am not sure which of those I enjoy more. I had been enjoying Hatchet more early on, but my past scenario I got to do some fun things with Red Guard, so I think they are pretty even in my heart for the moment. Thanks for the discussion!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - Red Guard gets more interesting for sure. Hatchet just goes from beast mode...to SUPER beast mode. :)

[@otis892]

Gloomhaven is awesome sauce! Been a bit distracted from this channel cause I started paying more attention to gloomhavrn again then Gaia project or spirit island but am back into all of em, Just was off spirit island a bit.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - it's pretty good. :) Looking forward to Frosthaven as that will likely be my next deep dive into the Gloomhaven universe!

[@SpiderDiscord]

Have you played 'Lord of the Rings LCG'? If so, is it good (compared to #8 Arkham Horror)? Thanks for the content!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Mascherari! I recently did a livestream of LotR and I share a lot of thoughts about the game at the beginning of that video. In short, I'm not a fan. The skeleton of a good game is there but I find the experience of the game not nearly as flexible and dynamic with players generally having to build specific types of decks to take on specific scenarios. I wouldn't recommend it, especially for Arkham players.

[@SpiderDiscord]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the insight. I'll watch the livestream.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Any time!

[@NacDelSainz]

Great list, I recommend that you try Uprising: curse of the last emperor, really good game and quite difficult. Also Sword&Sorcery would be a great choice. Congratulations for your videos, superb content.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Ignacio! Uprising will likely be on this channel at some point later this year - I'm excited to try it. And thanks for the rec on Sword & Sorcery - it looks pretty great and seems like it has a lot of overlap with Middara from what I've seen. So many great games out there!

[@Nemesis-Games]

You, Ignacio, have excellent taste in games!

[@Solcoyote]

Awesome list. Here is my suggestion. Get Dwellings of Eldervale. It has a great solo mode

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the recommendation, Jeffrey! Dwellings has been on my radar for a while. I tend to shy away from worker placement games, but I’m really hoping to have an opportunity to try it out at some point.

[@MrHoban]

Great video. Little tip for future too # videos. Add time stamps.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment and feedback, Mr. Z! I put the title of each game I’m discussing across the bottom of the screen the entire time to make it easy for people to scrub ahead while watching if they want to skip any particular game(s) after they see what it is. There are reasons why I don’t use time stamps but I may change my mind in the future. 🙂 Thanks again!

[@QLeong-xd5re]

🥳 glad Mage Knight is still up there after these years! Out of curiosity, have you tried/considered Sword and Sorcery (ancient chronicles)? Been having quite a blast with it solo these days when I needed a break from MK. It’s quite Descent-like.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Q.! Thanks for putting Sword and Sorcery on my radar, as I can't remembering having heard of it before. It actually seems to be very similar to Middara, which leaves me very interested. :)

[@QLeong-xd5re]

One of its charms (or common complaint) is around its “fiddliness” of its many rules/concepts and enemy AI. 🥳 but I figured if you loved MK you may enjoy this one too! Once you’ve gotten used to how it runs the fun kicks in.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I hear that. Every game is an elaborate dance...and dancing isn't all that fun until you stop regularly falling on your ass! :)

[@jeremyjohnson6438]

New to gaming and learning the different types. What exactly is a “deck building game”, as in do you have to buy cards separately or are you building your deck from cards within the game? First game purchase was Alien: Fate of the Nostromo

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Jeremy! Welcome to the hobby and thanks for a great question! Deck building is a pretty popular mechanic that spans a whole lot of different games. In general, a deck building game can refer to any game that gives you a deck of cards that you shuffle and reuse many times while adding new cards with enhanced abilities while potentially getting rid of one or more of your (generally weaker) starting cards. The idea is that every time you reshuffle your deck, the deck you are now drawing from is stronger than the previous time. More specifically, when people refer to "deck builders" they are often referring to a specific genre of games in which deck building is the primary mechanic. Dominion, Aeon's End, Ascension, Shards of Infinity, and other games are deck builders. In these games, players start with a deck of cards (usually 10) that are very weak and then improve on this deck of cards by using a resource that allows you to purchase cards from a shared market. Some games have a market with multiple copies of a preset number of cards and other games have a market filled with a bunch of unique cards. But either way, the whole goal is to add powerful cards to your deck, usually while finding ways to get rid of your weakest cards. To add to the genre, some newer games use deck building as a primary mechanic and add a board that you are moving around while building your deck. Clank! is probably the most popular example of a deck builder with a board and a market of unique cards. Great Western Trail, Dune: Imperium, and Lost Ruins of Arnak are also very popular games that use some type of deckbuilding during gameplay. Hope this helps!

[@jeremyjohnson6438]

@@SoloPlaythroughs thanks for the thorough explanation. I liked the occasional photos you post for each game to show them off as well. Looking forward to trying out some of your recommendations.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@jeremyjohnson6438 Any time! Good luck exploring a couple new games! :)

[@thomaswillinger4824]

Hey Greg; You should try Uprising: Curse of the last Emperor; You have to play it with two factions, but it is such a great game and easy within my top 3. On tuesday there will start another croudfunding, this time on gamefound. I completely agree with your top 3, they are also within my top 5 games.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Thomas! Thanks for the rec. I’ll add Uprising to “the list”! 🙂

[@Nemesis-Games]

Thomas - you have excellent taste in games, rebel brother!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@Nemesis-Games Thanks for popping up here! Thomas might not remember this but he recommended Uprising to me months ago as well. Sometimes it takes me a little bit to do the right thing... :)

[@ezmrcz]

Nailed it on a Friday w Friday 🤙✌️

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Nice! Looking forward to taking this one with me on a couple summer trips. 🙂

[@Benzebuth18]

Spirit Island is also our favorite game for me and my wife ❤ I spent a little fortune to ship everything in EU ^^'

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

That's awesome, Benzebuth! I can only imagine the shipping that board gamers pay that aren't in the US - must make the decisions of what games to acquire that much harder. But games like Spirit Island make it worth it! :)

[@stefan000v]

Great list Greg. No 1 and 2 : same here!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, stefan! I enjoy learning other games and have a few other favorites, but those two are really all you need in so many ways. :)

[@gmischel70]

Could we see a ranking of Spirit Island Spirits from Bottom to Top? Could be based on spirit strength or spirit enjoyment.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Gilbert! Appreciate the request. Good news is I already did one - you can find it in the Top 10 playlist on my channel. Definitely check out the comments, too, as there are some really great ones. 🙂

[@allanfromlaursen6539]

Hi Greg. Have you tried Euthia - Torment of Resurrection? Could be a near Mage Knight killer :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Allen! I haven't tried it, and I'm quite interested. And the comps to Mage Knight are very much part of what has my attention. :)

[@stephanec.1994]

Nice top for solo gamers 😁. It's not easy to pick games there is so many good ones 🤔

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Stephane! And definitely not easy. :)

[@sauronguitar]

It’s sad that in the year of 2022, fewer channels mention Dungeon Alliance as one of the best solo games ever. It is on my top 3 along with MK and Lord of the Rings LCG.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey sauron! I appreciate the comment. I’ve looked into Dungeon Alliance and I’ll definitely take another look. From what I can tell, it gets a lot of comparisons to Mage Knight with most people agreeing that Mage Knight is still better - that’s a hard place for any game to be to continue to win over fans and get the coverage that might be warranted. And with such an increasing number of great games out there, more and more are losing staying power as a result. Meanwhile, I have the base set of LotR and I’m hoping to feature it soon. 🙂

[@Kentchangar]

You are totally correct about Jagged Earth being the best expansion ever created! How can it not be? It introduces the way to play without events! :P

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! I'll try to get a no-events playthrough on the channel again soon just for you, Daniel. :)

[@Kentchangar]

@@SoloPlaythroughs If you want to play the game the way it was meant to be played, then sure. 🤪 But first you have to do 1 very important scenario you didn't do!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Huh... Blitz? I'm really behind where I thought I'd be with scenarios! Hoping to fix that later this year. :)

[@Kentchangar]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I meant the scenario where you play the Fear cards correctly 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Wait? You think it's the fear cards that trip me up the most?? Perhaps... :) I feel like I'm more inclined to mess up something with targeting range or a special rule!

[@Marzex1x]

much love

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Marzex! 🙂

[@SaschaKleiber]

When will C:DMD Season 1 Scenario 3 come out? ;-)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! Well…I won’t say never but it’s gonna be a long while at minimum. 🤣

[@TheTurtledreams]

MK not #1. its a shame! regardless thanks for the video.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

There are many who agree with you! :) Thanks for the comment...maybe next year!

[@ophirgonen1772]

You have mentioned in previous plays that Dawn of the Zeds has some ambiguous rules (or rulebook?). Did you manage to find a FAQ file? Or are the clarifications spread all across BGG?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Great question! Part of the ambiguity is the fact that it's not always clear where to look for the answer to any question that arises. The 5 rulebooks without a "master index" is really frustrating at times. When a rules question arises now, I generally look to the relevant listing in the dossier first. Another thing I found helpful was going to the Rules forum on BGG, as a lot of the titles of the posting in there can be really helpful in leading you to answers. Unfortunately, I never found a great FAQ.

[@ophirgonen1772]

Thanks. I'll bookmark that forum page.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Any time!

[@arjuna1234567]

Dawn of the Zed is perhaps my favorite game ever - so rich in the zombie theme/mythos, crazy, zombie horde-killing fun! Great video!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, arjuna! Zeds was very much my biggest surprise of 2020 and I remain so impressed with it every time I play!

[@RocketMagnetUK]

I think the real litmus test for a game is if I lost it by whatever means would I replace it? Scythe was one of my early games and I'd not replace it just for solo play :p. I got Legends .. read the manual and no still idea really.. I did design and 3D print a nice insert for it however. I like Descent and my group love it, as for the Application maybe updates are delayed as it's multi platform some of which require approval processes and payment to update so to be platform agnostic they need to wait for the slowest? Either way expansions are coming so it would be very damaging if they don't fix the issues so they must have good reason. I bounced off Arkham horror a bit mechanically as I'd played Marvel Champions first (I'm not a fan of the MC IP but it just plays so well).. being locked into entire cycles for AH when in MC you can buy anything you like fixes one of AHs major issues. Still need to give it some more plays but my draw Bag seems broken as no matter what the stats say there is definitely not just 1 auto fail in mine even when i just put one in :P. I had the same issue with TMB yes it is part of the fun how badly or well it can go and as a result it drives you down optimum builds hence why I've stopped playing it on Legendary to give me a bit more build flex fun. Legendary is just too swingy for me personally and I like to experiment and spend the extra points on less optimum skills. Cloudspire is great but the investment to learn it is very high.. needs an introductory missions book where it drip feeds the mechanics slowly over 6-12 missions with 2 of those focussing on and teaching you Elifinkaze. JOTL killed Daddy GH for me. Spirit Island is one of my favourites and even though I play it much less than MC I still think it would maybe pip it... Don't have all the other games though I've got a couple of them on order. Will pick up Zeds when i can get a copy.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for so many great thoughts, Rocket! A few replies: 1. I'll have a Legends playthrough on the channel within the next couple of months so stay tuned! 2. The good news with Descent is that they apparently did fix the one scenario that was especially problematic. Thanks for adding some context about the technical side of things. :) 3. Yeah - I marvel at people who invest in more than one LCG and it does seem to be a situation in which gamers are likely to love the one that they played first. From everything I've read, Arkham is just a better for me, both thematically and mechanically. But I seem to have a similar problem with my bag being broken at times! 4. That's a good thought about TMB and Legendary being swingy. My problem is that I feel so overpowered when I'm not playing Legendary, but it would give me more opportunity to test out less optimal builds. 5. Those friggin Elfinkaze!!! :)

[@RocketMagnetUK]

@@SoloPlaythroughs 1. I'll give it a look. Legends is a bit more complex apparently but really I just didn't put in much effort beyond the manual. 2. Nice they fixed it. It is conjecture on my part based on reasoning they should update ASAP considering it was one of the worries people had before it even released and they intend to release more. 3. Totally understand as MC really is very different to AH. I'd say AH is more Narrative Theme and MC more Mechanically Thematic in it's gameplay.. hard to explain. Watching this video then it is possible that you wouldn't like MC as it's more purely gameplay focussed which is what i like. Worth a look if someone you know has it as it's great True Solo. 4. Yes I struggled with that also as I simply had more points to optimise with so I now use the extra/first points out of the gate on skills I don't normally use. 5 Indeed :).

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Regarding MC, I'll likely buy the base box at some point just to try it out. As it is, I'm sitting on a base box of LOTR just gathering dust... :)

[@RocketMagnetUK]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Sorry didn't mean to be one of those people and understand you get loads of "recommendations" for peoples current favourite game. Obviously it's a popular game but as I've found popular doesn't mean I'll like a specific game myself. I've still not bought Mage Knight because I get loads of talk of how great it is but little actual substantiation.. that and I'm lazy rules wise (due to being a long term computer gamer where games don't have manuals any more but i'm tired of the pure monetization focus these days which is fundamentally breaking games design IMO) so it puts me off knowing I need to actually read the manual and do research. So all the cryptic talk and about how difficult it is to learn is a bit of a turn off.. that and the ultimate version is never in stock :P Spirit Island like MC was also a game that on paper I thought I would dislike due to my allergy to "Euro" style worker placement stuff but as it turns out these two games are the ones which kept me in the board game hobby and opened me up to a much more diverse collection rather than just RPGs. I bought TMB basically blind but it's instantly familiar in it's design philosophy - it's basically an accelerated MMORPG skill levelling system to build up enough skills/equipment to do the raid boss. I'd be very surprised if the Carlsons did not play WoW or Everquest.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

No worries at all and def no apology necessary! Is Mage Knight difficult to learn? Not really. There are a lot of rules but 95% are intuitive once you know them and the other 5% really won't make a difference in the average game. Is Mage Knight difficult to get good at? For most players, yes. It took me many games before I was beating Mage Knight at the recommended levels. :) But getting good takes an investment of time, with early games taking 3-4 hours easy. And there's nothing wrong with thinking the upside isn't there for you to go through that process - if you keep thinking that, you're probably right! In my case with Marvel Champions, what makes me reluctant isn't because I don't think I'd like it; it's that I'm not willing to invest the resources into another LCG to any real degree...at least not now. ;)

[@markchristy9704]

If you're going to be moving around that much, maybe get a camera that can capture that motion without blurring. This is the first of your videos I've ever seen, so if that's your style, so be it, but I find it very off-putting.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I generally appreciate constructive feedback and you are not the first to mention that my framerate seems off in this video (and a couple others), which is making the blur effect when I move. While I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here, I encourage you to be more intentional in making sure you exhibit a different tone in future comments on the videos of creators like myself, who primarily do this stuff for fun; I probably found your comment as written just as off-putting as you find the blurs. To address your concern directly, know that most of my videos are playthroughs using a static overhead camera. Unfortunately, before filming this video (and a couple others), I had downloaded new camera software and the software had an automatic light adjust setting that was ultimately "squeezing" my frame rate. While not ideal, I felt that editing and publishing this video was the better choice as compared to refilming, and I have since fixed the problem in my quarterly videos like this, the only ones that don't use an overhead camera. In two and a half years, I have had to learn a lot about audio/visual technology and a quick look at some of my videos through the years would show you a substantial improvement in that time. I will continue to tweak things and make improvements going forward. Thanks for your understanding.

[@danacoleman4007]

​@@SoloPlaythroughs ooo, a little touchy.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@danacoleman4007 Not exactly. But good theory I guess.

[@KevinSpecialK]

You should make a list without MK and Spirit Island we know they are the top games hehehe. Mage Knight is like a 1980 sword and sorcery movie (Krull comes to mind) with no plot it's just fun.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

For real - there is no drama at all for the top of this list. :) And agree about Mage Knight!

[@StevenAPowers]

This video forced me to buy Champions of Hara. Thanks a lot. I agree with a lot of your list but I did not like Dawn of the Zeds or Middara (too big too adolescent)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Steve! Awesome! :) And I can see both Zeds and Middara being a miss for people. And the "big" and "adolescent" are absolutely fair criticisms. Fortunately, the adolescent quality dissipates a bit as you move through the content...although the big quality just gets bigger!

[@CandiceLikes]

what about the newest, Edge of the Earth? Have you played that yet?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - I thought the first half was great. But the second half was terrible in my opinion w/ some very strange design decisions. And scales rather badly for true solo.

[@weathertopz4368]

How similar is Decent to Journeys in Middle Earth? I'm having a blast with Journeys.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Great question, WeatherTop! And it's a little hard to answer, especially since I've only played a couple games of Journeys - my friend and I seriously just started a campaign last week and it's my first time playing! They are both app-run dungeon crawler adventure games published by Fantasy Flight, so there are many parts that will feel familiar to you between the two games. The success/advantage card system in Journeys is replaced with a die rolling system that essentially does the same thing. The terrain is better, the app is a lot more functional (including a game log), and heroes have three actions per turn which opens up some doors with in-turn strategy that don't exist as much with Journeys. Overall, I'm inclined to think that anyone who likes Journeys will find a lot to love with Descent!

[@cristiandelaplaza7813]

I don't know what to choose for this month between Dawn of the zeds and Gloomhaven Jaws of the lion, what would you advise me? (for the moment i have arkham horror lcg, marvel champions lcg and mage knight for playing) Another question, what do you think of terraforming mars?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey cristian! I prefer Zeds but love them both. Zeds is more different than the rest of your collection. But Jaws is great…and it’s a ton cheaper and easier to find. If you prefer campaign games, definitely go with Jaws. But if you don’t mind the cost and are intrigued by Zeds, the game is amazing! As for Terraforming Mars, I used to love that game but it really grew stale for me for a couple reasons. The solo game is fine but got a little old over time. And the competitive game just stopped being fun as the best strategies tend to make for REALLY long games with a huge reliance on card draw at the end. Plus, it’s really hard to balance games with huge decks of unique cards.

[@cristiandelaplaza7813]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thank you very much for your answer, I will definitely go for jaws and then zeds definitely.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! Good luck!

[@cristiandelaplaza7813]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I am intrigued by the spirit island after watching your videos, apparently it is difficult and you have to think a lot, the type of games that I like. so it looks like i'll go for spirit first, then zeds and then i'll have to go for gloomhaven. Are expansions necessary to fully enjoy spirit island?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! I would highly recommend Branch & Claw. The base game is great to learn, but it is also highly deterministic. Branch & Claw really brought the game to life for me by infusing some narrative and a little more randomness into the game that makes the game more dynamic. If you love the game with Branch & Claw, the next step would be Jagged Earth and the new set of 4 spirits that were previously released as promo spirits. The variety of spirits is one thing that really makes this game shine, but the base game + Branch & Claw will give you 10 great spirits to start with.

[@Boardgamegyrl]

Which Final Girl scenario do you like best?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Dimples! I only have three and, of those three, I do like the Frightmare on Maple Lane setting the most. Dr. Fright has a cool mechanic and the distinction between the awake world and the dream world makes for some interesting decisions.

[@mendicant1981]

Great vid. The art for Middara imo is necessary. No need to virtue signal, I’m sure the odd balls who find the female form/sexuality offensive/intimidating can easily go full Pope Pius IX on the models/cards.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

It’s a valid counterpoint. Some amount of suggestive art in boardgames generally doesn’t bother me but there are a few reasons why it gave me pause in Middara. Maybe I’m just getting old! 🙂

[@mendicant1981]

@@SoloPlaythroughs oh I’m sure I’m older than you 😃but ye, I personally don’t find the theme that appealing either, I just like creators being free to express themselves, hard to deny the love and attention that has gone into those models!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - this game drips with personality and attention to detail that I really do appreciate.

[@danielmarlett1421]

I still need Dawn of the Zeds. Someday they will reprint it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Daniel! Yeah - Tabletop Tycoon is hard to predict. It does seem like a reprint of the 3rd Edition would be a smart move for them from a business perspective, but perhaps I'm wrong about that. Now that Nemo's War has been fulfilled, I'm mildly hopeful that Zeds is next!

[@wizardofoz6811]

Nice list. No Lacerda?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Wizardo! Honestly haven’t even tried a Lacerda yet. A couple are on my radar so I’ll likely play one sooner rather than later though. 🙂

[@tomerd1499]

You sound really awesome , but I can't bare watching you in 20 fps for an hour and a half 😅

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this was meant to be constructive criticism. Yes, I could benefit from better equipment. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing the best I can with what I’ve got.

[@tomerd1499]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I have no clue what makes you think I tried to insult you , indeed it was meant to be constructive criticism . Its just that we're in the age where filming with your phone will probably get better results .

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Your original comment was not insulting in the truest sense of the word. But not great either IMO. At this point I’m working with two different cameras: My overhead one is difficult to rearrange for non-overhead shots and, as you mentioned, the fps of this one is not ideal for both reasons I understand and reasons I’m still learning. Filming on my phone is not viable with my current editing software/laptop, although it is something I hope to be able to do in the future when I upgrade my equipment again.

[@hovhannesbeaver8161]

You’ve never played Arkham Horror 2nd Edition?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Hovhannes! Correct - I never played 2nd Ed. and it's something I hope to rectify this year. I played 3rd Ed. once and I wasn't impressed - it felt like a lesser version of the card game to me.

[@jackskellingtonsora]

Every time I've tried to play Mage Knight, I've bounced right back off of it SO HARD. I find it incredibly clunky and fiddly. I don't understand the love for it. There's too many little things going on and the rules are too long and not well written. The basic idea IS good, the idea of having a hand of cards that you can power up and getting new powers over time in the game, but I think Spirit Island did it SO much better. Spirit Island is much more elegant in its design, more streamlined. The three invader actions are not hard to understand. They don't have different types of attack that you have to deal with. Whenever I turn over a disc in Mage Knight, I don't get excited to fight a monster, I sigh and go "ok, what does this type of attack do, what do all these little symbols mean." I have to go back and read the rules for five minutes to figure out what's going on. It's an incredibly unfun and tedious experience. But Spirit Island's battle system is way easier to understand. It's just attack and defense. I don't have to constantly check the rulebook just to make sure I'm doing the ravage action correctly. It's just a better game in every way. A lot of these games on your list I'd probably bounce off of as well, but Spirit Island is just an absolutely beautiful game.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

It’s always just as good to know what you don’t like as it is to know what you like. I don’t think it would be helpful to go point by point about what I disagree with in your comments on Mage Knight, but obviously I am one of a large number of people who have had a much different experience with the game than you. There are plenty of beloved solo games that I don’t like all that much, including Robinson Crusoe, Anachrony, Xia, etc. In the end, no game is going to click for everyone and that’s totally fine! Now you can just play more Spirit Island. 🙂

[@mazman9355]

28:58 welcome to 90% of anime + manga, otherwise you piqued my interest in Middara. maybe 80%.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Maz! Yeah - you’ve got a good point. I’m not much of an anime guy, so critiquing it as an art form doesn’t feel like something I should do. That said, I’ve seen some anime that didn’t go close to the extremes that Middara does with its art when it comes to highly sexualized underage female characters. It will always feel a little jarring to me, especially for a game with gameplay and production quality that are so next level. Appreciate the comment!

[@joshb4613]

You wrote, in sharpie, on a game box? I feel a little triggered right now Greg.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! Yeah - I definitely broke some rules with that one! 🤣

[@joshb4613]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I was reading into VPGames, and what happened after the buyout just recently, and saw there was in production/complete two further expansions for Dawn of the Zeds. I think I read they were similar to the first ones (ie: small packet expansions). Who knows! Also, exciting for me is that Greater Than Games have decided to republish the promo packs 1 and 2 for Spirit Island - Feather and Flame. Now I too (one day) can enjoy the fun of bringing Sssssserpent to the table.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah, the mysterious expansions that Tabletop Tycoon is just sitting on. Maybe one day! Meanwhile, combining the promo spirits was a good idea by >G! Those 4 spirits are some of the 4 most interesting and include two of my faves w/ Wildfire and Serpent!

[@blairblack281]

#lotrlcg

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Blair! I've played the game and appreciate the shoutout/love for it. It doesn't fully hit for me personally on a couple levels but I enjoyed exploring it a bit.

[@Sajatzsiraf]

Oh God I am sure he picked the wrong one againfor first…

[@Sajatzsiraf]

also, i would have thought that Imperium would jump higher. will watch the stream, and if it is live, will make sure to roast you!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Sure did, Sajatzsiraf! Maybe next year I'll get it right... ;)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs every year I give you a chance, every year you disappoint me! ;)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! You're not alone!