Top 10 Reasons to Play Board Games Solo - Straight Up Solo with John LaRuffa

[@antoniorb3521]

Another drawback is when the solo version of a game is worse than the 2-4p version, or the solo is 'fine' but the 2-4p version is great. The main example of this for me is Hallertau: I liked it solo but then I played it 2p and is much more enjoyable that way, since you can't just pre-plan your next 4 moves but you have to navigate through your opponent's decisions. Great vid! I got into solo a couple years ago and I browse your videos from time to time when I am researching my next game, or Top 10s like this one. Thanks!

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I’m glad to help with your collection!

[@albertdommer4242]

Once I gave solo gaming a shot, it definitely opened up a whole new world to me. At this point, I pretty much won't buy a game that doesn't have a solo mode because it greatly reduces my ability to play it often. I do enjoy playing with other people too, but I'm happy if I can just play period.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I completely agree. I don’t even look at the game if it does not have a 1 in the player count.

[@joellen5984]

I so much appreciate your channel and your passion and enthusiasm for solo gaming. I solo game for the same reasons you do - it gives me opportunity to explore games I love (even if my gaming group, family, etc don't love them!). I enjoy the puzzle of some games - like euro's. This just engages my brain on all levels. I like to take my time and just enjoy the journey. I like euro's and heavier games and those are tough to table with a group. I can't thank you enough for the unboxings and playthrough and support like this video - I love the solo gaming community.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I am very happy to hear that you are enjoying my channel. I also agree that we seem to have a great community as a solo gaming group! Thanks for watching and have a great day!

[@michaelmelen9062]

Some of my reasons for playing solo: to learn the game well enough to teach it to others; to hone my skills or try new strategies; to get my skill up to the perceived skill of other players; I can play the game at 2 am if I like, and in my ugly pajamas; and I don't have to behave. I can cuss out the dice when my U-Boat is sunk by rolling snake eyes. There are a couple of other reasons which are health-related.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

LOL. I cuss out the dice even when people are playing with me! 😃

[@SH3Bstanko6]

yep, even if it is not the same rules for mulitplayer... it gives me an idea how the game plays!

[@JohnLaRuffa]

When I play with others, it is mostly PG13 kind of swearing in a fun way. I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable.

[@michaelmelen9062]

@@JohnLaRuffa Yes! We use accents (French, English or Russian) or 'upper class epithets' such as "Begone, miscreant bones!" as a substitute for "***** dice".

[@bookaddict777]

This is a great list, John. Although I have been gaming for 45+ years now, I have only been actively gaming solo for the past 18 months or so. My husband plays games with me, but on the weekends since I am retired and he is not. As I am now 60 years old, my primary motivation for playing games solo is for the intellectual stimulation. I have found that I very much enjoy the puzzle of games.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I also play for the intellectual stimulation, but I have many years left before I can retire. When I do, I hope to be playing games in my downtime!

[@bookaddict777]

@@JohnLaRuffa It is a great hobby to be able to continue into retirement!

[@Marky-by4zv]

Thank you John for sharing this topic and all other content you upload. Everything you said hit solo gaming's reason to enjoy this hobby. Continue the good work you do. You contribute a lot to this hobby.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Thank you very much for the comment and support! I really appreciate it.

[@DraganAlves]

Thank you. I love being able to pause a game and playing it over the course of several nights

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Absolutely. I do it all the time!

[@mabos555]

I agree with all of your reasons :) (hi see finally we agree on everything on your top 10 haha) although again can't stand games about vp haha (well I do enjoy comic hunters but that's the only exception) my number one reason for playing solo is to just teach myself the game. can't stand to teach others or just in general be with people for some games that I love. I play clue, remicub and lame games like that with my family just for the sake of playing with people I love, but the love of the games is just for me

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I understand. There are some games in my collection that I know will never be played by others in my family because of the type of game they are. Thank God for solo!

[@mabos555]

@@JohnLaRuffa yeah agree Hah

[@popgas3821]

A lot in this list resonates with me. When I discovered board gaming, I was so excited to play it with other people, mostly my officemates, inviting them under the semi-guise of "team building". I convinced myself that it is a way for me to be more social, but truthfully, I'm very much of an introvert and there is so much exhaustive time being around people that I get drained a lot. I ran into certain issues when dealing with people generally, i.e., noticing small things that annoys me about them that, as much as I want to ignore, being a "host", I can't since I always a keep an eye across my playmates in order to assist them playing. The most pressing reason that led me to invest more on board games that can facilitate good solo modes is when playing strategic games with others, I always get SOOOO EXHAUSTED. It is my responsibility to look after them, entertain their questions all the while juggling these things in my mind of figuring out my next move. Imagine that with games that are very confrontational like On Mars, Root, Agricola, Kanban EV, Arcadia Quest (yes AQ, not even breaching 3 weight difficulty mark, and I'd say include Everdell on the mix), and very lately, Lisboa. I admit it is my fault for introducing pretty tough games believing that past gateway games and a little harder ones would prep them, but not so much. Heck even simple ones like Azul, Patchwork, Sushi Roll, Unexpected Treasurers, etc., I'm stormed with questions that I'm pretty much sure I explained not once but twice before playing. I acknowledge the inherent challenges of being the host of the game while playing with them competitively, but I can't anymore put myself in that situation all the time. Damn, even cooperative games are exhausting! The Thing: The Boardgame? Zombicide? Aeon's End? The amount of assistance and annoyance comboed in every session I hold with players is just exhausting, to the point of being frustrating. I prefer losing alone than losing as a group, hence the pressure slowly creeping, all the while you're anxious if everybody is having a good time. Even though I always made it sure they had the rulebook (in PDF form) and few links to an actual video teach and playthrough sent a week ahead for them to familiarize, they just don't have the time or will. I have to acknowledge that. Still though, I'm still open playing with few people, but made it sure that the games are easy to learn, not very exhaustive, just the right amount of "content". At heart though, I'm a solitaire person, hence Board Games that cater to soloing is just a treasure. Now I thought I got out of video gaming because it was kinda "lonely", but I guess I unconsciously accepted that when I transitioned to board gaming.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I read all of your comments on the various videos you have watched! Thanks you very much for your thoughts and contributions. As to this, I certainly can relate to being stressed a bit on being the host. That used to be me for years as I pressed my co-workers and friends into games that were just above the waterline of their desire on complexity. It was not the best thing I could have done. I also sometimes get the lonely vibe from playing solo all the time, but I have to put that feeling away because no one can play as much as I want to and no one wants to jump around to one game different from another as much as I want to. I have to take the good with the bad. As for losing, I always tell my friends when I play with them this: “I buy the games. I teach the games. I lose the games.” ☺️

[@popgas3821]

@@JohnLaRuffa welcome and thanks too. I think when you’re getting older you’ll just start accepting things that are out of your control. I believe that’s the better way so that we’ll have lesser, unnecessary stress 😅

[@joshcapehart8269]

Well said.

[@booch7767]

Great video. My main reason is as you said being able to play whatever game you want, whenever you want. I like to play heavy games but would not be able to get those to the table if I had to play multiplayer. Nowadays, when I play multiplayer, its for the social aspect, which is why I particularly enjoy co-ops with other people. As for drawbacks, the rule mistakes can happen quite often for me. It's not uncommon for me to play a game dozens of times, go on BGG, read a thread and be like "Oh… you have to discard a card when you take that action? I've been playing wrong the whole time." lol.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I certainly feel you!

[@mabos555]

if I want to tell my reasons (not sure if they are collide) those are: not enjoy the company of other people, like to take the turns slowly, love unique games that don't concern others, can cheat even though I tend less and less to do that, learn by myself don't need to teach others, tends to just pick the games that are not one time shit and then throw it I want to play more from the same game in different angles (not different characters or difficulty of levels). and of course I just like shorter games I can play some in the same amount of time instead of just loooooong game that last forever I just wish to have more time for the longer games haha

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I am always interested to hear the reasons others play solo. Thank you for sharing!

[@ellaybee77]

These all are great reasons, and pretty much all of them do or have appealed or applied to me at one point or another. I’m almost exclusively a solo gamer now, and I know it’s become increasingly common. Yours is one of my newest subscriptions and quickly becoming a favorite, and I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this: why do you suppose (on BGG on particular) that people asking for solo rules for games in development are often met with negativity? Thanks again for the work you do on the channel. It’s consistently great.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Thank you very much! You ask a great question and I am not sure why. It seems like BGG forums are becoming a little more hostile over the last couple of years with responses. More and more people seem to become bent out of shape by anything that is different than what they are used to. Perhaps people just mock what they don’t understand. I don’t know but it makes me sad to see it.

[@ellaybee77]

@@JohnLaRuffa I agree wholeheartedly. This will be the first year in a while where I won’t be taking part in BGG’s fundraising drive as I’ve found the forums in general becoming less friendly, including moderation. Places like the 1PG forums, though, are still seemingly unaffected by that trend, fortunately.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I have also gotten the feeling that the whole sight seems to be getting a bit more “woke.” That could be just me but I generally don’t like to see things going in that direction. I think when they went to their new site format a while back it just felt like it to me. Could be just me. I don’t want to spread any hate but it makes me feel like an unwelcomed outsider.

[@ellaybee77]

@@JohnLaRuffa That’s funny how we both seem put off by the site but for different reasons. My take isn’t with any political/social stuff (I’m afraid you’d find me more “woke” than not), but more with inconsistent policies and to a lesser extent the entire site feeling like an ad.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

@@ellaybee77 different strokes for different folks. I just want a place to share and learn about the hobby. Nothing more or less.

[@cloudzz-ei9fh]

I love your taste, I love many of your favorite games. But to me, I play games with PEOPLE, not DESIGNERS. I make meaningful decisions based on other players, not based on the puzzle provided by designers. Agricola for example, the biggest thing is the tension between players, which does not exist at all in solo. Even the very popular solo game Feast for Odin, I found it very meh in solo after playing plenty of multiplayers. To play multiplayers, if you can find the right playing group which shares the same taste and does not have too much AP, that will be a blast to playing so many great games you love.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I get that for sure. However, I am fortunate to like solo more than playing with others in most cases because it affords me the chance to play whenever I want on my own terms and that works better for me these days than to play with a group.

[@bankingonmoney8224]

There are certains types of games that individuals just don't like. So those I exclusively solo. We also purchase games that include solo if the other party does not like said game, the other player can still enjoy the experience. One other thing, you can modify the rules to your liking. Some players are sticklers for the published rules and won't budge to make enhancements to the game. So does the Mrs. or children (if you have any) interrupt Johns solo experience asking to play? Great video! Have a great day!

[@JohnLaRuffa]

These days, my wife and kids do not ever ask to play. The one exception is wingspan. One of my kids is really into that game and is pressing my other children into service to play it every day. That is a huge exception.

[@bankingonmoney8224]

@@JohnLaRuffa I think your children are set if they decide to get into the board gaming hobby! 👍

[@fongstar]

I wish ti4 had a solo mode! Getting people together to play it is always a chore… and it’s 5+ hours at least!

[@JohnLaRuffa]

That is why I have never actually played that game! I am very intrigued when I see it played and see people playing it, but it is not some thing I will ever get into because of the major play time in one session.

[@crepusculo1027]

You rock

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Thanks for watching!

[@shortydancer]

Lol #3 should be #1, for me at least lol