1 Player Podcast

This week Julius tells us about Creature Comforts, a dice worker placement game from Kids Table Board Gaming where anthropomorphic animals collect resources to craft cozy household items for points.  What's different about this game is that you commit the workers to spaces on the board before you know which actions will be available to you.  It's because you are rolling dice to determine that. If they don't cooperate, your worker just goes home with a cute bandage token. Julius loves the relaxed feel even in competitive play, and Albert is now kicking himself for passing on it at game consignment.

 

Creature Comforts (BGG, KTBG)

This week I tell Julius all about Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Turtle Team-Up, a cooperative M:tG game where up to four players each control one of four Ninja Turtle-themed decks against random boss enemies and event cards. Defeat the first boss and two more jump in; beat those and you face all three at once. I've been enjoying it two-handed solo, even if it has very limited appearl.

Show Notes:
Turtle Team-Up (BGG, Wizards):

This week Julius tells us about The Peak Team Rangers, a fully cooperative game from Scott Almes and Matagot where players are park rangers completing missions across a wildlife reserve before the park closes for the weekend. It has a limited communication/drafting mechanic: rather than keeping your supply cards, you assign them to other players, so everyone has to figure out what everyone else needs. Solo requires difficulty level four, which means working through all four preceding levels first. Julius loved it. I thought the mechanics sounded great but had no interest in that rulebook.  It's a big pass for me.

The Peak Team (BGG, Matagot)

This week Julius and I celebrate episode 400 and 15 years of the 1 Player Podcast with a Popular Mechanics episode on food-themed games. Finding solo-friendly food games turned out to be harder than expected, but we managed to cook up a few good ones, especially master chef Julius.

05:25 Food Chain Island (BGG, Button Shy)

08:25 Wild Gardens (BGG, Rose Gauntlet)

11:15 Elevenses for One (BGG)

14:50 Kitchen Rush (BGG)

17:53 Conservas (BGG)

21:45 Maki Master (BGG)

27:50 Crumbs (BGG)

30:10 A Nice Cuppa' (BGG)

31:10 Waffles for Esther (RPGGeek)

31:35 My Mother's Kitchen (itch.io)

32:25: Recipe on Kmidysh Paper (itch.io)

This week Julius introduces us to Cozy Stickerville, a cooperative sticker legacy game about building out a village over a 10-year campaign. You draw cards, make decisions, and place stickers on a mounted board, with the whole experience being mostly about narrative and atmosphere over challenge or strategy. Julius loved it (as a family experience), comparing it to a physical version of Stardew Valley. I played the demo with my son, and we were bored by the end of it.

Cozy Stickerville (BGG), Unexpected Games)