1 Player Podcast

This week Julius and I tackle tile placement as a game mechanic, each bringing three favorites from what turned out to be a surprisingly deep category. Julius had a list of more than thirty solo-friendly tile games to choose from and still had enough left over for a long honorable mentions run at the end.

Show Notes:
04:55 A Feast for Odin (BGG)
10:25 Steam (BGG)
14:19 Habitats (BGG)
18:30 Limes (BGG)
21:16 Fit to Print (BGG)
26:21 Castellion (BGG)

 

The honorable mentions

Clip Cut Parks
Cities (2024)
Overboss
Nmbr 9
Mechanica
Machi Master
Caverna: Cave vs Cave
Luna Capitol
Oros
Power Plants
Stamp Swap
Harmonies
Cascadia
Honeybuzz
In the Hall of the Mountain King

This week I tell Julius about Shred of Redemption, a 15-minute solo bag-builder from Best With 1 Games and part of their Solo Game of the Month series. You play as a corrupt feudal lord racing to redeem yourself before death, spending virtue tokens across three phases to align dice on a play area and clear regret tokens before a final reckoning.

Shred of Redemption (BGG)

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)