So, let me know what you thought and what your top 5 are. TLDR list posted below.

1) Aeon’s End 2) Nemo’s War 3) Yggdrasil 4) Mutants 5) 7th Continent 6) Roll Player 7) Dawn of the Zeds 8) Darkest Night 9) Mage Knight 10) Iron Helm

These are my favorite kind of videos you do!! You tend to have unique taste (in a good way) and you open the door for games I haven't seen before.

Wow, your work is so dense, concise and on point. Thank you

You changed my mind on a few games I had dismissed and introduced me to a few gems that shouldn’t be too hard to find. Great video.

finally good long review on multiple Solo games with usefull info. By far better than any other review of such topic here on youtube. Good freaking job mate!

Excellent video! I own *Nemesis* but haven't tried it out solo yet. Thanks for mentioning that one! I'm also happy to see This War of Mine, it really is brilliant.

Thanks for your list, it really has some great games, a few I didn’t know and then some I still have to buy. Cheers

Kudos on an excellent solo list. I happen to have many of the more underappreciated games you have on your list. Very refreshing. I would add Maricaibo to that list.

Loving the film , and hoping you will make more of top videos of specific types of games

Awesome video! These long form videos you do are such a welcome addition to the rest of the "list" landscape on KZfaq. I would love to try most of these (tops on my wishlist would be Anachrony and Circadians First Light). My top 5 solos: 1. Spirit Island 2. Clans of Caledonia 3. Paladins of the West Kingdom 4. Architects of the West Kingdom 5. Terraforming Mars. I think you mentioned all of these in some way or another in the video, except Clans. Paladins I've only played once solo, but it'll overtake Clans soon...it was really fantastic. The automa just seemed so clever and truly competitive. Btw, me having Spirit Island is your doing, so thanks for that! :P

Dude, as a solo gamer living on a small Caribbean island with no board gaming community, I find your list fantastic and hits many of my regularly played games. Love your production and editing quality, keep it up

Completely agree about Robinson Crusoe. I have only ever played it as a solo game and always look forward to getting it to the table. Usually, I'll spend time over a couple of evenings familiarising myself with the rules and then spend time with the set up. Once I am sat down with a glass of beer, I will sit and ponder over each move and try to plan ahead and attempt to anticipate which completely horrendous disaster is about to imminently strike and bring upon complete misery to my ship wrecked adventurers. The outcome is usually a long drawn out agonising death, but I strangely find it fascinating... probably explains why I listen to so much Radiohead...

I think the most intriguing one for me on this list is The Captain is Dead. Great list. Love your channel. Keep up the good work!

Fantastic video, thanks for the suggestions

Great video and list! I had Thunderbirds on my shelf of shame, so after watching this I had to pull it off and get it to the table! Wow , so glad I did! I love the pick up and deliver aspect of it and I don’t tend to gravitate to that mechanic. My biggest problem is I can’t seem to win! Those disasters take me out ever time. I can get past the second scheme but then disasters overwhelm me! Any tips on winning are appreciated! Thanks for the nudge to get this one to the table! I love it!

Great list Jarrod, I really need to get my hands on Thunderbirds 👍

Really enjoyed your list! As a solo experience I really like C02 2nd chance. It is a beast! I feel I am planning out my entire game from the first action in turn one, essentially trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. The game makes my brain work extra rounds and I love that! It is one of those games that I sit down to with a looming headache but get up feeling genuinely refreshed and wanting more. Yeah, definitely a masochist too :)

Thanks for this great list, theres a bunch of games on it that I never heard of and am now curious about.

Great selection. Added a few to my ‘want to play’ list. I’m certainly going to get my Arkham Horror back to the table soon.

great stuff, mr. Von Clausewitz! I have always found you to have a more caring a healthy relationship with games when compared to most other boardgame contente creators. You always put out videos for older games, or even better: you are amidst the few big content creators that actually talk about strategy or ways to play older games. Heck, the mere fact that your top 10 games of the year are usually "new to me games" is a testament to the fact that you operate on another rhythm. I really appreciate that!

This is by far the best out of all of the lists of this sort that I've seen. I'm a solo-only gamer, and I'm always seeing all these lists, and hoping to get suggestions for new games, but they're always filled with the same thing. Mage Knight, Spirit Island, and so on. Which I understand, but I already have those. I want to hear about games that arent just the Big Ones. Also, you actually really showed off each game, instead of just plopping a box on the table and talking at the camera. This is the only list that's really given me a sense of what these games I've not seen are like. You've sold me on quite a few of these... I know what my next purchases will be. Also, kudos for the mention of Hostage Negotiator. I've been singing that game's praises for quite awhile now. It's my favorite and most played. But it gets this unfortunate reputation. It's actually NOT a luck-based game. I tell people this all the time. I even wrote an entire strategy guide just to prove the bloody point. The game's ACTUAL main issue is that the strategies available to players are REALLY obtuse. When I see people play this, I see 90% of the conversation cards go unused (when *all* of them are actually useful and important), demands get ignored, and entire game mechanics also are ignored... and then they wonder why it's all luck. The game unfortunately doesnt really do a good job of showing the player what the different elements truly do. One thing I do think you should have mentioned though, is that Career absolutely REQUIRES almost all of the content to be present to be played at all. Important to know so that new players dont try to dive into it before buying the other bits. My own top 5 are: 1. Hostage Negotiator 2. Aeon's End (the game that got me into the hobby) 3. Ghost Stories (always played with all 4 characters, and with the White Moon expansion. So much depth to this one) 4. Too Many Bones (Bloody amazing game. Horrific setup time. Weighs so much that I actually cant pick up the box. But it's so worth it) 5. Nemo's War (another "it's all luck" game that is absolutely not a luck-based game. Ship placement mechanic is amazing, and there's a million different things to do.) Also, I have a suggestion for you: Have you heard of a game called X-ODUS? Based on the things on this list, I think you might enjoy this one. I'm mentioning it partly due to the fact that it seems mostly unknown. It's a very recent release... I got it maybe a month ago, and I know I was very lucky to be able to snag a copy at the time, since most copies were still going off to kickstarter backers. It's a space themed game, which the designers say is inspired by roguelikes and Dark Souls (the video game, not the board game), with all of the ridiculous brutal difficulty that implies. It is absolutely ruthless. Even Ghost Stories' infamous difficulty might be beaten by this one. It can be a bit overwhelming to learn, because you're always controlling 3-4 ships, and there's about 5 bazillion actions they can do, and a TON of hard decisions to make, all while nearly unstoppable boss ships chase you around. I could ramble on and on about it, but I'd suggest looking it up yourself rather than me just making it confusing. Also it's freaking gorgeous and they did a good job with the lore and world-building. That's enough outta me. Sorry, I'm not good at being concise.

Thanks for the Thunderbirds tip!! Really love my pandemic games :-)

I enjoy my thunderbirds. Picked a copy up 2nd hand with the expansions. Really lovely production that's so thematically right.

Great list. Dawn of the Zeds at Director's Cut level is EPIC! I have successfully defended Farmingdale once, after weeks of losses.

This is a great list. I like a lot of the games.

Awesome video, never heard of the expression gonzo though (was constantly seeing the muppet Gonzo in my mind when you said it lol)! Nearing the end I was wondering when Thunderbirds would come up haha

A really great list, with some games I've not seen before that I will now go and check out! My top 5 are Maquis, Burgle Bros, Robinson Crusoe, Black Orchestra and Palm Island. I thought Burgle Bros might appear on your list, as it's similar to some of the others in your top 33, in that it's a brilliant solo game if you play as 2 or 3 of the characters.

nice video! :-) my List: 1: Spirit Island 2: Too Many Bones 3: Fields of Arle 4: Nemos War 5: Imperial Settlers

Thanks for your thoughtful comments on First Martians. I have bought the game for US $25, and you are absolutely correct. It's frustrating and inelegant, but also awesome and fun. It's easy to hate on this game when it's actually quite great, if you know what to expect going into it.

Good list :) I like playing the mechanical version of root, the solo expansion. Can get pretty difficult, especially starting out. Lots of good ability to add multiple opponents, variable difficulties and additional traits for the AI. Been getting me through lockdown

Fields of Arle, Nemo’s War, Grand Austria Hotel, Le Havre, and Paladins of the West Kingdom. Just outside of them are Nusfjord, Ora & Labora and Healthy Heart Hospital.

Neat! Finally a list that I can relate! One day I'll find a steady game group, one day.... Really like those list videos, they make me discover so much new games. Stuff aside, my favourites are in no particular order: anachrony, orchard, X-odus, maquis and klondike solitaire (lol kidding, it's actually masters of the night (on tabletop simulator since the physical copy is not out yet).

Fantastic video !

This is a great video!

Coffee roaster is one of my favorite solos for my quick plays and I love the win condition so much. I’m also a big viticulture fan as a worker placement with Tuscany, and Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion long before I will ever touch Gloomhaven.

1. Pax Pamir 2. Nemo's War 3. Lisboa 4. Aeon's End 5. At the Gates of Loyang. .. looks like i might be too influenced by how much work a game is to learn lol. Also love architects & dino island.. I'm worried you've talked me in to paladin otwk & circadians. i shared your feelings about maracaibo, but have heard about too many cool mechanisms and possibly some expansions that is supposed to semi-apologize for the insensitivity? and caved and have a copy en route. great video as always! interesting stuff.

Circadians is awesome solo and one of my favorites too (and didn't know it had an expansion already, nice!). My other top to solo are The Gallerist, Crown of Emara, Wingspan, Tiny Epic Galaxies, Isle of Cats has been fun as an honorable mention, and I've just gotten Parks and enjoyed my 1st solo play of that. I really want to try Healthy Heart Hospital!!!

You hooked me the moment to removed Mage Knight as an option. Every solo game list I see is always Mage Knight and a few others I’ve also seen a million times. This was a breath of fresh air!

Awesome video. On your original recommendation I picked up the whole of Thunderbirds, expansions and all and it really is fantastic. I grew up watching the show and the theme really does shine through. Now I just have to paint it all! I picked it up from unhalfbricking here in Australia. I believe that Julian ships worldwide and he currently has stock of both the base game and an all in Kickstarter version, which is everything packed in the one box.

nice list. thunderbirds is on amazon right now, in the USA anyway. might go for it, i loved that cartoon/show when i was a kid.

Excellent list, solo gaming has become a lot more popular in recent years.

I’d struggle to list a top five but games that would be there for consideration would include: This War of Mine, Wipers Salient (a small, quick card game), Freedom, Robinson Crusoe, Nemos War, Space Corp, and Cloudspire. I own Thunderbirds and Healthy Heart Hospital . I really must get these back to the table again, as I’ve not played them enough. Thunderbirds once with a non gamer, HHH a few times when I picked it up. I also own Dawn of the Zeus and Comancheria both unplayed!!! Too many games, not enough time. Really enjoyed the video although it needs another watch as whizzed through it on semi fast forward during lunch.

Great list.

Great Top List with a few games I didn`t know so far ... My Top 5: Robinson Crusoe Mansions of madness (2nd Edition) Elder Signs Lost Expedition Imperial Settlers

I recently stumbled over Gloom of Kilforth and tend to like it a lot. You move out to slay a great evil and become a legendary hero, by roaming a randomized map having random encounters, performing skill checks, similar to those in Arkham Horror, using dice, and gearing up for the final fight. At first look the theme seems to be pretty standard dark fantasy, but, in my opinion, a very well performed one. Also it gets lots of atmosphere thank to its own OST, which supports the feel of ongoing desolation and hopelessness very well. Strongly recommended!

i currently have cascadia, last bastion, and nusfjord as my main solo games. thinking about adding a couple more especially if they're different enough from those three. fun video, though quite a few of these are hard to find/expensive

Played Thunderbirds for the first time recently through Tabletopia. Had a great time. Interesting it's great solo.

feel refreshed by your list. I'll add Bios:Genesis. It's a Phil Eklund game which is heavy on the rules, but as with all his games, I love to learn about the subject from the copious footnotes and essays included. Also glad to see This War of Mine on your list. When it came out it got a right ragging from folks about the theme which often took the discussions away from the quality of the gameplay. Not a moment passes when you are not being forced to make a crucial decision, but I have never experienced any analysis paralysis. Always thought it would have done even better if it were themed as a floating space hulk with survivors crawling around in the bowels of a disabled ship, although that would have sidestepped the designer's message. Interesting to muse on...

These are the games I played solo since this real pandemic started: Raxxon, Fire!, Welcome to..., Last Defense, Sprawlopolis, Paperback, Marvel United, The Liberation of Rietburg, Second Chance, and Wingspan. (Played these games in this order)

Some previously unknown games on this list I'll have to try. I've never tried Architects OTWK solo, mainly for the reason Scythe and Spirit Island isn't on your list, I always play it multiplayer.

The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, haves a p&p Automa on the Bgg, it's official, was going to be released with an expansion that never made it to market so they give the p&p

Great list

Thanks for the list! its very different from the ones we often see and its fun to discover new games to play solo. You should try Arkham horror LCG, its a godsend of a solo game for me, endless possibilities with a large card pool.

This War of Mine is even better as a solo game than as a coop game

Just began to consider solo games and the only game on this list I have played is legendary encounters. I won’t be getting that since I own legendary Marvel. But two games caught my attention and those are Nemo’s War and Robinson Crusoe. I do have Horrified and I love it and Raiders of Scythia is arriving in 2 days. Good to hear they were nearly on your list as well. Thanks for the list!

Mage knight is amazing but an obvious choice. 7 wonders duel has a very solid little solo mode available that I recommend printing and playing.

1. Robinson Crusoe 2. Mage Knight 3. Fire in the Lake 4. X-Odus 5. Dawn of the Zeds

Great video and I like the vast majority of your choices including Robinson Crusoe, Anachrony, and especially Paladins of the West Kingdom (my favorite to play solo). I didn't see Maracaibo or Teotihuacan: City of Gods or Clans of Caledonia and wondered if those were further down the list, never, played, or just didn't make the cut. I think the Teotihuacan solo is especially good.

It’s interesting you mention Defenders of the Last Stand 2nd Edition. There were plans to do just that, but it morphed into using the Sentinels of the Multiverse IP instead. It’s called The Freedom Five and will be on Kickstarter in the near future.

For a quick-and-breezy solo play, I really like the one-player mode in Era: Medieval Age. It's a score chase that just requires a couple of minor tweaks to the regular rules. That said, I wouldn't recommend purchasing it just for solo play. All those plastic buildings don't come cheap!

Nice My favorite also this war of mine

I def have (or preordered alot on your list) Dinosaur Island, Nemesis, Robinson Crusoe, Mansions of Madness,

This War of Mine is one of my favourites..Have you tried the exspanions? I would reccomend them. The 3 Act campaign is amazing and you get lots of cool modules and scenarios to try out.

Great list. Once I had kids late night solo games became a major part of my gaming life. For whatever reason, even when alone, I still prefer cardboard and plastic to a video game. And I also find the smaller the game, the more it gets played. My favorites as of now: - Terraforming Mars (app is good, but as of yet doesn’t have the prelude expansion in it) - Pursuit of Happiness. - One Deck Dungeon -Arkham Horror LCG - Sprawlopolis (Scratches the Suburbia itch without the setup) I will be looking into hostage negotiator if it’s as quick play time as you make it out to be.

Great video, but it just put a dent in my bank account :-) After watching the video, I spent Christmas money on the following games 1 - XCOM base and Evolution expansion 2 - Raxxon 3 - First Martians 4 - The Captain is Dead plus 2 expansions 5 - CIRCADIANS: FIRST LIGHT (with Allies Expansion) 6 - Leaving Earth and all expansions Your insights, plus researching on Board Game Geek led me to hitting the order button.... There were other games from your video that almost made it into the carts, but I can't buy all of them..... :-) Although, after researching Leaving Earth, I ended up ordering High Frontier 4 All and expansions 1&2. But seriously, I look forward to playing these games while stuck inside.

My Top 5 solo in no particular order and based purely on plays are: Gaia Project Anachrony 7th Continent Roll Player Dungeon Alliance

Gloom/shadow of kilforth is really fun!

Cool list. I love Mansions of Madness, and with all the expansions there's a decent amount of variation between multiple plays of the same scenario. And I really enjoy Legendary Aliens, but I can't shake the feeling that I might not actually be making very many meaningful decisions...

I remember watching a Boardgame breakfast where they mentioned they were going to use the “Defender of the last stand / realm” system and change to the Sentinels of the multiverse board game. Should be on Kickstarter either later this year or early next.

This is an odd question, but I’m just taking my first peek into this genre and caught myself wondering: have you noticed that all the rule memorizing, logical and analytical thinking have helped you in other areas in life like work or time management? Thank you for this well done video!

As far as a revision of Defenders of the Last stand goes, Launius is working with the Sadlers on Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game that should be kickstarting soon. Stephen Gibson is doing graphic design, iirc.

Hi! Awesome videos! Any chance you could clarify what you did and did not like about Mage Knight? Thanks!

Would love to see you do a playthrough of XCOM because I'm one of those who are sceptical of it's ability to provide a good solo experience. 4 characters + real time = good solo? I've gotta see it to believe it 🙂👍

5.- Cuba libre 4.- Eldritch horror 3.- Nemo's war 2.- Dawn of the zeds 1.- Labyrinth war on terror

Nice list. I like the idea of Circadians but couldn't get past the art if there was another art style then that may be a different story.

Thank you for this video. I love playing solo games so this helps me a lot with picking games out. I have 2 questions 1. What is terraforming mars like in the solo variant? 2. Have you played Burgle Bros.? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Thanks again for the video!

1. Scythe, 2. Terraforming Mars, 3. Paladins of the West Kingdom, 4. Tapestry, 5. Pandemic. I haven't tried Dinosaur Island solo but I may have to on your recommendation.

I believe Zee Garcia of The Dice Tower also really likes Thunderbirds. If I remember correctly.

Circadian’s and thunderbolts definitely don’t get enough credit!

fantastic list, I was waiting for this video and you covered pretty nice places in theme and mechanics, a question about anachrony do you mean the AI is aggressive/unfair? or more counter move your actions?

Ghost stories definitely is my best solo BG. The solo mode is ridiculously crazy. I lost 9/10 times when playing. Yet it’s hooked! The only game i spent money to buy all expansions

I love defenders of the last stand.

New to the solo board game world since lock down.. so my list is 5 because thats all i own so far..lol 1. Gloom of Kilforth 2 Call to Adventure 3, The Lost Expedition 4. One Deck Dungeon 5. The 7th Continent .

Have you tried Burgle Bros? Funnily enough this gives me the same exploration feels as Mansions of Madness but yet it’s replayable (different tile and wall layout each time you play). Worth a look since you like your co-ops ;)

Top 5 1: Hostage Negotiator + Crime Wave 2: Friday 3: Sprawlopolis 4: Spirit Island 5: Tiny Epic Galaxies

Excellent video and list. So would you recommend Suburbia standard edition as the one to get?

The inclusion of Napoleon Solo was genius!

I own a few games that have solo modes, but I'm just not *that* into playing board games on my own. HOWEVER, when I do drop a game on to the table to play solo, it's "Thunderbirds". Every time. (Though I've just got into "Legends of Andor" and the puzzle and bling of that game might just be enough to make it an alternative...)

My top 5 until now, also only games I have played more than 2-3 times solo : 1- Tapestry 2 - Gaia Project 3 - Maracaibo 4 - 7 Wonders Duel 5 - Gloomhaven : Jaws of the lion

My top 5: 1. Four Against Darkness (and its expansions) 2. Micro Chapbook RPGs 3. Grimslingers 4. Dark Tower (the 1981 original) 5. Core Runner

Thunderbirds: the moment it was released, i bought it. I agree it is brilliant! I also enjoy xcom solo.

Circadians First Light sounds interesting to me

1. Mage Knight 2. Gloomhaven 3. Aeons End 4. Friday 5. Arkham horror Lcg / Marvel Champions Lcg

I got the Thunderbirds game. Have yet to play it as I only skimmed the rules and found them a bit hard to follow. I would definitely recommend Planet of the Apes as a solo game.

I have to solo out of necessity, so I'd say my most played ones are Marvel Champions, Architects & Paladins of the West Kingdom, Scythe, Raiders of the North Sea. Anachrony solo is waiting for me but lack the time to have a go at it.

Pandemic The Cure and Legendary Encounters Alien are excellent. I was a bit disappointed with Anachrony, but I probably should play it a few more times to get a better feel for it. And I'll have to try Dinosaur Island and Energy Empire based on your list. I'm a big fan of soloing games by Uwe Rosenberg (A Feast for Odin, Glass Road, At the Gates of Loyang) and Alexander Pfister (Blackout Hong Kong, Maracaibo, Mombasa fan-made solo). Have you tried unofficial solo variants from the BGG files section? I've started trying some and they're quite good actually.

My Top 5 currently are: (Whilst I assure you I do like a variety of themes and mechanics, I'm, at heart, a combat-loving fantasy geek) 5. Street Masters 4. Aeon's End 3. Gloom of Kilforth 2. Runebound 3rd Edition (with Unbreakable Bonds) 1. Mage Knight

My Top 5 Solo games in no particular order are 1. Nemesis 2. Obsession (thanks to you!) 3. The Awful Orphanage (two-handed, with my house rules) 4. Brook City (if you like Police Precinct you should give this one a go) 5. The Hunters 2114 A.D. I expect the upcoming Final Girl to be a fantastic solo game as well!

This video made me giggle quite a few times. Since you like solos of co-ops, not afraid to multi hand games, and like brutally hard ones at that, take a look at Planet Apocalypse and a few of its expansions to get more 4th circles and lords for variety. Holy crap that game is a meat grinder.