I play solo board games. I think that we all know that. And the games that I play solo, some of them are meant purely for solo. Other games are going to cooperative, and those naturally work solo because you all work together. So when I sit down and I play one of them solo, I get the full experience. But, for example, when I play River Valley Glassworks, which you can see here, do I lose out on the competitive game? And should that solo mode even be in there in the first place?

The Crux of the Problem

So, I say problem, we can determine if it’s actually a problem or not. But let’s talk about the big reason why I’m talking about this in the first place. For a lot of people, myself included, board games are a social activity. When you add in a solo mode it takes a game that is that social activity and makes into an activity of solitude.

Some board games, as I hinted at in the introduction, rely on that interaction and shared nature of board games. When I attack another army, it isn’t the games army, it is your army. We make alliances and then break them depending on the state of the game. Yes, all of these examples are from Risk, but it’s true for a number of games.

Yet, even games where there can be large amounts of interaction are getting solo additions to them. Sometimes it comes later, but sometimes it’s out of the box when you buy it. Let’s look at Root for example, that game is a war game. Yet there is a way to play it solo. Is that a good thing to have in the box?

Board Games Doing Solo Well

On the flip side of the problem I laid out is that a lot of board games do allow for playing solo well. When I sit down and play a game like The 7th Citadel or Stonespine Architects, they make solo game play simple. I intentionally did pick one that is a cooperative game but also one that’s competitive. They make solo work smoothly and easily.

Some board games, though, do end up with clunky systems or systems that don’t make that much sense. I think of Roll to the Top which isn’t that complex a system but is basically playing the game a second time to get it to work. That isn’t that fun, the gratification of playing the game is reduced because the solo mode doesn’t work well. The same can be said for Trek 12. And now Trek 12 is a game that I like a lot, but the solo mode out of the box with an opponent to beat is clunky and slows down the fun.

So Why Offer Solo Modes?

The first reason is that for some people board games are more of a solo activity. It is hard for them to get out and play with other people. And while it’s fun to have a big campaign game, or a small solo game to fit in your pocket, sometimes they want to experience other styles of games. So offering a solo mode opens up games to a lot more people.

It also offers gamers a chance to game more. For me this is a big one. I try and sit down at least once a week on Wednesday and stream a solo game. I will get back to doing Mondays more often once school has started for my kid as well. But I get to experience games, a lot of the time campaign games, and decide if they are for me. Though, I’ll caveat this for myself, I stream games because it gives me some of that social aspect of gaming to share the game with others.

Another, possibly overlooked, reason is that it allows for a gamer to learn and play a game prior to needing to teach it. I think this one is very important, though does have a caveat as well. If I sit down and learn the game it is way easier to teach. I deal with questions prior to ever teaching someone. I learn some of the pitfalls of the game. The caveat is that the solo mode needs to be similar enough to the actual game play.

So Keep Solo Modes for Board Games

I think, and I think you all knew, that board games should keep solo modes. I also think that more board games should have solo modes. But as always, the caveat, they need to be done well. And from what I see, not all designers know how to create a good solo mode. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s more a statement around game design how designing for solo is different than for multiplayer.

That said, that’s not an excuse. This reminds me of film when a writer comes in and does that final polish on a film. They aren’t rewriting the whole thing, instead they have a particular skill where they can polish up a script to make it work the best it can for film or television. It’s something that the original creator might not have or might have a hard time doing. A solo mode creator is very similar to that. The great ones channel an ability to create that, not to rework the whole game, but to take what is there and make the best possible solo mode.

So enjoy solo modes. If you don’t want to play solo, don’t play solo. But there is a great reason for them to be in the box if you don’t love solo modes. And for board game companies, keep on putting them there. Even if they rarely get played, but make them good. Don’t add them just to sell to a few more people, add them because they make it easier to learn and teach the game later. And because they stay true to your game.

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