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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Alpha gaming is primarily a problem in cooperative games where everyone has their turn, but really one person is deciding what everyone does. Various games try and work around it in different ways, but some of them work better than others, and you can’t always solve the problem. While I say it is an issue primarily or more commonly seen in cooperative games, or so most people would say, I would say that it is pretty common in competitive games as well. The issue in competitive games isn’t so much that they take over your turn for you, but once you’ve gone, the alpha gamer immediately talks about what you did wrong, how you’re giving the game to the person after you, and how it isn’t fair for them because of the seat they got at the table.

So in both game settings this is bad. It ruins the fun for a lot of people and can make them feel like their an idiot or not really playing the game because of what the alpha gamer is saying. We don’t want that to happen because that would drive people away from the hobby, and we want to grow the hobby of board gaming. How do you deal with that if you realize you are the alpha gamer at the table, or if you realize there is an alpha gamer at the table.

If you are the alpha gamer:
Just sit on your hands. It’s going to be tough, because you might not realize how much you do it, but once you realize you do alpha game, work hard at not giving advice until people ask for advice. And don’t complain if someone does something that’s less optimal because it’s them doing it and making the decision.

And when someone does ask for some help, especially in a cooperative game, I suggest doing what I recommend DM’s do for stuck players in an RPG. Give three options of what the person can do. This allows for two things, the player doesn’t feel like you are telling them what to do so it’s still there decision, and the player will probably be able to discern after thinking about it a bit more what the best course of action is, or at least the most fun one for them.

Also, temper your expectations going into board games. This is less in cooperative games and more so in competitive games. I know, not having played but just heard, that in Puerto Rico, if someone does a thing, there are optimal plays for everyone after them at the table. It’s game, if you have a bunch of veteran players and a new player, the person taking their turn directly after the new player has a big advantage. So as an alpha gamer, you might have to temper your expectations in a game like that where this is a new player. Or simply don’t play a game like that with a new player if you know that it’s going to be too frustrating for you. While that might mean you don’t get to play that game as often, know that it probably means when you do play it you’ll have more fun.

If you’re playing with an Alpha Gamer
There are a few things that you can do if an alpha gamer seems to be running the table and everyone’s turn. The most uncomfortable and sometimes necessary is simply talk to the alpha gamer outside of the game session and let them know that they are making it less fun for everyone because they are basically playing the game by themselves. Now, don’t be a jerk about it, but you can ask them to hold of on their advice until someone asks for it so that everyone can get a chance to really play. Hopefully the person is understanding, but if not, maybe only play with certain people with that person, or certain games with that person or maybe, if you can’t handle it, stop playing games with that person. But obviously is that hope that it doesn’t ever come to that.

So what can you do in the moment? It would be awkward to call out the alpha gamer at the table, unless in that very rare occasion that is how it works for your group. But I’d guess that over 90% of gaming groups, that would just be really awkward to do around the table. So instead focus on the other players in the game. When it gets to their turn, ask them what they want to do. If the alpha gamer starts to talk over them, suggest that we hear what the active player wants to do first. And then give them time to talk through it. You can make it your job at the table to facilitate discussion as well. Even if the alpha gamer says what they think should be done, ask the player what they think should be done, or better yet, what they want to do.

If the alpha player gets impatient while everyone else is taking their turn, give them some of the book keeping for the game, if there is any, that they also get to do. Something additional to do in the game might help keep them distracted as well and less likely to alpha game. In Pandemic, put them in charge of flipping the infection deck on everyone’s turn. If you are playing something like Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition, but them in charge of dealing with combat for other players, or other challenges those players might face in the game. Something that can keep them busy so that they aren’t paying as much attention to the game and everyone else can play more of the game.

Obviously, this is something that is tricky to deal with, same with players with analysis paralysis. It’s something that you’re going to have to work out at your table, whether it’s only that the person can give advice when asked, or whatever it might be. Hopefully these suggestions can help you figure out what you want to do at the table when you have an alpha gamer there. Let me know what you’ve found to work in games that you play.

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