The 10 Best Board Games for Solo Play (According to Us)

After weeks of going back and forth on Slack, getting into some screaming matches over Zoom, and drafting/banning at least 17 versions of this spreadsheet… we have compiled a list of games that we CAN ALL AGREE are the best games for solo play.

Solo board gaming can be difficult to describe and there exists a stigma around proclaiming that you enjoy solo board games. Board games have always had the reputation of being social; folks gather around the table together, chatting, arguing, laughing. Sharing an experience together. Connecting. And yes. Board games are truly that. But there is something special about sitting down with a game that respects your time, challenges your mind, and actually creates suspense or dread as you play through a game… whether you are battling a deck of cards or an artificial intelligence.

Games that are built for solo tend to not be mutli-player games with a “here’s how to play solo” paragraph at the bottom of the rulebook. Games that are meant to be played solo usually have specific design rules that allow a single player to experience the game in a meaningful way. Meaning: the creators of the game intentionally designed the game in a way that allows one person to play without others.

Who Should Care About This List

Are you someone who loves board games but do not always have people to play with? Maybe you travel for work frequently and want something to keep you occupied. Maybe you’re an introvert. Maybe you just like how complex games make you feel, but don’t want to worry about what other people are doing around the table. Or maybe you want to truly master a game before playing with others. Regardless of your reasoning for wanting to play solo games — this list is for you.

Our definition of a “true solo experience”

Yes we could have added a bunch of games to this list that let you play solo. But we chose not to because they don’t meet all of the criteria we require for a stellar solo experience. We didn’t want to include games that have a solo mode. We only included games that were intentionally designed to be able to be played both solo or with multiple players. Also, we used the criteria below to judge how each game plays solo:

Automata Systems That Feel Thoughtful: An AI that doesn’t feel cheap. Something that uses rules to simulate another players turn that feels impactful to the game, rather than completely random.

Scaling Difficulty: Is the difficulty of the game scaled to match your skill level as a solo player? Does it feel like you are only “playing on easy” with no opponents?

Quick Setup: Can you get into the first turn of the game in less than 20 minutes? We love games that fall into this category. We hate games that make you spend 20 minutes organising pieces just to play 15 minutes of actual game.

Rule-Overhead That Makes Sense: When using an automata system, we don’t want to be constantly referencing a 5 page rule book for how to play solo. The automata rules should feel like they are an extension of the game.

Unique Gameplay: Whether you are playing solo or with others, the game shouldn’t feel like you are just playing a multiplayer game by yourself. Solo rules should create it’s own style of fun and challenge.

A quick reference guide to our Solo-Specific criteria

As you continue reading through our Top 10 favorite games for solo-play. Here is a reference guide to what each of the specific solo details mean in each game’s description:

Criterion	Description
Automata Quality	How well does the AI/opponent create tension? Or is it just spinning its wheels randomly?
Setup Time	How long does it take to play? (Not including how long it takes to open the box, but from “opening the box to “playing your first turn”
Rule-Overhead	How much do you need to reference? When playing do you need to keep the rules open to see how the AI works? Or is it simple enough to remember the rules as you play?
Scaling Difficulty	As you play more (and get better) as a solo player, does the game adapt to your skill level or does it feel like you are only playing on “easy”.
Play Length	We include specific solo play-time for each game. Many solo-only games play much faster than their multi-player counterparts.

Our Top 10 Favorite Games To Play Solo

Rank #1: Spirit Island (2016)

Specification	Details
Designers	Daniel Lim, Janice Cheung, Adam Kwapiński
Playtime	90-120 minutes (solo)
Complexity	Heavy
Setup Time	10-15 minutes
Automa Quality	N/A (Game is cooperative, not competitive)
Rule-Overhead	Moderate
Scaling Difficulty	Yes

Spirit Island is a prime example of game designers that understand how to make a truly awesome cooperative game. Spirit Island doesn’t just let you “play the game by yourself”. Playing Spirit Island solo means you are the spirits protecting an island from colonialists, and the entire game is designed around offering asymmetrically powerful spirits with incredible depth.

What We Loved: Each spirit feels like they play totally different games. Thunderspeaker spirits are aggressive, and rush to develop a powerful army. River Surges in Sunlight is more defensive and enables other spirits with their adjacency. Vital Strength of the Earth feels weak early game, but comes online to explode on the board in mid-game. When you play solo, you can either choose one spirit to play and try to optimize each of your turns to win, or you can control all of the spirits like you would manage troops in a resistance operation. Each spirit has their own deck of powers, their own pace, and their own play-style.

Playing solo really forces you to understand the probability, efficiency, and long-term planning aspects of the game. There is no one else to tell about whose turn it is to take care of that particular threat on the board. When you fail at Spirit Island (and you will fail, multiple times), you will feel like you solved a logic puzzle — the game doesn’t feel like it was randomly unlucky. Spirit Island respects your time and intellect.

Still holding up? : Yes. Spirit Island was designed in such a way that there is always something new to discuss. 5 years after its release, there are always new forums debates about spirit balance, strategy, and optimization. The solo experience of Spirit Island was crafted perfectly and symbiotically with the multi-player experience. It wasn’t an afterthought.

[Nicholas Breaks down Spirit Island’s Asymmetric Campaign Structure →]

Rank #2: Terraforming Mars (2016)

Specification	Details
Designer	Jacob Fryxelius
Playtime	90-120 minutes (solo)
Complexity	Medium-Heavy
Setup Time	10 minutes
Automa Quality	Score based (No AI opponent)
Rule-Overhead	Low
Scaling Difficulty	Yes

There are many engine-building games out there. Terraforming Mars lets you build engines to build more engines to build EVEN BETTER engines. Playingterraforming Mars feels like you are transforming mars by simply playing cards, gathering resources, and watching your production scales climb as you connect your cards together to create the most efficient engine possible. Terraforming Mars is a blast with others. However, the real beauty of Terraforming Mars is the solo experience.

What We Loved: Playing Terraforming Mars with others involves chance. Other players will mess up your strategies by placing their own boards across the board. Random chance can occur at the worst times. Other players can surge far ahead of you, making you feel as if you will never catch up. In solo mode you play against a high score, you need to terraform Mars enough by the time your deck runs out. Suddenly the luck factor is removed. All that is left is optimization. What can I do with the cards I have that will give me the best value? You are building an engine and like any good engine it either runs… or it doesn’t.

Forcing you to think about every system in the game. You learn what cards go incredibly well together to create exponential growth in production. You learn that buying certain cards may feel inefficient early but unlock HUGE advantages later in the game. You learn that losing a battle early can create you win large rewards later on. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching an engine run that you have carefully optimized.

Does it still hold up? : Terraforming Mars will continue to hold up because there is SO MUCH ROOM FOR REPLAYABILITY. Every time you play Terraforming Mars you will realise you forgot about cards combinations that can optimize your engine even better. Solo Terraforming Mars forces you to focus. There are no friends around the table to chat with. Just you and the mission to terraform Mars.

[Click here to read why Terraforming Mars is Evelyn’s favorite #1 game →]

Rank #3: Gloomhaven (2017)

Specification	Details
Designer	Isaac Childres
Playtime	60-120 minutes per scenario
Complexity	Medium-Heavy
Setup Time	15-20 minutes per scenario
Automa Quality	Amazing (AI decks control monsters)
Rule-Overhead	Medium
Scaling Difficulty	Built in difficulty selection

You may have heard of Gloomhaven. It’s a big dice rolling tactical game with hundreds of cards. It has a 50+ scenario campaign that will keep you playing solo for years. Gloomhaven takes place in a persistent world. Everything you do matters. You build a party of adventurers and watch them grow by playing through an adventure story.

What We Loved: If you have played Gloomhaven solo, you know why it’s ranked number 3. Gloomhaven was designed from the ground up to be a single-player experience that was THEN adapted to allow for multi-player options. Each monster you fight is controlled by a deck of cards using a brilliantly simple AI system. The monsters know what they can do, but how much damage they deal to you is randomized. Each victory will feel like you conquered that scenario. Each loss will feel like you really screwed up.

Even the campaign feels intentional. Your characters grow with you by leveling up and learning new skills. But eventually your characters in Gloomhaven will retire and you’ll have to start looking forward to recruiting new characters to your team. You learn the world through discovering new maps but also through watching your characters progress. When that one character you’ve powered all the way up retires, it feels significant. You become attached to your characters.

Still Great To Play? : Yes and no. Gloomhaven will be spent many peoples top 10 favorite games list….but for reason’s we’ll discuss Gloomhaven doesn’t show up on our list that often. Gloomhaven is at its best when your playing solo. You can actually play through the entire campaign WITHOUT ever using the multi-player rules.

[Nicholas’s deep look into Gloomhaven’s Asymmetric Campaign Structure & Character Development →]

Rank #4: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (2015)

Specification	Details
Designers	Rob Daviau, Matt Leacock
Playtime	12-15 hours across 12 individual game sessions
Complexity	Medium
Setup Time	5 Minutes (After opening the game)
Automa Quality	N/A (Game is cooperative)
Rule-Overhead	Dynamic
Scaling Difficulty	Story Dependent

Pandemic Legacy is a legacy game where the actual game board changes as you play. There are 12 missions (aka months) and the decisions you make in Month 1 can affect what happens in Month 12. Upon opening the game, you cut snippets from the rulebook, cards get permanently destroyed, rules will change as you play. By the end of your 12th play session, your perspective of the game will change drastically.

What We Loved: Legacy style games are a story telling experience. Pandemic Legacy takes legacy style games and amplifies the story telling element to extreme levels. Instead of telling you a story through a rulebook, Pandemic Legacy frames the story through how the game board evolves around you. You open an envelope thinking you are getting one thing, only to learn the rules have changed. A city you thought was a safe starting point is now a threat to your mission. New rules are introduced that will have you rethink your strategy. By the time you reach month 12, you are not playing the same game you did in month 1.

The solo experience is so addictive because YOU are the only one that has to make these decisions. There is no debating with your friends what to open or what to buy. When you make the wrong decision or open the wrong envelope, you can’t blame it on someone else. You own Pandemic Legacy. Every decision. Every victory. Every defeat. And Pandemic embraces this storytelling method to give you an incredible experience.

Does it still hold up? : When Pandemic Legacy came out it was a mind blowing experience. It has held up really well and continues to be one of the most unique games on the market today. Pandemic Legacy shines when you play solo. Yes it is a co-operative game but playing solo makes the story your own story. And there is something special about that.

[Deep look into Pandemic Legacy’s legacy story telling mechanics →]

Rank #5: Brass: Birmingham (2018)

Specification	Details
Designer	Martin Wallace
Playtime	60-90 minutes
Complexity	Heavy
Setup Time	10 minutes
Automa Quality	Excellent (Simple but Effective AI)
Rule-Overhead	Low
Scaling Difficulty	Yes

Brass: Birmingham is an resource management game that takes place during the Industrial Revolution. Players create networks, develop industries, and use auction mechanics to out-build their opponents. It is a heavy game that challenges you to create the most efficient economy.

What We Loved: Brass shines when you are playing with others because you watch everyone trying to out-build each other. But that is also why Brass: Birmingham is so great at solo play. You are no longer playing against another strategy… you are playing against the perfect strategy. The AI will never make a wrong move. It is a pure game of economies where both you and the AI are optimizing every decision.

This pushes you, as the player, to really analyse every system the game provides. You learn that sometimes it’s better to wait before expanding your network. You learn that although certain purchases may feel inefficient early, they allow you to unlock the most efficient production routes late game. You learn that going for broke can win you the game, but one wrong decision can bankrupt you instantly. There is something amazingly satisfying watching your engine work compared to watching the AI engine work, and trying to beat it.

Still Playing Great? : Brass has got to be the most seamless economically driven game on the market. Brass shines when you play solo. While you are both building economies, you are NOT playing to control the same resources as your opponent. You are trying to build a more efficient engine then they are. It’s Chess…. with 18th century factory equipment.

[Evelyn breaks down Brass: Birmingham’s economic engine →]

Rank #6: Arkham Horror: The Card Game (2016)

Specification	Details
Designers	Nate French, Matthew Newman
Playtime	60-90 minutes per scenario
Complexity	Medium
Setup Time	10-15 minutes
Automa Quality	N/A (Game is cooperative)
Rule-Overhead	Extremely Low
Scaling Difficulty	Each Scenario has it’s own difficulty

Welcome to an American pastoral town of Arkham… where monsters and mysteries are about to unfold before you. Arkham Horror is a cooperative card game with a heavy focus on deck building. Craft your decks how you like and embark on a branching narrative of scenarios that will impact your overall campaign.

What We Loved: Arkham Horror is a game that is ultimately a card game with a story on top of it. But the story is told through the cards. Sure there is a rulebook with narrative stories, but you don’t read words… you EXPERIENCE the stories through your deck selection, encounters you decide to take on, and winning (or losing) your scenario. When you fail a scenario in Arkham, it doesn’t feel like you lost. It feels like… The Ancient Ritual Succeded. Or The Cultists Got Away. Your failures have impact and will cascade into your next scenario.

Another reason why Arkham shines at solo play is because YOU are the narrator of the story. You can play as one investigator or two investigating together. Regardless if you are going solo or with partner, you have total control of your decisions. When the story takes an unexpected turn, you are the only person experiencing everything that is unfolding in front of you.

Does it still hold up? : Arkham Horror’s commitment to designing every scenario as a standalone game is superb. Every single scenario feels different depending on decisions you made in the previous scenario. The card pool is massive. Re-playability has been designed into the core of Arkham. Arkham at its absolute best is when your playing solo.

[Continue Reading this Deep Dive →]

Rank #7: Watching the Widgets (2018)

Specification	Details
Designers	Josh Nussbaum
Playtime	60-120 minutes
Complexity	Medium
Setup Time	10 Minutes
Automa Quality	No Automata
Rule-Overhead	None
Scaling Difficulty	No

Watching the widgets is a puzzle engine-building game. This is the game to play while you are watching Shark Tank. Players create assembly lines of widgets and connect them together to form a network of income. Don’t worry about others…. there is no-one to worry about.

What We Loved: Widgets is strangely satisfying game. You aren’t playing against anyone and that makes each decision you make feel impactful. When you upgrade part of your assembly line, you know you are maximizing your efficiency. There is something so adorable about building your little factories.

Does it still hold up? : Widgets was ranked by Evelyn as one of her favorite games because it forces you think mathematically. This is a game that you’ll find your self playing solo when you want to sit down and think. Does thinking about widgets all day sound like fun to you? If yes…. Watchtin gthe Widgets is for you.

Rank #8: Food Chain Magnate (2010)

Specification	Details
Designers	Jeroen Doumen; Joris Wiersinga
Playtime	180-240 minutes (Sole version will play faster than this)
Complexity	Heavy
Setup Time	20-30 Minutes
Automa Quality	Good (Market driven AI)
Rule-Overhead	High
Scaling Difficulty	The Market scales to punish you

FCM is essentially a capitalist simulator where you run food corporations. Manage supply-chains, set pricing, acquire loans, buy stocks, and revel in cut-throat capitalism. Go bankrupt often. It’s part of the game.

What We Loved: FCM is an absolutely brutal game of economic simulator. Sure playing with others allows you to negotiate and form “non agreements” with your other competitors. The market can ruin your business just because they want to. When you play solo, you only have yourself to blame when you lose… because the market is ALWAYS going to be one click away from bankrupting you.

Playing solo really makes you appreciate every action you take. Instead of playing to out-do another opponent, you are playing to not get destroyed by the market. It creates a whole new mindset when playing through FCM.

Does it still hold up? FCM is a cult classic for a reason. It loves to break you. There is no hand holding here. If you let your guard down for one second the market will punish you. It is still just as enjoyable to play solo because the market doesn’t care how fun it is… it’s simulating capitalism. If you like that sort of thing, FCM is a masterpiece.

[Click here to cheque out our deep dive into Food Chain Magnates economics →]

Rank #9: Agricola (2007)

Specification	Details
Designer	Uwe Rosenberg
Playtime	30-60 minutes (solo)
Complexity	Medium
Setup Time	10 minutes
Automa Quality	Scores based (No AI)
Rule-Overhead	None
Scaling Difficulty	Reach certain scores by the end of 14 rounds.

Welcome to Agricola. You and your family are going to be very busy over the next 14 rounds. Agricola is a worker placement game where you build your farm and raise a family all while watching the other players potntially shame you into poverty by yelling “AH WHOA!”

What We Loved: The solo version of Agricola is simple. You play a normal game of Agricola, but instead of competing with other players to grab a worker spot, you are trying to reach a set score by game end. Scoring in Agricola is no joke. You need to take care of your family, but also develop your farm, build up your house, and raise animals. Not only do you have to survive each round, but you need to plan for the future. Solving this mathematical puzzle of resource management is what Agricola’s solo play is all about.

Does it still hold up? : Agricola has been around for awhile, but plays just as great today as it did when it was first released. Agricola makes you really think about every action you do. You will finish a game and instantly know 3 other ways you could have optimized your strategy. Mental optimization puzzles like Agricola are why we love playing solo games.

[Continue Reading → Your Deep Look into Agricolas wonderful puzzles of resource management.]

Rank #10: Twilight Struggle (2005)

Specification	Details
Designers	Ananda Gupta; Jason Matthews
Playtime	90-120 minutes (solo)
Complexity	Medium-Heavy
Setup Time	10 minutes
Automa Quality	Outstanding (Deck Driven AI)
Rule-Overhead	Some
Scaling Difficulty	Built in difficulty selection

Twilight Struggle is a card driven game that puts you in the political power struggle of the Cold War. You will manage country control, influence regions, and pivot your strategy as you vie for global domination. Every card matters in this game and every decision you make will have consequences on future turns.

What We Loved: Twilight Struggle was revolutionary when it came out because it allowed for a 2 player game to feel AMAZING in solo format. You take control of the United States and you will be playing against the USSR… operated by an AI. This AI isn’t magical and make irrational decisions. The AI is controlled by specific rules that you know will do X if they have the cards available. There are no guesswork with Twilight struggles AI. But that creates an interesting side effect… you feel TENSION.

You know exactly what the opposition is going to do based on the cards they draw. You plan your turns not only thinking about what you want to accomplish, but you have to plan your turns based on WHAT THE USSR IS GOING TO DO NEXT. You out military force them. You are suppressing uprisings with cards. You are fighting a Cold War and it feels LIKE A COLD WAR.

On top of that, thematically the game is stunning. The cards don’t feel like they are just game cards. Those cards have actual meaning behind them. When you play the “Top Van Company scraps CiaMemphis” event card, you feel dirty. Twilight ingeniously uses it’s game mechanisms to support it’s theme. Theme has never been more important to a games story than Twilight Struggle tells you.

Does it still hold up? Like we said earlier….games that have solo versions that only come alive when you play alone. Twilight struggle is at the top of this category. Whether you are flying solo or tackling it with a friend… you will ABSOLUTELY play against the AI at some point. And when you do, you will fall in love with how great this game plays solo.

[Nicholas Takes on Twilight struggles Geopolitical World Domination →]

The Games we left off and totally made Billy flip his table

So many amazing games can be played solo. We could have filled this entire list up with just hybrid games that offer a solo option. But we wanted to curate a list that highlights games that are either best EXPERIENCED solo or meant to be played solo. There are tons of games that we absolutely love that would be considered hybrid games (support both solo and multiplayer formats) but these are some of our favorites that just didn’t quite make the cut.

Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition – While Mage Knight is praised for its complexity and depth… Ultimate edition just doesn’t have that same amazing feeling in all of the same areas.

Everdell – Solo Everdell is amazing but it feels like youre just playing a really intense puzzle game when you play solo. Its just not Everdell.

Cascadia – Just way better than people give it credit for in solo format.

Wingspan – This may be the most beautiful game to play solo. But it isn’t really a complicated game like all of our other choices…

Philipine Railways – Basically Food Chain Magnate but older and less polished

Spirit Island: Jagged Earth – Too early to tell but there’s enough copy over from the original Spirit Island that we’re waiting to judge until more people have had the chance to play it solo.

Robinson Crusoe – Probably the most obvious game on this list that was designed to be played solo. It just sucks.

Evelyn kept mentioning Brass: Lancashire

William would always talk about how Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion should be on the list because its more accessible

And Billy just wanted to see if we could fit 15 games on here

TLDR

These are our favorite games that are fantastic at solo-play. We didn’t include games that just had a solo mode. Each of these games were specifically designed with solo-play in mind. The creators of these games intended for someone to just pick up the box and have an amazing experience ALL BY THEMSELVES. From building engines in Terraforming Mars to unraveling the mysteries of Pandemic Legacy. We could gush about how each of these games are awesome…but you want to read about why Nicholas thinks Mage Knights better than every other game ever.

Deep dives for each game coming soon. Written by the person who knows the most about that specific game. Because let’s be honest here. We all get super passionate (read: annoying) about our favorite games.

[Billy’s disappointment with Mage Knights inconsistent complexity →]