Top 10 Underrated Solo Games - Straight Up Solo with John LaRuffa

Let’s check out some underrated solo gems!

[boriskirov]

Love seeing Gentes and Stroganov and Oak being mentioned! Fantastic solo experiences, all 3 games are 100% worth just for solo (in my opinion). Crown of Emara is also a classic in my solo board-gaming household 😀

[laurencesingh]

Another great list idea and some more intriguing games brought to my attention! Your videos/recommendations on Sabika, Terracotta Army, Wayfarers of the South Tigris, and Darwin's Journey have already lead to additions to my collection. We'll see what comes of these ones. I think I'd say Tussie Mussie (Flower Shoppe Expansion) and Space Park are two underrated solo ones. They're great quick fun puzzles with clear win/loss conditions. And both provide a reasonable challenge.

[paulinductivo]

I just love the fact that Fields of Arle is peeking behind you 😅🥰. Subscribed. This channel is a blessing.

[ATBoardgamesSolo]

Totally agree with Black Angel and Stroganov great (solo)games!

[daniellelauzon]

Excellent video as always ! Not sure if you play many non-solo games with fan-made solo variants…if so, that may be a good list to do…😊 one such game I discovered recently is Pipeline with the Score Attack solo variant…it’s a beat your own score but what a great puzzle that plays smooth and quick…and what a solid design of a game!…for me, it beats other beat your own score games by far! There’s also a fan-made variant with an AI opponent for those who prefer this…

[matt]

Thank you for this video, John! One of my underrated games that I've played solo is Venice by Andrei Novac and David Turczi. It's such a cool pick up and deliver game that starts off slow but ramps up quickly with combos once you start completing contracts. The board and components definitely needed a 2nd look as the board gets too cramped with pieces and it can get fiddly if you can't remember how you stacked your boats. That being said, the solo mode is interesting as you play against 2 AI's and on their turns have to decide where they get to go based on 2 cards, which can sometimes be agonizing. Really a unique game that's at least worth a play or 2.

[terryH]

appreciate hidden gems! Thanks for sharing 🎉

[jimpaek]

Totally agree with your take of Black Angel. I bought it when it came out and it didn't click with me. Sold it. A few years passed and I got more experienced at Euros. I then rebought it at a ridiculous price. I really enjoyed it now, it's also a perfect balance of a bot that gets in your way without being a lot of maintenance nor overhead.

[garylaframboise]

Thanks again, John, for an outstanding topic.
My game to include would be 2 Minutes to Midnight. Once past the issues regarding the poorly written rules and no player aid. This is a solid game.
Only played solo.
Lots of enjoyment with rewriting the Cold War history.
I also agree that Oak is definitely underrated. I backed this game and would include it in my top 10.
Take care

[bookaddict]

I would love to get my hands on a copy of Roads & Boats, but it is just out of my price range. Thanks for another great list, John!

[bankingonmoney]

Thanks for doing this as I tire of the same top 10's with same games in varing order. Era: Medieval Age is one I would love to get but man good luck. I agree with you on Crown of Emera very nice small game very tough to beat. If I remember correct it has an AI and BYOS mode. Those two tracks keeps you from concentrating on a single path to victory. I tried Gentes not a bad game but thought it played better multiplayer. Regarding Black Angel I don't know doesn't really appeal to me. Wish my LGS had a try before you buy or board game night as this one would be on my list. All my LGS has is Magic style tournaments. My personal favorite is Crisis as your struggling to turn around an economy in a free fall. Ludicreation has been saying for years a big expansion is coming out. It could use one at this point but feel it won't happen. Another one that I enjoy that at least I hear little buzz is The Artemis Project. The scoring is tight, really like dice placement for actions, plays pretty quick. Yup it's a BYOS but it nice to breakout once in awhile and play. Thanks once again, really enjoy your unique list.

[crepusculo]

The designer from tramways just announced that he'll soon release another of those puzzle workbooks, but for Clinic :-) so, stay tuned!

[idjester]

you did it... nice... watching now.... thanks a bunch... can't wait to hear what you have to say... take care and a big shout out of thanks to you for doing this...

[realdealastrology]

Thanks for the video, John. Oak is still in shrink on my shelf. I'll get to it this month. I saw Oak in one of your top 10 lists, so I'm sure it's great. I also recently acquired a like new copy of Black Angel last month for only 40 bucks. Couldn't believe it! Quite a steal.

For now, I'm playing Paperback Adventures. If you like word games with a deckbuilding mechanic while fighting bosses with multi-use cards, then it's for you. I just love it.

[lunalee]

As someone who is a fan of euros but NOT worker placement Gentes is definitely underrated.

[Theaquasnake]

I still have Black Angel in shrink wrap. 😂

Need to get to it eventually!

[garyduddell]

Black Angel was one that did appeal to me but I never got a copy, maybe I should look at some more playthroughs and see what I think again. I also agree that Oak was really enjoyable for me solo and to be honest I am shocked that it got a mixed reception, Encyclopedia was another game just like this for me. I have 3 games I would nominate as well, firstly Legacies which plays really well solo and is nice big long game but got no buzz and then at the other end is Freshwater Fly. A shorter game that I thought might be a family game but I find really nice, not every game needs to be a Lacerda to be good Rolling Heights and Race to the Raft came out this year and both are light games but immensely fun. The third game is probably not talked about due to it's age and that is The Colonists, a great farming/worker placement game that you can play in 1-4 ages depending on how much time you have.

[dereksimmons]

John Company 2E is the one I pioneer. Yeah it has a decent score on BGG, but its still critically underappreciated in my opinion, , and reception from the solo community was particularly absent.

[paulo]

its not a hidden gem obviously, but i think Agricola is a masterpiece as a solo game and famous as it is, is still underrated

[Manaswap]

Regarding Stroganov I don't think people are excited to play a game about colonialism, exploitation and destruction of nature and locals on the side doing the exploitation and destruction. You are playing as very bad people in that game and thematic ties only make it more apparent.