 A new year of Kickstarter campaigns is in full swing now, including several that are of possible interest to solo players. 1. Suburbia Collector's Edition Suburbia is an award-winning game about laying tiles and building up a city, and it is a well-loved game. The collector's edition has redone art, very nice storage inserts, and premium components to enhance gameplay. This edition will also include all expansions for the game, so you're getting everything all in one fancy package. Suburbia does include solo play against "Dale the Bot." If you're interested, this is a good moment to pick up a revamped classic.  2. Gardens of Babylon: The Cascading Tile Laying Game Gardens of Babylon combines tile laying and worker movement as players compete to plant the hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Players will attempt to score points by planting seeds in valuable locations. There is even a cascade mechanic that, when deployed wisely, allows you to change the entire board state as you pursue victory. This game is easy to learn, but with a number of different garden tiles and strategies to try, promises replayability as well.  3. Invasions: Vol. 1
Invasion is a game about competing to build up a successful empire during the "Dark Ages," from the latter days of the Roman Empire up until the beginning of the Muslim conquests. This game added a pack of solo cards as an expansion. I am a bit suspicious of stretch goal solo modes, but if you're interested in sweeping historical games, this one might be worth a look.
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 Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Champions of Hara from Greenbrier Games.
What is this game about? Champions of Hara, developed by Leaf Pile Games and published by Greenbrier Games, is set in another world where people have tremendous power over their own destinies— so much so that their wishes can have consequences for everyone else. The corruption that you spawn in the world turns into monsters that you have to fight, rifts that you have to close, and events that you have to resolve. And the way that you do this is so much fun. Each of the characters in the game has a unique deck of cards that are used to move, fight, and heal. You begin with your starter cards, but can add in upgrades throughout the course of the game. Your cards are dual-sided and have an interesting life cycle. When a card is in hand, you can play it for one action. But once you've played that card from your hand, you leave it "on board" and can play it for a different action—after which a card returns to your hand. Figuring out the timing of actions and making the most of your cards is where Champions of Hara truly shines. The overarching game also has a rhythm, as you take turns across days in Hara and spawn new cards at Dawn and Dusk. At the end of each day, you also draw a world shift card that usually causes your in-game map to change. Each game of Hara will, however, be a bit different. There is a starter scenario that is competitive, but the rest of the game involves playing through a mixture of competitive and cooperative scenarios that focus on the stories of each of the game's characters. The game will be a bit different based on which scenario you play, although the basic cardplay and turn structure will remain the same. How does it play solo? Each character in Champions of Hara has his or her own solo scenario. Additionally, you can easily play the cooperative scenarios on your own by controlling multiple characters. The competitive scenarios cannot be played solo unless you want to control both sides and play against yourself (but go for it if you want to!). Overall Thoughts There is a lot to love about Champions of Hara. The world itself is incredibly compelling. Each character in the game is interesting and has a cool backstory. The art is fantastic. And the cardplay is so, so fun. Each character has a truly unique deck and set of interesting abilities, which makes it worthwhile to get to know each of them. I also love card-driven games in general, and figuring out how to set up the best possible combos is my favorite part of Champions of Hara. The movement and combat systems are satisfying, and the way that you can gain energy and power up characters gives you a sense of progression throughout the game. I am not, however, sure that Champions of Hara uses its colorful world and fun gaming system to best effect. Aside from the introductory competitive game, you can't just open the box, pick a character, pick an enemy, and go to town. Instead, you need to go through the scenario book, choose a particular character's scenario, and set it up according to special rules. In fact, there are so many different scenarios with different special rules that things can get a little bit confusing. Being confined to the scenarios, even though there are several of them, also feels like it leaves you with fewer choices. There is only one solo mode for each of the game's characters, which means that the gameplay is somewhat limited—especially if there are some solo scenarios that you don't enjoy (they all have different goals). I might have liked to see some more straightforward solo challenges against the Corrupted characters, which are already controlled by AI. The cardplay in this game is so fun that I would like to see more opportunities to just crack open the box, grab some characters, and scrap it out. Do I recommend It? Champions of Hara is seriously fun to play, and I do not regret any of the time I have spent with it. However, if you want to just break the game out and play, rather than set up a bunch of unique scenarios, then Hara will frustrate you. Overall Rating: 3.5 stars 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh.  Full disclosure: Galactic Raptor Games sent me a prototype copy of Animal Kingdoms so that I could write this preview. The Kickstarter campaign for Animal Kingdoms can be found here. What is Animal Kingdoms about? Animal Kingdoms, designed by Steven Aramini and published by Galactic Raptor Games, is a light, fast-playing area control game in which players vie for influence over five different kingdoms. The game takes place across three rounds, or ages, and scores are calculated at the end of each age. To place influence cubes and attempt to gain control of territories, players must play beast cards—each of which depicts a specific animal and bears a number from 1–8—in accordance with decree cards that shift from age to age. For example, you might have to play a card showing the same beast as a card from a neighboring kingdom, or only be able to play even- or odd-numbered cards in a specific territory. These changing parameters force players to think through their options carefully. (If you do get stuck, you can choose to "rally," which allows you to discard cards from your hand, draw back up, and gain one victory point.) Players who win a territory receive a randomized number of points that increases in later ages. Second and third place players receive 3 and 1 points, respectively. If there is a tie for first, players must battle by choosing a card and playing it facedown. The highest number wins, with one exception: An 8 can be defeated by a 1. Animal Kingdoms also allows for a bit of long-term planning. The final space in each territory is a capital city. By putting an influence cube there, you withdraw yourself from the round. However, you also get to place a cube on that territory's "council" for future ages, meaning you will begin the next round of play with a slight numerical advantage there.  Red panda! How does it play solo? Animal Kingdoms has a solo bot co-designed by Steven Aramini and Carla Kopp, who has also designed solo bots for Stellar Leap, Fire in the Library, and Dreams of Tomorrow. True to form, Carla has created another bot that is challenging and that requires minimal upkeep. On the bot turn, you'll draw a card and place an influence cube according to the number on that card. Depending on the difficulty level you choose (it's adjustable!), the robot may also get "bonus cards" that allow it to place extra cubes. The bot is also a tough opponent in battle—it gets to draw three cards to try to defeat the one you play. I've found this bot to be a fun opponent so far! Things I like about Animal Kingdoms I have grown very fond of Animal Kingdoms during my time with the prototype, and there is very little about it that I don't like. The game is both quick and strategic, the art is stunning, and the solo bot is satisfying. This is exactly the sort of game I can imagine playing with my game club students, but also on my own at lunchtime. I'm generally a fan ofCarla Kopp's bots, but the bot she designed with Steven Aramini for Animal Kingdoms might be my favorite one yet. Possible concerns about Animal Kingdoms If you are looking for a heavy game, or one with no dependence on luck, then Animal Kingdoms may not be for you. Depending on the cards it draws, the solo bot is always a challenge, but will sometimes chain together a lot of cards that make your life very difficult. The results of battles are also random. This does not bother me, especially because Animal Kingdoms plays so quickly, but I figured I'd mention it. Should I back it? I'm certainly going to. The game is fun, and the price is right—about $30 for the game, including shipping, or $45 if you want the deluxe edition.  Full Disclosure: Iron Horde Games provided me with a review copy of Direwild. What is this game about? Direwild from Iron Horde Games is a cooperative deck builder, but it's also a dungeon crawler that requires tactical movement. In this game, you (and your fellow players, if you choose to accept them) are an animist with the ability to summon animals to do your bidding. One of your fellow animists, Karn, has become corrupt and power hungry, and it's up to you and your growing band of creatures to defeat him and his minions. To do so, you summon creatures, charm new ones (and add them to your deck), then combine the creatures you summoned into powerful megacreatures that can do battle with Karn and his minions. The order in which you play your cards, and the ways in which you choose to combine them, require some thought and planning. You'll also need to be aware of where your animists and their enemies are on the game board, because tactical position matters. The game takes place across three chapters, and can even be saved between chapters if you want a break. If you can use your animal card powers, magical abilities, and tactical skills to their greatest effect, you may be able to take Karn down. But this game, while beatable, is no cakewalk. You can expect to lose pretty frequently, especially while you are still learning about your powers and card synergies. How does it play solo? Direwild is officially a cooperative game for 2–4 players, but it is definitely solo-able as long as you don't mind playing two-handed. There is no hidden information or any other game element that would hinder two-handed solo play. Overall Thoughts Direwild does a lot of things that I like. I first want to give a shout out to its setup structure and rulebooks, which are extremely clear and helpful. Direwild comes with two rulebooks. The first is for setup, which is useful both when first setting up the box and when trying to save or set up new terrain during a campaign. The second is for gameplay, and it is structured in an interesting way: The rules are explained in tremendous detail on the main part of the page, but there are also margins with summary notes for people who are skimming or who just need a refresher. I really liked that, and would love to see more rulebooks follow suit.  This game is easy to organize and store. As a deck builder, Direwild also introduces some interesting elements, especially when it comes to spending "charm," the in-game currency that is used to add creatures from the market row to your deck. Unlike other deck builders, in which leftover currency frequently goes unspent, Direwild allows you to make the most of your charm by using the leftovers for a number of purposes, such as putting a new card on top of your deck instead of in discard, eliminating a creature from the market row, or using charm to clear out "locks" that can be removed to give access to the advanced creatures deck, as well as powerups that come in handy later in the game. I liked that all of my charm felt useful, even if I couldn't make the exact purchases I was hoping for.
However, Direwild is not quite a perfect game. It has some pacing issues that reveal themselves after multiple plays—even with the option to save between rounds, a full game feels a little bit long. And within individual rounds, it can be very difficult to build your deck as quickly and efficiently as you need to. If you get unlucky and keep drawing low-charm cards, you can really miss out, especially on advanced creatures. And because combat is all-or-nothing—you either win and deal damage or lose and take some—you can have frustrating and wasted turns if you need to fight but don't draw the right hand. To compound these issues, there also aren't enough options available to trim your deck, especially if the right cards don't appear on the market. That means your deck stays clogged with more weak cards than it ought to, especially in the later stages of the game. There is a certain tightness that Direwild is lacking, for all of its good ideas, and that prevents it from fully taking flight. It is, however, Iron Horde's first game, and I will be very interested in whatever they do next. Do I recommend it? I recommend trying it, but not necessarily buying it. If you really love deck builders and the theme is a strong draw for you, odds are you will have a good time with it. Overall Rating: 3.5 stars Rating Scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. |
AuthorMy name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games... Archives
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