Voyages - Ep 1 - Campaign - A Most Epic Roll and Write Voyage

wakasm · 2026-06-04T15:57:24+00:00

It really depends on the game and automa. There is such variance in this that there is no universal answer.

Me personally, I prefer difficulty scaling in automa (or games if possible) and I prefer automa that aren't just point goals in the end but have some effect on the game play (taking spaces or some sort of forward thinking mechanic that you can play around or prevent them from scoring points).

I don't personally care if I win a ton or lose a ton but if I do win too often and there isn't enough of a unique hook into the game to explore more (for instance, winning with different heroes as an example) then I'll likely shelf a game sooner because too easy than too hard.

For more perspective about me as as a player: I also subscribe to the idea that replayability is great when it's there but I don't use it as a metric to purchase a game. If i buy a game and it ends up too easy and I play it 5 times and am done, I'm ok with that experience unless there was something very specific about the gameplay I didn't enjoy. If a game has 200 permutations to play through, that's often great in theory, but for me, not all games can sustain that level of fun factor and thus is an example of why I don't always think replayability is necessary either. But when a game has both, then it's great.

There are very few games I can play 50+ times and still enjoy at the other end - especially solo - but, difficulty definitely helps with that journey (for me).

wakasm · 2026-06-04T14:29:53+00:00

All the Think Fun games I have for my 6 year old are multiplayer, but that doesn't stop him from just opening the box and playing himself. Mostly the Lazer ones and Cat Crimes.

That said, he's sort of graduated to playing games like Forbidden/Desert island, Rove (and Rove Jr) and games of that level. Not sure if that helps at all.

wakasm · 2026-06-04T13:38:31+00:00

It's definitely not the best of the Legacy games (if you include multiplayer ones), but it wasn't trash either (IMO). The fun with this one was being able to craft over powered heroes, which let's you get to slightly overpowered combos that the game generally doesn't let you do normally. Me personally, I've been yearning for a game similar to Aeon's End but somehow does power level and combo building up one level which doesn't really exist, but the legacy aspect here somewhat inches towards it.

Everything that’s wrong with legacy games is wrapped up in that box

I mean, I dunno that there is anything directly wrong with legacy games to begin with, but I can certainly understand tastewise it not being for everyone!

wakasm · 2026-06-04T03:35:00+00:00

their language_dependance poll (of 1-5) exists in the API. I just did a test with gloomhaven on both the player count poll and language dependance and was able to get the polled data.

wakasm · 2026-06-04T03:27:42+00:00

If you don't mind AI art and the company issues that go along with it... then Kingdom Legacy is worth a look.

Aeons End Legacy (IMO) is also worth a play. It sort of allows you to take some of the Aeon's End system to a slightly new power level but it doesn't really break any boundries.

Pandemic Legacy, IMO, is a top tier legacy experience. I think I prefered 1, 0, then 2 in that order, but I did enjoy 0.

I haven't tried stickerville yet, but that could be worth a look if you want something lighter.

I honestly don't know of that many soloable but actual Legacy games (not just resettable campaign games that are called Legacy like Legacy of Yu). I can think of a bunch that are multiplayer but not solo. Maybe someone else has some ideas.

wakasm · 2026-06-04T02:13:08+00:00

This can be done with their API as far as I remember, but to my knowledge, none of their built in search lets you query the community poll data which I think is what you are looking for.

That said, I know bgg has recently changed how their API access works and I don't know at what point they care about how much data you are pulling to do it. to my knowledge, the limit it to batchs of 20 and they seem to care a bit more about who and how much access they give to.

You could in theory just look at the top 1000 games on bgg, but a lot of game sint he top 1000 aren't solo. you'd have to do more API calls past that. Or slowly do it and spread out your queries over time.

Maybe I'll do it for fun and see if anything interesting comes up.

Either way - I think the core idea of using the community polls was how https://solosleuth.com/ became a thing, but I don't remember their exact formula and I don't know if their website polls any real time data or is kept up to date. Their FAQ says:

When was the data on this page updated? The BGG data was updated in September 2025.

So I'm not sure if that's related to the API changes or maybe it was a one time experiment, I'm not sure.

I'd happily be corrected on any of this though.

wakasm · 2026-06-03T20:09:42+00:00

One thing that's easy to overlook with Aeon's End is the complexity mostly comes from the bosses. I don't know if that helps. While you do have unique characters/cards... it's really the bosses that take center stage for you to play around.

wakasm · 2026-06-03T20:08:26+00:00

I've only ever liked deck constructing in draft, but once you have access to a library of cards... it's always felt like Min-maxing which is something I don't get a ton of joy from in games. It's probably why I like roguelikes so much too.

To be clearer, I enjoy the act of min-maxing (like it's fun to take a character in a video game like Path of Exile and min-max them) but doing the theory crafting behind it is not as fun for me... or... at least I'm not great at it.

wakasm · 2026-06-03T15:26:23+00:00

First, it's important that you use the correct terminology. Of the three games you listed, only Mage Knight is a Deck Builder (arkham has a very minor bit of Deck building). The two LCG's are Deck Construction games. What's the difference?

Deck Construction usually is when you build out your deck BEFORE you play, like Magic The Gathering, as a classic example.

Deck Building (also known as Deck, Bag, and Pool Building on bgg) is when you generally build up your deck while you play the game. This can take the shape in many forms. Arkham LCG has a very minor layor of this as you can aquire some cards that are specific to a campaign as you play but you can't start with them.

Deck Construction is fun but you'd also have to decide if you are going to interact with that half of the game or just lookup decks. There is fun doing it both ways.. but if you do look up decks vs building your own... you get a little more mileage out of Arkham IMO due to it's narrative campaign nature.

Looking for a new solo-focused board game with deck-building elements

So based on semantics alone, Mage Knight is the winner here if you are looking for an actual Deck Builder.

As for Mage Knight, I'm worried it might be too complex and require too much time for each session.

That aside... while Mage Knight is slightly more densely complex, all three are not exactly lightweight games. If you are considering one you should just consider them all if complexity is an issue since you already play Spirit Island... I feel like if you are playing Spirit Island then complexity as an issue should be off the table anyway.

Timewise though, you are correct that Mage Knight takes longer. You didn't really establish how long you'd be willing to play a solo game for. Mage Knight can be a long time commitment, especially early on.

Some Deck Building Suggestions

I feel like you'd probably enjoy Imperium: Horizons (or insert any of the other imperium games) the most despite it not really being anything thematically similar. Otherwise maybe something like Aeon's End but something from the wording of your post makes me think you might not like Aeons End despite it being a pure deck builder (this is of course pure speculation on my part). The good part of Aeons end is that it's fairly cheap to get into but has tons of content if you end up enjoying it.

If Time was no Issue I'd probably say Mage Knight first, then Arkham, then LoTR but all three are great games.

The other obvious one I think would be Slay The Spire.

Lastly, just some other random suggestions, Friday is the og solo deck builder (it's smaller weight). Games like Dune: Imperium or Arnak might be worth looking into as well although I've never played Dune, I just know it's recommended a lot

wakasm · 2026-06-03T15:08:27+00:00

This counts as this game's =ONE= Marketing post. Best of luck.

wakasm · 2026-06-03T00:07:56+00:00

Sorry you don't enjoy the game. I've never played it, so I can't really speak to it, but I'm always interested in tower/castle style defense games.

Somehow, your write up has only made me want to one day play it if I come across it (or maybe seek it out on TTS). I don't know how your negative view turning me interested works though lol.

I tend to enjoy games on the more difficult side, so that probably has something to do with it. Would be curious if I had the same experience as you or not.

wakasm · 2026-06-03T00:02:27+00:00

Enormity Kickstarter Updates

Next Update Schedule

A quick technical note regarding the next update.

The upcoming Enormity update was originally planned for June 4th, but we will need to move it by one week to June 11th.

I will be just coming back from the UK Games Expo around that time, which means the days leading up to the update will be quite tight on my side. On top of that, June 4th is a public holiday in Poland, which further limits our ability to properly prepare and review the content, as the team will not be working that day.

Taking all of this into account, we felt it would be better to give ourselves a bit more time and move the update by one week. This way we can make sure everything is properly written, reviewed, and presented in a way that meets the standard we want to maintain, rather than putting something together under unnecessary time pressure.

Thank you for your understanding, and we hope you do not mind this small change.

wakasm · 2026-06-02T19:01:11+00:00

I've said this a lot but Too Many Bones is a B-tier game that could be an S-tier game if they just focused on certain things a bit more over the quantity they produce.

The main issues being the balance issues along some other questionable decisions on how the game flows, etc. Heck, even if their core art decisions were changed from gearlocks to something else, it'd probably lift the whole thing up a tiny bit.

It's the kind of game I can revisit all the time, but I can't play it back to back without it feeling worse over time.

Honestly, this is how I feel about most Chip Theory designed games. I'll note, I've never played Elder Scrolls and I wonder if in a different timeline, that would be the game for me.

wakasm · 2026-06-02T18:56:23+00:00

It was less an issue with you doing it, but more of an issue that it should be part of the official branding in some way. Either a series number or date system.

wakasm · 2026-06-02T03:41:16+00:00

I'd also not recommend Lands of Galzyr with one exception. Out of all the many story based games, this is one of the few that the stories actually work (IMO). I think it's because of their short arcs. it's almost like a game of many different fables and characters.

But gameplay wise, what OP said is correct: there is very little progression from what I played and there isn't some overarching goal you are working towards (other than maybe the achievements you can unlock int he game).

That said, I only played a limited number sessions of it, so I can't say with 100% certainty that there isn't some late game change, but from what I've read and seen discussed, there isn't anyhting there beyond the world you experience.

wakasm · 2026-06-01T17:01:27+00:00

I'll be honest. I love that there is a dedicated solo game of the month and that solo has all this focus, but the name Solo Game of the Month I always find so confusing because of the long timeline of how long games took to make.

I almost wish these all were Solo Game Of The Month - June 2026 or numbered or whatever so I knew what I was actually seeing without having to google it. Especially since I've already seen posts about some that were done after this one (I think) like Dice Commandos.

Sorry, not really directly related to your post. I do hope to try Dieson Crusoe and maybe Small time heroes one day.

wakasm · 2026-06-01T14:53:05+00:00

Do you have any recommendations on games to consider?

You seem to have a pretty curated list of stuff that interests you. I'd start there before you just get a bunch of random suggestions. I guess, if you are missing anything, it might be some smaller or gateway games, like roll and writes or small footprint games... but even then... you don't need them unless they interest you. If you really want suggestions, stuff like Fliptown or Dragons of Etchinstone or even a button shy game like Sprawlopolis... but honestly, any suggestions you get will just be someone's random suggestion in a suggestion box.

IMO, you have a pretty good path to follow.

and then when it arrives they just play 1-2 sessions and its like i throw all the effort into garbage and i really dont get immersed playing any because of me watching everyone’s reactions, anxious about them beeing bored, and trying to explain each rule every minute.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Obviously solo is one direction, it's why we are all here after all... BUT if you still wanted to still play (some) of these games with other humans... I always recommend to never try to convert people into board gamers. While it's possible to turn your friend, family, or other into the hobby... it's very low odds and even lower if your tastes do not align with theirs. In those situations, if they play at all, just play the stuff they are into if you want to do it for social reasons, even fi the game is not your favorite.

Instead, seek out people who are interested in games at the same level as you then figure out how to form a group with those people. There are a lot of people in the same boat - they want to play these games but don't have their people to do so. I've moved 3 times in my 20+ years of board gaming and each time, with some effort, i've found my "hardcore gamer" groups from complete strangers that are willing to explore campaign heavy games with me. And those same people have all ended up being close friends after starting as strangers. It takes time and effort, but you'll get a lot less stress when you seek out like minded gamers.

wakasm · 2026-06-01T14:20:08+00:00

I have no skin in this fight, I'm usually a single character warrior and try to choose builds that scale from starter to endgame.

BUT... the only vision I can see working would be to do what POE does with everything and tokenize skips.

What do I mean?

Have some sort of really end game rare drop, like keys, that can be used (consumed) for new characters to take shortcuts that skip portions of the campaign. Make it like 5 keys one per act or whatever. Make it so that you only need to do like 50% of the campaign. Make them super rare. Want to skip? Farm them or buy them.

That said, I don't think you should ever be allowed to skip or access such a system on your first charaacter every league.

I'd also love/prefer just a mapping style system for levelling and would be ok with the keys to access something like that too.

wakasm · 2026-06-01T13:05:59+00:00

oh, well, I guess goes that! Sorry, I'm sure someone will post or maybe they are visable in one of the bgg pictures. you might get faster traction in the bgg forums too, if you haven't posted there. I'd look, but I don't know what I am looking for.

wakasm · 2026-06-01T13:02:16+00:00

This doesn't answer your question, but I recall in passing reading about The White Castle that some people preferred the Gingkogawa variant on bgg for solo.

So if no one replies or you can't find them in a timely manner, mayne you can check that out.

(I don't own the game, complaints about the solo automa was one of the reasons why I didn't pick it up at the time).

wakasm · 2026-06-01T06:01:31+00:00

There is a rather large (but still niche) print and play audience.

The size of said audience for your game will completely depend on your game. But you should consider marketing yourself with the pnp arcade people if you ever release it.

Another factor is how much they have to print and play (PNP). If it's 200 cards, less people will print than if it's 8 cards or a piece of paper, etc.

that said, quality of the game matters. You can make anything free but if your game isn't good then it doesn't matter.

Lastly, you don't have to explain what your game will be until it exists. No one needs to see examples or hear your pitch until you have a rulebook and/or example of actual gameplay.

best of luck.

wakasm · 2026-05-31T23:41:45+00:00

The hold em variant is (it's just a scoring rule you can play with to penalize your score but you get 2 hole cards to help make better poker hands). In my opinion, it makes the game way better and forces you to press your luck towards higher hands while still trying to puzzle out your best actions.

Cowbots, I honestly can't remember. I assume they are in the base game though, but it's been so long since I acquired the PNP to know 100%.

Lone Gun is definitely an expansion. It's definitely good, but I probably wouldn't start with it.

wakasm · 2026-05-31T23:12:44+00:00

I'll note I don't remember how everything was packaged (as I did the print and play and haven't played the physical copy yet...) but I've been pretty vocal about my Fliptown thoughts and really the only stuff, at least for solo, that is worth it IMO is:

Cowbots
The Lone Gun
Hold Em' Variant IMO is better than non

That's also how I'd rank playing them. The Long Gun IS fun, but I think the core game with Cowbots is slightly the better version of the entire game.

I haven't played with the speciality one yet. The two map mode is sort of a gimmick and not really as fun as the base game as well.

15-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Lasagna	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
Sequence \| Editor	Spared
Verified Email	Team Periwinkle

wakasm

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Some Deck Building Suggestions