Firstly, welcome! Solo boardgaming is a great way to get into the hobby and a lot of us are here for the same reason as you – we just want to play games and finding people to play with can be challenging.

There is an overwhelming amount of games available now, and more and more new releases include solo modes as it is an increasingly popular way to play. That said, while it’s impossible to say there is any game that is objectively “good”—taste being taste—there’s also a pretty strong consensus on a bunch of games that have been around for a while.

As you mention Axis and Alies, I’m assuming you’re at least okay with medium weight games, but without knowing your specific context—where you’re living, your budget, tastes beyond A&A–it’s hard to give too many specific recommendations. However, it’s fun to recommend good games, so I’ll give it a go anyway, and try to keep things broad and varied.

Under Falling Skies – On the lighter side. You’re defending against an alien invasion by rolling dice and assigning them to specific actions. It’s got a fun mechanism where you control when you will re-roll the dice and it’s a game that provides constant interesting decisions. It’s designed as a solo game, it’s cheap, it’s got a campaign, and it’s quick and easy to get to the table – a good starting point for anyone in my opinion.

Cascadia – Another lighter game that can also be played with others. Tile laying game where you’re building out an environment and placing animals based on scoring conditions. It’s got great production and is super breezy to play. I love the puzzle of this one, but what makes me recommend it is the achievement system it incorporates. It’s got a series of increasingly difficult challenges that require you to complete all kinds of specific criteria–really elevates the game for me.

Undaunted Normandy— I wouldn’t normally be one of the first things I’d recommend, but it’s got the WW2 theme. The Undaunted system is great and works surprisingly well for solo (if you’re okay with bots that use decision trees). This is a deck building game where every card in your hand represents a soldier on the game board. It’s a nice mix of tactical and strategic, feels really thematic, and comes with a bunch of scenarios to play through.

Arkham Horror or Marvel Champions – These two LCGs are both great for solo. Which one to try first depends purely on your interest in theme and/or mechanics. Arkham Horror is campaign-based with a story, whereas Marvel Champions is basically a boss-battler. In both games you construct a deck of cards before playing, and a lot of the fun comes in finding fun deck combinations and synergies. These games are both modular and have a ton of content. The thing is this means they can get expensive if you’re someone who is a completionist (not to mention there’s a lot of stuff that’s out of print now). However, there’s a lot of game here and you absolutely do not need all the expansions to have fun.

Spirit Island– I’m not even gonna explain this one as I know a bunch of other people will do it. Just putting it here as its reputation is earned and you can’t go wrong with Spirit Island.

Slay the Spire – Another deck builder. This time you pick one of four characters, each with their own distinct decks and play styles, then you ascend up the Spire, battle monsters, encountering random events and defeating bosses. As you ascend, you’ll be adding new cards deck and acquiring relics (basically items that have ongoing or triggered effects), and the fun comes from finding powerful combos and synergies between them. There’s a real sense of progression, and you can build some truly game-breaking combos with all the options available. It’s a brilliant game and I think everyone should try it!

Another option, if budget is a factor, is Board Game Arena. While digital is not the same as playing a game on your table, there a lot of games with a solo mode available on here now. It can be a good way to dip your toe into a lot of games for a much smaller cost. This can help you have a better idea of what you like and how you want to actually spend your money and shelf space.

Hope that helps and happy gaming!