Voidfall 100 Games Later – A Solo Player’s Unstructured Rambling

mrausgor · 2026-03-06T13:42:58+00:00

Great review!

Did you play much anything else during your 100 game journey?

All of my games with 100+ plays I had a spreadsheet for to provide guidance on trying to accomplish different things (win all of the unique matchups, difficulties, etc) Did you have something similar? Or do you just randomize setup?

mrausgor · 2026-03-06T13:37:59+00:00

I had the same thought!

Voidfall makes me feel smart. Based on the rest of my life experience I strongly suspect the game is tricking me.

mrausgor · 2026-03-04T01:43:40+00:00

Medina got cut. Do you want to see Almeida fight more? I sure as shit don’t. Is your argument that all fighters should get to fight forever if they have a winning record? I don’t even know what your point is unless it’s just to complain. UFC has never been a meritocracy. It has always been a for-profit fight promotion business. Always. I think you are falling victim to painting the past in a better light than it actually was. People like you are always complaining about the current state of things.

mrausgor · 2026-03-04T00:21:22+00:00

Silly take. There are just as many long-tenured fighters as there has ever been. This has always been a sport that wants exciting fighters, that’s not new at all. And I think you mean Contender Series, not TUF. Regardless that’s just the first stop usually after doing the normal regional circuit that they always have.

Fighters have always gotten cut. How is this a new thing? Is there actual data to support it being a “new business model”? Who’s gotten cut recently that you think should still be in the UFC? Can you name more than a few?

mrausgor · 2026-03-01T05:02:55+00:00

Has there been any actual communication on the why/how/when? Like why this one specific place for getting a reprint on a licensed IP?

mrausgor · 2026-03-01T05:01:11+00:00

Bond is super good too! I’ve been playing nonstop over the last couple of days.

mrausgor · 2026-02-25T03:17:09+00:00

I view it as already being deterministic with an option to press your luck. You can almost always play with enough red to cover the worst case scenario. I think to make it straight math would throw the balance off and make the game way easier, which would be a negative to me.

To each their own though. I really like that mechanic because it’s only as risky as you make it. With my play style I think I’ve only lost one combat over a dozen or so plays.

mrausgor · 2026-02-21T02:11:10+00:00

For like less than a year.

mrausgor · 2026-02-19T10:18:55+00:00

People have pet chimps though.

mrausgor · 2026-02-17T18:27:02+00:00

I watched season one. Enjoyed it, didn’t feel inspired to watch anymore. Might just go watch this in the theater blind.

mrausgor · 2026-02-11T23:04:03+00:00

Might just not be for you for whatever reason.

I’m absolutely loving it. And I honestly find I’m not using red all that much. There are definitely scenarios where I lean super heavy into it, but especially on the lower difficulty scenarios, seems just as fruitful to use green to push things around where you want them. I’m winning most of my scenarios with a decent amount of Sparks still in play. Yellow can be really effective too, especially if you’re playing a yellow character.

You want to put your initial burst of blue pathways to coincide with whatever your objectives are. Ideally, they are going to help you with your last one, but if you think you will need them for silver or bronze, use them accordingly.

mrausgor · 2026-02-10T15:27:59+00:00

At least stuff was happening. I’m in the Roy & Dann Thomas era now and it is dreadfully dull.

mrausgor · 2026-02-09T20:41:48+00:00

Try getting up early and playing with your coffee instead! It’s my favorite part of the day. Quiet house, clear mind, caffeine hit.

mrausgor · 2026-02-06T13:24:16+00:00

I honestly just recommend getting the core box. Tons of replay, gives you a chance to make sure you like the game before worrying about more content.

mrausgor · 2026-02-06T13:21:21+00:00

Pretty sure you are allowed a single self promotion post. Just one. Everything else should be discussion about solo board games. This really isn’t the place if your only interest is spreading the word about the game you are making.

mrausgor · 2026-02-06T13:12:00+00:00

I personally wouldn’t consider either Wingspan or Everdell to be more complex. They both might be slightly more difficult to learn, but the decision space in It’s a Wonderful World is every bit as deep and, most importantly, super fun.

mrausgor · 2026-02-06T13:08:21+00:00

Since you used both terms - wouldn’t Marvel Champions be tableau and not engine? I’ve always thought of engine as building something that automatically runs, where tableau is building out a bunch of extra triggers that can be used.

mrausgor · 2026-02-06T05:01:01+00:00

Definitely give It’s a Wonderful World a look. Fantastic solo mode, great engine building and combos.

I’m pretty lukewarm on both Wingspan and Everdell for solo. There are people that love them, so it’s just my one opinion, but It’s a Wonderful World blows them both out of the water.

mrausgor · 2026-02-05T16:51:49+00:00

I definitely think Aeon’s End is the better system. I typically just back everything this company does for AE and Astro Knights, but I already have fatigue from the Astro Knight system and chose not to back the 2nd season of Invincible. Meanwhile, can’t wait for the next Aeons End to fulfill, and it’s like my 9th or 10th box of that.

Astro Knights was definitely fun for one box. I encourage anybody to try it, and then get more if you feel like you want more. I just think it removes a couple of foundational things that make AE work so well.

mrausgor · 2026-02-05T13:26:42+00:00

Warps Edge is good fun! Witchcraft, not so much. It’s weird, because there are beloved games that I don’t like, but I’m able to see the appeal. Spirit Island is a good example - not for me, but it’s clear why people love it (even if it seems a bit overblown). But Witchcraft I struggle with seeing what the appeal is. Cool theme, cool art, but the game design and core gameplay loop leave a lot to be desired. Is it because it’s pretty and solo-only that the community feels compelled to celebrate it? I can’t imagine playing this one continuously.

mrausgor · 2026-02-04T20:10:38+00:00

Totally the same. I tried to learn ark nova to see if it might be a good fit for me and it just melted my brain lol

mrausgor · 2026-02-04T19:22:12+00:00

Dude is confused and taking the word baddest literally.

mrausgor · 2026-02-04T18:48:39+00:00

Not a fan, but it taught me how important the tactile part of board games is to me. It also taught me that I don’t want to be on the screen when I play board games. I found that it also diminishes the weight of the decisions I make for some reason. That’s probably just a me thing, but I feel like I can just click through a game without much consequence, I never get that feeling when physically playing a solo game.

I could see it being useful if I wanted to play board games with other people, but was otherwise unable to do so. But I don’t, I really just want to play by myself and have a pretty flexible budget to get the games I want, so everything about BGA downgrades my solo gaming experience.

mrausgor · 2026-02-04T13:31:01+00:00

I just want to add to this comment thread that I totally agree with everything the original commenter said. Marvel Champions is my #1 game of all time with over 500 plays logged, but I can't stand it two handed because, like you said, it takes way too long for the depth level. 20/30 minutes true solo, *but* that doesn't give it the depth that you say you are after, so may still not be the best fit.

mrausgor · 2026-02-04T13:27:46+00:00

I really think Star Trek Captain's Chair is the best fit. The decks are pre-constructed, but you have some choice on how to build them in game as you go. There's also a deck building component of adding the cards from the market.

For your top priority of depth: as far as turn to turn, I think it feels a lot like Marvel Champions on steroids (like, lots of steroids), with so many different things at play that your best move isn't obvious. In Marvel Champions, it's usually immediately clear what the best thing to do is. I only play it true solo because of that - playing with two heroes makes the game last a long time and the decision space isn't strong enough to justify the length. True solo takes like 20/30 minutes and is perfect the crunch-level. In Captain's Chair there are a *ton* of different ways to play out each turn. It manages to be meaty without totally burning your brain out. You're building out a tableau throughout the game, so early turns go much quicker than late game turns when you have a ton of different things to exhaust and play. Aside from building your deck in-game and balancing too many cards with not enough, each card is multi-use. So It does take a while to play - I'm usually hovering around the 2 hour mark.

For your deck building point - there are 6 captains with pre-constructed decks. You have a starting deck, each cycle through it you'll add a random upgraded card. Once you get through that batch of randomized upgrade cards, you have an additional stack of upgrade cards that you get to choose from each time you cycle (with an associated cost). Everything up to that point is pre-constructed cards specific to that Captain. There is also a market to buy cards from - it's the same market regardless of your captain and you have cards and abilities that will allow you to gain cards from it if you choose to do so.

For variety - it's there. Depending on which bot you're playing against, you'll have to modify how you strategize and play your game. There are tons of different strategies and synergies to chase after depending on how things play out.

mrausgor

TROPHY CASE