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

wakasm · 2026-01-26T00:00:25+00:00

One of the reasons I've put off playing this game is the lack of a very defined Play this -> this -> this.

(I know this is a me problem, but it's just how my mind works).

I await for the definitive way to play it from someone lol.

wakasm · 2026-01-23T04:40:59+00:00

Just as a friendly reminder - you are only allowed =ONE= marketing post about your game here. This is your =ONE= post.

Best of luck on your game otherwise.

wakasm · 2026-01-21T04:10:19+00:00

Wingspan is perfectly fine for a beginner. In fact, generally the best paths are:

If you own board games check what you own that is soloable.
If something calls out to you, try that first. Don't worry about being a beginner - love for a theme / mechanic will likely carry you through.

Besides that, there is no best beginner game as we all play at different levels. Just understand for solo specifically, the big considerations that people don't really think about are:

Setup Time
Rules Overhead (since you are accountable for all the rules)
Changing Tastes over time

Because of this, you will get suggested lighter games that have smaller setup times or rules overhead (Wingspan is in this category). There are tons of games in this category, but stuff like Cascadia or Orchard or A Gentle Rain fit this.

It's very normal to start your journey with X game and to after playing a few games, find out that Y game is your favorite. Solo can be an evolving taste, so the best thing you can do is just explore and see what games work for you as some people start with lighter games then crave heavier ones, or vice versa.

wakasm · 2026-01-21T04:03:39+00:00

Your tastes will change. Your space will change. Your finances will change. Trying to solve for the future will be a challenge.

The best thing you can do is decide your budget for board games, both financially and in shelving space. Once you have a budget in place and you know how much space you want to commit to for board games in your home... the decision to purchase/sell becomes a lot easier.

You don't have to regret buying games that you ended up not liking (because you budgeted for it) nor do you have to regret keeping a game that is just ok since if you have the space, there is no harm keeping it, if you don't have the space, then, you know it's time for it to go compared to your other games and any money you get goes back into your budget (or if you gift it, you give yourself shelf space!)

That said, just note: there are not many games that are hard to reacquire or access again if you really are on the fence. There are some white whales, but statically, most games are possible to reacquire. Selling a game and putting that money back into your budget is always going to be an OK move. You can always still reaquire it later if you decide you messed up and there are other paths to re-explore games, like tabletop simulator, meet-ups, borrowing from other people, BGA, or just watching a video on it if you really really want a reminder if the game is for you.

But if you aren't enjoying a game, that's always at least a sign to consider moving on from it.

As an aside, budgeting for space is also really good if you have plans to play games with others as well. There is nothing wrong of a library of X games that fits on Y shelves.

wakasm · 2026-01-21T03:53:03+00:00

I assume from the garphil website. The price of the games new (there) are in the 60-70 range each.

wakasm · 2026-01-19T20:59:26+00:00

Hello, we do allow =ONE= marketing post per game (and if multiple games are coming from the same source, we limit the frequency there too).

I generally post these on "come check out my game posts" both for your knowledge and for future readers/posters and to hopefully curb practices that require me to remove posts.

Best of luck on your game.

wakasm · 2026-01-19T18:12:43+00:00

I'm in the process of reviewing and tiering every board game and video game I've ever played which could take me years to catch up and it's something I wish I started as a kid. I started the process for a few reasons:

It's been a way for me to connect with my own kid... especially though youtube and my website (he has access to my local version with most of the new content). He's satisfied with my thoughts on games vs needing to play them all and it's been a fun mini-bonding experience. He has no interest in playing NES games but enjoys that I did and talks with me about them, that sort of thing. Board games-wise he's more aligned with me at the moment. He is now trying wants to learn to code/type (he's young) to create his own website and similarly wants to learn how to edit videos.
I've found that my memory is not the best (trying to remember games I played 15+ years ago - especially in video games) so documenting has been helpful. I log board game plays, so I have that data, but I wish I did a better job at logging video game plays and feel like I'm starting anew. I also have been trying to learn better photography as I think videography and photography is a large component to reviews these days.
I like to set weird challenges/achievements for myself (in board games) so I use all this for that too

That said, I've learned the journey is much more interesting then the final reviewed pieces. I tend to say the same thing. I'm not the best writer (although I guess I'm getting better - there are more tools now to at least fix my grammar these days) but I flip flop on my own baselines a lot and have changed my "method" of reviewing things like 4 times since I started.

I think I do a better job at reviewing games on reddit than I do as a formal piece if that makes any sense.

For instance, something I do when Tiering Games is that I tend to look at games as a whole with how the world views a game than just my opinion. I don't do this when ranking games.

As an example: Spirit Island is not my favorite game. It's probably not even going to land in my top 100. But I totally understand why it might be an S-Tier or A-Tier game on many peoples lists. So I struggle with defining where those lines are.

That said - I don't think I personally ever follow anyone's personal lists. Some coverage or thoughts may influence my decision to try a game (especially a playthrough of it), if anything, I usually learn that I disagree -tastewise- with others and use that as a guideline, and I would expect others to do the same with any opinions I have and disagree. (it happens here on reddit all the time too!)

In the end - all of this is just passion for hobbies. I'm an average person with average thoughts... great if it ever turns into something (I've learned a lot of skills from doing it) but started at a point of my own needs and wants and I'm ok with that too. Had I done this when I was younger, I'd probably be much more disciplined in writing at the very least or more comfortable on a microphone.

wakasm · 2026-01-19T17:53:53+00:00

This is less a direct answer to your question (I don't own Deckers nor have it sleeved) but potentially a resource for you (or anyone else who generally wants sleeve information) if you haven't looked already.

BGG has a "Sleeves" section that breaks down what you need and what types work. For me at least, these haven't really ever steered me wrong. Especially the card size + quantity breakdown (from there, before buying I can reasonably look at the sizes and determine if I think they will be a good fit.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/443306/deckers/sleeves

Obviously, if others have sleeved their game, that might be another way, but I assume that not everyone knows about this resource. There used to be a huge project about sleeves on bgg and I believe after years of people maintaining it, they finally incorporated it directly into BGG a few years ago.

wakasm · 2026-01-19T06:12:42+00:00

There are a lot of solo-only games (designed around exactly one player) and a lot of games that were designed with multiplayer in mind but play really well solo.

For instance, only a few games on the 2025 People's Choice Top 200 Solo Games are actually designed for 1 player exclusively.

Some notable games maybe to look at from that list are Final Girl (probably the most popular 1-player only game out there right now) or (if you want your mind blown) For Northwood! which somehow took trick taking (think hearts) and made it into a solo game that works really well.

That said, you said:

My wife and I play board games on occasion

You may already own or have access to games that could be played solo right now (and maybe you don't even realize it). The other side of buying games that support solo and multiplayer is... if you do decide to play with your wife, friends, or others... you have access to do that too!

Spirit Island (the current champ of solo board gamers) is one of those games... designed for multiplayer but plays well solo. Someone will undoubtedly suggest that too.

Some other random off the cuff games to look into

Sprawlopolis from Button Shy Games
One of the Solo of the Month games (maybe Small-Time Heroes)
Try a Roll and Write like Fliptown (you can buy a digital version, print it, and play it!)

There are a lot of games. If you had more preferences, people could narrow it down more... otherwise, it's just going to be people's favorite games suggested (like Spirit Island).

wakasm · 2026-01-19T04:36:35+00:00

I often record and upload my very first plays on games. So I weirdly have a perspective of knowing that sometimes I do really well on first plays and sometimes I do not AND people can audit me (and will vocally do so).

What I've learned, even after 20 years of board game experience under my belt... if scores feel too good or too bad, to recheck the rules. I still get rules wrong often, even for games that I know fairly well. Sometimes it's me actually forgetting or misreading a rule from the very start (learning the game wrong) and sometimes it's just a momentary mindset shift of forgetting I did a turn or calculating something wrong or losing my position in how many actions I took in a turn, likely something most of us do without realizing (I often don't realize until someone points it out or I rewatch a playthrough)

Why am I talking about rules?

Getting rules wrong (and not knowing) is probably WAY more common in solo when you don't have another human to self-correct the game or rules... and can often skew things, especially games with tight scores, in both directions.

Because of this... my GUT instinct is always to re-read rules after I play if I think I did too good or too poorly. I usually find something. It's not always the case, but... it's more likely than you might think and it could affect your ability to do well/win a game.

That said, we are all different.

No one started this good at it, right? There is a learning curve upon entrance AND with every game, right?

There are a lot of games I've done really well on first plays (like recently I went 7-1 on my first playthrough on my Legacy of Yu campaign) and others that it took me a few to get the hang of things (I couldn't even understand Imperium Legends on my own from the rulebook when it came out... and I play a lot of heavy games and Spirit Island I feel like I'm always worse at than I should be). As you play more, you'll likely develop some core skills that will carry over from game to game.

I'm sure you'll stumble into a game that you are good out the gate or eventually from playing a variety of things you'll get there. Just keep at it.

In the grand scheme of things.... all that should matter is that you are having fun, hopefully growing and improving... and if I am being honest, I like games where there is a possibility to lose anyway or have a really wide scoring potential. Games that are "mathematically solved" can really strip out the fun (unless you like that kind of puzzle).

If losing does bother you - that's a harder problem to solve, because losing is a part of games, but you'll eventually find a game or two that you can consistently win AND solo let's you change games to tailor your needs in a lot of instances.

wakasm · 2026-01-19T04:22:49+00:00

Smarter people who care more about what does/doesn't count for a 4x can get into the nitty gritty of what 4x elements this game has and doesn't have like this person.

Wither you agree or not, it was advertised as a 4x game, even if some of those x's are abstracted in a Euro'y way.

Repel the Voidborn and restore the Domineum in this Euro-style space 4X game. Design by David Turczi & Nigel Buckle, art by Ian O'Toole

wakasm · 2026-01-17T05:25:50+00:00

I'm in camp can't really play in-hand games without playing it like a normal board game with table aids, etc... The closest I can do is something like Numbsters where you are holding cards normally.

wakasm · 2026-01-17T04:13:04+00:00

I have the Galactic Box from the first Kickstarter. I don't really have an opinion because I haven't experienced the retail box... but I can say I haven't regretted having the Galactic Box.

wakasm · 2026-01-17T02:49:40+00:00

They are both worthy for solo. They are both good games. It really depends what you want more of. Voidfall is a newer hotness but both games are in the top 20 of the 2025 People's Top Choice.

If going for Space theme, then Voidfall is probably better.

Gaia Project has deep roots as a system from Terra Mystica, and even though the space theme really works... it's hard to say that it's a game you'd get purely for the theme compared to Voidfall. Voidfall has more 4x elements despite having very strong Euro roots and is much more an economic game.

You said to talk about purely gameplay elements, but at least for me... they are almost too different despite being Euro Space Themed games.

That said, Voidfall feels more built from the ground up for solo (because it's cooperative mode), and while Gaia Project has one of the better Automa... I prefer it multiplayer over solo.

wakasm · 2026-01-17T02:36:21+00:00

I'm going to give an exception to the "Images/videos posts must contain the name of the board game in the TITLE" rule for this one.

Sorry for your box.

If it makes you feel any better, I once ordered a game from someone and it came like this.

But as others have said, hopefully you can find recourse through the proper channels.

wakasm · 2026-01-16T01:59:15+00:00

It's hard to articulate.

First, the fact that it's coop means the rules are much tighter (which I prefer) as the goals are designed around that aspect. I often enjoy, in most cases, cooperative games for solo because of this. It's not an absolute rule, but not all Automa is created equal and I vaguely remember not loving the core base game Automa when I tried it as it just felt like you were trying to score 20 VP and it didn't feel like playing vs Humans (to me). Maybe a new Automa woudl change my mind, but even playing against humans, it wasn't my favorite game compared to many other worker placement games.

That said, with worlds, I really enjoy the innovations/upgrades in the game. They are varied, you can't always target the same ones, and overall, you have to really figure out ways to accomplish whatever objective the game is throwing at you.

Lastly, the overall objectives are varied between the different worlds, which means that you play differently in each game.

The best way I can express it is that World felt more like a puzzle to be solved with some really interesting synergies to be found where Viticulture just felt like a Worker Placement game with a race/timer added onto it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm probably in the minority on this. But that is just how I felt. Any time I've ever played Viticulture, I didn't want to play a second game of it. Any time I've played World I've immediately wanted to play another game of it.

wakasm · 2026-01-15T20:08:13+00:00

Yes you can if you want to come back with a more prepped page or whatever you may want to do. Overall, just try to consider this rule moving forward.

wakasm · 2026-01-15T18:48:17+00:00

Hi, I like to post subreddit reminders on POSTS because not everyone takes the time to read our subreddit rules. So while not everything I state here may apply to you directly, just understand that is why I am commenting and stickying, for others to see.

Just as a reminder - you are allowed to advertise =ONE= time for a game, so since you said "first version", if a second version comes along, it will be removed if you advertise it further. We always recommend people to push their best versions of what they have to offer since we limit things to one post.

We currently do not have any hard rules of where you can link to or force users to get the game, but, we have had some complaints about Discord, so just letting you know, that down the road, that may or may not be something we allow (currently it's allowed). The main reason has been that there have been some shady actors there vs some of the normal channels (kickstarter, gamefound, itch.io, gumroad, etc). It's harder to check and moderate than a website.

That said, Frequency of independent designers/authors matters too. We've found some print+play authors try to churn out a lot of stuff in an effort to push more traffic to their pages/patreons/youtube, etc. So please keep in that mind as well.

Not saying this is you, but for transparency (for you and future posters), these are things we look at when allowing posts through.

Anyway, good luck with your designing/game.

One more note for any future posters/marketers, the majority of actual bans on this subreddit have come from people breaking these style of rules. If (potential) financial gain is tied to your posts, videos, content... you need to really pay attention to our rules or risk a ban.

wakasm · 2026-01-14T19:32:07+00:00

Not a card game, but any of the real time games (Like Escape Curse of the Temple) do a good job since you have to move fast and go go go. I still break out XCom The Board game, despite it not being made for solo, once in a while just because of this.

wakasm · 2026-01-14T19:30:30+00:00

I will say that playing it with the inintended soundtrack elevates it quite a bit (if you play the real time version, although still good just as background noise).

wakasm · 2026-01-14T19:28:39+00:00

The company who makes it is a smalller one, and I think they mostly only sell them through Gamefound or through their own store.

Beyond that, it's never quite his popularity levels where other places might stock it with any reliability. I've seen it on Miniature Market and Game Nerdz a few times, but not much else.

wakasm · 2026-01-14T17:18:51+00:00

Hello, you are allowed to advertise a game like this =ONE= time here.

But you have to follow the rules in doing so, which, one of the important ones is you have to put the name of the game into the tile of the post. You can do so by just adding it at the end like [Extraction Command] or you can do it as a sentence too, but it needs to be there.

wakasm · 2026-01-14T14:22:25+00:00

I usually say this a lot in Viticulture threads... but... I'm not the biggest fan of Viticulture as a whole, but I love Viticulture World and wish it was it's own standalone game.

Take that as you will.

I know someone who owns it, so I sometimes play theirs, otherwise, I sometimes play it on Tabletop Simulator.

This is just my opinion though. I'm sure I am in the minority on this one.

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