Stopped by my old game store and saw a whole aisle for solo board games

I walked into The Dice Den over in Portland last weekend for the first time in maybe 5 years. They used to have one small shelf of solo games like Friday and Onirim, now it's a whole aisle from roll and writes to full campaign boxes. I remember when playing board games alone felt weird to admit, now it's basically a whole genre. Did anyone else see this shift happen slowly or did it hit all at once at your local shop?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_miller1011d ago

Board games are meant to be a social thing, solo takes the whole point away.

diana_black10d ago

Tear that idea apart with Monopoly. I hate that game with friends but playing the solo app version is actually pretty chill since the computer doesn't take twenty minutes to decide if they want to buy Baltic Avenue. Solo modes in games like Scythe or Spirit Island are their own thing too, not just watered down multiplayer. The designers put work into making the AI or victory conditions interesting so you get a different kind of mental challenge. Still get to chat about your moves online after, so it's social in a looser way.

the_hayden10d ago

Gosh yeah, I remember that shift so clearly. @diana_black nailed it with the Monopoly app thing, I tried that too and it's wild how much better the game is without the arguing. My local shop in Austin went from a janky corner of old Mage Knight expansions to a whole display with stuff like Final Girl and these new choose-your-own-adventure style boxes. It feels like the pandemic made everyone realize you don't need a full table to enjoy a good puzzle, and now designers are putting real effort into making the solo mode feel like its own thing instead of just a stripped down version. Spirit Island solo is honestly harder than with friends because you have to track all the invader stuff yourself, but that's exactly the kind of challenge I love.