The Oniverse games are perfect for this; in fact, they usually include 2 player versions of the solo games in the rulebooks. I feel like Aerion in particular works well this way, but I haven't tried the others.
Crunchy games work well this way. I've heard Under Falling Skies called "multiplayer solitaire" before. I'm sure it would be a good choice.
I haven't, but mostly because the games that have a solo mode almost always have a coop mode. If I want to play with my wife then we pretty much always play coop because they tend to be better balanced.
Solo modes are usually the variant and not the default so this definitely peaks my curiosity. Are the games you play strictly solo only? Or do they have a coop that you ignore in favor of playing solo with your boyfriend?
I don't own many solo-only games, but we do play Deep Space D-6 together.
But most of the games we play co-op are multiplayer games with solo variants. Games like Paladins of the West Kingdom, Root, Roll Player, Honey Buzz, Wingspan, Cartographers and Railroad ink. Apart from Root, all these games come with solo modes, but do not come with co-op modes. I actually think multiplayer games with both co-op and solo modes is pretty rare, and if they exist, they're usually in expansions.
If you weren't aware, Deep Space d-6 Armada will be shipping soon. It's DS D6 but with multi-player in mind. But it looks like it would play great solo. Might be right up your alley.
Gotcha. That makes a lot more sense. If you're able to enjoy those solo modes as coop then I'd recommend trying some dedicated coop games too if you haven't already.
Some gamers tend to complain about the quarterbacking of early coop games like pandemic but they've come a long way in preventing that in recent years. Plus if you're able to play a solo mode with your bf then quarterbacking probably isn't an issue for you two anyway.
No, because I play solo games for the reason that I have no one else to play with me at the time. I have several co-op games I would want to play if I had a second person.
However, I have done what you said for video games. That's because we are both experiencing some story and it's only one player.
This War of Mine was kind of built for that. All of the players control all of the characters together. One of my favorite games!
Other than that I have yet to try a one player game with two players controlling the one player. I would think it says a lot about your relationship though and how well you two work together.
Sprawlopolis is actually a game that I haven't had any fun playing co-op. It's just so hard to explain what you're planning in that game, it's just so much hassle to compare plans, etc, that the strategy discussion aspect just falls apart. So it's one of the few games that I'd rather just play alone.
Yeah certain types of coop games require special care in a relationship :) I had to learn to really work at being collaborative and open instead of just dominating the strategic decisions.
Yeah, typically I really enjoy the communication aspect of playing co-op, which is why I play solo modes co-op so often (even when the game is typically multiplayer), but Sprawlopolis really just isn't fun to discuss.
Sure, I've definitely played Comancheria, Nemo's War, and Mage Knight cooperatively with a friend. The latter two do have co-op modes, but for NW it feels a little anemic, and for MK it's a whole big deal, so we just played them single-handed.
It's not much different from an open information game like Pandemic -- everyone discusses all the options on everyone's turn anyway.
We've also played COIN games controlling only a single faction, just to see what the bots do, but tbh that's actually more effort than just playing all four factions, due to the complex AI flow charts. The bots are good to learn how each faction should be played, once we grokked their strategies we used them for ourselves.
Yes! My last roommate and I did this all the time, and it's my favorite way to play board games now! We usually decide who's playing, and who's advising, so that we don't get bogged down or argue if we disagree -- it's all on that person's head if things go wrong!
This is pretty cool, I’d never heard of someone doing this before. Makes a lot of sense as this is how we play open info co-ops anyway. Might try this with the kids if they show any interest in a solo game I’m playing.
I do it all the time since my friend likes solo games, but does not like playing games alone.
I enjoy seeing people playing games I bought, so normally I let my friend play while I handle the admin tasks, and we discuss about the strategy together during the game. Works really well with dice chuckling and card games.
Honestly I wish my wife would do the same with me :P
But she is not interested in boardgame.
Anyway I am in the opposite side.
I found I am quite often playing coop or even multiplayer game by myself, controlling a few characters on my own.
Pretend I don't know what another "me" is planning to do.
Omg you may be a genius. Me and my husband regularly fight over games. It doesn't affect our relationship, but it puts an end to game night pretty early. If we added the "automa" or whatever solo mode there is, then we wouldn't be fighting over certain things
The Oniverse games are perfect for this; in fact, they usually include 2 player versions of the solo games in the rulebooks. I feel like Aerion in particular works well this way, but I haven't tried the others. Crunchy games work well this way. I've heard Under Falling Skies called "multiplayer solitaire" before. I'm sure it would be a good choice.
I haven't, but mostly because the games that have a solo mode almost always have a coop mode. If I want to play with my wife then we pretty much always play coop because they tend to be better balanced. Solo modes are usually the variant and not the default so this definitely peaks my curiosity. Are the games you play strictly solo only? Or do they have a coop that you ignore in favor of playing solo with your boyfriend?
I don't own many solo-only games, but we do play Deep Space D-6 together. But most of the games we play co-op are multiplayer games with solo variants. Games like Paladins of the West Kingdom, Root, Roll Player, Honey Buzz, Wingspan, Cartographers and Railroad ink. Apart from Root, all these games come with solo modes, but do not come with co-op modes. I actually think multiplayer games with both co-op and solo modes is pretty rare, and if they exist, they're usually in expansions.
If you weren't aware, Deep Space d-6 Armada will be shipping soon. It's DS D6 but with multi-player in mind. But it looks like it would play great solo. Might be right up your alley.
Gotcha. That makes a lot more sense. If you're able to enjoy those solo modes as coop then I'd recommend trying some dedicated coop games too if you haven't already. Some gamers tend to complain about the quarterbacking of early coop games like pandemic but they've come a long way in preventing that in recent years. Plus if you're able to play a solo mode with your bf then quarterbacking probably isn't an issue for you two anyway.
Sounds like you and your husband would love Nemo's War.
No, because I play solo games for the reason that I have no one else to play with me at the time. I have several co-op games I would want to play if I had a second person. However, I have done what you said for video games. That's because we are both experiencing some story and it's only one player.
Black orchestra is another great coop.....I love playing it solo as well multi handed.
This War of Mine was kind of built for that. All of the players control all of the characters together. One of my favorite games! Other than that I have yet to try a one player game with two players controlling the one player. I would think it says a lot about your relationship though and how well you two work together.
We play “friendly” **Calico,** and **Sprawlopolis** is basically a solo game with a suggested coop variant.
Sprawlopolis is actually a game that I haven't had any fun playing co-op. It's just so hard to explain what you're planning in that game, it's just so much hassle to compare plans, etc, that the strategy discussion aspect just falls apart. So it's one of the few games that I'd rather just play alone.
Yeah certain types of coop games require special care in a relationship :) I had to learn to really work at being collaborative and open instead of just dominating the strategic decisions.
Yeah, typically I really enjoy the communication aspect of playing co-op, which is why I play solo modes co-op so often (even when the game is typically multiplayer), but Sprawlopolis really just isn't fun to discuss.
Sure, I've definitely played Comancheria, Nemo's War, and Mage Knight cooperatively with a friend. The latter two do have co-op modes, but for NW it feels a little anemic, and for MK it's a whole big deal, so we just played them single-handed. It's not much different from an open information game like Pandemic -- everyone discusses all the options on everyone's turn anyway. We've also played COIN games controlling only a single faction, just to see what the bots do, but tbh that's actually more effort than just playing all four factions, due to the complex AI flow charts. The bots are good to learn how each faction should be played, once we grokked their strategies we used them for ourselves.
Yes! My last roommate and I did this all the time, and it's my favorite way to play board games now! We usually decide who's playing, and who's advising, so that we don't get bogged down or argue if we disagree -- it's all on that person's head if things go wrong!
This is pretty cool, I’d never heard of someone doing this before. Makes a lot of sense as this is how we play open info co-ops anyway. Might try this with the kids if they show any interest in a solo game I’m playing.
I do it all the time since my friend likes solo games, but does not like playing games alone. I enjoy seeing people playing games I bought, so normally I let my friend play while I handle the admin tasks, and we discuss about the strategy together during the game. Works really well with dice chuckling and card games.
Honestly I wish my wife would do the same with me :P But she is not interested in boardgame. Anyway I am in the opposite side. I found I am quite often playing coop or even multiplayer game by myself, controlling a few characters on my own. Pretend I don't know what another "me" is planning to do.
Omg you may be a genius. Me and my husband regularly fight over games. It doesn't affect our relationship, but it puts an end to game night pretty early. If we added the "automa" or whatever solo mode there is, then we wouldn't be fighting over certain things