1 Player Podcast

This week I take a trip into the hedgerows of Normandy with Fields of Fire, the solitaire tactical wargame by Ben Hull, published by GMT Games. This is a strictly solo experience where you command a US Army company across campaigns set in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.  Instead of a traditional map, it uses a grid of terrain cards.  Command and control mechanics do a great job of simulating fog of war. Fields of Fire (BGG, GMT Games Series)

This week we talk about Nations, the board game.  Really though, this is a tale of two nations.  We are focusing on the board game but use that to discuss and compare Nations the board game with nations the dice game. Nations (BGG) Nations: the Dice Game (BGG)

This week Julius introduces us to a trick taking game for one or more players. In Power Vacuum you take on the roll of an appliance trying to fill the roll of the now deceased Vacuum.  This is a game with a trick taking element in the game play but trick taking is not the only mechanic. Power Vacuum (BGG, Keen Bean Studio)

This week Julius and I look at family games that are also fun solo.  What's a family game?  Well, for us, it's a game that's light enough to play with a group of mixed skills and interest.... more or less. 03:43 Nations: The Dice Game (bgg) 07:12 Sagrada (bgg) 09:17 River Valley Glassworks (bgg) 12:25 Flash Point: Fire Rescue (bgg) 15:35 One-Hit Heroes (bgg) 17:37 Sentinels of the Multiverse (bgg) 19:02 The Game (bgg) 23:52 Flock Together (bgg) 24:31 Necojima (bgg) 25:28 Pandemic (bgg) 25:40 Mice & Mystics (bgg)

This week, I tell Julius all about the one-shot RPG, Dawn of the Orcs.  In this game, you and up to seven friends will play as the council of a kingdom under attack for a more powerful enemy empire.  To fight back, the council approves the creation of an army of orc creatures.  You play through a number of chapters describing the ongoing war and the evolution of the orcs you have constructed. I really enjoyed this game and found it easy to play. * Dawn of the Orcs (itch.io)

This week Julius previews So You've Been Cursed.  It's a Scott Almes game that was on Kickstarter and has now been sent to backers so should be available soon.  This is based on So You've Been Eaten, which we covered way back in episode 275!  This is an asymentric game that can be played by 0, 1 or 2 players.  You play as a wizard that has been cursed to turn into a werewolf at night; or, you play as a werewolf that is trying to make that curse permanent so he can always be a werewolf.  When playing solo, you can choose whichever side you want to play an AI controls both.  The game can be played against itself by having it play both sides! So You've Been Cursed (BGG)

I tend not to like roll and writes.  I'm not sure what exactly it is but I don't seem to like the write aspect of the games, except for Yahtzee and maybe the Catan Dice Game.  Fortunately, Julius is here to tell us about other roll & writes like the very large and complex Tend. Tend (BGG, IV Studio)

This week we look at a big game.  S.E.T.I.: Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence is a game about trying to find alien life forms through science and exploration.  The science and exploration portion is based on pretty darned real science.  This is a really cool game by Tomáš Holek and published by Czech Games Edition.  With simple rules, this game has a complex set of mechanics that are simple to understand because of how well the integrate with the theme. S.E.T.I. (BGG, CGE)

This week Julius and I look at games that use only cards and no other components.  Julius snuck one game in that didn't quite fit and I tried to but wasn't as good at it.. Fortunately, there are quite a few games that fit the description. :D 02:30 For Northwood! (BGG) 06:50 Onirim (BGG) 10:00 Maiden's Quest (BGG) 13:18 Deckscape (BGG) 16:05 Skytear Horde (BGG) 20:40 Star Realms (BGG) Honorable mentions 19:50 Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom (BGG) 22:50 PAX (BGG) 23:40 Oh My Goods! (BGG) 24:05 Button Shy Games 24:55 Fast Forward: Flee! (BGG)

Drive through African savannahs collecting exotic animals and plants for your nature park. This week we go wild with Habitats! * Habitats (BGG)  

This week we look at yet another Pandemic game.  This one is the Lord of the Rings themed Fate of the Fellowship.  This game does an excellent job of putting the characters into the story of the Lord of the Rings.  The goal of this game is to take the ring to Mount Doom in Morder and destroy the ring by casting it into the flames. It's a highly thematic game set that any Lord of the Rings fan should at least play once. Fate of the Fellowship (BGG, Z-Man)

This week, Julius talks about the game Oros.  In this game, you play a good raising lands so that your followers can build you powerful temples atop volcanoes!

This time around we talk about Lost in Adventure: The Labyrinth.  It's a light point-and-click style adventure that will feel familiar to folks that played Cantaloop or video games like Leisure Suit Larry, Monkey Island and all those old games.  This game feels like those but quite a bit lighter. Lost in Adventure: The Labyrinth (BGG)

This week sporty Albert and Sporty Julius talk about sports... sports games that is!  We look at the various sports games we know and enjoy. 04:30 - Bottom of the 9th (BGG) 09:42 - Heat: Pedal to the Medal (BGG) 13:28 - Formula D / Formula Dé (BGG) 15:51 - Bowling Solitaire (BGG) 17:45 - K2 (BGG) 22:00 - Cold Water Crown (BGG) 23:42 - Proving Grounds (BGG) 28:00 - Plaay Games 29:00 - Tavarua (BGG) 30:16 - Mars Open: Tabletop Golf (BGG)

This week we learn about a new cozy game about books.  More specifically, storing books all over your house.  As a gamer, this surely sounds familiar. A Place for All My Books (BGG, Smirk & Dagger Games)

This week Julius introduces us to the game Emerald Skulls.  It's a gambling game for 1 to 6 feisty goblins! * Emerald Skulls (BGG, Thunderworks Games)

This week Julius talks about Maki Masters, a game about preparing the best sushi recipes by carefully arranging ingredients on the preparation mat.  This is basically a tile laying game in which you are trying to arrange the ingredients to complete recipes.  However, this game brings some really nice looking components, especially if you have the deluxified edition.   Maki Master (BGG, Kids Table BG)

This week I tell Julius all about managing a finishing and canning business while trying to keep ecological balance in Conservas.  It's a bag-building game by Scott Almes in which you are catching fish to sell in the market.  While doing this, you need to be careful and not overfish or risk unbalancing the ecosystem and losing the game. It's a fun and cozy (it turns out) bag-building game. 

This week we return to Popular Mechanics.  This week we look at games that are sequels to other games.   01:56 The Search for Planet X (BGG) -> The Search for the Lost Species (BGG) 04:33 Arkham Horror (BGG) -> Elder Sign (BGG) 08:00 Sleep Gods (BGG) -> Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies (BGG) 11:50 The Harvest Trilogy: Agricola (BGG) -> At the Gates of Loyang (BGG) 14:50 Dorf Romantic (VGG) -> Dorfromantik: The Boardgame (BGG) 17:50 Cantaloop (BGG) -> Cantaloop 2 (BGG) Honorable mentions Castellion (BGG) Bot Factory (BGG) Nations: The Dice Game (BGG) Comancheria (BGG) Ironsworn (RPGGeek) Final Girl (BGG)

This week Julius shares One Hit Heroes with us.  It's a game about fighting super-villains that are supposedly way more powerful than the heroes.  It's a co-operative game that can be played solo or multi-handed solo. We got into some audio trouble just past the halfway mark around 23 minutes in. From then on, you'll hear lots of clicking and gaps in Julius's voice.  I wasn't able to fix that; but, I was able to fix his pitch which went up a tiny bit.  It sounded as if he'd been on helium for the last 15 minutes :D