Although we often associate games with bringing family and friends together, you can experience just as much enjoyment out of a solo player game, as long as you choose the right one. Engaging in a single player game means that every victory, or setback, is a result of the decisions you make along the way - so get ready for a lot of strategising and solo deliberation. Within this article, we’ll explore some of the best one player games to take you on an immersive gaming adventure.
Mage Knight
Wander the lands as a mage knight to build your own army, and explore and conquer powerful cities.
Playing Mage Knight solo is a satisfying experience as you can deliberate over your actions independently. If you enjoy strategising and analysing different outcomes, this game is like your own personal puzzle to solve. The board game has been compared to playing a video game, where you become fully immersed in the experience and can’t stop playing.
Spirit Island
On Spirit Island, magic exists and spirits hold power. You’ll take on the role of a spirit of the land with your own unique elemental powers which should be used to fight against the Invaders. As the game progresses, spirits spread to new parts of the island, but so do Invaders.
Winning involves destroying every settlement and city to push the Invaders out. As the game progresses, Invaders may be scared enough to flee so you can win without full destruction. You’ll be defeated if any spirit is destroyed, if the island is overrun, or if the Invader deck is depleted before achieving victory.
This settler-destruction strategy game can be played solo or with up to 4 players cooperatively.
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Battle as your favourite hero in Marvel Champions: The Card Game and defeat famous villains from the franchise - don’t forget these heroes have alter-egos that can be useful.
There are two ways that you can play solo for this card game: true solo or double-handed. In true solo mode, it will be just you up against an iconic villain. Can you single-handedly save all of mankind against the threat of your opponent? Double-handed, on the other hand, lets you control two characters at once! It's a faster-paced, action-packed experience where you could overwhelm the villain with dual hero power.
Robinson Crusoe
The Robinson Crusoe board game takes you on an adventure across seven distinct scenarios on a cursed island. Fight, build, gather, and explore your way around the island to accomplish scenario goals and evade death.
You can find official solo rules with the game or you can adapt to play two characters at once if you’re experienced with board game playing. Playing alone provides you with the opportunity to have full control over the game and what you want to do each turn.
Terraforming Mars
The year is 2400 and humans have decided it is time to make Mars our home. Transform Mars into a habitable planet by raising the temperature, increasing the oxygen level and creating oceans through playing cards.
Playing solo means you have the fun of transforming Mars all by yourself! Although challenging, you can play at your own pace and make decisions after solo deliberation. You can enjoy replaying the game over and over to test out different strategies each time.
Dune Imperium
Raise your banner as one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad in a race to rule Arrakis and control the Spice. Choose a house leader and go to battle, influence political power and form alliances with the four major factions of Dune: Bene Gesserit, Fremen, Spacing Guild, and Emperor Shaddam IV.
Dune Imperium is a deck-building worker placement game which can be played with a group or on your own with the feature of automated players simulated by companion cards or an app on your smartphone. The spice must flow!
Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is a dungeon crawl game in which players take on the roles of adventurers who are trying to clear out a series of dungeons. The game is played over a series of campaigns, and each campaign is made up of a series of scenarios. Although usually played as a cooperative game with other players, Gloomhaven is a great solo adventure too. Take control of 2 or more individual heroes and you’re on your way!
Sprawlopolis
Sprawlopolis is a city-building game in which players take turns placing tiles to create a city. The tiles have different features, such as houses, businesses, and parks. The players score points based on the features that they place in their city.
The game is cooperative but can easily be played solo, where you can enjoy deliberating over decisions by yourself. Every turn is full of micro-decisions for you to choose where to place your cards.
Under Falling Skies
In Under Falling Skies, alien spaceships arrive and start destroying cities on Earth. It is your task to research so that you can take down the aliens before they descend and invade. Can you defeat the aliens before they reach your underground facility? This is a solo board game, making it the perfect choice for a single player as it is designed specifically for only one person to take part.
Enjoy one player games
We hope this list of games has proved that not all gaming adventures have to take place with other people there. You can be transported to a new world in the comfort of your home as a solo player and have just as much enjoyment! Got someone joining you? Check out our pick of the best two player games.