Anyway evandro novel had brought up soloing games with card based initiative. While at the used book store this morning I lucked into a game I had been wanting for a while, but missed out on the kickstarter campaign when it was raising funds.
It's called Ars Victor, and though it has no dedicated solo rules I've been having a blast with it this afternoon all on my own. The gameplay definitely seems to fit into the "easy to learn, difficult to master" category. With the way the game is set up and played the cards do not make it any more difficult to solo than any other skirmish level game. All of the bits are done with simple but nice looking graphics, and the punch board appears to be good quality. One downside is that the box lacks any organization slots like you might find in Smash Up or Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. With this many bits and bobs, you may want to buy or repurpose some kind of organizing container.
We don't get a lot of solo board game and war game posts so no problems with me. If we start getting a lot more interest, I can create a section for each. Makes for easier browsing later if someone wants to dig into those topics directly.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they need a separate section. There's some synchronicity between the two, and as time goes on, I have the opinion that they blur -- both war games and board games are tabletop games; many board games are self-contained wargames than I am able to count and vice-versa. For example, how to host a dungeon is kind of both of those things.
ReplyDeleteIn the interest of solo tabletop wargaming, I'm just going to leave this here: http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2014/08/fivecorefive-parsecs-from-home-cured-my.html
The other thing that I'm going to leave here is the desire to play solo necromunda. At some point I hope to merge it with mythic somehow.
Five Core / Five Parsecs is excellent
ReplyDeleteThank you Geoff Osterberg ! I did not hear of Ars Victor before. Does it have campaign rules? I think that a campaign makes the overlap between role-playing and wargames even more apparent.
ReplyDeleteMatt Quinton I also like Nordic Weasel products!
Been after that one. I solo command & colours ancients in a similar way.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of crossover I have to mention the Two Hour Wargames stuff. Their games have a lot of RPG elements and are really fun playing out as a campaign. I'll post a little more about one of my sessions if any interest, I largely play with paper counters, paper and a whiteboard. No need for miniatures really.
evandro novel No, there aren't any campaign rules. There is also no unit progression, which is certainly one of its down sides. I can say that bolting on the campaign rules from some other games shouldn't interfere with Ars Victor's mechanics.
ReplyDeleteJay Doyle I've been thinking about getting into their scifi genre games. What I've read about their reaction system has always sounded interesting, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Do you have any experience with the 5150 series?
Geoff Osterberg Yes I am currently playing with the newest release 5150: Fringe Space and I've played some of the others in the series. This one would be a good introduction since it simplifies some of the rules a little, good fun romping around the galaxy having adventures. I'll try and post something more when I have time.
ReplyDeleteThe reaction system is great but it is very different to any other game I've played and it can take some time to wrap your head around.
Their rules are great though, very easy to mess with and very open to just playing with whatever you have to hand. You don't have to worry too much about scales of models and things, I even play some on virtual tabletops.
Jay Doyle I like the sound of that. I'll add THW and FiveCore to my list of rules to buy once I've had my fill of the new Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes set. That'll give me some time to acquire some suitable scifi figures. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGeoff Osterberg THW have free rulesets http://www.twohourwargames.com/free.html
ReplyDeleteI prefer FiveCore, but I don't think there is anything free. FiveCore1 is 1.99$ and will give you a very clear idea of the system.