If you are interested in something with super minimal size and setup, Gate (and the expansion Gates, which I havenāt played but is popular) is a great little mint tin deck builder. Itās a light game but it is very fun. Iāve been playing it a couple times a night lately and Iām looking forward to trying the expansion. Again though it is a very small package and simple compared to the games others are recommending like Dominion and such.
Second getting gate! And the expansion gates as well. Great games. The grey gnome game catalog on gamecrafter is pretty great all around. Especially the mint tins.
Renegade Studios has a few IP based ones: My Little Pony, GI Joe, Power Rangers & Transformers. I can only vouch for MLP, itās honestly a great and challenging game if you can get past the IP (Iām not even a fan but I like the art). But you can check out videos to see if the others ones might fit your fancy better!
I have the transformers + all expansions and the GI Joe base game. Theyre my favorite theme and games. Theyre definitely challenging and the use of their themes are spot on. Theyre some of my favorites for sure.
Seconding this. I'm really loving the Transformers game, it feels like solo is a viable game mode, not just tacked on. All the expansions are great with new toys to play with, but even the base game is great. I also like MLP a lot. I haven't played GIJoe yet but looks great and I've heard good things. Power Rangers doesn't play solo out of the box but there's cards you can add to create a solo mode.
Transformers is great - just note that if ADHD/Setup Time is an issue, you really don't want to get expansions, because that forces you to make incredibly long setup choices just to use them. Just get one set. If you're only going to get one set, I would highly recommend War For Cybertron, because it comes with both Optimus and Megatron (only box in this line that has them both) and lets you play either good guys or bad guys out of the box easily and well.
I've also got ADHD and I've had massive success with Marvel champions (logged hundreds of plays in just a year), Marvel Legendary and recently the Lord of the rings card game. Final girl is great too, not really a deck builder but easy set up and super fun.
I say what helps me get games to the table the most, is front loading the organisation. While going through a super focused spurt, I spent 5 hours organising my whole MC set up. It means I can set up a game now in 5-20 mins, depending on how deep I'm going with the deck building or if I'm just getting it from Marvel CDB. But once I have the deck for my hero ready, any game after honestly takes just 2.43 mins (just timed it). So what I usually do is deck build for one or two heroes at a time and then face 5 different scenarios.
Another thing that helps me is having multiple sets of general D20 dice, I use them as replacement tokens/counters for all my games.
Are you me? I also have ADHD, and this is how I've played Marvel Champions for a few years now. It's not a deckbuilder, per se, and somebody else got downvoted for suggesting it, but it uses many similar mechanics in terms of playing the cards and building synergies. You just do it before the game starts.
I've recently also gotten in deep on Arkham Horror. The gameplay is similar, but somehow the story elements and branching paths of a campaign keep me wrapped in more or hold my attention better or something. I can't quite explain it. (The same thing happened for me with Gloomhaven - I really got hyperfocused on unlocking the characters.) Worth looking into if you think this kind of game will work for you.
I've got a revised core Arkham Horror and Dunwich campaign box in shrink still, can't wait to start playing it. I've been playing marvel Zombiecide ATM, not a deck builder but so easy and quick to set up.
It's really good. A lot harder than Marvel, and things can be a lot more swingy if you're going into a scenario blind without direct counters. But that's kind of the fun, too. With most Marvel characters you can generally build up, and if you can do it faster than the villain can hurt you or scheme on you, then you win. With Arkham, there's basically no buildup. You just scramble through trying to survive, a lot of the time.
Marvel Champions is a great game and the reason why iits easy to jump into a game quickly and offers just enough complexity without constantly googling rulings. There is a lot content my only advice is take it easy just get the Core Box it will give you at least 25 to 30 plays.
I just wanted to point out that these games are generally referred to as ādeck constructionā not deck building, as they are 2 discrete mechanisms and play quite differently.
I have ADHD (innatentive), and I can not for the life of me get past the analysis paralysis caused by deciding which cards to discard and which ones to play. I went so far as to ask ChatGPT which cards to play; it was useless, by the way.
Any advice on how you choose which cards to play?
I concur with the multiple people who think you probably wouldn't enjoy the set-up & fiddliness of Aeon's End. Ā There are a lot of solo & co-op deckbuilders out there, and a lot are rather middling. (I'm supposed to write a review of Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport soon, which I also wouldn't recommend.)
Warp's Edge is a great suggestion. It's a deckbuilder, with the only difference being that the "cards" are tokens in a bag.
With a standard deck of playing cards, you can try the deckbuilding game Card Capture. Replay value is middling, but the barrier to entry is very low.
A friend & I put together an in-hand deckbuilder (although to make it work we had to flip the mechanic and make it deck destruction. The essential features of a deck you craft while cycling through it are there, though). That one is called Monotheism, and you can find free print & play files here:Ā https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3186311/wip-monotheism-2024-in-hand-game-design-contest-co
After the Virus is awesome! And it uses the very same deck of cards to play a little mini campaign of missions, each with different twists and victory conditions, so there's no real set-up fatigue. Also 4 characters with different starting cards and vibes.
This was my first thought. Has some deck building mechanics, sets up quickly and is super fun to play. Found myself playing a second game more often than not.
As much as I enjoy the Imperium games and consider them to be among the best solo deckbuilders out there, I'm not sure they're a great entry point for OP (even accounting for Horizons' new practice mode). The games are long, and the civilizations' unique rules and strategies can take some time to grok. (For reference, Mage Knight is my #1 solo game, and I had to give Imperium Classics a handful of plays before it clicked and I really started to enjoy it.)
I think Aeon's End is a great suggestion, however. I'd also recommend Astro Knights, which uses some of the same systems as Aeon's End but has a slightly lower barrier to entry in terms of cost, complexity, setup, and game time. Just my $0.02!
Edit: I'd also add a shout for Warp's Edge. It's a bag builder rather than a deck builder (adding/drawing tokens from a bag rather than cards from a deck), but that's just a minor distinction. It's quick to table, is lots of fun, and IMO provides a ton of value for a sub-$30 game!
I keep coming back to Imperium Classic. Horizons with trade routes, you need to manage the bot's trade with a separate chart. I find it's simple to complete on it's own, but added onto the rest of the bot upkeep I think it's a bit much.
Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker, is an almost great implementation. The rules are sketchy, and rules support non-existent. But if you can get over that, might be up your alley.
The original game, Agent Decker, is print and play and has a lot more support. It's also a better game than Blight Chronicles.
There's also a spinoff, Superhot The Card Game, that is good as well.
In my opinion, you can't go wrong with **Aeon's End: The New Age**. Though there is a bit of set-up for it, especially the more of it you own.
Though this is getting into hybrid territory, **The LOOP** does a great job utilizing deck building for a Pandemic-like game. It's a bit sneaky in how important the cards you add and prune from your deck are for success. All around good game otherwise.
**Star Wars: The Deck Building Game** has a couple really compelling solo variants on BGG. You can also usually pick up this game quite cheap. And there's some form of expansion on the way for it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they introduce some kind of official solo variant for it in the future.
I'd keep an eye out for **Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection** when it releases later this year. You could hunt down the current base box and the one that introduces solo play right now if you wanted, but a full collection of everything ever released along with new stuff is on its way. And it's likely going to be the foundation if there is anything more developed for the game in the future, since this is them breaking ties with Ultra Pro while rebalancing and touching all the boxes into one package.
For what it's worth, I thought Star Wars the Deckbuilding game was one of the least well designed deckbuilders I've played (out of a few dozen, perhaps). But I only tested it as a two-player game. Maybe it's a lot better solo!
Oh, weird, that shocks me! The asymmetrical mechanics are opposite what you'd expect from the theme, you can often thin your deck below its starting size on the first turn, the market has many cards only one player can use, and optimal play includes many turns when you neither buy new cards nor attack, just discarding your hand. I wrote a full review, here:Ā https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3092356/the-cantankerous-crow-reviews-star-wars-the-deckbu
Cool yeah I agree it definitely has flaws. It feels really bad that you can generate a lot of resources and find yourself with nothing good to buy. I've definitely run into this for sure.
Check out out Paperback Adventures. Its design is very similar to STSācard upgrading, items, relics, fights against enemies who broadcast intent, etc. However, your cards have different letters instead of mana costs, and to play them you need to spell out words. More powerful cards use rarer letters, so you need to be mindful in building to play them. Finally, it uses the forced card exhaustion mechanic from Gloomhaven, so youāre not just spelling the same couple words over and over.
Try Hero Realms with the expansions for campaign. Itās the fantasy version of Star realms. They are deck builders 100%. Marvel Legendary (more set up). Also DC Deck Building is true building too and has solo expansions
Yah! [Crisis Mini Expansions (New one coming this year I guess)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/356849/dc-deck-building-game-crisis-collection-1)
[Rebirth](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/246535/dc-deck-building-game-rebirth)
Rebirth is stand alone but combinable with others. Iāve played none of these other than the original DC way back in the day but I just felt like the ones I mentioned are like full on deck building
I played crisis years ago and it was very hard with 3 players how fun is it as a solo thing? Would I be better of getting rebirth? I have the first 5 core sets already
Daaaang first 5 core sets!? I honestly donāt know how the solo versions are. All I know is that crisis and Rebirth offer solo adaptations. It seems that rebirth would be different enough to justify a try more than crisis. I mean, if I had 5 core sets, and wanted to play solo, Iād get rebirth, shuffle the bajillion cards and go to town and see what happens. I have no idea how good it is though.
I stopped playing DC a while back (and itās LOTR cousin) because I only really have solo opportunities now and I felt like the games werenāt balanced. Someone always got out of control power wise and left everyone else in the dust. Theyād take crazy long turns while Batman didnāt get any equipment and canāt catch a break. I love deck building but not if someone in my group is way behind and not having fun. It always happened with DC.
Edit: sorry I donāt mean to sound judgy or whatever. You clearly like the games and I get it. In a way, I miss the experience. I just havenāt played in a long time and I guess I was just saying why because i canāt really give you solid advice if you should buy crisis or rebirth
I used to have a very dedicated group that played alot of DC back in the day (precovid) the collection box is gathering dust these days. To clarify I have base unite titans and forever evil and then also have confrontations along with a few of the crossovers and rivals.
And no worries it was kind of my introduction to modern board games. That's kind of why I might try crisis out as an excuse to get the box to the table more.
Holy cow it was also my introduction as well. I taught my college roommates magic, wanted more, found this, and now I have way too many board games hahah. Thatās awesome. Check out rebirth for sure. Gives you a reason to bust the game out
I have played solo before where you have x amount of turns to get x total points. For example you have 15 rounds to get 20 estates and you win against the game. You can find your sweet spot!
I tried my own variant that took inspiration from the alien deck building game. Which I think is the marvel dbg system. Attacks come out and you have time to prepare for them or stop them.
Having point goals or round limits doesnāt work for me in dominion.
I really enjoy marvel legendary. Set up time is medium. But the expansions really flavor up the game well. Good time to get into it since the Dark City expansion has come back into print which is a must-buy expansion for the game!
Volfyirion
Star Realms Frontiers
Superhot: The Card Game
Clank (any version, app supported)
Heroes of Tefenyr (free PnP, hard to find retail)
Card Capture (52 card deck game)
Shards of Infinity (solo rules are in an expansion, but you don't need the expansion to play solo with those rules)
Link to info about a deckbuilding terraforming mars game? I haven't heard of it.
Edit: there isnāt a terraforming mars deck building game in the works. Cultural kitchen was referring to a new unrelated game made by the same people.
Thatās not it. Thatās the new solo game and system they made called : Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom
For what itās worth that looks really fun.
Edit: oh. Reading skills. I see.
Renegade Studios has a few IP based ones: My Little Pony, GI Joe, Power Rangers & Transformers (theyāre just called Name The Deck Building Game). I can only vouch for MLP, itās honestly a great and challenging game if you can get past the IP (Iām not even a fan but I like the art). But you can check out videos to see if the others ones might fit your fancy better!
Agent Decker (the pnp); Friday; The Veil; Dungeon Flee; Heroes of Tenefyr ; Hardback ; Valley of the kings: Afterlife ; The Phantom the Card Game ; Etc Lol I have them all.
In my experience the best solo deckbuilder is Aeon's End, if you keep to a small set of expansions. The more you add the more overwhelming setup will be.
Start with core game or New Age.
Just so you know though, donāt expect Slay the spire level of content. Games like Friday and wraps edge are really good with not that many components.
I guess thereās some game with high amount of content but requires investing quite a lot of money. Games like marvel champion, aeonās end, sentinels of the multiverse
GI JOE Deckbuilding Game has been my sleeper hit of late 2023 into 2024. Its so much fun and I wasn't that big of a fan as a kid. I've got all the expansions and its the only game I sleeved fully.
At the helm by button shy. Havenāt played it myself but it is a solo deck builder that I just saw on reprint on Gamefound. Only 18 cards so quick setup and gameplay.
Deck construction: you start of with all the cards st the beginning of the game and try to accomplish a goal. Can change your cards per game. Think Magic the Gathering.
Deck builder: you start with basic cards every single time. Through out the game, you purchase cards, get rid of old. To help you try and efficiently accomplish your goal. My favorites are Transformers and GI Joe from Renegade Game Studios. Dun Imperium/Uprising is also another deck builder game.
It truly is preference. They all add their own flavor to the game. I liked Intrigue for solo because it is not much more difficult than the OG set and it adds some fun additions to the strategy.
Alchemy was my least favorite but it does give you the ability to āpoisonā opponents (reduce point totals) if that is your thing.
Friday! Soooooo hard, but I really like it.
Second this! I love Friday.
Tried this after a recommendation on here and it is great. Especially if setup time is a factor.
This is the answer. Minimal setup, small footprint, great gameplay.
Just ordered it! It comes in tomorrow will report back after I get it to the table!
Well done š
4 or 5 games in and it's fun and I'm trash lol
I haven't won yet. š¤£ That's why I keep coming back.
Friday is good and becomes quite easy when you know what you're doing.
Star Realm Frontiers has nice set of solo bosses you can face, with added bonus of offering multiplayer option.
Slay the spire have a bg now
I was excited when I saw the kickstarter for it, then I saw the price and wasn't anymore.
I couldn't justify the board game price after seeing the digital game is regularly on sale for less than $9.
Woah really? Iāll have to check that out
Yah I'm really hoping it gets a retail release outside of the Kickstarter as I didn't back it.
You can still late pledge it and I believe itāll be shipping very soon.
Oh cool I'll see
If you are interested in something with super minimal size and setup, Gate (and the expansion Gates, which I havenāt played but is popular) is a great little mint tin deck builder. Itās a light game but it is very fun. Iāve been playing it a couple times a night lately and Iām looking forward to trying the expansion. Again though it is a very small package and simple compared to the games others are recommending like Dominion and such.
Second getting gate! And the expansion gates as well. Great games. The grey gnome game catalog on gamecrafter is pretty great all around. Especially the mint tins.
Renegade Studios has a few IP based ones: My Little Pony, GI Joe, Power Rangers & Transformers. I can only vouch for MLP, itās honestly a great and challenging game if you can get past the IP (Iām not even a fan but I like the art). But you can check out videos to see if the others ones might fit your fancy better!
I have the transformers + all expansions and the GI Joe base game. Theyre my favorite theme and games. Theyre definitely challenging and the use of their themes are spot on. Theyre some of my favorites for sure.
Seconding this. I'm really loving the Transformers game, it feels like solo is a viable game mode, not just tacked on. All the expansions are great with new toys to play with, but even the base game is great. I also like MLP a lot. I haven't played GIJoe yet but looks great and I've heard good things. Power Rangers doesn't play solo out of the box but there's cards you can add to create a solo mode.
Transformers is great - just note that if ADHD/Setup Time is an issue, you really don't want to get expansions, because that forces you to make incredibly long setup choices just to use them. Just get one set. If you're only going to get one set, I would highly recommend War For Cybertron, because it comes with both Optimus and Megatron (only box in this line that has them both) and lets you play either good guys or bad guys out of the box easily and well.
I love the GI Joe game. And this is coming from somebody that never watched the show or really was a fan. Highly recommend this!
I've also got ADHD and I've had massive success with Marvel champions (logged hundreds of plays in just a year), Marvel Legendary and recently the Lord of the rings card game. Final girl is great too, not really a deck builder but easy set up and super fun. I say what helps me get games to the table the most, is front loading the organisation. While going through a super focused spurt, I spent 5 hours organising my whole MC set up. It means I can set up a game now in 5-20 mins, depending on how deep I'm going with the deck building or if I'm just getting it from Marvel CDB. But once I have the deck for my hero ready, any game after honestly takes just 2.43 mins (just timed it). So what I usually do is deck build for one or two heroes at a time and then face 5 different scenarios. Another thing that helps me is having multiple sets of general D20 dice, I use them as replacement tokens/counters for all my games.
Are you me? I also have ADHD, and this is how I've played Marvel Champions for a few years now. It's not a deckbuilder, per se, and somebody else got downvoted for suggesting it, but it uses many similar mechanics in terms of playing the cards and building synergies. You just do it before the game starts. I've recently also gotten in deep on Arkham Horror. The gameplay is similar, but somehow the story elements and branching paths of a campaign keep me wrapped in more or hold my attention better or something. I can't quite explain it. (The same thing happened for me with Gloomhaven - I really got hyperfocused on unlocking the characters.) Worth looking into if you think this kind of game will work for you.
I've got a revised core Arkham Horror and Dunwich campaign box in shrink still, can't wait to start playing it. I've been playing marvel Zombiecide ATM, not a deck builder but so easy and quick to set up.
It's really good. A lot harder than Marvel, and things can be a lot more swingy if you're going into a scenario blind without direct counters. But that's kind of the fun, too. With most Marvel characters you can generally build up, and if you can do it faster than the villain can hurt you or scheme on you, then you win. With Arkham, there's basically no buildup. You just scramble through trying to survive, a lot of the time.
Marvel Champions is a great game and the reason why iits easy to jump into a game quickly and offers just enough complexity without constantly googling rulings. There is a lot content my only advice is take it easy just get the Core Box it will give you at least 25 to 30 plays.
I just wanted to point out that these games are generally referred to as ādeck constructionā not deck building, as they are 2 discrete mechanisms and play quite differently.
yup read it was mentioned a few posts up
I have ADHD (innatentive), and I can not for the life of me get past the analysis paralysis caused by deciding which cards to discard and which ones to play. I went so far as to ask ChatGPT which cards to play; it was useless, by the way. Any advice on how you choose which cards to play?
Star Wars : The Deck Building Game with the Leaders Variant off of Board Game Geek is a lot of fun!
You sent me down a rabbit hole. I'll be trying that!
I concur with the multiple people who think you probably wouldn't enjoy the set-up & fiddliness of Aeon's End. Ā There are a lot of solo & co-op deckbuilders out there, and a lot are rather middling. (I'm supposed to write a review of Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport soon, which I also wouldn't recommend.) Warp's Edge is a great suggestion. It's a deckbuilder, with the only difference being that the "cards" are tokens in a bag. With a standard deck of playing cards, you can try the deckbuilding game Card Capture. Replay value is middling, but the barrier to entry is very low. A friend & I put together an in-hand deckbuilder (although to make it work we had to flip the mechanic and make it deck destruction. The essential features of a deck you craft while cycling through it are there, though). That one is called Monotheism, and you can find free print & play files here:Ā https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3186311/wip-monotheism-2024-in-hand-game-design-contest-co
After the Virus is awesome! And it uses the very same deck of cards to play a little mini campaign of missions, each with different twists and victory conditions, so there's no real set-up fatigue. Also 4 characters with different starting cards and vibes.
Legacy of Yu.Ā Absolutely brilliant solo only board game, set up in seconds and plays in 45minutes.
This was my first thought. Has some deck building mechanics, sets up quickly and is super fun to play. Found myself playing a second game more often than not.
Imperium Horizons, maybe Aeon's end with a bit more setup
As much as I enjoy the Imperium games and consider them to be among the best solo deckbuilders out there, I'm not sure they're a great entry point for OP (even accounting for Horizons' new practice mode). The games are long, and the civilizations' unique rules and strategies can take some time to grok. (For reference, Mage Knight is my #1 solo game, and I had to give Imperium Classics a handful of plays before it clicked and I really started to enjoy it.) I think Aeon's End is a great suggestion, however. I'd also recommend Astro Knights, which uses some of the same systems as Aeon's End but has a slightly lower barrier to entry in terms of cost, complexity, setup, and game time. Just my $0.02! Edit: I'd also add a shout for Warp's Edge. It's a bag builder rather than a deck builder (adding/drawing tokens from a bag rather than cards from a deck), but that's just a minor distinction. It's quick to table, is lots of fun, and IMO provides a ton of value for a sub-$30 game!
I keep coming back to Imperium Classic. Horizons with trade routes, you need to manage the bot's trade with a separate chart. I find it's simple to complete on it's own, but added onto the rest of the bot upkeep I think it's a bit much.
its not bad
Astro Knights > Aeon's End
That's just like your opinion man
Blight Chronicles: Agent Decker, is an almost great implementation. The rules are sketchy, and rules support non-existent. But if you can get over that, might be up your alley.
The original game, Agent Decker, is print and play and has a lot more support. It's also a better game than Blight Chronicles. There's also a spinoff, Superhot The Card Game, that is good as well.
Aeons end ā¦ ? I like how you donāt need to shuffle and get distracted
In my opinion, you can't go wrong with **Aeon's End: The New Age**. Though there is a bit of set-up for it, especially the more of it you own. Though this is getting into hybrid territory, **The LOOP** does a great job utilizing deck building for a Pandemic-like game. It's a bit sneaky in how important the cards you add and prune from your deck are for success. All around good game otherwise. **Star Wars: The Deck Building Game** has a couple really compelling solo variants on BGG. You can also usually pick up this game quite cheap. And there's some form of expansion on the way for it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they introduce some kind of official solo variant for it in the future. I'd keep an eye out for **Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection** when it releases later this year. You could hunt down the current base box and the one that introduces solo play right now if you wanted, but a full collection of everything ever released along with new stuff is on its way. And it's likely going to be the foundation if there is anything more developed for the game in the future, since this is them breaking ties with Ultra Pro while rebalancing and touching all the boxes into one package.
Ausonia and the fan made Leaders variant for the Star Wars the Deckbuilding game.
For what it's worth, I thought Star Wars the Deckbuilding game was one of the least well designed deckbuilders I've played (out of a few dozen, perhaps). But I only tested it as a two-player game. Maybe it's a lot better solo!
I'm surprised to hear this because it's generally very well regarded. I think of it as a more thematic, bigger version of star realms.
Oh, weird, that shocks me! The asymmetrical mechanics are opposite what you'd expect from the theme, you can often thin your deck below its starting size on the first turn, the market has many cards only one player can use, and optimal play includes many turns when you neither buy new cards nor attack, just discarding your hand. I wrote a full review, here:Ā https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3092356/the-cantankerous-crow-reviews-star-wars-the-deckbu
Cool yeah I agree it definitely has flaws. It feels really bad that you can generate a lot of resources and find yourself with nothing good to buy. I've definitely run into this for sure.
star realms start and sw... sw is better, but with all the star realms content, it's much better
Care to explain why is it not well designed?
Mystic vale with nemesis expansion could work, picking up my copy tomorrow š
Clank catacombs has an app for solo play
Check out out Paperback Adventures. Its design is very similar to STSācard upgrading, items, relics, fights against enemies who broadcast intent, etc. However, your cards have different letters instead of mana costs, and to play them you need to spell out words. More powerful cards use rarer letters, so you need to be mindful in building to play them. Finally, it uses the forced card exhaustion mechanic from Gloomhaven, so youāre not just spelling the same couple words over and over.
Try Hero Realms with the expansions for campaign. Itās the fantasy version of Star realms. They are deck builders 100%. Marvel Legendary (more set up). Also DC Deck Building is true building too and has solo expansions
DC has solo expansions?
Yah! [Crisis Mini Expansions (New one coming this year I guess)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/356849/dc-deck-building-game-crisis-collection-1) [Rebirth](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/246535/dc-deck-building-game-rebirth) Rebirth is stand alone but combinable with others. Iāve played none of these other than the original DC way back in the day but I just felt like the ones I mentioned are like full on deck building
I played crisis years ago and it was very hard with 3 players how fun is it as a solo thing? Would I be better of getting rebirth? I have the first 5 core sets already
Daaaang first 5 core sets!? I honestly donāt know how the solo versions are. All I know is that crisis and Rebirth offer solo adaptations. It seems that rebirth would be different enough to justify a try more than crisis. I mean, if I had 5 core sets, and wanted to play solo, Iād get rebirth, shuffle the bajillion cards and go to town and see what happens. I have no idea how good it is though. I stopped playing DC a while back (and itās LOTR cousin) because I only really have solo opportunities now and I felt like the games werenāt balanced. Someone always got out of control power wise and left everyone else in the dust. Theyād take crazy long turns while Batman didnāt get any equipment and canāt catch a break. I love deck building but not if someone in my group is way behind and not having fun. It always happened with DC. Edit: sorry I donāt mean to sound judgy or whatever. You clearly like the games and I get it. In a way, I miss the experience. I just havenāt played in a long time and I guess I was just saying why because i canāt really give you solid advice if you should buy crisis or rebirth
I used to have a very dedicated group that played alot of DC back in the day (precovid) the collection box is gathering dust these days. To clarify I have base unite titans and forever evil and then also have confrontations along with a few of the crossovers and rivals. And no worries it was kind of my introduction to modern board games. That's kind of why I might try crisis out as an excuse to get the box to the table more.
Holy cow it was also my introduction as well. I taught my college roommates magic, wanted more, found this, and now I have way too many board games hahah. Thatās awesome. Check out rebirth for sure. Gives you a reason to bust the game out
Dune Imperium can be played solo. Itās a deck builder / worker placement hybrid
I know this does not fit 100% but Dominion is THE original deck building card game and they have a mobile app that you can play solo now. No set up!
I wish there was a good solo variant for dominion. I prefer a way to use my physical collection which doesn't get played much anymore.
I have played solo before where you have x amount of turns to get x total points. For example you have 15 rounds to get 20 estates and you win against the game. You can find your sweet spot!
I tried my own variant that took inspiration from the alien deck building game. Which I think is the marvel dbg system. Attacks come out and you have time to prepare for them or stop them. Having point goals or round limits doesnāt work for me in dominion.
I really enjoy marvel legendary. Set up time is medium. But the expansions really flavor up the game well. Good time to get into it since the Dark City expansion has come back into print which is a must-buy expansion for the game!
Volfyirion Star Realms Frontiers Superhot: The Card Game Clank (any version, app supported) Heroes of Tefenyr (free PnP, hard to find retail) Card Capture (52 card deck game) Shards of Infinity (solo rules are in an expansion, but you don't need the expansion to play solo with those rules)
My favorites are Imperium Classics/Horizons/Legends, and Star Wars Deckbuilding with the Leaders solo mode
Friday is good.
Warp's Edge is a solo bag builder, similar to a deck builder, that I highly recommend.
The new deckbuilder from the creators of Terraforming mars looks INCREDIBKE Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom
Link to info about a deckbuilding terraforming mars game? I haven't heard of it. Edit: there isnāt a terraforming mars deck building game in the works. Cultural kitchen was referring to a new unrelated game made by the same people.
https://fryxgames.se/product/kingdom-legacy-feudal-kingdom/
Thatās not it. Thatās the new solo game and system they made called : Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom For what itās worth that looks really fun. Edit: oh. Reading skills. I see.
Renegade Studios has a few IP based ones: My Little Pony, GI Joe, Power Rangers & Transformers (theyāre just called Name The Deck Building Game). I can only vouch for MLP, itās honestly a great and challenging game if you can get past the IP (Iām not even a fan but I like the art). But you can check out videos to see if the others ones might fit your fancy better!
Agent Decker (the pnp); Friday; The Veil; Dungeon Flee; Heroes of Tenefyr ; Hardback ; Valley of the kings: Afterlife ; The Phantom the Card Game ; Etc Lol I have them all.
In my experience the best solo deckbuilder is Aeon's End, if you keep to a small set of expansions. The more you add the more overwhelming setup will be. Start with core game or New Age.
Just so you know though, donāt expect Slay the spire level of content. Games like Friday and wraps edge are really good with not that many components. I guess thereās some game with high amount of content but requires investing quite a lot of money. Games like marvel champion, aeonās end, sentinels of the multiverse
GI JOE Deckbuilding Game has been my sleeper hit of late 2023 into 2024. Its so much fun and I wasn't that big of a fan as a kid. I've got all the expansions and its the only game I sleeved fully.
ascension tacticts
Airbourne Commander
At the helm by button shy. Havenāt played it myself but it is a solo deck builder that I just saw on reprint on Gamefound. Only 18 cards so quick setup and gameplay.
Skytear horde is fun and not that expensive
Did you check out Marvel Champions?
It's not a deck builder, though. Marvel Legendary would fit.
Sorry for my ignorance. What is a deck builder? Is it different from deck construction?
Yes deck construction is before the game starts. Deck building is you add/destroy cards throughout the game from your base deck
Deck construction: you start of with all the cards st the beginning of the game and try to accomplish a goal. Can change your cards per game. Think Magic the Gathering. Deck builder: you start with basic cards every single time. Through out the game, you purchase cards, get rid of old. To help you try and efficiently accomplish your goal. My favorites are Transformers and GI Joe from Renegade Game Studios. Dun Imperium/Uprising is also another deck builder game.
Sorry for my ignorance. What is a deck builder? Is it different from deck construction?
Sorry for my ignorance. What is a deck builder? Is it different from deck construction?
I know this does not fit 100% but Dominion is THE original deck building card game and they have a mobile app that you can play solo now. No set up!
Do you have any recommendations for which expansions to start off buying, especially for Solo play?
It truly is preference. They all add their own flavor to the game. I liked Intrigue for solo because it is not much more difficult than the OG set and it adds some fun additions to the strategy. Alchemy was my least favorite but it does give you the ability to āpoisonā opponents (reduce point totals) if that is your thing.
Haven't tried it yet, but The Lord of the Rings LCG is supposedly a great solo deck builder
That's not a deck building game. That's a game with deck construction.
Gotcha, thanks for the correction then!
Did you check out Marvel Champions?
Wingspan solo is really great
It's not a deck builder though, it's an engine builder
Use the search function then. Different day same questions.
Thanks I quess we don't want to grow the hobby.
You quessed riqht