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The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

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Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#31

Post by JackMorgan »

caf wrote: post #17
k__ wrote: post #3

Half-OT: Anyone knows good contemporary board/card games for two players? I like deduction games like "Mastermind".

Carcassonne works well as a two player game (not a deduction game, though). Sagrada works two player and has a hidden objective element, though I feel it's a little better four player. 10 Days In Africa is a good quick game with hidden information that's playable two-player, but it's out of print so can be hard to find.

My wife and I have played probably a hundred games of two player Carcassonne. We just dig the almost absent minded lazy play without striving too hard to win.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#32

Post by spugody »

galfarragem wrote: post #22
qaid wrote: post #2

As an only child, I used to spend my summers playing board games by myself. It started with monopoly (which my babysitter introduced me to) and carried over to chess and beyond. For many of the games, I ended up assigning one player to be “me” and different personalities to “the other players,” who each had different styles. I also tried my best to stop “myself” from cheating by forgetting what cards “everyone else”…

I'm also an only child and I'm thankful that I was raised in an area with plenty of kids. I never missed having real siblings. (Future) Parents of this world remember this when choosing a place to live, specially nowadays that only childs are becoming the norm.

Aside from being in that area, did you wish you had a sibling growing up? Selfishly my partner and I want to stick with a single child but for his sake we are thinking of having another.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#33

Post by Chris2048 »

k__ wrote: post #3

Half-OT: Anyone knows good contemporary board/card games for two players? I like deduction games like "Mastermind".

Santorini: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194655/santorini

is a good two player game. It has a simple base game, and then is kept fresh by randomly changing the gameplay with additional rules each play. You can also buy more rule cards.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#34

Post by altacc »

pixxel wrote: post #26
altacc wrote: post #23

As well as solo play, I've also started playing more digital versions of board games where an AI opponent is available. Whist not at all social it is a good way to quickly work on your strategy for when you do find a mutually convenient time to play online with friends. Plus most of them work on a decently powered laptop and don't need powerful graphics cards that a lot of other games do.

If you don't mind me asking, where do you play these digital board games?

As someone else has said, Tabletop Simulator has lots of options but there's dedicated digital versions of board games available on Steam, such as Scythe, Terraforming Mars, Splendor.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#35

Post by pavel_lishin »

spugody wrote: post #32
galfarragem wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also an only child and I'm thankful that I was raised in an area with plenty of kids. I never missed having real siblings. (Future) Parents of this world remember this when choosing a place to live, specially nowadays that only childs are becoming the norm.

Aside from being in that area, did you wish you had a sibling growing up? Selfishly my partner and I want to stick with a single child but for his sake we are thinking of having another.

Please stop thinking of your choice as selfish.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#36

Post by elefantastisch »

pixxel wrote: post #26
altacc wrote: post #23

As well as solo play, I've also started playing more digital versions of board games where an AI opponent is available. Whist not at all social it is a good way to quickly work on your strategy for when you do find a mutually convenient time to play online with friends. Plus most of them work on a decently powered laptop and don't need powerful graphics cards that a lot of other games do.

If you don't mind me asking, where do you play these digital board games?

Board Game Arena is a good option.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#37

Post by neogodless »

k__ wrote: post #3

Half-OT: Anyone knows good contemporary board/card games for two players? I like deduction games like "Mastermind".

As another mentioned, Hive should be up your alley.

We also enjoy Castles of Burgundy at two players.

Santorini might suit you.

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#39

Post by jaynos »

dragontamer wrote: post #13
k__ wrote: post #3

Half-OT: Anyone knows good contemporary board/card games for two players? I like deduction games like "Mastermind".

Some 1v1 games I like: * Pentago * Dominion (Card game) * Splendor (also mentioned by another user). * Dominion * Ikusa (~8+ hour game, 2 to 5 players. A faster-moving version of Axis and Allies) * Chess * Go --* Gomoku ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomoku ) Played on a Go board --* Connect6 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connect6 ), also played on a Go board --------- One of my favorite games is "Acquire", but it…

Dominion is available online. https://dominion.games/

Re: The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself

#40

Post by oarsinsync »

JackMorgan wrote: post #29
pixxel wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't mind me asking, where do you play these digital board games?

Not OP but likely the various paid and free DLC for Tabletop Simulator might have such features. Keep in mind as someone who enjoys boardgames TS can be a surprisingly steep learning curve.

> Plus most of them work on a decently powered laptop and don't need powerful graphics cards that a lot of other games do.

Tabletop Simulator absolutely kills my 15" 2015 MBP (integrated graphics only). The interface is laggy, and the fans are running at max after about 10 mins of gameplay.

Not that it doesn't work when there's no dedicated digital alternative that it exists, but its generally my absolute last choice.

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