A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

solo board gaming

One Meeple: Pick-A-Polar Bear

When I went to ConnCon in March, I got involved with a few of the auctions. Because of the artwork and the fact that I got it (if I remember right) for $5 or less, I went for a game called Pick-A-Polar Bear.

Honestly, I got it because there was a solo variant. I figured if I could get a few plays out of it, it would be worth the investment.

The game is simple enough – you place a certain amount of cards face up, pick one as your starting card, and then see how many you can get through by taking a bear that has just one difference from the one before. A lot of the bears are similar, so you can go back and forth with the same differences, but eventually you have to break away from that.

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Pick-A-Polar Bear is a fun and quick game in the solo variant.

You do need to think, though, as you have to think several moves ahead. If not, once you get there, you might realize you’ve boxed yourself into a corner. The object in the solo game is to play the three rounds and have as few cards remaining each round as possible.

The game plays pretty quickly, too. I played in less than 20 minutes, including setup. The cards are smaller and square, so it’s going to take a lot of shuffling to really mix them up. I’m not the greatest shuffler as it is, so it might take some time for these cards to split up well.

The card quality seems solid, though. It’s not a game I’ll be playing every night, either, so I’m sure things will last pretty well.

Overall, the game was fun. I liked the idea behind it and, as noted above, the artwork is nice. It’s definitely on the whimsical side. The game itself isn’t going to likely appease to hardcore Euro-style gamers. Though you need to think a little, it’s more of just kind of plotting moves, especially in the solo version. I haven’t played it multi-player (and, honestly, not sure if I will), so I can’t comment there. But for a one-person game, it’s not bad, especially if you can get it for cheap.

I also like that it’s small, which means if I am going away somewhere and know I might have some time where I want to kind of just play a quick game or two, I can throw it in my overnight bag and call it good. I have a few games like this, so it’s nice to know some of them are easy to bring with me.

Again, if you can find this on the cheap and you like simple game to play solo, this might be one for you. It’s fun for a game or two, put on the shelf and pull it back down a month or two later. It’s not a game, however, I’d be looking to play every night. I do think it’s a keeper for my solo playing, though, which is nice.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One Meeple: Rolling America makes you think

It seems like it should be a simple game.

Rolling America, published by Gamewright, isn’t necessarily so simple, though.The concept might be, but the game itself isn’t easy, based on what happens as the game moves on.

Roll some dice and use them, based on colors, to put the numbers throughout the United States. You use that number in different spots, based on what other numbers are written down. The biggest kicker is neighboring states can’t be more than a difference of once (so if a 3 is in New York, you’d have to put a 2 or a 4 in Pennsylvania).

Basically, when playing with others, it’s a solitaire game played with multiple players as you also write the numbers others roll. I’ve only played it solo and I like that it’s challenging and it makes you think a little. You have to think of everything before you put a number down as it can have consequences on your future choices – or lack thereof. For example, if you put a 3 in a central state, you might have issues if you don’t roll a lot of 3s or 4s in the colors you need.

Rolling America takes a little luck and thinking.

Rolling America takes a little luck and thinking.

That means there is some strategy, but at the same time you are relying on the luck of the roll. Also, there are seven colors in the bag (the six that are in the states, and a clear – which is a wild and can be used for any color). So there’s a chance you don’t pull, say, a green the whole time and if you used the clear for something else.

You must use all the dice in one way or another, unless you have that color already filled. Then you just ignore it, unless you have one of your three “change color” saves, allowing you to make one color another.

There are a couple of ways to save yourself over the course of the game, but if you don’t have any of those left, you have to put an “X” somewhere if you can’t use one of the dice. For a solo game, you are just trying to get as few Xs as possible on the map.

It’s not easy!

This is a quick and pretty light game that plays well solo. I like the idea behind it and it really does make you think a bit. There are times a roll or two after you made a tough decision that you just want to erase what you did and change things. Alas, you can’t.

Without a doubt, it’s a game of chance, especially with the rolling of the dice and only getting six of seven colors drawn each round. On the flip of that, you have to really think things through as you want to try and avoid boxing yourself in to a situation where you might have to write down a lot of Xs. It’s a fun game, for sure, and one I’ll definitely play many more times solo. It’s the type of game that you can get your quench of gaming in without having to dedicate several hours.

If you like solo gaming, this is worth a look. You can get it for less than $10 on Amazon, it doesn’t take long to learn and you can be playing in no time.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!

One Meeple: OctoDice – a light game to quench your thirst

It has been a few months since I’ve done any gaming, whether it’s solo or with a group. I’ve added a few games over that time, but I just haven’t had the time to sit down and learn some of them.

After a long road trip for baseball, I realized I needed to get a few games in. And something light that I could play in about 20 minutes and solo is what I was seeking.

Ready for a solo game of OctoDice.

Ready for a solo game of OctoDice.

Enter OctoDice, a game published by AEG.

From the rule book:

As scientists and engineers on board of the underwater research station “AquaSphere”, you are facing a big crisis: your most important tools, the bots, have stopped working!

It is time to take matters into your own hands–but quickly! After all, you want to have a major scientific breakthrough before the competition does. In the short time you have, you must expand your labs, analyze crystals, dock new submarines, reactivate the bots, and catch octopods.

Be careful though! You never know whether the competition is spying on you…

The game is quick and dice-based, so already a good thing. The mechanics are pretty simple, too. Roll the six dice, set any two aside. Roll the remaining four and, again, set two aside. Then roll the final two.

You then have to decide how to use the dice and score points based on the actions you choose.

The thing with games like this, though, is you are playing against yourself and trying to get your highest point total possible. This game has some options on a direction to take. You can aim for one part of things to score, or spread yourself out. I like that because it makes it so the game doesn’t always feel the same. Now, I am not sure I’d want to play this 100 times in a row, but I do like how it plays and it’s quick enough to satisfy the want to play a solo game.

I did end up playing the game three times on the night I played it – scoring 24, 34, and 29 points, respectively. Each time I took a different path and liked how things played out.

My highest scoring game, thus far.

My highest scoring game, thus far.

Those points should be a little higher, however. During the rounds, if you get so many octopods during a turn, you score points. I had it several times in the third (which is solo only) round, but there’s no actual spot for it – so I figured it was a wasted turn. Well, it turns out you do get those points as a thread on BoardGameGeek.com showed it.

Good to know for the future.

I like the theme of the game and the scoresheets that come with the game are really nice. There are plenty of them, too. Though I have a hard time believing I’ll use them all any time soon, I do hope there is a way to order another one down the line – just in case. It will make life a lot easier if I can get one if it’s needed, that’s for sure.

The dice aren’t the vest of quality, though. I don’t think I’ll use them enough to ruin them, but I could see if you were playing multi-player games where they might get worn out a little.

Overall, the game was fun. I would like to try it with two players and then maybe 3-4, but if I keep it as just a solo game, I won’t be disappointed. It’s a fun little filler game and one I can see me playing when I am looking for a quick game to play.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

One Meeple: Looking at solo gaming

In my collection of board games, I have many that have solo variants.

It’s not that I don’t have a group to play with, rather when I’m not mixed in with that group, there’s not always people around to play board games with. That’s fine. But sometimes I also want to play a game, so the best way can often be solo.

And there are some really good solo games, too. Heck, even some great multi-player games (Le Havre, Nations etc.) have some great solo variants.

I can't win at Shephy.

I can’t win at Shephy.

So it’s time to start playing them a bit more.

But besides doing it and often taking photos of the games, I don’t blog much about it. There are times where it becomes almost a misadventure in playing games. Maybe I am totally looking at a rule wrong, or the “virtual” opponent is just whipping me.

And I’ve often wondered if it would be humorous to blog about. And now, I figure, what the hell?

So, welcome to “One Meeple.”

The first true post about this probably won’t be for a little bit. I’m actually reading rules for a few games so I can get some things under my belt a bit more before I start. But, I also needed a post for this day. And I had created a header logo already … so I needed to use it, right?

The reality is I don’t plan on winning too often when it comes to games. There are some solo games (Friday, for one) that I haven’t come close to winning. Shephy is another. And it drives me nuts as I keep trying to beat it.

But there are some fun games I need to really learn – like Hostage Negotiator. I have several with newer solo variants and I want to get playing them more. This will hopefully push me.

I might even do a couple of posts on here about some board games on the iPad that I play against computer opponents. I do tend to get whipped there, too!

In the somewhat near future, I’ll start this feature. Who knows how often I’ll run it, but I’d like to try to have one every 2-3 weeks or so. That’s why it would be nice to get a few under my belt, so I can get some writing done with them – and realize how bad at solo gaming I am.

This should be interesting. And hopefully fun!

Have a great weekend ahead… and play some games!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!