Any solo wargamers here?

one of the great all time solo games. try and get the expansions as well. they are even better and tougher. your going to have a blast. wish i still had my copy

I would recommend heading to BGG and checking the files section. a ton of great graphical alterations and revamps

I forgot the chart, I'm a dumbass.

Clueless Sperglord Education Time: There is playing a wargame solo and then there is playing a solo wargame.

In the case of the former, you do switch hats.

In the case of the latter, either the game was originally designed for one gamer to play against the game's system or a system was developed later which allowed the same thing.

One example of a system begin developed which assists solo play would be Mythic. You can use the methods and mechanisms in it to play any RPG solo.

Ambush is great. Have you tried B17, B29, and Patton's Best yet? Patton's Best is a great solo single tank game.

Decision Games has a number of solo titles too. I especially like the Commando series. There are game on African bush wars, Merrill's Maruaders in Burma, the LRRG against Rommel, and others.

Another way to play wargames solo is to take a lot of time between turns. I have a table that I don't use regularly, so I can keep a game on there for a long time playing 1-3 turns per day. It's easier to get into the mindset of the other side when you distance yourself from the last side to play. But this really only works with I go-you go systems.

I have D-Day at Omaha Beach by Decision Games. I tried to use it as my first solo game but it was a bit heavy for me at the time. I haven't heard of the Commando series...probably because when I first got into the hobby I wasn't interested in smaller, lighter games. I picked up Vietnam Solitaire and really enjoyed it, though, so now I'm definitely interested in lighter games. I'll have to check them out!

I haven't played B17, B29, or Patton's Best yet. I'm interested in B17 but it's expensive and I want to play through games I own first. I'll have to look out for Patton's Best. A tank game would be cool, since I heard the tank version of Ambush was pretty ass.

You play any DVC games? I enjoyed Field Commander Rommel, but man it was disappointing that it wasn't tactical/strategic and more operational. I played through a campaign of Hornet Leader and am looking forward to trying it again!

>I have D-Day at Omaha Beach by Decision Games. I tried to use it as my first solo game but it was a bit heavy for me at the time.

Oooo... that's a tough one to tackle first. Same with the Tarawa game.

>>I haven't heard of the Commando series...probably because when I first got into the hobby I wasn't interested in smaller, lighter games.

The Commando series are smaller ziplocks, use area movement and some card play along with dice. Joe Miranda designed the Commando system so you know they're solid. Keeping with smaller sized, there's a Suez '56 and a few sci-fi solo titles too. There's a full sized solo Iwo Jima game which is great.

>>I'm interested in B17 but it's expensive and I want to play through games I own first.

B17 definitely needs a reprint. Over half of my copy is made up of printed scans.

>>I'll have to look out for Patton's Best.

It's excellent. Your tank never "moves". Instead, it's the middle of a "dart board" of sorts representing different directions and ranges. When detected, enemy units are placed at directions like 12 o'clock, 5 o'clock, etc. and different ranges. When your tank "moves", you instead move the enemy units in relation to your tank. ForEx: There's a German halftrack and squad at your right/3o'clock, you turn right, and the enemy is move to your front/12o'clock. You drive forward and the unit is moved to a closer range band.

>You play any DVC games?

Hornet Leader & Phantom Leader. I want to get Thunderbolt - Apache some day.

There's a great solo WW2 USN Pacific sub game from Compass called Silent Service you mayt like. It has strategic, operational, and tactical bits.

I enjoyed Field Commander Rommel, but man it was disappointing that it wasn't tactical/strategic and more operational. I played through a campaign of Hornet Leader and am looking forward to trying it again!

What kind of AI do you use?

>What kind of AI do you use?

Sperg much?

The "AI" he's referring to is series of charts, tables, look-ups, and other "paper" systems "operated" by die rolls and If/Then statements which is specific to and designed for the game in in question or designed at the fact.

It's not a fucking computer program you can use with any game.

I like this user

What said

>It's not a fucking computer program you can use with any game.

This reminds me that one of the reasons I enjoy solo tabletop games is because, unlike vidya, the rules and logic are all right there and you need to learn them. You need to learn how the game is designed before you can actually play it. I find it really neat.

I'm not the same. I could never imagine playing Korsun Pocket, Grigsby's, or most of the Panzer games on a table. I play tabletop for the in person social aspect, other than the occasional solitaire to pass time. Otherwise, I would rather play a computer wargame/strategy game and let the engine handle the rules and mathematics.

Thank you! Honestly when I'm playing solo I like to play lighter stuff because I can be a little bit more narrative with what's going on in the game, and it becomes a lot more about storytelling than the game proper. When playing on a computer or with other people, I become kind of obsessed with numbers so being able to tell those stories is quite fun.

I didn't know you could avoid meeting with your friends to have fun. That's my jam, I hate my friends, gonna buy boardgames now and join the general. Thanks user.

>personal favorite in the Independence of the Americas, particularly in Argentina and Chile.
As a fellow Chilean that's pretty cool.

>I didn't know you could avoid meeting with your friends to have fun.
Welp. I've yet to find a historical wargaming group here, and all my friends are in another country, so yeah, that takes a while. Can't really book plane trips from the US to Brazil every other week while in college.

>As a fellow Chilean that's pretty cool
Not Chilean, actually, I'm Brazilian, but I've got a fairly big part of my family in Chile.

Not played any solo wargames apart from THW's stuff, but am looking for more. Ambush sounds like fun.

I have played about with my own ideas, however, and it's quite easy to keep things fresh with randomized tables and rudimentary psychological profiles of drives, fears, ambitions and rivalries.

I meant its cool you play some Spanish independence game and you like Argentina and chile.

Yeah my friends don't like historical games either, they are boring. So thanks for these tips, my Brazilian friend.

THW?

>I didn't know you could avoid meeting with your friends to have fun.

Hard to find friends who are into these types of games. They tend to be much more complex than a typical board game. Also, since these aren't super popular, production quality tend to be pretty low. Paper maps with very basic graphics, stock photos for art, etc.

Pic is one of the higher production quality games.

That sounds interesting.
Are those AIs game specific or are there generic one that I can use with games for two?

Mostly game specific. I can't really comprehed how you'd run an AI for two players, honestly.

if you think Combat Commander is a high quality production game you really need to play more games.

granted GMT does some good games at times. but Combat Commander is in the crapper as far as artistic quality goes. Lock and Load is far better graphically, especially at the squad level.

>Are those AIs game specific

They're almost always game specific because by definition a SOLO game needs an AI to run one of the sides. Some two person games come with "solitaire" rules and scenarios. Other two person games have seen solitaire rules created long after their release by interested 3rd parties.

Solo war games, for the most part, have specific AIs/solitaire rules because of the game's specfic nature. Because they're more free form, RPGs can more easily use "generic" AI/solitaire systems like Mythic.

>> or are there generic one that I can use with games for two?

As , , and ALREADY EXPLAINED, you can use "generic" systems with pretty much most any wargame as long as you're willing to do the work.

There's a book in the /hwg/ archive called "Solo Wargaming Guide" which can show you how to start.

THW = Two Hour Wargames. They make some decent stuff that can be played solo, competitive or cooperative.

Was playing B-17 heavily for years after it first came out, even used it as a basis for an RPG. I did some heavy research and was was able to fly against far more targets and also added extra range to the charts. It was a a very involving thing. Later on the General published the Lancaster Variant Rules and it became my primary choice. It became an even bigger challenge to complete the two required tours in RAF Bomber Command.
314sqdn.co.nf/Rules/Rules.htm

Patton's Best is an excellent game. It shows the Sherman at it's finest in the way it was supposed to be used, against infantry, trucks, etc. Against enemy armor it pays not to be insanely gung ho but even the early 75mm gun models will do the job if you are smart about it.

Okay, that is actually quiet informative, dunno how those posts flew over my head.

Is there a solo or coop wargame that can be played with minimal set up (like, but not limited to, an office table?

As a forever GM, I have to admit the whole concept interests me immensely. I tried a really old solitaire hexcrawl called Barbarian Prince. The only issue I had was that it required having a bunch of PDFs open and my 10-year-old vista laptop was chugging. It was probably a much better game in it's dead-tree version.

Still, I would love to have a component like this for Battletech or have a Battletech RPG hexcrawl system.

I honestly just want to be able to be a player in a Battletech RPG campaign with players who know the setting and a GM who doesn't spend the entire time fucking up the canon with his bullshit "improvements" like GMPC snowflakes and force powers, but the likelihood of finding that is why I'm the forever GM.

I was about to ask what game was in the pic, but you answered that. And yeah, there better options out there graphically speaking.

(And I guess)

Here's my (quick and dirty) generic 'AI' system:

1. If the enemy has superior power (i.e. more men) - he'll attack - otherwise, he'll defend.
This depends on temperament: Impetuous (or pissed-off) Leaders will attack even if weaker, for example.

2. Use THW's Rally Round the King's pre-battle setup to generate battlefield and enemy deployment/battleplan.
As in: Hammer&Anvil, Refuse Flank, Head-on-Attack & stuff like that.

3. During the battle, enemy commanders use the same principle as 1. - i.e. if they're more powerful, they attack - otherwise, they defend.
Again, modified by temperament.

And, for the final touch: no cheating!
Make the enemy moves just as you'd make your own: i.e. no moving the enemy infantry out of the trenches & at a leisurely stroll across the no-man's land while your artillery, machineguns and aircraft (unopposed since the enemy guns/planes didn't feel like loading/flying today for some reason) pour a hail of bullets and shells into them.

This is what I do also. Though I must admit, i am prone to ignoring the roll in favour of doing something exciting. I seem to lose anyway.

I used to play Hornet Leader a lot. I'm sure it's still somewhere in the attic, but it's just such a pain to get out all the chits and everything, and I think I've lost several over the years.

I'd get the vassal version, but they charge 30 bucks for it; and the cyberboard one just seems clunky, or maybe I'm too dumb to use it right.

Curiosity bump