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  • #113105

    Well sadly, that’s soon to be yours truly. We’re moving to live near the seaside next month, my old cronies the Dynamic Dunderheads, may get to visit every six months and that’s about it. There’s a wargames club near where we are going, but I’d sooner stick pins in mi’ eyeballs than join one of them again. So it’s the lonely furrow of solo gaming, in which I need sage advice…
    What’s the best way to proceed for lonely wargamers , some decent rules (any period as long as they’re of the KISS principle) and are there any morale boosting plus’s to ‘walking alone, a man of steel’?

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #113108
    Avatar photoPrince Rhys
    Participant

    Nordic Weasel Games rules will be your friend here! Great rules that keep it simple but have many layers to them and always provide for solo gamers.

    #113114

    I’ve got ‘Squad Hammer’, do you reckon they could be tickled up for solo play?

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #113115
    Avatar photoPrince Rhys
    Participant

    Absolutely, I reckon so! I’ll be using Trenchammer for solo Mexican Revolution games!

    #113149

    ‘Doom Squad – Solo Wargame Rules’ ordered for starters, anyone had a pop at ’em?

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #113150
    Avatar photoOB
    Participant

    Piquet Field of Battle is excellent for solo play- all the unpredictability you could ever want.  It’s card driven and covers from 1700-1900 with sub sections with army lists and period specific rules for each epoch as it were.  It’s also well written and easy to learn.  I’ve never had a bad game with it either solo or otherwise.  Lancashire Games stock it and also Caliver Books.  Not cheap at over £30.00 but well worth it.  Might be worth haunting ebay if you want a cheaper copy but you don’t often see it there.

    I should say there is a new edition in the works though I’m not sure when it’ll appear.

    OB
    http://withob.blogspot.co.uk/

    #113160
    Avatar photoian pillay
    Participant

    Welcome to the club Harry. To be fair, I don’t mind solo gaming. (Helps that I am socially awkward, but that’s another story…)

    as to rules, I find things like Neil Thomas and PZ8 rules work nicely . As do games such as DBA / HotT, crossfire for WWII. I have picked up doomsquad rules and although I haven’t played them yet. My opponent keeps fobbing me off… they read really well. I am just in the process of writing my own QRS the one in the book is a little lame. I am also creating some D6 TM tables to make it easier for certain periods to be better tailored. My only gripe is that the layout seems not planned out very well after the core rules section. It doesn’t detract from the rules at all by any means.

    what I think these rules will be good at and it will be my first try of the rules. Will be recreating commando magazine type games.

    The doomsquad is suggested to be run with 10 models in three groups. 2×4 and 1×2 heavy weapon team / specialist sniper team. You can choose to have squads of any size I guess as there are points provide to create your 20point doomsquad from.

     

    cheers,

     

    Ian

    Tally-Ho! Check out my blog at…..
    http://steelcitywargaming.wordpress.com/

    #113219
    Avatar photoDarkest Star Games
    Participant

    I’ve always found the THW rules the best for solo play, as they are designed with that in mind.  I know they aren’t everyone’s cup-o-tea and can be hard to grok at first, but I have found them highly rewarding (to the point of writing for them!).

    "I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

    #113223
    Avatar photoSteve Johnson
    Participant

    Warmaster Ancients, the Black Powder stable and BKCIV all work really well for solo games due to the common command mechanic. It also makes moving from one set to another relatively straight forward with minimal changes and less brain ache.

    #113228
    Avatar photoThuseld
    Participant

    This thread has been useful for me, as I too am a mostly solo gamer. Although, by gamer I mean more like a miniature painter and storer.

    #113330

    That’s wot I’m frightened of becoming…  a painter and storer!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #113352
    Avatar photojeffers
    Participant

    Embrace the fear! Other people are overrated, especially wargamers. I’m currently tempted to do a John Ruddles and game in the garden with simple old school rules. Just pop out when the weather is nice and do a move or two. And you can have ships on the lawn.

    More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

    #113375
    Avatar photoNorm S
    Participant

    I do both face-to-face and solo and I really enjoy my solo gaming. I find most things can be played solo, I just play both sides fairly and so far have not succummed to talking to myself 🙂

    The stuff you do is very visual, so I think you are half way there anyway with the pleasure parts of the brain being stimulated.

    #113380
    Avatar photoJim Jackaman
    Participant

    Try naval wargaming for solo. Quick to set up and take down and easy to play without an opponent.

    #113411

    Thanks chaps, for the advice and encouragement… plenty to cogitate on.

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #113412

    Got the outside of the new Emporium looking summat like…

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #114342

    ‘Doom Squad – Solo Wargame Rules’  just arrived and I’m skiving off packing to have a read, and I’m impressed. I can see my teams being Highlanders and Gurkhas on the NWF, with the Mad Mullah’s baddies popping up all over the place!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #115939

    Bob and Dave in their new home at the seaside…

    The Dook and Sergeant  Quincannon in their new home at the seaside…

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #115947
    Avatar photoGuy Farrish
    Participant

    Very nice too (though I see Dave’s weapon handling skills haven’t improved with the sea air).

    Love the Kirby Yorke figure (why did they put an ‘e’ on the name in Rio Grande?). Victor seems to have shaped up a bit – (was it because you demoted him from Sgt Major?).

    Good to see things getting sorted in their new home.

    #116389

    The New Emporium at the Seaside, it lives!!!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #116534

    I’m learning that the number one rule of solo wargaming is complete impartiality…

     

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #116577
    Avatar photoChris Pringle
    Participant

    That is such a glorious war room, it is a crime not to share it! Surely you can face a couple of visits to the local club to see if you find any kindred spirits there?

    Chris

    #116633

    Good God no!

    I was talking to a couple of ’em recently in the boozer…

    I’d sooner invite Ebola into The New Emporium at the Seaside!!!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #116701
    Avatar photoSteve Price
    Participant

    Out of curiosity which seaside are you at that is low on worthy opponents or suitable clubs?

    #116702

    Cleethorpes is the pokey little seaside resort in which you’ll find the new Faversham family seat. One of the Country’s finest wargames club’s is just up the road in Grimsby. I was talking to one of it’s members just the other day, his last name’s Grimmer, he lives in Grimsby and has wargamed for nearly thirty years…

    in which time he’s never painted a single Viking!!!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #116780
    Avatar photoAutodidact-O-Saurus
    Participant

    What the *bleep* is that bunny doing in picture no. 9? That just ain’t right!

    Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
    More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

    #116808

    That’s ‘Wolfheze Wabbit’ a prezzie bought for my daughter, by my old pal, 156 Parachute Battalion’s Arnhem Veteran, Corporal Harry Bankhead.

    Harry at the salute next to the grave of the Colonel of the 156 Battalion Parachute Regiment…


    LEST WE FORGET

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #126017

    With the exception of a couple of visitations from one of the Dunderheads I’ve been at solo-wargaming for sixth months now.

    Verdict… it’s crap!!! 

    Either I’m missing something fundamental, or the joys of solo-wargaming, is a myth put about by them as has no mates to play with?

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #126023
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    I started solo gaming in August 2013, so just over six years.  In that time I’ve played 370 solo games, just over sixty a year.  It’s been so much fun that it’s grown to five different blogs to catalog my solo adventures:

    Blackhawket (the original, mostly a painting blog now, but still with gaming odds and ends adding up to 104 batreps):

    https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/?m=1

    Cuba Libre (my alt-history modern warfare blog, 148 batreps):

    https://cubalibrewargame.blogspot.com/?m=1

    With the Lead Breed (WWII in the Pacific, with 50 batreps):

    https://oldleadbreed.blogspot.com/?m=1

    Lead Crusade in Europe (WWII in Europe/Med, with 67 batreps):

    https://hakunamatatawars.blogspot.com/?m=1

    Sword of Gideon (Arab-Israeli Wars, with 10 batreps):

    https://swordofgideonwargaming.blogspot.com/?m=1

    The key for me is:

    1. Throw away that garbage about playing both sides to the best of your ability, be impartial.  To be interesting, I have to have a vested interest in ‘my’ side winning.

    2. Play campaigns, series of fights, in eras hat you’re interested in, following a single unit (at whatever echelon you see fit).  Getting ‘bought in’ to the characters really makes it interesting for me.

    3. Share it on the blog, so other gamers can enjoy it and be a part of your gaming, and maybe even convince yourself you owe it to your ‘fans,’ it can help keep you going when your motivation begins to wane.

    4. Having said that, be flexible, do what YOU want to do, rather than get bogged down in something.  We wargamers are butterflies by nature, so if you start something but suddenly find it not being fun and wanting to do something else, do it, anything to keep the mojo flowing.  It’s why I have five blogs now!

    Plus I don’t have any friends 😉

    V/R,

    Jack

    #126026
    Avatar photowarwell
    Participant

    I second Jack’s recommendations – really good advice. I find that having a continuing narrative with characters that I follow really increases my interest level. I have also found that I really enjoy recording my characters’ adventures on my blog (https://warwellwg.blogspot.com/).

    I also find it helpful to use fast playing rules. A set of rules that works fine for 2 or more players can really bog down playing solo because your army management tasks have doubled. This is especially true if there is record-keeping or card hand management. Each person has their own preferences as far as this goes so my only advice is to experiment and find what works for you.

    Finally, one benefit to solo gaming is that you can play around with rules, genres, etc. that others may find a bit odd for their tastes.

     

    #126029
    Avatar photoian pillay
    Participant

    Cleethorpes is the pokey little seaside resort in which you’ll find the new Faversham family seat. One of the Country’s finest wargames club’s is just up the road in Grimsby. I was talking to one of it’s members just the other day, his last name’s Grimmer, he lives in Grimsby and has wargamed for nearly thirty years… in which time he’s never painted a single Viking!!!

     

    Cleethorpes, or Meggies to those who where born there like me. He can’t be a true Grimberian if he’s not painted a Viking!!!! 😉

    I hope you are enjoying by the seaside.

    Tally-Ho! Check out my blog at…..
    http://steelcitywargaming.wordpress.com/

    #126037

    Yep, loving it mate, you lot still call us ‘Yorkie Bastards’ in the boozer though. I reply that we’re not now we’ve gone native and become ‘Smeggys’… which for some strange reason makes things worse!?

    One lesson well learned is not to call you lot ‘Smeggys’ after Grimsby Town’s lost!

    "Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

    "I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

    #126045
    Avatar photoian pillay
    Participant

    He he he smeggy

    Nice Viking’s 👍

    Tally-Ho! Check out my blog at…..
    http://steelcitywargaming.wordpress.com/

    #126143
    Avatar photoShaun Travers
    Participant

    I have been playing mostly solo for the last 10 years.  I will also second Jack’s points but add/extend one as well.  I have not found it necessary to have an ongoing campaign following a unit is needed to be interesting (although Jack does mention to me that I *must* do so.  He may get his wish soon as I am probably soon going to do a 5 Parsecs From Home campaign).  But I do believe something equivalent to this is important.  I found that for the first four years, it was replaying the same battles with different rules that kept me interested in solo playing – uncovering how different rules worked was fascinating.   I  then moved onto playtesting my own rules.  So that was (and still is) interesting in seeing how they play and tweaking them after every game 🙂  I have also done a series of related games, so not quite a campaign with the same unit but something like the Operation Jupiter scenarios, or a sequence of fights centred on a particular operation.  So not a campaign with the same unit, but something similar just the same that helps maintain the interest.

    And you do have gaming friends Jack, they just live thousands of miles away from you.  No idea why 🙂

     

    #126164
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    I think Warwell brought up a great point about using relatively simple rules, as rules with enough complexity for two players can quickly overwhelm a solo player.  I say can, of course some solo gamers are in love with the process and so they enjoy the added complexity, but I’m definitely in the ‘keep is simple’ crowd.

    And Shaun’s absolutely right, you don’t necessarily need a campaign with characters, you just need an impetus beyond wanting to be a wargamer, something specific to drive you.  I find (in my rare face-to face games) that just wanting to play a game is enough, because you’ve got the social interaction, but my solo gaming is more goal-oriented, I.e., I want to see this unit through this operation, and the next, and the next…

    “And you do have gaming friends Jack, they just live thousands of miles away from you.  No idea why”

    Just wait until I pick up and move to Brisbane!

    V/R,

    Jack

    #126203
    Avatar photoShaun Travers
    Participant

    Just wait until I pick up and move to Brisbane!

    Threat or promise? 🙂

    If you did move, think how happy it would make Ivan seeing his rules actually being played non-solo!

    #126247
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    Shaun, if you’re not feeling threatened, it must be a promise 😉  And I’d probably still play by myself, don’t need all the hassle of dealing with humans!

    “Either I’m missing something fundamental, or the joys of solo-wargaming, is a myth put about by them as has no mates to play with?”
    We don’t seem to have garnered much attention from Harry, perhaps the above was a rhetorical question?

    V/R,
    Jack

    #126249
    Avatar photoShaun Travers
    Participant

    Or maybe by our reply posts we have answered his question and shown it is a possibly a niche and not for most.  That makes us then sad or genius or just different (depending on the state of our egos) 🙂

    #126254
    Avatar photoian pillay
    Participant

    Or maybe by our reply posts we have answered his question and shown it is a possibly a niche and not for most. That makes us then sad or genius or just different (depending on the state of our egos) 🙂

    Shaun, this puts me firmly in the sad genius camp then 😬

    Tally-Ho! Check out my blog at…..
    http://steelcitywargaming.wordpress.com/

    #126265
    Avatar photoJust Jack
    Participant

    It must mean that! Mustn’t it? 😉

    V/R,

    Jack

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