In this episode we take a look at the soloable role-playing game Ironsworn. This episode is a bit different from our usual formula in that Ironsworn is not a board game. Before Ironsworn neither of us had played a solo role-playing game and frankly we couldn't really wrap our heads around how one could be played, surely the collaborative story telling process of tabletop role-playing would fall apart without other players at the table? At least that was our preconception. Throughout the episode we share our first impressions of the solo role-playing hobby and how our preconceptions compared to the actual experience all through the lens of the clever and intuitive Ironsworn. We also dive into the specifics of the Ironsworn system and offer some advice for anyone who is as curious as us about this way of gaming solo.   

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Listener questions: 

What do you think the potential barriers to entry are for solo role-playing games? 

If you have already played some solo role-playing games what other systems would you recommend? 

Links: 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram: @[email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/always_player_one

Everything you need to play Ironsworn for free: https://www.ironswornrpg.com/

Ironsworn playthrough on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig6xZYutx-4&t=1s

Ask The Oracle Podcast: https://ironsworn.podbean.com/

In this episode we count down our current top 5 games to play solo and the top 5 games we are most excited to try solo. After both lists we then begin to unpack the psychology behind picking favourites and the merits of ranking games. Is it important? Is it a harmless bit of fun? Or does it actually have a negative impact on new experiences? Both of us have strong opinions on the subject so stay tuned until the end to hear our thoughts. 

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Check out our new Patreon tiers and consider supporting the show: 

https://www.patreon.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast?fan_landing=true

Listener Questions: 

What are your top 5 solo games? 

Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Instagram: @alwaysplayeronepodcast

email: [email protected]

Reddit: u/always_player_one

In this episode we share our thoughts on the very popular co-op game Spirit Island and the concept of playing solo games with more than one character, or "multihanded". Norm and Scruffy look at the two main ways solo games can be played multihanded and share their thoughts on which work well and what games they enjoy playing this way.  

Listener questions: 

What is your favourite Spirit to play in Spirit Island?

Which Spirits combo well together?

Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Instagram: @alwaysplayeronepodcast 

Email: [email protected]

Spirit Island Tabletop Simulator Mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2104364163&searchtext=spirit+island

Please consider supporting the show: https://www.patreon.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast

Please consider supporting the show: https://www.patreon.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast

In this episode we share our thoughts on the classic Splotter game Roads and Boats and how it holds up as a solo experience. Roads and Boats is infamous for it's cut throat player interaction in the multiplayer game, we discuss how this compares to the solo mode and take a deeper dive into the topic of interactive multiplayer games that can be played solo. We break down the main ways we see designers convert their interactive multiplayer games into solo modes which leads to some very interesting talking points.  We also announce, with great excitement, the launch of our Patreon and with that our Discord channel where you will be able to chat and play games with us as well as take part in our light hearted tournament challenges. If you would like to support the show and join us on Discord then please sigh up here: https://www.patreon.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast We can't wait to chat and game with you!  

Listener Questions:  In your opinion what is the best AI system you have seen in a solo game?  What did the AI bring over from the multiplayer game?  Why do you think the AI worked so well?  Links: email: [email protected] facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523 Instagram: @alwaysplayeronepodcast  Roads and Boats solo scenarios: file:///C:/Users/andre/Downloads/Roads&Boats_-_Puzzles_Scenarios_rev1.1%20(1).pdf Scruffy's solo playthrough: pending

Tabletop Simulator mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2158789015

The solo gaming hobby is full of free and low priced print and play games, these games are often well designed and easy to get hold of. Before we started the podcast one thing requested more than anything else is print and play content. So we want to shine a light on some of these games and help our listeners discover new games they may not have otherwise heard of, this marks the first of hopefully many other episodes like this.

Rollway Station is an 18xx inspired roll n write that plays in 30 minutes. Rollway Station is easy to learn but makes for a thinky and difficult challenge. We chat with the designer Kendall "Hounds" Mckenzie, share our thoughts and hopefully inspire you to get to the printer and enjoy a free game. 

Listener Questions:

What print and play game should we cover next? 

Links: 

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast/

Scruffy's Solo Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVvgni11Z3U&t=1083s

Colourblind friendly generator: https://colorbrewer2.org/

Additional notes on generator: https://personal.sron.nl/~pault/

Download and play Rollway Station for free using the files on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312259/rollway-station

In this episode we share our thoughts on This War of Mine both as a game and as a tool to raise an important issue. We then use that as a jumping off point to look at games with darker or more problematic themes in general. If games use problematic themes is it the designer's responsibility to ensure it is handled with care or are all themes fair game for any and all titles? Find out what we think and join in the conversation.   

Listener Questions:  This episode we think there are many talking points raised so we would love to hear your thoughts on the main topic.   Also we had that great email in from Kendall who will be in episode 5, let us know, do you agree with his statement on difficulty in solo games?   

Links:  

Email: [email protected] 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast/

Loss Aversion by Geoff Engelstein: https://youtu.be/F_1YcCcBVfY

In this episode we discuss why we love Mage Knight and how much fun we've been having playing in a solo Mage Knight tournament. We also discuss competitive solo games as a broader topic and as always respond to your thoughts from last episode.

Listener Question: What is the most immersive solo experience you've had?

Links:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast/

Scruffy's solo playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLzN-ho77xY

Per's Top solo games: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/237360/my-solo-games-top-list

In this episode we discuss the topic of difficulty in solo games and Friedemann Friese's solo deckbuilding game of survival: Friday.  

This episode's listener question is:  Are there any solo games you find too easy or too hard? 

Links: 

Email: [email protected]  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast/

Scruffy's solo playthrough: https://youtu.be/axuCAnrZinE

The topic for episode one is: Why we love solo games and how we got into the solo gaming hobby, the game we're talking about today is Uwe Rosenberg's viking saga: A Feast for Odin.

Listener questions:

- Why do you love solo games and how did you get into this hobby?

- Tell us your favorite solo games, we want to play more great games!

Links:

A Feast for Odin Challenge booklet: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/150973/feast-odin-solo-booklet

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Always-Player-One-113123647053523

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwaysplayeronepodcast/

Scruffy's solo playthrough: https://youtu.be/Jmz2JFTTek0