1 Player Podcast

I was out with COVID so Julius and family picked up my slack and revisited a cool little game called PARKS.  Visit the National Parks in a very pretty game with an interesting solo bot.  But do they like it?

This week Julius and I look at the charming little trick taking game For Northwood!.  It's a fun and interesting game in a tiny package.   For Northwood! ( BGG ) Solo trick-taking games ( BGG )

This week I was lost in time.  Julius and family picked up my slack and took an anachronistic look at a Jurrasic Park legacy game Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar.  It sounds like a fun family experience and a good solo game. Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar ( BGG ) Warning: there are spoilers sprinkled throughout this episode.

I've always been curious about this game but have never tried it.  Julius does me the curteousy of telling me all about how it works.  It sounds like a fun, light and puzzling experience but not as cold as being up on the side of a mountain.   K2 ( BGG , Rebel.pl )

This episode comes out 12 years to the day after the 1st podcast!  Huzzah!  Just to liven things up a bit, Julius and I decided to do something a bit different (just a bit) and make this popular mechanics episode about Kickstarter and Kickstarter games.  Julius had some interesting points about Kickstarter as a tool and platform and I especially enjoyed looking through all the various items I've b...

This week Julius and I get Space Hulk: Death Angel back to the table.  This is the classic game of dying a brutal death and just watching your team of Space Marines get decimated by a bunch of alien scum.  This is a cooperative game published by Fantasy Flight games and is based on Games Workshop's Warhammer 40K universe.  It's  a well loved solo game that is now long out of print but come see it...

This week Julius and I talk about Legacy of Yu, from Shem Phillips and Garphill Games.  This is part of their Ancients Anthology collection by the same designer.  Unlike those games, this game is made for solitaire play only. It's a resource management game with a legacy aspect to it.  You will play until you have either won seven games or lost seven games.

This week we revisit a mechanic Julius quite likes in the form of a game called Black Angel.  Honestly though, we don't talk about that mechanic much at all.  The mechanic in question is a scrolling board that we encountered in Solenia about a year ago or so.  Black Angel uses that same mechanic and a whole lot more in a bigger more complex package with much more vibracity! Black Angel ( BGG ) Rea...

This week we look at a classic fantasy gamebook from the 90s, or more accurately, we look at a few books in the Fabled Lands series.  These are some rather unique gamebooks in that they are open ended and you are able to explore freely, travelling on a map in each book.  You can even travel between the books and progress through them as your character levels up.  There are seven books in the serie...

This week we are back to Popular Mechanics.  Well, sort of. I'm back but Julius is on vacation so I have a special guest. It's the return of Deborah from Geek Gamers !  She chose the episode's mechanic and it led to some interesting discussions and a small bit of confusion.  There's a bit of audio issues.. sorry about that.  Fortunately, it doesn't linger around very long at all. 07:30 - League of...

Let's take a look at Merchants of the Dark Road.  This is a 1-4 player competitive game that includes an automa for solo play.  It's a beautiful looking game with lots of shiny components (if you get the deluxe version) but got mixed feedback from our Julius. Merchants of the Dark Road ( BGG , Elf Creek Games ) Deluxe edition ( Elf Creek Games )

This week we talk about the vertical scrolling, space shoot-em up game, The Battle at Kemble's Cascade.  Don't worry though.  This isn't a video game but a board game with a theme of a space shooter video game.  It's a pretty unique concept that does a great job of simulating a video game.  It's a lot of fun but it does have a few small issues.   The Battle at Kemble's Cascade ( BGG )

This week Julius talks about the Wyrd Miniatures game, Vagrantsong.  The publisher is known for making miniatures games but this one uses plastic standies instead.  This is a tactical combat game with a campaign.  Think Gloomhaven or Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion but without quite the oomph of those games.

This week Julius tells me all about the game Resist!.  This is a game about the Spanish maquis during the Spanish Revolution.  You take control of a number of maquis and complete missions by fighting the defenders at the location.  This is a deck-building game, though come to think of it, I didn't get the impression there is a lot of deck building involved but maybe I just missed that.  Anyway, it...

This week Julius and I finally return to our Popular Mechanic series.  In this brief episode, we talk about games that are "one and done".   Basically you play the game once and then can move on from that game, never to return... EVER.  Maybe.

This week we have a very special episode.  I have a nice long chat with Deborah, the host of the  Geek Gamers YouTube channel.  We talk about all sorts of things including her channel, playing RPGs solo and her new book, Solo Game Master's Guide.  The title says it all.  This book is a handy guide for anybody that plays or wants to play RPGs solo. Geek Gamers ( YouTube ) Solo Game Master's Guide (...

This is the final episode in our Oniverse series. Fittingly, it ends with us visiting more of the Oniverse in the way of voyages to other galaxies... well, sorta.  In this game, you don't travel anywhere but you enable ships to launch into outer space to visit 4 different galaxies.  This is a game about deck management and getting the right cards to show up at the right time in your various interp...

As Julius and I make our way through the Oniverse, we've caught a breeze and ended up in the lands of Aerion where we are charged with making flying machines.  This is a Yahtzee like game in which you roll dice and try to manage good combinations.  You use those results to gather resources which are used to create amazing flying machines.  The game includes quite a few interesting expansions.   Ae...

Our journey in the Dreamlands continue.  This time we drop below the waves for an undersea adventure with a guest aboard.  This, I think, may be the most thematic of all the Oniverse games so far.  This time we'll recruit some of the denizens of the oceans to help defeat the bad baddy - the Darkhouse!  He's the opposite of a lighthouse :D

Week three of our tour of the Oniverse.  This week Julius and I visit the sandy beaches of Castellion and help the citizens build defensive formations again the armies of the Ravage (which we never see).  Castellion is a tile laying game in the Oniverse series in which you carefully place the citizens of Castellion into defensive formations of lines and squares.  This is a really interesting game!...

Week 2 of the Oniverse!  Julius and I look at the 2nd big box Oniverse game, Sylvion.  This time around, we are protecting a dream forest for an attacking army of fire elementals.  It was fun to revisit this game and get a 2nd look at it.  Myself, I hadn't played in almost 8 years!

We start the year off with a bang! This week, we have Jason Montgomery of the Meeple, Myself and I podcast and/or geeklist.  The three of us talk about the original Oniverse game, Onirim. This will kick off a series in which we re-visit each game in the Oniverse working our way up to Stellarion which just came out about a month ago. Onirim ( BGG ) Onirim 2nd edition ( BGG , InPatience ) Oniverse f...

This week Julius and I take a quick look at Transmissions.  It's a beautiful game about robots wandering around discovering nature.  If the theme, sounds pasted on, well, maybe but listen in because under the shiny but thin veneer is a veritable gem.  ...Or so Julius tells us   Transmissions ( BGG )

Be polarized with our discussion of A Touch of Evil: Dark Gothic.  This is a deck-building game set in the Touch of Evil Universe by Flying Frog Productions.  Some folks love the stylized cosplay photography on the cards and some just can't stand it.  Other than that, this is a pretty standard deck-builder with a satisfying theme.  A Touch of Evil: Dark Gothic ( BGG , Flying Frog )

This week we talk about Dice Worker Placement games.  You'll get to learn just how much I don't know about the subject.  Thankfully, Julius has some good recommendations.   Under Falling Skies So, You've Been Eaten Endangered Pocket Landship Artemis Project Twin Stars Black Angel