The Solitaire Wargames – genre which in the beginning of my tabletop journey was completely alien to me – are becoming more and more prominent in my overall boardgames passion. I really like all the types: the dedicated solo designs, positions with solo variant or simply solo-friendly titles (like with chit-pull mechanics). If I have a multiplayer game which I am going to bring to the table with my friends, almost always I first do a solo run and familiarize with it.
Without any doubt the the pandemic time contributed here greatly – except for occasional Digital or VASSAL/Tabletop Simulator assisted plays, I was back then mainly entertained by moving the chits alone on the map (or using my two sons s great bots).
If you read my blog regularly, you have probably seen that I already created some content on Solo Games. You can look up the fantastic (sorry for my hubris 🙂 ) Solitaire Wargames Series article from which I am extremely proud. Also, if you would like to look at my preference when it comes to classic solitaire wargames, have a look at article from three years ago – dedicated solitaire positions.
Today I would like to focus on solo games I had a chance – and pleasure – to play in last 12-14 months. In essence, this will be new, fresh designs – sometimes standalone, sometimes parts of the larger series. I hope they will work as an inspiration for you!
Other articles in the series:
Mr. President from GMT Games
Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020 is a solitaire game about governing as the President of the United States. Important! It’s not an election game! It begins after you’ve been elected. It’s about sitting in The Chair and trying to advance your agenda while navigating ongoing crises, political enemies, public opinion, your relations with Congress and the press, and keeping your country secure in a world of rival nations and agendas that just seems to keep blowing up around you.
In essence, Mr. President is a resource management game, where you never have enough of them to achieve your entire agenda – which I really like as it clearly reflects the reality. The resources will be political capital, military power or simply time / actions you can devote to crises and opportunities.
Like the actual President, you’ll have an array of allies and resources to help you as you navigate both the corridors of power in the nation’s capital and the uncertainties of international relations. These allies and resources will vary from game to game, but you’ll always be able to rely on your Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to help you with foreign policy and with the use, where you deem necessary, of the combat power of the U.S. military.
You’ll also have a group of domestic advisors and friends in Congress to help you navigate the many challenges in Congress and domestic life and politics. And you will always have access to at least one truly exceptional talent (chosen at random for each game – nice thing to differentiate between gameplays), someone who excels in their particular job and is a “force multiplier” for you in their own unique way. How you lead and utilize this mix of talents and experience at your disposal will go a long way toward determining your success or failure during your shot at being Mr. President.
Let us be clear – Mr. President is not a game for everybody. This is deep, multi-dimensional simulation, which portrays complex and mutually impacting processes and factors. It does it job splendidly but requires commitment – both in time, especially when you start with the game, but also in space – as you will require a decent-size table to be able to set it up. Still, this is investment worth making as the ultimate prize – a wonderful story unfolding during the gameplay – is worth it!
More about game:
Manila from Revolution Games
Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 is Volume 2 in Solitaire Area Movement Series. I had a pleasure to play extensively first game in series (Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942) and have a lot of fun with it. Thus it was a no-brainer to get Manila and bring this to the table.
This game puts the player in charge of the attacking and far more mobile American side while the game system handles the defending and largely static Japanese side. Each turn presents new challenges for the player in the form of random events, uncertain supply deliveries, and unknown Japanese area strengths and defensive strategies.
The primary game is a nine-turn campaign covering the American assault on the city during February and March 1945. The deeper American forces advance, from the city’s less developed periphery to its urban business district and fortress-like government buildings, the greater Japanese resistance becomes.
The number of American units fought to exhaustion, effectively out of action, mounts. American determination to secure a rapid victory for Supreme Allied Commander General Douglas MacArthur, represented as “morale” in the game, gradually decreases. The player wins by equaling or exceeding historical American gains and loses if they fail to do so, or if morale falls too low – and believe me, this is bound to happen if you attack too recklessly and too fast.
The game has very quick set-up which is different each time you play; there are several optional rules which can really spice-up the game – but also, most probably, make it more challenging. And what is important for wargamer who loves history, there is a lot of background information!
If you have not seen this system in action yet, give it a try. Both Manila and Stalingrad are great, choose whichever more appeals to you theme-wise. And one more good information: the third installment is already in the works!
More about game:
Global War by White Dog Games
Global War: World War II Worldwide 1939-1945 is a strategic solitaire game of the whole Second World War. You control the Allied Powers (Britain, France, USSR, USA, and their many allies), referred to in the rules as the “United Nations” or “UN”. The game’s automatic systems direct the efforts of the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) who are trying to defeat you.
Global War made a great impression on me; it really touches all the crucial elements of World War II, while keeping it simple and on strategic level. We have six fronts, out of which some are active already in early 1939 (you remember, War in China?). The two pivotal moments of this struggle – Barbarossa and Pearl Harbor – are very naturally introduced; we have impact of US isolationism, Gandhi movement, carrier battles, Manhattan Project, Stalingrad & Guadalcanal battles and many, many more. All of this nicely connected, not too complex and naturally implemented in the mechanics.
What I would like to also underline, is that the gameplay feels just right; initially you struggle to survive as Axis overwhelm Poland, Western Europe and most of the South-East Asia. You grind slowly and steadily through Axis forces, gradually getting momentum up to the point when it is a matter not “if” but “when” you crash them. Still, this is not an easy task to finish it historically on time – and for this you would need to defeat all 6 fronts.
I really like and appreciate this game – theme, components, mechanics, initial struggle to survive and final push to win. I am sure I will be playing more and have already other Ben Madison creations on my radar.
More about game:
Honorable mention
Its a tradition that I add so called “honorable mention” to my lists – usually titles which does not fit the main theme but are worth presenting and stressing out. That is exactly the case with GMT’s CDG Solo System – as we do not have here a solo game per se, but a way to bring some of our beloved titles to the table in solitaire mode!
Oh, how happy I was that some of my long-term favorites got this treatment – and in last 12-14 months I tried many of them. This is enormous fun and I will definitely try more. What I played? Let us see!
Summary
The Solitaire Wargames are a great part and addition to our hobby; they allow players to digest the games on their own pace, familiarize with all details without time pressure and can be a great way to spend time when there are no other players handy. With each year I am discovering new titles and will definitely share my feedback on them.
And what are your favorite solitaire games – both recent ones as well as all-time-classics? Please let me know in comments!
The Boardgames Chronicle 
You should try some of Mike Lambo’s solitaire book games.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have just looked this up, seems to be a prolific author. I will definitely test some of his designs 🙂
LikeLike
Manila!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course!
LikeLike