Cult Of Games XLBS: Solo Wargaming – Why Aren’t You Playing With Yourself?
June 21, 2026 by crew
For some website features, you will need a FREE account and for some others, you will need to join the Cult of Games.
Or if you have already joined the Cult of Games Log in now
What difference will having a FREE account make?
Setting up a Free account with OnTableTop unlocks a load of additional features and content (see below). You can then get involved with our Tabletop Gaming community, we are very helpful and keen to hear what you have to say. So Join Us Now!
Free Account Includes
- Creating your own project blogs.
- Rating and reviewing games using our innovative system.
- Commenting and ability to upvote.
- Posting in the forums.
- Unlocking of Achivments and collectin hobby xp
- Ability to add places like clubs and stores to our gaming database.
- Follow games, recommend games, use wishlist and mark what games you own.
- You will be able to add friends to your account.
What's the Cult of Games?
Once you have made a free account you can support the community by joing the Cult of Games. Joining the Cult allows you to use even more parts of the site and access to extra content. Check out some of the extra features below.
Cult of Games Membership Includes
- Reduced ads, for a better browsing experience (feature can be turned on or off in your profile).
- Access to The Cult of Games XLBS Sunday Show.
- Extra hobby videos about painting, terrain building etc.
- Exclusive interviews with the best game designers etc.
- Behind the scenes studio VLogs.
- Access to our live stream archives.
- Early access to our event tickets.
- Access to the CoG Greenroom.
- Access to the CoG Chamber of Commerce.
- Access the CoG Bazarr Trading Forum.
- Create and Edit Records for Games, Companies and Professionals.
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
I feel a lot of master debating coming on regarding this.
they certainly mastered something …
I think it’s the baiting they’ve mastered.
For Justin this episode could have been an email. I believe that he would have issue with it as there would be gist all over the screen. I’d blame all Ben’s teasing discussion of double fisting and plugs. All this while John sat back watching quietly without interrupting which may speak louder than words.
I solo play whenever I can. I’ve tried soloing war games and it’s a great way of learning the rules, but without something to beat (an opponent, an AI, or a challenge set up by a 3rd party, ideally in a campaign format) it loses it’s appeal for me. What I normally solo play is campaign based board games, like Kingdom Death, Aeon Trespass, escape games, Mice and Mystics, etc. I can’t solo non-campaign games more than once. I need something to work towards, and once I’ve learned the rules and done everything once I lose interest. Give me a meaty campaign and a chance to improve my heroes/gear/empire/decks etc and I’m all in.
I have a copy of Rangers of Shadow Deep. I’m really looking forward to catching up (hahaha!!!!) on my painting backlog, and then playing that through solo, one mission at a time, and building and painting everything I need for the next mission. By the time I’m done my friends son should be old enough to take everything off my hands and enjoy it. He’s 9 and can already beat me at games. At the age of 5 I watched him correct a table full of adults on the rules to Carcassone and then beat them all, and I’m pretty sure he was self taught from enjoying the pretty colours and animal noises from the phone app.
Rangers is really good and the story that unfolds across the books is great. I’m sure you’ll have a blast with it when you get to it
oh my!
@sundancer I heard that in the voice of beloved actor George Takei
Exactly as it was meant to be!
i much prefer gaming in person with a friend, but i have done solo gaming in the past. Ultimately it depends on the game itself and/or what i want to get from the game
For example, Maladum, essentially designed around co-op/solo play, a dungeon crawler against AI adversaries, so will happily sit down, set it up and play it
I recently cracked out Infinity to do some solo gaming, although my main purpose for doing so was to learn the rules so i could demo to a friend, but i did do full 150 point games when i as doing it.
The upcoming Xcom game is also co-op solo, so again will happily be sitting down and playing once i get my hands on it
But some games just arent suited for solo at all, Moonstone for example… as fantastic a game it is and wish i got the chance to play it more, the mechanics at their core are all about bluffing….not sure how you can play that kind of game solo
Yeah, there are just some games that don’t suit solo… thankfully the minis can be used in anything XD Moonstone is definitely one I’d love to get more games in but the bluffing is so fundamental, I can’t think of anyway you could get the same feeling of the game solo
Forza Ferrari! 🏎️
That youtube algorithm was working hard this week @brennon I got that video pushed into my feed too!
For me solo gaming is often the only way I can manage gaming. Between shift patterns and disability, solo games get rolled out a lot.
I like solo RPGs best because the time played/set up ratio is better for short sessions in the evening. There are so many out now that there’s a different flavour for whatever genre you fancy.
Solo wargaming I enjoy too, either doubled fisted *grin* or with specific solo roles. Most of the time it is a weekend treat for me. I like to plan over the week which one I’ll set up; I don’t have a space where games can remain set up so giving myself time to play out the whole thing is important. A campaign is great but even just working out a cool narrative scenario and setting up a table to match it is great fun.
The chat about not being able to play both factions without bias just always makes me pity those people. Maybe it comes from being a roleplayer/GM before I got into wargaming but the idea that you can’t figure out what each side would do for their own benefit in a scenario just always seems like a lack of imagination. Thankfully there are some great games with solo/AI rules that could give them a great way into this side of the hobby.
In terms of a take it out the box and go game, the standees version of Cyberpunk is fantastic and the solo rules are good. There’s some terrain in the box but I pair it with a set of the cyberpunk terrain from Tenfold Dungeon.
🤣🤣🤣
I often wargame solo and would recommend it to anyone. As others have said it is a great way to learn rules or work through a new scenario before presenting it to an opponent. I even had a solo game in my SCC to test out my new army. I wrote a bat rep if anyone is interested. It went well, I won 🙂
Now I am not a serious gamer this I admit, I enjoy the the building and painting side of the hobby more, but I do like to get the miniatures on the table and play. So solo gaming lets me do this and I have done it for anumber of years, I like it because of the no time restrictions can be played anytime, no worrying about getting a player. etc etc.The obvious solo rules Rangers Of Shadow Deep I throughly enjoy .I am lucky that I can leave my games set up has I have the space in my loft. And yes Ben I play Bolt Action Solo using a card system AI for the opponent. This way of gaming is what I enjoy and to can get my minis on my table. I play X-wing solo using a template to control the other ship/ships so yes i throughly enjoy solo hobby and solo play…..Or Maybe, it might be because i dont like people…lol.
I solo gamed Kingdom Death a few years ago, and since then I solo Aeon Trespass. Aeon Trespass takes about 100 hours to play through a cycle (and it has five of those). I can’t imagine there are many gaming groups that could stay together that long. Solo play is the only way.
I think Solo Play when new to a game, can be a great way to test games and rulesets, and learn how a game plays and to start formulating tactics.
Also some games are designed to be Solo played and as I’ve had an Interest in Deadloque reawakened have looked to the recently released 1812 Retreat from Moscow a Solo Play mini-campaign game.
For deep immersion in a narrative, solo is the way to do it. People underrate “play” as something for children only, but in that aspect children are wise beyond their years. It’s a valid way to shed life stress, especially for introverts. Personality types and gaming styles would be an interesting topic to discuss. You’d probably need a psychologist on the show for that one though!
Hi XLBSers and COGz 👌
Thanks for the golden button. Sector Alex is a good solo game. I like playing solo games co op with a friend but I do play more solo games the older I get. Still playing five parsecs
Fabulous show guy’s
OMG they’ve descended into a gutter fest of innuendos and smutty comments this week. Ahhh its just like the good old days again…
@56:41 – if that’s the case then maybe we should send Lloyd to Rome?
Really interesting from John about WWII. I’ve no current interest in 3d printing but are more than happy to listen to John going through historical ranges.
On solo wargaming I do have solo rules but I’ve not had the hobby time to use them. I’ve always intended to use rules like 5 Parsecs as a hobby project to get figures from my backlog painted and terrain built to use in multiple games. I think the random generation in some systems would be interesting for this.