Automas - Dancing with Myself

 Automas - Dancing with Myself

You know this post is going to be a good one if I'm leading it off like this...

It's now been a year since the United States has been well and truly buried under the weight of the COVID pandemic. And as such, a number of outlets have written about a small resurgence enjoyed by board games as families seek things they can do at home together. But an aspect of this resurgence they're missing is that a lot of board games can also be played solo!

I'll be the first to say that this isn't for everyone. I know that I've missed playing board games not just because of the games themselves, but because it is a very big component of how I socialize. As I've gotten older, I've been less and less interested in spending my weekends "out," and increasingly interested in spending my time amongst friends playing games at someone's house while we enjoy a meal or some snacks and drinks. But as the latter really hasn't been an option for most folks for a year, I thought I'd talk a little bit about how we can play board games by ourselves if we are so inclined.

I promise that playing board games solo isn't as sad as this!

There are some games that are sort of already designed this way because they are cooperative games - Pandemic, Sub Terra, Gloomhaven and Jaws of the Lion? These are cooperative games in which you and your compatriots are playing against the game itself. The design of the game is centered on the board taking actions on its own (diseases spread, a Horror hunts you and your fellow spelunkers, monsters attack you and your party of adventurers...all of your opposition's behavior is determined by what you draw from a specially designed deck of cards) so that all you have to do as a player is upkeep for your opposition based on the rules. Not all of these designs are as slick or challenging as the games I listed above, and the poorer designs really do make every experience with the game feel the same, in which case, you might as well have a thumb war with yourself. But some of them are really excellently constructed! And in the vast majority of these cases, if you can play against the game itself with friends, you can just as easily play it by yourself. Some games lend themselves to this better than others (whether that is based on game design or personal preference). I *can* play Spirit Island by myself (and I have!), but the complexity of the spirits and powers means it's a lot to keep track of by myself if I decided to play as more than one spirit at a time. It's just not the experience I'm looking for. However, I am all too happy to play Eldritch Horror by myself! I like the narrative aspect of the game, and so while I prefer to play with other people, this is one game that has often hit the table when I'm seeking something I can play by myself.

The other element of playing board games by yourself comes with an element that is increasingly being included in original game designs called "Automas." As the name suggests, this mechanic introduces fairly well automated opponents in games that otherwise do not feature them. You'll find these in competitive games in which you would normally play against other players rather than boards. It usually means there's more upkeep needed than in cooperative games like Descent or Flash Point. But the best automas are the ones that require the least upkeep on the part of the player while still being challenging. These can be really hit or miss, and again, they are not for everyone. They obviously don't help with missing out on the socialization aspect of board games. But I gotta tell you: I own a number of games that don't hit the table nearly as often as I'd like, and so I've been really grateful for some of the automas that have allowed me to play them more often!

Below, I've listed a couple of games that I already really enjoyed, but have discovered feature a really effective and challenging automa that make the game worth playing solo as well as with others.

Automas I've Been Playing Recently

• Everdell: I really enjoy the heck out of this game! The theme, the art, the feel...all of it! But it just wasn't hitting the table as often as I'd have liked in the couple of years that I owned it. I knew it had an automa element to it, but had not tried it. Honestly, I only broke it out so I could play the game enough to become so familiar with the rules that I could more easily teach it to others. But I discovered that the automated opponent (Rugwort, the rat) was a really challenging and effective opponent while requiring absolutely minimal upkeep on my own part!
  
  
  The game has several expansions (with two more coming, as has recently been announced on Kickstarter!), so playing against Rugwort has really let me open up the expansions and play more Everdell on my own than I'd been able to play in the couple of years since I bought the game at GenCon. Already a great game made better by being able to play it whenever you'd like.
• Euphoria: I really like my worker placement games, and I was told that Euphoria was a really entertaining one. I found it on sale at some point, as well as its expansion, and was very excited to get my hands on it! But after playing it once under the tutelage of my friend Chad, it never hit the table again. Not because I didn't want it to! But because the folks with whom I play games on a decently regular basis already had a couple of different campaign games going, or I was playing Star Wars Armada. As such, Euphoria was another game that I thought I'd re-learn by playing the automa so when I could game with friends again, I could more easily teach it.
  
  
  However, the more I played against the automa, the more frequently I played Euphoria solo simply because I liked it. That said, the automa in this one is very challenging until you really figure out how it prioritizes actions. It's easy to fall behind really, really quickly. The upkeep on this automa is decently easy once one understands how the automa deck of cards works. I'll admit: that took me several plays before play really flowed without mistakes. But once you understand the system, I think one can really appreciate its elegance.
• Viticulture: Honestly, I'd never thought to play the automa included with this game, but Viticulture is made by the same company that produced Euphoria (Stonemaier Games - who are, incidentally, local to St. Louis!). I was introduced to Viticulture by my friend John, and it was likely one of the first times I was introduced to a game whose theme made me judge a book by its cover. I went along with him when he said this game was worth playing, but privately, I wondered how I could enjoy a game that's about making and selling wine.
  
  
  My incredulity really reflected the attitude of many about how ridiculous it is that there are board games about "basically everything and anything at this point." But I gotta tell you, it's a great game. I really enjoyed it! But I also hadn't played it more than once or twice in a couple of years. In fact, I enjoyed the game enough to purchase it when I saw it on sale, but my copy hadn't even really been opened! The cardboard tokens hadn't been punched and the cards had never been unwrapped. I thought (just yesterday, in fact!) that I should change that. So I broke the game out, read the automa rules, and gave it a shot. I plan on playing it again today after only playing it once yesterday. The automa is well-designed and requires minimal player upkeep. However, the difficulty I had was in tracking my own actions, actually. I'm not entirely certain why that is, but I think it's because I'm used to playing it with others, and so was a bit at a loss as to how I should prioritize my actions. But like any good automa, this one is challenging while requiring minimal effort on the part of the player.

Playing board games by yourself isn't for everyone. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who are happier to play by themselves than with someone else! For those of you who are like me and find yourselves somewhere in between (I miss the company of friends as much as I miss the games themselves), then I suggest investing in a game or two that let you play them by yourself with minimal setup and investment.