Watch your Back: Week February 27 to March 5 (Part 1)
The first week of Spring is blooming with soloable releases, and we're here to gather them all.
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Let's start with games that promise a solo mode but haven't disclosed any info about it yet.
Solar 175 is a 1-5 player area control game set in a dystopian future where corporations have substituted governments and are competing for the most power. This is a campaign game with legacy elements, bag building and worker placement. Players will be drawing workers from their bags, placing them on the player boards to perform tasks, build ships and outposts in space, and voting for their favourite party in the elections. It is launching on Kickstarter on March 1.
Then we have an expansion for Small Samurai Empires called Rise of the Tokugawa. Small Samurai Empires is an area control programming game in which players first place action tokens face-down on the map board, and then resolve these actions by deploying and moving troops, attacking and building castles. The expansion will add two AI opponents to play against. Planned to launch on Kickstarter on March 3.
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GigaWatt is a 1-6 player dice rolling and auction game in which players are competing for the most efficient use of sustainable energy. It is set in late 20th century Europe, and your goal is to stop relying on gas and coal power plants by using wind, solar and hydro energy instead.
In each round, you will be rolling dice to determine the GW demand in your region, as well as the sun and wind production. You will be buying technology cards, and building power plants and connections. The solo mode is played largely in the same manner as the multiplayer game, with the auction being substituted with fixed costs of closing down a power plant. You win if you shut down all the coal and gas plants, and produce enough GW/electricity to cover the demand in your region. The Kickstarter launches on March 1.
Personal opinion: Given the soaring prices of gas energy at the moment, the theme of this game hits home and I would happily play it if given the chance. The solo mode fits my style (no AI), I'm just not sure about its sustainability (how much playtime it would see on my table in the long run). I suspect it might be more fun with other people.
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Illiterati is a 1-5 player real-time cooperative game in which you have to draw letters from a bag and form words to complete books before the illiterati attack deck runs out.
In the solo mode, you start with 10 letters. You set the timer to 3 minutes, and within this time frame you have to meet the requirements of your book cards. You can store up to 3 letters in the library area, but if you exceed this limit, then the letters get 'burned', and you run the risk of losing the game. At the end of each round, the illiterati attack and spoil your plans. You win by finishing all your books and the Final Chapter. It is launching on Kickstarter on March 1.
Personal opinion: It seems to be a fun game, but because I'm not a native English speaker, I would be a little insecure to play it. The real-time element might be okay if I played with others, but I don't want it for solo.
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That's all for now, stay tuned for Part 2.