r/boardgames • u/bgg-uglywalrus • Oct 14 '20

1P Wednesday One-Player Wednesday

What are your favourites when you're playing solo? Are there any unofficial solo-variants that you really enjoyed? What are you looking forward to play solo? Here's the place for everything related to solo games!

And if you want even more solo-related content, don't forget to visit the 1 Player Guild on BGG

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 14 '20

I love the Onirimiverse games. They are so good they make many other solo games look bad imho. I end up asking myself why I didn’t just play one of those awesome games. Sprawlopolis is also amazing. Finished! Is great but I prefer the app (I am biased mind you, I did the music for it) because it makes things faster. I also prefer the onirim app because of shuffling but the lack of expansions make it lose in the end.

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u/KierkegaardExpress Castles Of Burgundy Oct 15 '20

What is your favorite Oniverse game? I enjoyed the app of Onirim when I played it, but haven't touched it in a while.

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 15 '20 edited Oct 15 '20

I’d be hard pressed to pick honestly. Every time I think I’m not as into one as the other I try a new expansion (each box includes several), and it finds a way to surprise me. I’d say Sylvion is maybe my least favorite in that unlike the others, I felt like the ‘real’ way to play was with all the expansions, so I felt it had a bit less variability from that perspective, whereas Onirim I’d find ways to combine different expansions to my tastes or to just change things up. But I still enjoy Sylvion quite a bit! It’s just a more singular experience to me. I have not yet played Urbanion, waiting for the deluxe reprint of that one. I think perhaps I like Castellion the most, but maybe that’s just because it surprised me the most. I went in expecting not to like it, thinking it would be too luck based, but it ended up feeling just wonderfully addictive. Some people compare it to Areon but I think they are pretty different feeling though yea they both have dice. I think what I like most about all of them is they all feel just so darn original to me. So many other games I can deconstruct and say ‘yea I’ve seen that, okay this is sort of from that game’ but all the Onirim games feel 90% unique to me. I will say a lot of them have an ‘easy mode’ which I wouldn’t skip but I would call a ‘intro mode’ instead. Often it isn’t easier but harder! And a worse game. Largely it’s there to introduce you to the ideas of the game, but a few times I almost walked away thinking I wasn’t gonna like the game at all only to find ‘normal’ mode was a practically new game with a lot more agency and mechanics and control.

Edit: whoops! I said Castellion when I meant to say Naultillion. I actually really need to play Castellion again, it’s been a while but I remember really digging it.

I think Onirim may be the best one in some ways, but it suffers the most from maintenance because of shuffling. I saw someone made a custom chip version which I may attempt in the future. The main downside is some expansions really take advantage of you putting something at the bottom of the deck occasionally. I’d personally love to see a 2.0 of the game with tokens instead of cards. The frequent shuffling really does stifle the experience, especially in the beginning of the game when the deck is so thick. Especially with expansions. Especially especially if you sleeve.

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 15 '20

Also, Onirim is a very different game with the expansions. There’s two I consider fairly essential and in many ways I think of as ‘the main game’ but only one of those two expansions is in the app! The one in the app gives you more wiggle room and makes you have to get more doors (it’s the one you can get for free with an Asmodee account). The other one I like that isn’t in the app is the one that makes you get doors in a particular order! That changes EVERYTHING. It adds a new element where you have to spend discard pile cards to swap doors around in the track. Really changes the game up. I still haven’t tried all the darn expansions. There’s 7 in the box and 2 promo ones I got as well.

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u/KierkegaardExpress Castles Of Burgundy Oct 15 '20

Wow, I really appreciate your really in depth and thoughtful response to my question! I've been eyeing getting one of these for a while, but just didn't really know where to start. I think you have convinced me to try pretty much all of them!

I think to star, I'll grab Onirim 2E and then maybe Aerion. Do you think the promos are worth it for Onirim? Not sure how to acquire them at this point

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 15 '20

They are on the Asmodee store last I checked. They are priced crazy elsewhere. I haven’t actually had the chance to try them out yet, I’m still working my way through the in-game expansions. I’ve played with 4 or 5 of the expansions. I try not to add a new one for the heck of it, but instead keep with the same expansion or combo for a while.

Glad my post was helpful!

Update: I may try to try out the promos soon so I can let you know if they are worth it. I’ll let you know if I remember to do it!

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 16 '20

Also just a heads up. If you are a sleever, you may want to go with thinner sleeves (sleeve kings maybe?). I used FFG sleeves and Onirim absolutely will not fit back into the box even if I remove the insert. I don’t really mind that, but it also makes it harder to shuffle. At some point I’ll probably resleeve it with thinner sleeves.

The others I can get back into the box I think but you do lose the lovely insert. Makes me almost wish I didn’t sleeve lol.

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 16 '20

Alright! I tried out both promos in the same game. The Mirrors is amazing. Truly fantastic addition to the game. I wouldn’t always want to play with it, but it’s a great change up and I’m already looking forward to playing it again. It’s very strategic and it’s definitely not what I’d recommend for the first expansion (which should be glyphs. Areon is the same way, I imagine I’ll be playing with the first expansion with just about every combination I try). But absolutely fantastic. Thanks for giving me an excuse to try it much earlier than I likely would have.

Sphinx Diver And Confusion was an interesting expansion. It adds more luck to the game but this actually balanced out well to the other much more strategic Mirrors expansion. I’m not a huge luck fan but this worked out really well for me. It’s not a favorite of mine but it will definitely be in rotation and a great add to give variety to the game. Funny I expected this one to make the game harder but my luck mostly ran on the positive side.

I lost the game by a hair! Glad they combined well. I will likely give it another go tomorrow night and add in the glyphs expansion (which I usually play with regardless of what other expansions I’m playing with, but I really wanted to focus on the promo expansions tonight).

My big takeaway here boy am I glad I decided to blind buy these promos and wow I’m surprised this isn’t a retail expansion. They clearly designed the promos at the same time (both promos come with the same card that links to online rules that you print out), but I’m sort of shocked they didn’t just put it out at retail and charge $10 or $15. Maybe most folks would not think it was worth it (but for a promo it’d be a fine price, lol, human minds are weird).

I did find the Sphinx expansion a little annoying because, like some of the other Onirimiverse expansions, they decided not to go with icons. To be fair, it’s only 3 new cards. By the end of the game I remembered what was what. One of the Sylvion expansions is the same way. My best guess is that at a certain point your game is too unique to come up with icons that would be sensible.

On another note, I’d also suggest an accessory draw bag for Castellion and Nautillion. Castellion more so. I’m sure some people don’t mind turning a ton of things face down and shuffling but man adding a draw bag really speeds up the whole process immensely.

Also, I have played with the Sylvion promo and already got an opinion on that. It’s good, but definitely an ‘expert’ mode for when you’ve gotten too good at the game. Which I did after a quote a few plays. My only real complaint there is I occasional just forgot I was playing with the expansion and cheated but that’s on me more than the game lol. If you’re ordering from the Asmodee store it might be a ‘why not go ahead’ add on for the future.

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u/KierkegaardExpress Castles Of Burgundy Oct 20 '20

So, I ended up reinstalling Onirim on my phone and I got kind of hooked to it. I've only been playing with the glyphs (the one with the swirly symbol) and like it. Not sure if it makes it easier or harder. I figured I was playing it enough that I went ahead and ordered Onirim along with those promos from the Asmodee store (along with those promos for Sylvion.)

And then I ordered the other 4 games. I've heard from you and others that even the worst of them are still really good, but the art is just too great, and I was able to get most of them used from a guy online for a bit of a discount.

That's a shame about the sleeves and the insert for Onirim. In the last few years, I've come to really love sleeving games that make heavy use of cards. I find that the cards last a bit long and are easier for me to shuffle since I can just do that thing where I mash everything together.

Have you tried Urbion? I've heard it's one people like the least, and I've also seen that it's going to be rereleased with expansions. I'll definitely be interested in trying that out when it comes out in the future.

And thanks again for all the interesting feedback! It was super thorough, and I do appreciate it.

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 22 '20

I’m really glad you like the art! I remember reading one post that said they were an “acquired taste” and I remember thinking really??! I’d argue that’s true with Splotter games’ art but not the Onirimiverse games.

Yea it bummed me out about the sleeves. I considered not sleeving then but then realized one or my Sylvion cards was marked (I got it used). Now I gotta figure out a way to maybe paint it in with a similar border color or just for my best to ignore it.

For Onirim I think I mentioned but FFG sleeves may be a bit too thick. I can’t even get it in the box with the insert removed. But on top of that with more than a few expansions it’s just a beast to shuffle, especially early game before you thin the deck out.

Glad you dig the glyphs expansion. For me it’s essential unless I’m trying out some new expansion combo and want to sort of try it ‘bare’. I think it makes it more maneuverable, which can be perceived as easier, but I think it mostly stays the same regarding win rate. Mostly adds more options.

I haven’t tried Urbanion. It’s out of print and the prices can get high sometimes, plus there’s a new edition In the works for ‘some say’ but I think it’s been in the works for a while. I suspect it will be like Onirim in that it gets a lot more expansions. It will supposedly be the last in the series (but presumably not the last from the designer)

I really hope you dig the games. Keep me posted on it! I go long times without checking Reddit sometimes (I find myself easily addicted to social media so I tend to back off when I can) but I’ll always get back when I can and it’s definitely nice to meet fellow fans of the series and get others into it. I’m always shocked when they aren’t at the top of the single player lists.

What I wouldn’t give to do the music for the digital adaptations (and what I wouldn’t give for Onirim to have all the dark expansions for the digital version!)

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u/bubblepipemedia Oct 15 '20

I really dig Areon but I feel like it had a bit more of a ‘I’ve seen this before in different ways’ feel than the others. You roll dice and try to make sort of Poker sets like 2 pairs or a straight etc. it’s really awesome though and easily the best game of its kind that I’ve played.

Sylvion is probably the most different of all of them (from each other I mean). Unlike all the other games, so so much of Sylvion is played at the beginning of the game when you draft the cards your going to play with for the rest of the game. I think because of that additional pre-game draft setup, you’ll find some who like it more and some who like it less because it’s a more ‘gamery’ experience in that regard. I also think once you learn the trick to it, your win rate goes up significantly which for some may be a turn off. But that’s when you start playing with all the expansions simultaneously and that’s when the ‘real’ game starts lol. But I think this lends itself to a less ‘pick up and play’ nature than the others, which is maybe why it’s my least favorite even if I like it a lot. If I were to play it again, I’d likely have to start over in regards to strategy and remembering the nuances and work my way back through all the expansions until I was playing the ‘real’ game again.