Let's Talk: GMT Solitaire Games

Anyone have opinions on the solo submarine or solo flying games?

I had a great time playing Silent Victory. I got to sink the Shōkaku with a badly damaged submarine and managed to survive the retaliation. Quite frankly, I don't find solo games very interesting. But there was enough narrative in this one (and frankly, this is a best practices game) to make it very rewarding to play. I retired a full captain with over 100,000 tons to my name, but when you sink a carrier that's not the hardest bar to clear.

I'd like to pick up a copy of Skies Over The Reich but it's a little hard to find.

I see a lot of people playing the Wing Leader games but haven't played them myself.

I don't care for the Downtown system solo air raid game series.

I like the venerable B-17, but that is really just rolling on charts to make up the story. I've wanted to get into the solo games, but I have trouble wanting to go through setup and such when I could just as well fire up a video game. I think I'd rather play the old Silent Strike series on the laptop than a solo sub boardgame.

Yeah B-17 is great if you're into that sort of thing (as well as The Hunters submarine series which is very similar).

One thing to add a little community and reflection to B-17 is to fly with the solo group on BGG. You get mission parameters on the forum and then a large group of people fly the same mission as if you're in the flight together. I did this for awhile a few years ago, but ultimately bailed as I was spending too much effort writing up each mission result.

If we're ok with non-GMT games being mentioned, then I'd also submit the DVG leader series, particular Thunderbolt Apache Leader.

I've always wanted to try Patton's Best but didn't want to fork over the money.

I like a lot of solo games in concept but as they grow in complexity they start to feel more like work. Apache Leader is a lot of fun for a spell but it is a LOT of admin time tracking all that stuff yourself. I find I almost prefer 2 player wargames playing both sides if the rules overhead is light and I get to spend more time rolling dice or at least DOING SOMETHING rather than basically programing the AI for another solo turn.

jason10mm wrote: I like a lot of solo games in concept but as they grow in complexity they start to feel more like work. Apache Leader is a lot of fun for a spell but it is a LOT of admin time tracking all that stuff yourself. I find I almost prefer 2 player wargames playing both sides if the rules overhead is light and I get to spend more time rolling dice or at least DOING SOMETHING rather than basically programing the AI for another solo turn.

The tough trade-off for solitaire games probably involves the complexity of any pseudo-AI elements. If the AI is minimal, the solitaire play can resemble whack-a-mole. Once the AI becomes somewhat responsive to table conditions, the administrative work starts to cut into the game play. People used to complain about the Mythos phase in Arkham Horror 2nd, but it was fairly efficient.

charlest wrote: If we're ok with non-GMT games being mentioned, then I'd also submit the DVG leader series, particular Thunderbolt Apache Leader.

I wrote this about the Leader series:

"So much of the game is spending 10 minutes choosing what pilots/planes you want to use, followed by 10 minutes of choosing the bomb payload, and that's before you actually get into playing the actual game, which is abstracted heavily and by that point I'm ready to pack it up and put it away. Just not my thing."

But in terms of solo wargames that are actually fun to play, I may vote for David Thompson's "Valiant Defense" series from DVG:
Pavlov's House (Soviets attempting to hold out against the German attack at Stalingrad)
Castle Itter (American soldiers and German Wehrmacht fighting together against SS forces attempting to re-take a prison castle)
Soldiers in Postmen's Uniforms (Polish postal office in Gdansk ordered to hold defenses during the 1st day of WW2, 1939)

All are true stories, and all have fun little nuggets of historical facts laced into the actual gameplay. Castle Itter is the easiest to learn, Pavlov's House is the most tactical, Postmen released recently & I haven't played yet. There is a 4th in the series upcoming, Lanzerath Ridge, about Americans fending off German attacks during the 1st day of the Battle Of The Bulge.