One Stop Tabletop

I have many friends who I like to game with. I'm so popular! No, I actually say this to showcase the fact that despite all these tabletop friends, I love me some solo gaming. In fact, when choosing a game these days, it's extremely important for me that the game have some kind of solo element. Most of the time, I want this to be a built-in solo element. But at the very least, I want a solo variant. So what's a solo variant? Well, that's when a gamer has created a variant that allows one to adapt a multiplayer game into a solo version. This is easiest when the game is a cooperative style, but can certainly be applied to games that are competitive. See for yourself. Go ahead. Pull up Google, type your favorite game into the search bar, followed by "solo variant." Chances are you'll find a link to Board Game Geek, where a user has posted a carefully crafted way in which to play your favorite game all by your lonesome, and then posted it to share with the

Robinson Crusoe is a bumbling buffoon. There, I said it. And if you've played the solo deck building game called "Friday," you're nodding your head in agreement right now. Me? I've played it enough times to know that Robinson can barely hold his own drool in his mouth, much less survive on a deserted island without our help. But while Robinson himself may be completely and utterly moronic, this solo deck building card game is nothing short of brilliant. In "Friday," you play as a man appropriately named Friday. You are stuck on an island with your pal, Robinson Crusoe. You are tasked with keeping him alive, which is easier said than done as again, Robinson is a complete dunce. For one, he has no attention span. And when he's not chasing butterflies, he's often simply too weak to contribute anything. All of Robinson's shortcomings are represented by a starting deck of cards, each with a numerical value and possibly an ability. For instance

Today I want to discuss the natural bridge from video gaming to Tabletop gaming, because I think it's a strong one. I've been a gamer since I was very young. I vividly remember my parents inviting people over to play our new Atari 2600, the Space Invaders sound effects drilling into my four year old brain. And then there was Christmas when I was five, when Santa brought E.T. down the chimney. I freaked out. I was so excited, and loved that game despite the fact it was hard as living hell and didn't make sense. I didn't care. Because I was five. But also, because E.T. was mine, and mine alone. Yeah, this was my jam, okay? Ease up!  That began a life of gaming for me. Obviously I've dated myself with these stories, but while my parents never touched another video game system, I was hooked from that point forward. Video games were my hobby, my passion. And I turned that passion into work later in life. From writing video game reviews for multiple sites online

Board games. They're all about social interaction, laughter, beer, sharing memories, beer. That's honestly what got me so hard core into tabletop gaming in recent years. The ability to toss down some suds with friends while working either together or against each other to claim victory is unparalleled in terms of fun factor. Games also replace inevitable awkward social silences with vicious competitive yelling and shouting. Who wants to listen to Steve's political yammering when you can be metaphorically ripping off Steve's' head in glorious board game battle instead? So, without further ado, I present to you the game that I don't plan on ever playing with anyone else. That's right, a game that is so incredibly complex and daunting at first glance that I actually avoided it for years on end. That game is Mage Knight . And it is now easily my favorite board game of all time. Warning: Contents may include crack. Highly addictive.  But what about