2021 Top 10 Solo Skirmish Games Countdown : #8!

 

#8 : 5 Leagues From the Borderlands

After playing 5 Parsecs, I thought this would be Fantasy 5 Parsecs. How wrong I was. While it shares a lot of the same game play rules and structure… just a simple change in the premise of the game makes for very different game play. 

You still have a war band that you take on randomly generated encounters and battles, but here you enter a region that is plagued with bad guys and spooky monsters and you need to cleanse the region of all these threats, all the while making a village your base where you will come back to rest and refit between encounters.

There is provision for a final end of campaign all out boss fight in the rules… but I never got that far. I never really felt as attached to the characters in my war band for some reason (compared to my crew in 5 Parsecs). And the narrative felt a bit flat.

BUT… that was because I had played 5 Parsecs. If you prefer fantasy to SF, then 5 Leagues is definitely something you should try… it will probably rank higher than #8 for you.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Core Space

Another game that I enjoy a lot but dropped off the list thanks to not having played any games in 2021. I’ll probably wait for the 2nd Kickstarter to arrive with the new terrain, then get back into the game in 2022.

Core Space is unique in that it can be played solo, or PvP or even co-op, depending on your choice... you can even play co-op... then turn on your so-called "friend"... if you so choose. And even if you're playing PvP, there's alway the omnipresent threat of a neutral 3rd party alien race coming to attack everyone on the table.

You play as the crew of a ship in a galaxy that's under threat of invasion by an alien robotic race and so you're racing to keep one step ahead of the invasion while performing missions and looting space stations so you can level up not only your crew but also your ship.

And the terrain! The game plays well... and look absolutely fantastic on the table!

This is a dream come true for many gamers as it scratches a lot of itches. SF. Looting. Dungeon Crawls. Gorgeous terrain. Campaign play. Crew recruitment. 

It's a sad fact that one of my favourite games from last year (#7 Top 10 Solo!) got relegated to Honourable Mention due to the fact that I've now so many games to play this didn't hit the table at all in 2021.

This sad state of affairs will be rectified in 2022.