End Times 2023: Start Saving Up
Welcome to our annual list of solo and soloable games that have been scheduled to launch on crowdfunding platforms next year. Below you'll find around 80 games and expansions, most of these releases have been announced on this wonderful Pre-launch list. We'll announce the exact dates for these games and many, many more in our weekly "Watch your Back" posts.
Solo Crowdfunding List 2024
1-2-3 Cheese. Ta-Te Wu. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘In the solo heist mode, you'll embark on a daring journey to become the ultimate cheese thief.’
20 Strong: Tanglewoods White/Red/Gold. Josh J. Carlson. 1 player.
Description: ‘Use 20 dice to progress through a shuffled deck of cards, each card bearing a unique challenge (next three installments).’
The 7 Seas. Joseph La Marca. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘This adventure game combines elements of exploration, trade, and combat. Set in an alternative world, you play as navigators discovering the 7 seas, aiming to accumulate fame and fortune.’
A.I.Pokalypse. Marian Hilgers. 1-8 players.
Description: ‘The Expert Autobattler card game set in a Cyberpunk Apokalypse.’
American Mogul. Bill Crenshaw. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Players are captains of industry throughout the length of the industrial revolution in the United States.’
The Anarchy. Bobby Hill. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘In 12th Century England civil war spread throughout the country. Build your domain, defend your castle from attacks, and storm strongholds with your own crafted siege weapons.
Aqua ROVE. Dustin Dobson, Milan Zivkovic. 1 player.
Description: ‘A standalone ROVE game, now diving deep into its seas. It uses the basic system of aligning modules to complete a card pattern, but changes up the way some things worked the first time around.’
Arbor Falls. Isaac Hirschfeld. 1-4 players
Description: ‘In this worker placement and set collecting game you will complete Neighbor Favors and save up to buy furniture after you’ve moved to the quiet, small town of Arbor Falls.’
Battlefields. Iván Burgos, Aron West. 1-2 players.
Description: ‘Dice flicking, tactical dexterity combat game set in the world of Catacombs. Draft your army of heroes, then battle on the hex based neoprene playmat.’
Behemoth: Rise of Shadow. Andrea La Rosa. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘An epic and immersive co-operative adventure game set in a fantastic future, with elements of deck building, exploration and innovative AI mechanics that adapt to players actions.’
Blood Throne: The Tower of Sacrifice. Frontline Gaming. 1-7 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative board game of intense tactical RPG adventure set in a dark fantasy world on the brink of damnation.’
Boss Battle. Matthew James Martin, Jessica Pierce, PJ Vilsaint. 1-4 players
Description: ‘A strategy card game featuring many ruthless bosses and four distinctly designed classes of heroes. The Boss throws out obstacles the heroes must learn to work together to overcome.’
Boundless Stride: Into the Denlands. Darrell Hardy, Brandon Perdue, Kevin Wilson. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A legacy game in which you assemble a team of four Scouts out of six playable critters to explore the land and complete missions.’
Chroma Arcana. Mo Shawwa. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘A tactical card game set in an Arabian fantasy world, where players take on the roles of powerful mages, using their knowledge of the arcane arts to outmanoeuvre and defeat their opponents.’
Clans of Caledonia: Industria. Juma Al-JouJou. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Explore new strategies, lead new clans, and adapt to the industrial revolution.’
Conquest Princess: Fashion is Power. Peter Yang, Seppy Yoon. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘In this cooperative bag-builder game you’ll dress for battle, to face off against the worst classic Space problems.’
Crystal Age. Gravita Games. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A fantasy strategy board game where you control a powerful hero and embark on a dangerous journey, defeating exotic creatures to acquire their abilities.’
Cyber Pet Quest. Brendan Kendrick, Bernie Lin. 1-4 players
Description: ‘Embark on a quest with Jane, a lifelike fully-bionic cat, and her cybernetically-enhanced pet friends as they set out to find Jane's missing owner in the intra-apocalyptic city of San Lazaro.’
D-Day Dice: To Do or Die and Funnies. Emmanuel Aquin. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘To Do or Die is a book containing streamlined rules, two new Battle Maps and a new campaign. The Funnies expansion includes a multitude of weird Legendary Units.’
DANTE: Inferno. 1-4 players
Description: ‘Exploration through the various circles of Hell, and epic battles against hordes of enemies in the best war game style.’
Dead Reckoning expansion. John D. Clair. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘New advancements, new crew, new islands, new ships and new achievements for this game of exploration, piracy, and influence based in a Caribbean-esque setting.’
Defenders of the Realm: Legends Retold. Matt Bender, Christopher Burton, Matthew Kroll, Richard Launius, Darrell Louder. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘A fresh take on the co-operative fantasy classic. Save Monarch City from crushing hordes of goblins, kobolds, skeletons, and demons and the generals that command them.’
Diablo: The Board Game. Glass Cannon Unplugged.
Description: ‘A co-op narrative-driven adventure board game in which players will venture through the world of Sanctuary, help those in need, explore dungeons and tombs full of undead horrors, battle the legions of the Netherworld, and traverse the Realms of Creation.’
Dice Treasure. José L. Navas. 2-4 players (solo mode available on launch).
Description: ‘Roll dice and match patterns on your cards to collect gold coins and steal the Leprechaun’s treasure.’
Doom Guard. Michael Barbeau. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘Defeat the minions of Cthulhu, fight the spread of corruption, and beat back the forces of evil cooperatively in scenarios that can be played individually or as part of a campaign.’
Draconicus: The Fantasy Boardgame. Jay Sojdelius. 2-4 players (solo mode will be included).
Description: ‘Build influence with different factions of the medieval island of Draconica, then use that influence to complete a quest.’
Dragonbond Quest. Logan Giannini, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative quest-style card game based on the Dragonbond universe. Players will choose between heroes' archetypes and pit their skill and strategy against the many perils that exist in Valerna.’
Dwarves: The Fall Of Karnarak. Devrim Özsoy. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘A fully cooperative board game, mixing worker placement and tower defense.’
Earthborne Rangers: Legacy of the Ancestors. Andrew Fischer, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Andrew Navaro, Adam Sadler, Brady Sadler. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A new story arc in which you’ll journey beyond, above, and below the Valley to explore strange new places and forge new paths.’
Earthborne Rangers: Stewards of the Valley. Davi Paulino. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Cards to add more options for character creation and variability.’
Explorers of Navoria. Meng Chunlin. 2-4 players (expansion contains solo campaign).
Description: ‘In the magical land of Navoria, new and strange continents have emerged from the sea. The Council has decreed that they must be explored, and you have answered the call.’
Eye of Zamrock: Invasion. Milos Djordjevic, Goran Savic, Zlatko Savich, Marko Ursic. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘An epic fantasy game of strategy, adventure, resource management and Kingdom building, with a large world map, massive card decks, miniatures and modified dice rolling.
Fate - Defenders of Grimheim. Jonathan Fryxelius. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative game in which you'll play a talented but unexperienced hero. Defend Freyja’s sacred well against trolls, the dead, and the fire horde monsters approaching from all sides.’
FLOE. Henry Audubon, Jonny Pac, Yoma. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘An adventurous strategic game that will take you on a heroic journey across the Iceberg Sea. Choose your path and leave your mark on the realm.’
Floriferous (pocket version). Eduardo Baraf, Steve Finn. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Collect flowers from your garden and pair them with abundance, desire, and mastery cards.’
Galactic Cruise. T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, Koltin Thompson. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Build and launch shuttles to send guests on luxurious space vacations in this euro-style board game.’
Hispania. Miguel Marqués. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative game in which you take the role of all the praetors and consuls that Rome sent to Hispania for almost 200 years.’
Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game. Michał Gołąb Gołębiowski, Adam Kwapiński. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘In this cooperative game, you and the other investigators try to survive on the doomed Orient Express in the 1920s.’
Hunted: Kobayashi Tower (2nd Edition). Gabe Barrett. 1-2 players.
Description: ‘A fast-paced solo game with dice and multi-use cards. You'll have to balance running, fighting, and hiding if you want to save your wife and get out of the building alive.’
I C E (2nd Edition) + expansion. Bragou, Samson F. Perret. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘Players are archeologists exploring tiles they can remove, in order to collect artifacts which give them reputation points.’
Inferno. Fernando Eduardo Sánchez. 1-4 players
Description: ‘A soul management game where each player must guide sinners to their respective circles in Hell.’
Inventors of the South Tigris. S J Macdonald, Shem Phillips. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Invent, build, test, and publish Devices during the height of the Abbasid Caliphate, circa 850 AD.’
Isla. Oleta Forde, Aaron Grove, Alexander Lucas. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘An explorative roll and write game in which players uncover the mysteries of a curious island whilst battling exhaustion.’
Knight. Radosław Ignatów. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A scenario-based Flip & Write game in which you play the role of a medieval knight.’
The Last Mechs. Nacho González Arribas. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Drive your mech in a post-apocalyptic world. Coop narrative campaign, exploration and Dungeon Crawler.’
Luthier. Dave Beck, Abe Burson. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Craft instruments for patrons such as Mozart, in the golden age of music, using a unique blend of hidden bidding & worker placement.’
Meeple Inc. Joseph N Adams, Madeleine Adams. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘A fast paced worker placement style game in which players take on the role of Board game publishers collecting the perfect mix of artwork, components and mechanisms to build the greatest board games in the world.’
Metrorunner. Stephen Kerr. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘A competitive worker movement and resource collection game set in a high-tech neon future featuring a tile puzzle mini-game.’
Mini Rogue expansions. Paolo Di Stefano, Gabriel Gendron. 1-2 players.
Description: ‘Two new expansions that will transform your adventures in ways you couldn't even hope for.’
Mythwind expansion. Nathan Lige, Brendan McCaskell. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative & solo "cozy" board game with unique characters, magical sprites, engaging story and an unending adventure.’
Neon Reef. Snake Toy Games. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘Choose a faction, place buildings, and build your economy to find a unique path to victory.’
Night Witches. Liz Davidson, David Thompson. 1-2 players.
Description: ‘A solitaire or cooperative game in which female pilots of the Soviet 588th Night Bomber Regiment work together to fly harassment missions on the Eastern Front during WWII.’
Peace 1905. Nathaniel Berkley, S.P. Shaman, Maurice Suckling, Bill Sullivan. 1-2 players.
Description: ‘Resolve the Russo-Japanese War during the peace conference in Portsmouth.’
Phantom Division. Pete Ruth, Mark Thomas. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A co-operative tactical dexterity game set in a sci-fi world of impending danger. Protect a remote colony world against an implacable enemy.’
The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit. Tom Butler, Sam Hillier. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘A thematic deck building sandbox adventure game set in the early 18th-century. You are an infamous pirate captain weaving your own tale by performing daring feats and plundering on the high seas.’
Pixels & Polygons. Tom Stasiak. 2-4 players (but solo BYOS included).
Description: ‘Immerse yourself in the world of video game development in this card-driven, euro-style worker placement game, as you lead your studio in the creation of the next gaming sensation - or an overhyped flop.’
Prestige: A City Building Game. Fritz Paull. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘An asymmetrical, semi-cooperative, city-building card game in which players must collaborate to build a great ancient city to stand as a testament to their civilization's prestige for generations to come, or fail and be forgotten to time.’
Pulp Invasion X4. Todd Sanders. 1 player.
Description: ‘Adds a Galactic map. This expansion will contain 4 cards printed both side and a set of 12 silver cubes.’
Quibbles expansions. Michiel de Wit. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘A fast-paced card game that combines set-building and tactical decision-making.’
Regicide: Legacy. Badgers From Mars. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative, campaign-style game played over a series of missions. The story centers around corruption, what it's doing to the land and its inhabitants, and how it can ultimately be dealt with.’
Reign of Hades. Richard Amann, Attila Sümegi. 1-4 players
Description: ‘A cooperative dungeon crawler campaign, combining Euro and Ameri mechanisms. Set in a modern interpretation of Greek Mythology it features action-driven storytelling.’
River Valley Glassworks. Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, Matt Riddle. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘Play as an entrepreneurial woodland creature. Draft glass from the river market and store it strategically in your shop.’
Roma Victrix: Campaigns of the Roman World. Paul Kallio. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘A grand strategic, moderate complexity wargame, covering a time period ranging from 218 BC to 533 AD in twenty separate historical and hypothetical scenarios.’
Rove. Motti Eisenbach, Tyvan Grossi. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative campaign adventure set in the high fantasy world of Chorus, a wild and vibrant planet full of flora, fauna, and other things… that all want to kill or eat you.’
Scarce. Kim Jansson. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘In this alternate history game, a nuclear event began to devastate the world and most of the world is now covered in the ocean. To avoid extinction, the survivors must cooperatively build massive floating cities.’
Skara Brae. Shem Phillips. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Gather resources in order to feed, clothe, and shelter the growing number of settlers on the Orkney Islands of Northern Scotland.’
Snowfall Over Mountains. Eduardo Baraf, Scott Caputo, Melissa Caputo. 1 player.
Description: ‘Explore the mountains around your cabin by placing and connecting tiles with different features, arranging animal tracks, ponds, trees, and shrubs in your environment.’
Space Missions. Frank Mueller. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘During the space race of the 1960s, you will train astronauts, make technologies more reliable, assemble rockets and launch missions into space using a new deck sizing mechanism.’
Spire’s End: Rangitaki. Greg Favro. Players: 1.
Description: ‘A solo choose-your-path card game that can be enjoyed with or without prior experience with the Spire's End games. Rangitaki is set in a swashbuckling fantasy world.’
Stellar Drift: Pull & Write. Bryan Kline. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘Repair your broken spaceship, while drifting in orbit around an unstable white dwarf star. Use whatever materials you can find, before the star decides to go nova and wipe you out.’
Storm Raiders. Shem Phillips. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Salvage wreck sites, fulfil contracts, acquire crew, upgrade vehicles, and earn medals. Players will be drafting dice each turn to either travel or to instead take some much-needed time to rest and repair.’
Sunrise at the Studio. Eduardo Baraf, Steve Finn. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Spend your morning creating beautiful pottery at your local ceramics studio. Mold clay, apply glaze, and fire up the kiln to create objects that are both wonderful to look at and fit for purpose.’
Super Squad High. Michael Addison. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘A cooperative teen superhero adventure game. A crime wave has struck the city, and only Super Squad can save the day!’
Tiny Epic Game of Thrones. Scott Almes. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Prepare to navigate the perilous world of Westeros where alliances are fragile, betrayals are common, and the fate of your House hangs in the balance.’
TRAILBLAZER: The Arizona Trail. Dan R Rice III. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Travel the spectacular 800 mile long Arizona Trail as you take in the sights and sounds of the mountains, canyons, plateaus and deserts - seeking out the amazing variety of wildlife such as the Roadrunner and Javelina, while avoiding the Gila Monster.’
Ultimediation. 1-4 players
Description: ‘Ultimediation is a cooperative strategy game. Your mission is to restore peace on an Earth plunged into a world war.’
Vrahode: The Calteeryn Ascension. Jeffrey Irving. 1-6 players.
Description: ‘A solo/co-op adventure/dungeon crawl board game where players journey through huge multi-quest campaigns that sprawl over the heights and depths of the mysterious world of Vrahode.’
Yonder. Haakon Gaarder. 1-4 players.
Description: ‘Fantasy worker-placement and engine-building game. Elves, goblins, ogres, dwarves and skeletons bring arcana to a new world.’
Zombie Horde. Filippo Chirico. 1-5 players.
Description: ‘In this cooperative board game survivors live in a colony, trying to survive the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse.’
Are there any that pique your curiosity? Any you'll avoid like the plague? 😁 And any we missed, perhaps? Let us know.
Thank you so much for the list of what will ruin my wallet and relationship :D
I will check out: 1-2-3 Cheese! - I don't expect anything groundbreaking, but Ta-Te Wu deserves a look, might be fun, though I expect AI
Hunted: Kobayashi Tower 2.0 - I wanna know what's different, but I'll probably look to get my Hunted series to a new home (I'm expelling dice from my collection) I will back (though they're not on the list): Floriferous pocket + Snowfall over Mountains - Pencil First pocket editions were a great companion this year, so I'll grab another one gladly... though I'll probably pass on Sunrise at the Studio, all of these should launch in the same campaign, but Sunrise isn't…
Slightly shameful self plug-in: My game Arbor Falls has a solo mode and the Kickstarter is planned for May.
Thanks for compiling this list!
Here are the games I will likely back:
- Dragonbond Quest (it's been months since I said I would back it for sure!)
- Draconicus
- Spire's End: Rangitaki (out of completionism more than anything)
- Mini Rogue expansions (same, I almost never play the base game)
I will give a serious look at:
- Explorers of Navoria
- Defenders of the Realm: Legends Retold
- Boss Battle
- Knight
Games not on the list:
- Boardquest: Tales of Liria (will have a look)
- EVE The Board Game
- Reign of Hades (will have a look)
- Hispania
- Battlefields (will have a look)
- The 7 Seas (will have a look)
- Space…
Great list, thank you! Just from a quick glance, The Anarchy sounds interesting...