As suggested elsewhere bit of a thread on solo play.
Personally I do sometimes have a run through of rules or test out a new system by myself.
I dont really value solo play, this may be because I have access to several chums in local area current situation not withstanding. I am also a massively poor sport and a terrible winner so not good to play with myself.
Why do others play and enjoy solo?
QuoteWhy do others play and enjoy solo?
They have no friends? Joking aside, there is a question of access to other gamers for some people, so solo is enforced. Its slightly more complicated for me - there is a club only a few miles from me but I fail to get up the enthusiasm to attend.
There are various reasons for this, I suppose, but, to focus on strengths of solo gaming, in a home game, I can use my own rules and play them how I like. I can play at a pace I like, too. I have the advantage of a space which allows me to leave stuff out if I want to (at least sometimes - it doubles for other purposes occasssionally) and have sufficient toys, scenics etc. I'm not desperately driven to play other periods but ancient and medieval, so I don't need the stimulus of club projects to develop other areas.
it allows lots of tweaking or changing of rules as you go along without argument....mostly
My FTF gaming is (or was) entirely Euros, I play very few wargames against anyone other than me.
Part of the reason is like the others have said, I can tinker with rules, drop in and out, experiment, in a way that couldn't really be done with an opponent.
Another part is more amorphously I'm not very happy with any existing wargames as games, they are either over-complex or underspecified or both, so I don't find them satisfying for competitive play, and for me FTF play is always competitive, even though it's also perfectly friendly - I don't mean competitions, but some element of trying to win, mastering the game system and doing so better than my fellow players, rather than just messing about or 'playing' in a more restricted sense, which is better done solo.
you can get quite creative when playing solo games as well
Quote from: Holly on November 14, 2020, 12:04:58 AM
you can get quite creative when playing solo games as well
I think they demand a campaign
well if you have the space and a C in C who is willing to let things stay out a while.....
Quote from: Holly on November 14, 2020, 09:44:09 AM
well if you have the space and a C in C who is willing to let things stay out a while.....
I dont have the vast wargaming dungeon or palatial wargaming den built in the grounds but did feel very lucky to be given one of the small bedrooms to turn into my painting room.
Space for books, paints, wargaming detritus and can fit in a DBA table when needed.
"It is your room, you can do what you want with it"
Turns out that was code for. It will be decorated in an agreed manner, you need to keep an area free for taking pictures of fabric that she buys/ sells and uses to make pet beds to sell. The curtains will be made for you in a style and design specified as they can be seen from outside, I did rather fancy some action man curtains from my youth. Now of course as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home my desk also went in. Still at least I dont have to paint on the dining table anymore.
When that lottery win comes in she has been warned there will be a small residential area built in the grounds of the wargaming den.
sounds very familiar!
QuoteNow of course as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home my desk also went in.
The key is to point the webcam towards the tidy bit :)
I have the good fortune to have a painting space in a small bedroom but also space for the table (and finished armies) in the attic bedroom.
Returning to solo gaming, I think one of the challenges is lack of external stimulus - there isn't a push to finish figures for a game or project provided by others. At the same time, there is almost the opposite in that when you are low on creativity, you can't just coast along, going down the club and joining in games. But I think most solo players find their way through. It differs. I don't game for long periods when I lack the stimulus, then will plunge in when an idea appears. Other solo gamers whose blogs I follow are playing games and campaigns weekly over years, as well as creating new units and terrain, tweaking rules and finding time to blog about it.
Quote from: Erpingham on November 14, 2020, 10:35:27 AM
QuoteNow of course as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home my desk also went in.
The key is to point the webcam towards the tidy bit :)
I have the good fortune to have a painting space in a small bedroom but also space for the table (and finished armies) in the attic bedroom.
Returning to solo gaming, I think one of the challenges is lack of external stimulus - there isn't a push to finish figures for a game or project provided by others. At the same time, there is almost the opposite in that when you are low on creativity, you can't just coast along, going down the club and joining in games. But I think most solo players find their way through. It differs. I don't game for long periods when I lack the stimulus, then will plunge in when an idea appears. Other solo gamers whose blogs I follow are playing games and campaigns weekly over years, as well as creating new units and terrain, tweaking rules and finding time to blog about it.
if you use MS Teams, the option to have a fake background is very useful! ;D
as a solo gamer, I am very much driven by my own 'oompf' and as you say am not subject to stimuli from others etc. It means I am bungeeing in my uptake of wargaming activity.
Quote from: Erpingham on November 14, 2020, 10:35:27 AM
QuoteNow of course as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home my desk also went in.
The key is to point the webcam towards the tidy bit :)
I discovered that the real key is to play to your strengths. Only having a desk top machine which doesn't have an inbuilt camera, and poor broadband, I do all my zoom meetings with me represented as a blank area bearing the word Jim
I can see and hear them but they cannot see me.
In boring meetings on one case I fell asleep, in other meetings I've tidied the office 8)
Quoteif you use MS Teams, the option to have a fake background is very useful!
Strange what people pick. I was in a meeting this week and was about to remark on someone's kitchen when she admitted it was a background. It wasn't a fancy designer job either.
One of our managers had as his fake background a picture of his own office...
Solo wargaming. What I miss is the banter and interaction. I also lack the motivation to do the bits I hate like flocking bases.
Quote from: Tim on November 14, 2020, 11:56:00 AM
One of our managers had as his fake background a picture of his own office...
Solo wargaming. What I miss is the banter and interaction. I also lack the motivation to do the bits I hate like flocking bases.
I am quite good at banter....ie chuntering to myself....
Quote from: Tim on November 14, 2020, 11:56:00 AM
Solo wargaming. What I miss is the banter and interaction. I also lack the motivation to do the bits I hate like flocking bases.
I do miss the input of discussing a game, especially in rule development. But that depends on developing a group of like minded individuals who don't mind subordinating their gaming fun to your desire to mess with the rules.
As I've said, creating motivation across the whole hobby set up can be hard for a solo player - I haven't done more than touch up repairs in painting for weeks, for example.
At the start of my daily work meetings I did have signs saying the end is nigh on the wall or triangle of toilet rolls then took to wearing my viking helmet.
I normally use my X-Wing fighter cockpit background or a '300' backdrop
Going back on topic ---- I think Anthony's initial post probably sums up why I solo wargame now whilst in my youth (or when I had less grey hairs or is it more hairs that were coloured) I actively took part in clubs. I did go to the local club once last year but didn't get too much of a welcome, so never really had the drive to go back again.
The only downside I to solo wargaming is that my tactics are becoming too stereotyped so will be looking at ways of trying to involve others in defining the initial deployments and plans.
PS. Whilst having a dedicated desk to do the painting, I don't have a dedicated room (although that is the daydream) for fighting but can borrow the dining room table occasionally.
QuoteI don't have a dedicated room (although that is the daydream)
I didn't for many many years. Then the last daughter flew the nest :) She was shocked the trestle tables were actually delivered the following week. It's not quite dedicated - numerous non-wargaming things are stored in there and the table is a useful flat surface for tasks such as sewing and present wrapping.
Quote from: Erpingham on November 26, 2020, 09:27:34 AM
QuoteI don't have a dedicated room (although that is the daydream)
I didn't for many many years. Then the last daughter flew the nest :) She was shocked the trestle tables were actually delivered the following week. It's not quite dedicated - numerous non-wargaming things are stored in there and the table is a useful flat surface for tasks such as sewing and present wrapping.
trestle tables are old school....I still have mine!
Then when its all over you can open your lounge as a village hall, Dave. Its what trestle tables are for.
Roy
QuoteIts what trestle tables are for.
Not the only thing. When I last went for a Covid test, their tables were the same as I use for wargaming.
such a versatile bit of 'furniture' :)
you can even use them for wallpaper pasting!
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 01:18:48 PM
you can even use them for wallpaper pasting!
Wash your mouth out with soap Dave! Do not want my wife getting ideas like that.
Quote from: Tim on November 26, 2020, 07:06:02 PM
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 01:18:48 PM
you can even use them for wallpaper pasting!
Wash your mouth out with soap Dave! Do not want my wife getting ideas like that.
I love DIY
(Dont Involve Yourself)
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 09:23:27 PM
Quote from: Tim on November 26, 2020, 07:06:02 PM
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 01:18:48 PM
you can even use them for wallpaper pasting!
Wash your mouth out with soap Dave! Do not want my wife getting ideas like that.
I love DIY
(Dont Involve Yourself)
My favourite was always GSE. Get Someone Else. And unfortunately, the shed just isn't big enough, the spare room is the spare room, and the study has been annexed by SWMBO. Fortunately, the dining room is now my office, as we obviously aren't hosting dinner parties, there's a table topper extending the width, and plenty of room for airbrushing etc, my own desk and painting station remains in the family room, so I can at least pretend to be sociable.
Quote from: DougM on November 30, 2020, 08:28:54 AM
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 09:23:27 PM
Quote from: Tim on November 26, 2020, 07:06:02 PM
Quote from: Holly on November 26, 2020, 01:18:48 PM
you can even use them for wallpaper pasting!
Wash your mouth out with soap Dave! Do not want my wife getting ideas like that.
I love DIY
(Dont Involve Yourself)
My favourite was always GSE. Get Someone Else. And unfortunately, the shed just isn't big enough, the spare room is the spare room, and the study has been annexed by SWMBO. Fortunately, the dining room is now my office, as we obviously aren't hosting dinner parties, there's a table topper extending the width, and plenty of room for airbrushing etc, my own desk and painting station remains in the family room, so I can at least pretend to be sociable.
GSE is a relative of SEP (Somebody Else's Problem which of course I pay tribute to Douglas Adams for that gem) another favourite of mine :)
I am scattered to the 4 winds in the house at the minute. My office is in the spare box room which is not quite big enough to be a gaming room. The gaming room was purloined by the CinC as her office so gaming is done on the dining table in the conservatory. I paint where I can until moved on like a vagrant and my stuff is stored all over the place.
I don't do solo myself, but I know someone who only plays solo because it means that he never loses
Ah, but he always loses. It's like a sphinx ruddle, who is the man who always wins but always loses...
Its not the winning or the losing its the learning and the satisfaction of understanding for me....especially when playing solo!
That's quite philosophical dave :) I think I would go for "The play's the thing" - an unfolding narrative, where one plays various parts, and generally has fun. As David says, you always get to win, even as you lose. Yes, you can be disappointed if you've foolishly taken sides or if your favourite unit/general/elephant gets the chop, but you've got no-one to blame and at least you can't argue about rules interpretations :)
Of course, you can play solo and lose by using pre-programmed scenarios, or if you set objectives for yourself (e.g. A to capture the bridge in x moves). I tend not to do this , though.
I like the way a battle unfolds like a story with a beginning a middle and an end...
Quote from: Holly on February 05, 2021, 01:10:18 PM
I like the way a battle unfolds like a story with a beginning a middle and an end...
Begining - This is going to be my day.
Middle - I dont believe it I could actually win this
End - How the heck did that happen I was bleeping winning half an hour ago
Quote from: Baldie on February 05, 2021, 01:23:24 PM
Quote from: Holly on February 05, 2021, 01:10:18 PM
I like the way a battle unfolds like a story with a beginning a middle and an end...
Begining - This is going to be my day.
Middle - I dont believe it I could actually win this
End - How the heck did that happen I was bleeping winning half an hour ago
(me)
Beginning - not sure I've got my deployment right
Middle - Yep, flanks have gone
End - I'm surprised I lasted that long to be honest
I've got this:
I need to change my dice 🎲
How did that happen?
This could become a new poetic structure.
;D
Beginning - text book deployment, never fails.
Middle - why did I do the abovee?
End - never doing that again.
Next battle:
Beginning - text book deployment, never fails.
Middle - ...... I think you can guess the rest
It should work....!
::)
Quote from: Holly on February 06, 2021, 09:09:24 AM
It should work....!
::)
Closely followed by: "what could possibly go wrong?" And occasionally punctuated by, "It's never done that before!"
normally followed by
'well that makes sense...?!' :-\
Quote from: DougM on February 06, 2021, 09:32:52 AM
Quote from: Holly on February 06, 2021, 09:09:24 AM
It should work....!
::)
Closely followed by: "what could possibly go wrong?" And occasionally punctuated by, "It's never done that before!"
As the great Pratchett wrote "It's a million to one chance but it may just work"
Quote from: Baldie on February 06, 2021, 10:27:52 AM
Quote from: DougM on February 06, 2021, 09:32:52 AM
Quote from: Holly on February 06, 2021, 09:09:24 AM
It should work....!
::)
Closely followed by: "what could possibly go wrong?" And occasionally punctuated by, "It's never done that before!"
As the great Pratchett wrote "It's a million to one chance but it may just work"
Million to one chances happen nine times out of ten.....😊
always...
He's a 'glass half-full' person. He's also the umpire so he wins
Quote from: Baldie on November 14, 2020, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Holly on November 14, 2020, 09:44:09 AM
well if you have the space and a C in C who is willing to let things stay out a while.....
I dont have the vast wargaming dungeon or palatial wargaming den built in the grounds but did feel very lucky to be given one of the small bedrooms to turn into my painting room.
Space for books, paints, wargaming detritus and can fit in a DBA table when needed.
"It is your room, you can do what you want with it"
Turns out that was code for. It will be decorated in an agreed manner, you need to keep an area free for taking pictures of fabric that she buys/ sells and uses to make pet beds to sell. The curtains will be made for you in a style and design specified as they can be seen from outside, I did rather fancy some action man curtains from my youth. Now of course as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home my desk also went in. Still at least I dont have to paint on the dining table anymore.
When that lottery win comes in she has been warned there will be a small residential area built in the grounds of the wargaming den.
Reminds me of an advert I saw for a Harley. It read @ Apparently my wife saying "you can buy anything you f###ing want" didn't mean what I though it meant
I lost the big wargaming room to my wife so have by default colonised the spare bedroom for nefarious uses