Board games are brilliant for when you want to spend some time losing yourself in another world without that world being inside a screen. However, most of them require other players. That said, there are some brilliant solo space board games out there that you can enjoy on your own.
It’s difficult to nail down great solo board games because they’re so subjective. What one person thoroughly enjoys just might not be your vibe, and that’s okay. But if you want to find something new to play, even if it’s by yourself, you’re going to have to put yourself out there and try something new. So, while many of these might be new to you, new doesn’t always have to be scary. Give each game a chance because you could surprise yourself with which version of the universe you find you like playing in the most.
The best solo space board games
Below, I’ve got a list of some of the best space-inspired board games with solo campaigns. Each have rich universes for you to try out, but I haven’t ranked them because they’re all so different. A solo board game is a very personal experience, so tread into the great unknown carefully, and ask yourself if this is an experience you’ll enjoy without some friends to guide you along the way.
Star Wars Outer Rim
In Star Wars Outer Rim, you play as an underworld denizen. A less than reputable individual who wants to make their mark on the galaxy. You’ll travel far and wide, taking on jobs to increase your reputation among outlaws as one of the most feared individuals around. However, war makes for a dangerous backdrop for an already dangerous job, so you’ll need to hire famous and infamous Star Wars characters to create a rag-tag crew worthy of the reputation you’re trying to uphold.
While Star Wars Outer Rim can be played with up to four people, it also has an AI deck that allows you to play solo. You can pick this box up and play whenever you feel like it, provided you have 2 to 3 hours spare. It’s all about building your crew and taking on the most challenging jobs around. Be warned. You’ll need to battle other crews as your reputation becomes known around the galaxy, even if that crew is from the AI deck.
Under Falling Skies
Under Falling Skies is a phenomenal solo board game built with a focus on solo play. Each campaign sees the tileset assembled in a new way, allowing for tonnes of replayability if you’re hooked on it and even more if you play it as much as possible before roping your friends in.
The premise of this game is simple: Aliens have arrived, and they want to conquer Earth. The gameplay is where it gets complex and enjoyable, though. Every roll of the dice allows you to take an action, such as shooting down a ship, but those rolls also let the ships descend closer to the planet. You could reroll but risk the ships getting closer, and you’ll need to balance your high rolls because they give you more powerful actions but give the aliens more time to travel.
This is a great small box solo space board game. The perfect type to take with you on a trip where you don’t know if you’ll have anyone to sit down and play a board game with. That replayability value should see you through dozens of games as you work through two or three campaigns before you’ve seen everything it has to offer.
Five Parsecs From Home
Five Parsecs From Home is a solo board game inspired by the worlds of Warhammer 40K, Firely, and Xcom. You control a crew of six characters, one of which is your own, and head out into the galaxy in search of dangerous jobs to earn loot, cash, and a reputation.
You’ll need a handful of miniatures to get started, but part of the beauty of Five Parsecs From Home is that you can use anything. Chess pieces will do. The game rules aren’t overbearing enough that they impact the world and story, meaning you’re free to explore each character’s background and uncover stories that feel organic as you play.
Within the rules are tables for loot and levels to help you push through the data-driven elements without getting bogged down by them, meaning most of your time with the game is pure gameplay. While calmer moments play out as you might expect from any TTRPG, combat is more strategic. While not essential, I’ve seen some fans draw out the maps for areas of graph paper so they can fully engross themselves in a battle and be as tactical as possible in every fight.
This is another small box solo board game that’s much bigger on the inside. It’ll keep you busy for hours and pull you into a universe that’s enabled by your imagination. You’ll meet memorable characters and barely get out of some encounters alive, and each moment will feel epic.
Dune Imperium
Dune Imperium is one of the most popular board games set in the Dune universe, and it can be played with up to four players or solo by yourself. The more players there are, the more challenging the game becomes, and while that’s not a bad thing, I know more people who prefer the solo experience to the multiplayer.
In Dune Imperium, you strive to gain 10 victory points before your opponents. To do this, you’ve got to play everyone in the universe off against each other, from the royal houses to the Fremen and the Bene Gesserit. All of this plays out with cards, which tell you where you can place your units. Each position has benefits and drawbacks, opening up new paths to gain victory points and, ultimately, win.
I like to think of Dune Imperium as more of a grand strategy game. Your goal is to win, and while you may not see exactly how you’ll always achieve that, you make the best decisions based on what you control and go after what you want. It’s ruthless and requires you to be as harsh as Arakis if you want to succeed. Like in the books and movies, this game has no space for weakness or kindness.
Terraforming Mars
In Terraforming Mars, your goal is to completely transform the red planet into a life-sustaining eden. The standard game has no turn limit and ends when Mars can support human life, but as a solo player, you’ve got 14 rounds to terraform the planet.
There’s no set path for making Mars habitable in this game. Instead, you take actions that will do one of three things: increase the planet’s temperature, increase the oxygen level, and increase the oceans or water on the planet’s surface. While every action impacts one of these factors, some will also impact others, so you’ve got to be careful about what you do to try to maintain balance.
Terraforming Mars is far from a simple game to play, solo or multiplayer. The solo turn restriction makes it even more challenging, but it also makes it more enjoyable because you consider every move much more carefully. What I really love about the game is the idea that the end of a turn is the end of a generation. One generation of people lived and died during that turn to see your action through, and the next turn is another generation following in those footsteps.
If you like a solo space board game with some real weight behind every move that could see you take days to agonize over decisions, then this is a good one for you. I can see it being a great way to pass the time on a work trip or staying somewhere without much technology to hand.
The Search For Planet X
The Search for Planet X is a deduction game that requires you to find an entire planet and the two objects closest to it somewhere out in the vastness of space. While the game can be played with others, it uses an app to set the objects you’ve got to find with every game, and you can use that app to enable an AI opponent.
Obviously, locating an object in space is pretty damn difficult, especially if it’s this mysterious planet that’s meant to be a part of our solar system but has only ever been theorized. Thankfully, summits and conferences provide clues based on research the game offers you as a starting point. From there, you’ve got to study comets, the night sky, the weather, and other planets and figure out where Planet X is hiding.
This game is incredibly replayable. Not only does the planet shift to a new position in space every session, but your view of it changes, too. You start in one season on Earth, which differs from the AI opponent’s. This means that the data you’re given must be viewed through a new lens so it applies to the position of the stars in your season, adding a new layer to the complexity of identifying a planet somewhere out there among the millions of twinkling lights.
Core Space
Core Space is the ultimate game of trading, exploration, and survival. Players take on the role of a group of traders who have to survive in a harsh universe where The Purge, a race of semi-sentient machines, is harvesting every world and creature on those worlds it can find.
This is a great solo space board game for those who like the idea of miniatures like Warhammer 40K but don’t want to put together an army and paint it. The box has everything you need to get started, including tiles and miniature models, and you can put your board together from there.
This is a board game you could get lost in for hours, and it has plenty of expansions for you to add if you fall in love with it. Be warned, this is also a time sink, though, so if you’re looking for a short solo board game experience, try one of the others on this list.
Warp’s Edge
The premise of Warp’s Edge is what will hook you. Imagine you emerge from warp travel into a fleet of enemy ships. You go in guns blazing, but they’re too much for you. Just before your shields fail and you’re atomized, the ship’s SAVIOR protocol rewinds time back to the moment you emerged from warp space, lasers fully charged and all. Now imagine you have a second chance at defeating the fleet, and you know its every move.
Pick from one of four starships and battle it out with one of five motherships and their accompanying fleets. You have a limited number of moves, as does the enemy, so you’ll need to time your warps right to dodge enemies and nail those you must fight with lasers before they defeat you. Get to the mothership, blow it up, and save the day.
WArp’s Edge is a nice, small solo space board game you can take anywhere. It’s also not terribly time-consuming, so you could play it at dinner, quickly in the evening, or on your lunch break.
Gaia Project
Gaia Project is a game with a massive scope, in which you take on the role of one of 14 distinct factions and expand your territory, dominate the galaxy, research, and ultimately thrive more than any of the other factions. While this is a board game designed to be played with others, it has a challenging solo experience that utilizes the same core mechanics and systems.
Each faction has upgrades you can unlock, and the sprawling galaxy that you explore and conquer is pretty daunting at first but incredibly engrossing once you start to understand how you can set your sights on a location and quite quickly take it.
The downside to this game is its complexity. It’s definitely a barrier to entry, but after you’ve learned the ropes, it’s a joy to work through over the course of hours and evenings. there are over 200 different pieces you can use, and no one is going to hold your hand while you plan your next move, especially in solo mode. If you’re looking for something akin to Terra Mystica but with a sci-fi heart, then that’s exactly what this is widely regarded as by fans. So hop in.
Escape The Dark Sector
Escape The Dark Sector throws you into a brutal story in which your crew’s ship has been impounded in the detention center of a massive space station. It’s effectively just a colossal prison that roams around space, and you can imagine what sorts of people and creatures end up inside a structure like that.
Now, your crew needs to use whatever gear and weaponry it can find to escape from this prison cell and then the block. The game’s major focus is on atmosphere and storytelling, always working to keep you in the dark and feeling as though the environment is out to get you.
Escape The Dark Sector is quick and simple to set up, and most of the interactions rely on dice rolls to determine the outcomes of situations. This keeps up the pace as you choose whether to cut a vent, go the long way, stay quiet, or attack something in the dark. It’s all about your choices and how they impact the story, which is different in every run.
Published: Aug 8, 2024 01:39 pm