Top Solo Board Games for 2025

Enjoying board games with loved ones is fantastic, but what about solo playtime? Many modern board games offer engaging single-player experiences, ranging from strategic challenges to relaxing roll-and-writes. Whether you crave a mental workout or a tranquil escape, there's a solo board game perfect for you. Let's explore some of the best options for quiet, contemplative gaming.

TL;DR: The Best Solo Board Games

War Story: Occupied France

Invincible: The Hero-Building Game

Legacy of Yu

Final Girl

Dune Imperium

Hadrian's Wall

Imperium: Horizons

Frosthaven

Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Under Falling Skies

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Cascadia

Terraforming Mars

Spirit Island

Editor's Note: While all games listed offer solo play, most also support multiplayer (up to four players, typically). *Final Girl* is the exception, designed exclusively for solo play.

War Story: Occupied France

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-6 Play Time: 45-60 mins

Blending choose-your-own-adventure with tactical wargaming, War Story: Occupied France places you in charge of WWII secret agents. Navigate narrative choices and tactical map-based combat for a compelling espionage experience. The branching narratives and strategic depth offer high replayability, especially in solo mode, where the weight of command is amplified.

Invincible: The Hero-Building Game

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 45-90 mins

Based on the popular comic and TV show, this game offers a unique take on superheroism. Guide young heroes, discovering power combinations, battling villains, and saving civilians. Scenarios link to TV show storylines, offering reenactment opportunities and campaign play.

Legacy of Yu

Age Range: 12+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 60 mins

Journey to mythic China as Yu the Great, managing resources, building canals, and defending against barbarian invasions. The blend of resource management, worker placement, narrative, and military elements creates a richly strategic and thematic experience.

Final Girl

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1 Play Time: 20-60 mins

Horror shines in solo play. Final Girl, with its numerous expansions, offers a modular experience where you manage actions, cards, and resources as the sole survivor. Requires a Film Box for scenarios.

Dune: Imperium

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 60-120 mins

While best with multiple players, Dune: Imperium includes an automated opponent, House Hagal, for a satisfying solo experience. Face one or two AI opponents at varying difficulty levels.

Hadrian’s Wall

Age Range: 12+ Players: 1-6 Play Time: 60 mins

A flip-and-write game where you manage resources to build walls and repel invasions. A downloadable campaign enhances the solo experience.

Imperium: Horizons

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 40 mins/player

A civilization-building game with a deck-building mechanic. Each civilization offers a unique strategic challenge, leading to high replayability.

Frosthaven

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 60-120 mins

A large-scale legacy-style game offering a grand fantasy adventure. Card-driven combat and a persistent world create a deeply personal experience.

Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-5 Play Time: 60+ mins

A sprawling fantasy epic known for its excellent solo play. Fight monsters, upgrade your character, and explore a vast setting. Expect lengthy playtime.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-8 Play Time: 90 mins

Become Sherlock Holmes and solve mysteries using provided materials like maps and newspapers. The game offers minimal guidance, challenging you to conduct your own investigation.

Under Falling Skies

Age Range: 12+ Players: 1+ Play Time: 20-40 mins

A solo-focused game where you defend your base from descending alien ships. Balance resource allocation for shooting, building, and research.

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 90-180 mins

Survive on a hostile island, scavenging, building, and exploring. The solo variant allows you to control multiple characters.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr N’ Write

Age Range: 10+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 30-45 mins

A roll-and-write game where you manage resources to build and run a dinosaur theme park.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 60-120 mins

Face eldritch horrors in this tense solo experience. Investigate, gather clues, and impede the Mythos deck.

Cascadia

Age Range: 10+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 30-45 mins

Build a nature reserve by selecting terrain tiles and animal tokens. Achievements in the rulebook provide varied solo challenges.

Terraforming Mars

Age Range: 12+ Players: 1-5 Play Time: 120 mins

Help make Mars habitable by managing resources and building a corporation. Race against the clock to maximize end-game parameters.

Spirit Island

Age Range: 14+ Players: 1-4 Play Time: 90-120 mins

A cooperative game where you protect your island from colonizers as island spirits. Excellent for solo play by controlling multiple spirits.

Solo Board Game FAQs

Is it weird to play board games alone?

Not at all! Solo gaming has a long history, offering a satisfying challenge and the visual/tactile pleasures of the game itself. It's no different than enjoying a puzzle or a solo video game.