Is this a good game for a loner?

[The Corpse Eater]

Hi all. I game with my friends on console, but when it comes to PC gaming, they're never really too interested.

I've always loved the idea of this simulator. But is it only for groups of people who know each other? Or if I choose, say, chess is there plenty of random people it would hook me up with?

I also like the idea of sitting down with 3 strangers and playing poker etc.

It's obviously gonna be 10x more fun with people you know irl and organise gaming sessions with but is it easy enough for a loner to jump on randomly and play a couple of rounds of something of my choice?

Thanks!

[Kelson]

If we all had local groups we could play games with, I'm sure there would be fewer of us playing this game. ;)

I have a garage full of awesome board/card/dice games, but no one locally to play them with very often, so I use TTS to meet new people and play games with them.

Most of the game I'm hosting are games I'm willing to teach to new players. It gives me more options of people to play with later. I also play new games hosted by those willing to teach.

Almost every game I play on TTS is with a table of complete strangers. I play many hours every week. During slow times, I may not get a table of players to join me. Aside from that, I have no issues meeting people and playing games with them.

Definitely worth it and you can't beat the variety of games for the price!

I forgot to mention that I back a lot of games on Kickstarter and this is a great way to try many of them before backing.

[Calloused]

It isnt difficult for me to come home after a long night of work, sit down and find a game to play with a bunch of random strangers to relax with, or get really worked up over depending on the game...

Working nights though, its not exactly like I get the time to get together with my friends to play boardgames since we have conflicting schedules, TTS has always solved this problem for me, and its also got virtually unlimited replay value that you can easily pick up and drop, since its just a simulator of the tabletop experience. There will be always be a new game for you to try if you look, its the real Neverending Story because you'll never have the time to play them all.

There is well over 10k+ items in the work and that number is just going to grow, there are always new people to meet because hey, who doesnt like boardgames? Who hasnt played a game of something with their brother/sister/cousin/whatever at some point? Its also great for the fact that lets say, you wanted to try Warhammer as you never have before (and it is so dang expensive), well you can try a game or two on TTS, find out maybe you dont like it, you've spent nothing more than the cost of TTS. So you try Magic the Gathering, love it but no people where you live to play with, plenty of people on here, still only paid that one time price. You get where I'm going.

Its essentially the penultimate game, because its so many other games all in one with frequent free DLC if we call the workshop items DLC for this example, with online multiplayer, for a pretty solid price.

[Blackdeath]

Single player here, love board games in general . I owns 50+ real games from GMT etc and play solo alot. This is perfect for me, I also bought 3 DLC during the last sale to support them. I find it to be fun especially when you hook up online and learn some new games.

[Tigrezno]

I play several solo games in TTS, but for a loner, pc games are just better.

Some good solo games on TTS: Space Hulk Death Angel, Arkham Horror LCG, The Lost Expedition, Sylvion, Friday, Onirim, Dawn of the Zeds, ...

[The Corpse Eater]

Brilliant. Thanks everyone. I bought it :-) Already played a few games with some strangers. Add me if you want to play some chess!

[Kelson]

Glad you got it! Chess is too smart for me, but if you like learning games, add me and I'll be happy to teach you some.

[Sekkuar666]

Protip: stay away from 'Secret Hitler' rooms

[The Corpse Eater]

Originally posted by Sekkuar666:

Protip: stay away from 'Secret Hitler' rooms

I tried, but learning the rules was tough as about 4 different people were talking over one another asking questions while one poor bloke was trying to explain.

I've been on for a few hours and already hosted my own games and chatted to people. It's exactly what I hoped. I really feared I'd spent £15 to roll dice on a table on my own!

[Calloused]

Well I'm always looking for more people to play Dead of Winter, Betrayal at House on the Hill, King of Tokyo, and Carcassonne with, so you can always add me if you want. Always game for learning new things too, so you can always add me if you want.

[Kelson]

Secret Hitler is something that is a lot of fun to play, but the SH community on TTS is toxic. Best to avoid entirely if you want to keep your blood pressure under control.

There are TONS of other games available to play here. If you enjoy social deduction games (SH is one of them), you can try The Resistance (the game that inspired SH), Coup or one of many others that will give you a similar experience without all the drama of an SH table.

[Sekkuar666]

Originally posted by Kelson:

Secret Hitler is something that is a lot of fun to play, but the SH community on TTS is toxic. Best to avoid entirely if you want to keep your blood pressure under control.

It's a game better played with friends only.

[Marquise*]

Welcome to our bandwagon! ^^

[Calloused]

Originally posted by Marquise*:

Welcome to our bandwagon! ^^

Lets make him haul the dice.

[The Corpse Eater]

Originally posted by Kelson:

The Resistance (the game that inspired SH), Coup or one of many others that will give you a similar experience without all the drama of an SH table.

Coup is on here!?

No way I've got to get on that now!!

[SaltyO]

Originally posted by The Corpse Eater:

Hi all. I game with my friends on console, but when it comes to PC gaming, they're never really too interested.
I've always loved the idea of this simulator. But is it only for groups of people who know each other? Or if I choose, say, chess is there plenty of random people it would hook me up with?
I also like the idea of sitting down with 3 strangers and playing poker etc.
It's obviously gonna be 10x more fun with people you know irl and organise gaming sessions with but is it easy enough for a loner to jump on randomly and play a couple of rounds of something of my choice?!

Hi, I'm a mod for this game and have seen all sorts come on through. This game is perfectly acceptable for loner types, as a loner type I can stand behind that with loner pride.

Diverse userbase:

- People use this game to maintain longterm friendships that have become farflung by life's many choices. I am thankful for this, it keeps some of my old college buddies in touch.

- Most people playing this game are strangers, most “friends” you see playing on TTS became acquainted in games here.

- People from *chan who play secret hitler and just do the stuff they do with their lives. Try to find a laid back starting group.

- Many players are new to hobby gaming and jump into things they want to learn. I find this to be true specifically of younger players who may be a little intimidated by the vast tomes of tabletop RPGs. Lots of people play minis games as they are far too expensive for most people on the planet.

- While not my thing personally, there's tons of welcoming social games that take anyone who joins. Anything from Werewolf, Secret Hitler, Sheriff of Nottingham, Salem, Coup, Cards Against Humanity, etc.

- There's drunk people who come on to yell about blackjack and Uno.

- Game designers use TTS to research games and use the engine's powerful prototyping tools to test games. I'm seeing tons of test games here, more than I've ever seen before. I use TTS for this purpose quite a bit. If you are in any way creative, the Workshop can pull you in deep.

- TTS is a library of the history of board games. The Workshop can be enjoyed for that reason alone.

As for solo games, there's plenty on here that are quite fun. Mage Knight, Pathfinder ACG isn't bad, Race for the Galaxy, Robinson Crusoe, Scythe, and many more. Most board games have solo variants you can find on Boardgamegeek. It's a good way to learn a game before bringing it to table. No cleanup. often no setup either!

Relaxing game rewewier Ricky Royal has some excellent “top solo board games” over the years:
https://www.youtube.com/user/rickkcroyal
Solo gaming is a staple of the print and play community, and there are people uploading nice looking mods of PnP games that few people outside that world have heard of as well.

It is perfectly okay to join a game just to watch, but considered polite to ask since you might be increasing bandwidth and pings. Usually people are ok with this but there are a few bad eggs in the bunch. Likewise, it's considered bad form to leave a game once you've started playing, after the host has explained the rules, because they have to stop and reorganize or find a new person. Try to commit a little bit and leave as gracefully as you can if you aren't having fun. If someone is a jerk, just let it go. Some people are just jerks.

And after you learn a game, be a host. The bystander effect is the #1 reason why there aren't more games beind hosted. :)

To find games needing players and vice versa, go to the tts discussions forum and click on Players Needing Games. Mostly RPGs there, but you can build your circle of players you enjoy hanging out with this way.