Hi,

After Balance of the Force for multiplayer games, I'd really like to see a future expansion for solo playing.

Solitaire playing rules, specifically designed cards, ....

Please, FFG ...... do it!!

Who would like to see it????

Hi,

After Balance of the Force for multiplayer games, I'd really like to see a future expansion for solo playing.

Solitaire playing rules, specifically designed cards, ....

Please, FFG ...... do it!!

Who would like to see it????

I guess.... I dont think I would really ever play it that way though. Its hard to get excited about the prospect of FFG dedicating time/effort into this instead of just creating new mechanics etc for the existing game.

If they did it I guess it'd be kinda nice every once in a while, but I'd prefer they didn't spend the effort on it really.

I don't think this would work properly. It is already a demanding task to balance the cards for two play modes ( 1 vs. 1 and Multiplayer). Maybe you try the Lords of the Rings LCG.

Personally I prefer to play against a thinking opponent. In my view a challenge deck and/or a scripted opponent isn't quite the same experience. Ever tried to bluff a pile of cards?

It'd have to be a separate game. Plus it'd be dumb, just get a pack of solitaire cards with a star wars theme.

I agree. I would also like to see Solo play rules. It is one way of enjoying the game when you can't get together with other gamers due to scheduling issues. Not everyone has a 9-5 job and weekends off.

Mark

Plus it'd be dumb.

brilliant reasoning! I wouldn't mind a solo variant along the lines of LotR lcg, but I suspect we won't see one. if I remember correctly, star wars was originally scheduled to be a co-op game and it was scrapped for what we have now so, I'd say balance of the force is probably what we get.

on a side note, it may be possible to come up with solo variant rules using the challenge decks, but only time (and creative people unlike myself) will tell.

Ever tried to bluff a pile of cards?

Yeah, this is why it could never work. The edge battle mechanic is too central to the game, and I don't see any way to make that work with a scripted opponent.

never mind the 90% of players that got into this game to demolish their friends star wars style.

I really see many similarities between this game and LOTR Lcg.

For people who knows both games:

- In both games at the beginning of the turn you get resources to spend (removing or adding counters do not alter the concept..)

- In both games you draw cards from a deck (ok, this is obvious!)

- In both games you choose what to deploy depending on the resources available

- SW Destroying objectives looks similar to LOTR quest resolution to me

- SW blast icons are so different from LOTR heroes/allies willpower points for objective destroying/resolution?

- SW Death Star wheel seems to me like the LOTR threat level

- In both games you exhaust/focus cards when you use them

- In SW when you resolve force phase you add force icons; in LOTR for questing resolution you add up threat and willpower strenght points.

- Many card elements are similar: attack/defense/unique cards/damage capacity/...

Obviously SW has been thought for two players and for example event cards often require a choice by one of the player.

But I really see many similar aspects between the two games.

I find I see more of L5 R in this game than anything else.

- The LS wins by destroying three DS objectives. This is similar to a Military victory.

- The DS wins by reqching 12 on the Death Star dial. This "clock" mechanism resembles Honor and Dishonor gameplay, in that the DS player can use diverse means of "speeding up" the dial.

- Edge battles are simply a better-implemented incarnation of the L5R duel mechanic.

- Engagements in SW involve taking turns using unit abilities, and much like L5R, the way this works generally prevents you from being able to use all of your units' icons (because an opponent will usually direct his unit damage and tactics icons on opposing units that have not struck yet).

- The game is challenging to teach, due to all the subtle nuances that experienced players will already know, such as the rules for which side wins an edge battle if no cards are played, only the LS not refreshing on its first turn, etc.

I find I see more of L5 R in this game than anything else.

- The LS wins by destroying three DS objectives. This is similar to a Military victory.

- The DS wins by reqching 12 on the Death Star dial. This "clock" mechanism resembles Honor and Dishonor gameplay, in that the DS player can use diverse means of "speeding up" the dial.

- Edge battles are simply a better-implemented incarnation of the L5R duel mechanic.

- Engagements in SW involve taking turns using unit abilities, and much like L5R, the way this works generally prevents you from being able to use all of your units' icons (because an opponent will usually direct his unit damage and tactics icons on opposing units that have not struck yet).

- The game is challenging to teach, due to all the subtle nuances that experienced players will already know, such as the rules for which side wins an edge battle if no cards are played, only the LS not refreshing on its first turn, etc.

I agree 100%. Having played L5R prior gives people learning this game a distinct advantage I've found. I think the only things that are noticeably different from L5R are that

1) Objectives come back when killed (unlike provinces in L5R, which don't and cause you to lose production)

2) You attack each Objective one-by-one in any order you want (in L5R you have to declare all your attacks together)

3) The Force Struggle, which doesn't really translate very well to any L5R mechanic. You could make an argument for taking the Imperial Favor I guess, but is a pretty loose correlation

4) You draw X cards a turn (L5R is 1)

I was just thinking about making a post just like this. I really wish those super decks in Balance of the Force were NPC decks, because I'd love to be able to play at times when I'm not able to get out of the house, but I don't really enjoy playing on OCTGN. Like the feel of cards in my hands.

I'd buy it.

Same here.

Has anyone listened to the BGU podcast where Eric Lang is interviewed? Around the 14-minute mark he mentions SW LCG and there was some comment about Balance of the Force making the game playable by 1-4 people. It could just have been a slip of the tongue, but you never know.

I wish they would do a co-op game, they did technicacally promise us one, but then changed it for the new design. I perosnally cant always get my friends to play since they got kids and stuff. So id love a format where i can play solo games similar to the lotr style.

I wish they would do a co-op game, they did technicacally promise us one, but then changed it for the new design. I perosnally cant always get my friends to play since they got kids and stuff. So id love a format where i can play solo games similar to the lotr style.

They didn't "technically" promise us one per se, so much as demo it at GenCon 2011. They then changed their plans due to fan backlash online (and possibly at the expo itself, not sure). Games are cancelled all the time -- I'm glad we still got a way to play this game that is at least semi-cooperative.

I was also thinking of making a post like this. Solo games appeal to me of late because when I'm off I've got little ones running around. It makes reading a book difficult. Video games are out of the question when they're present. That leaves solo games. I adore the LoTR LCG and I sometimes play the solo variant of netrunner with scrabble tiles. THIS would be a real winner though. I'd buy it without a second thought.

I wouldn't be surprised if they put out a SW deckbuilding game at some point, and I could definitly see that allowing for solo and pure co-op play. Not gonna happen in this game.

I can see a solo variant for this particular game. Whether they release a separate stand alone that 'might' support solo play I don't know. But to try and force it on this game would be silly IMO.

I'm just getting into the game so my oppinion doesn't carry a lot of weight. But as I've been trying to learn the game, I have played against myself several times. I think that a solo game could work for this game, but it would have to be dumbed down quite a bit. For example edge battles would lose the "bluff" aspect. I could see edge battles basically being somewhat random, with a separate deck of cards that have only force points and some fate cards. Every edge battle has your 'opponent' put 2 edge cards in the edge stack. Those cards could total a force value of 0-8, so your decision is how badly do i need to ensure a win in this edge and therefore how many cards do i play. Plus 1 in 10 cards in the edge deck is a fate card that would be played like a normal fate card would.

The NPC deck would have to be along the same idea as the challenge decks in Balance of the Force, only good for the Solo variant of the game. But you could still play any deck you want for the side you are contolling. Event cards would have to be taken out for the NPC and some of the interupts and actions etc may need to be removed just so that you as the sole player don't have to keep track of so much on both sides of the table. It would be a simplistic version of the game and somewhat more random than what we have right now, but i think it would be pretty sweet to be able to try out different decks and as others have commented, be able to play when you don't have a real opponent available.

I DEFINITELY would like to see some solo variant! I am a fan of the LotR LCG and always wished that I could have the same in the Star Wars universe. Although I absolutely LOVE the artwork of the cards, the mechanics of the game as they are now just don't do it for me.

I really enjoy this game and have played a hand full of times. I only played once against another perzon, and that was to teach the game. I usually just set up the two sides next to each other and play out a full game. This is great for learning just how each side, and faction play out. It can, however, take a while to set up, and it dulls down some of the more exciting aspects of the game (edge battle). It also moves a bit slow because you have to reset how you are thinking between the two sides. I dont think they need an expansion just for solo play, but I would like to see someone come up with a system for playing out a game for either side in a solo battle.

Cosman,

on boardgamegeek there are some attempts to produce a solo gaming set of rules.

I'm the author of one of them and still thinking abour other versions (I'm thinking about a set of solo rules inspired by LOTR lcg).

Hey guys. I was involved in helping Jason Keeping (at Boardgamegeek) to develop a simplified method for playing solo games. It works really well, and can be played with very little complications or intricate rules. It DOES, however, change the way the game is played a little bit such as a few key points:

1. Typically one engagement per turn for both the human and the AI

2. AI units are split up into ATTACK units and DEFENDER units

3. AI units committed to the Force don't get double focused upon striking

But for the most part, a lot of the methods of play that make this game fun and challenging are still there. Edge battles and Fate cards are even handled quite adequately to emulate the feel of going up against an opponent that really wants to win that Edge battle and is not afraid to play a Twist of Fate to do it!

Here is the original discussion thread that Jason Keeping and I (also Jason) came up with some of the refinements to get the variant to where it is today. Actually the thread was originally started by another Boardgamegeeker named Enrico (from the above post) who was attempting to create a simple solo variant. Unfortunately, his thread was kind of hijacked, but as he said, he is designing yet another solo variant, which is awesome. So the thread is kind of a brainstorming session for all things solo. Not Solo.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1010586/new-solo-rules-a-first-incomplete-draft-

And here is the direct link to the Boardgamegeek file page for the "Jason and Jason" variant.

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/94291/jkssimplified-solo-variant-for-star-wars-lcg

We are still in the process of testing a few things to smooth out some issues with strategies that revolve around burying AI units in tactics icons, but even as it stands now, this is a pretty enjoyable way to play. If anything, it provides a nice way for you to experiment with deck draws and the odds of getting certain units into play. The fact that you are literally TRYING to make it difficult for yourself means that the challenge will definitely be there.

Have fun!

I would love to see a solo version by FFG. Primarily since it is frustrating to find players. I am surprised that there is not more folks playing, especially with the great stuff coming out. At my local store, players still want to play the old Decipher version.