Summary: Looking for the best games to enjoy on your own? This updated 2025 list highlights 30 of the top solo board games, from strategic challenges to immersive adventures, perfect for single-player fun.
Who says board games are only fun with friends?
In 2025, solo board games are booming, offering players thrilling adventures, tricky puzzles, and immersive strategies to enjoy on their own.
This guide will explain what solo board games are and highlight the 30 best solo board games updated for 2025, including timeless classics and exciting new releases.
We’ll also show how tools like XMOD can elevate your single-player experience before wrapping up with some final tips.
Table of contents
- What are Solo Board Games?
- 30 Best Solo Board Games Updated in 2025
- How can You Improve Single-Player board Games’ Gaming Experience with XMOD
- Conclusion
What are Solo Board Games?
Solo board games are tabletop games designed to be played by a single person. These games use mechanics—puzzles, AI, or scenarios—allowing a single player to enjoy the full experience.
They’re perfect for anyone who loves strategy, storytelling, or problem-solving but doesn’t always have a group available. From card games to epic campaigns, solo board games offer flexibility, replayability, and the freedom to explore at your own pace.
30 Best Solo Board Games Updated in 2025
Who says you need a group to have fun? This freshly updated 2025 list brings you the very best solo board games to enjoy anytime, anywhere.
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Spirit Island
Spirit Island is a cooperative, strategic board game released in 2017 where players take on the roles of powerful island spirits defending their homeland from invading colonizers. Each spirit has unique powers and abilities, and players must carefully coordinate their actions to repel invaders, protect the island, and harness the land’s natural forces. Known for its deep strategy, complex interactions, and high replayability, it’s widely praised as one of the best solo and cooperative board games for strategy enthusiasts.
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Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition
Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition is a complex, epic board game that blends strategy, deck-building, and role-playing elements. Players take on the roles of powerful Mage Knights exploring a fantasy world, battling enemies, conquering cities, and growing stronger over time. Known for its deep mechanics and solo-friendly gameplay, it offers highly strategic and immersive experiences for both solo players and groups.
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Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Marvel Champions: The Card Game is a cooperative living card game where players become iconic Marvel heroes to battle famous villains. Each hero has a unique deck and abilities, allowing for strategic gameplay and teamwork, whether played solo or with friends. Its expandable content and engaging missions make it a favorite for Marvel fans and card game enthusiasts alike.
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Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a cooperative living card game set in the Lovecraftian universe of Arkham. Players take on the roles of investigators facing cosmic horrors, unraveling mysteries, and making narrative-driven choices that shape the story. With deck-building mechanics and solo-friendly scenarios, it offers deep strategy and immersive storytelling for both solo and group play.
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Set A Watch: Doomed Run
Set A Watch: Doomed Run is a cooperative, campaign-driven board game expansion designed by Mike Gnade and Todd Walsh. It builds on the original Set A Watch series, adding new heroes, realms, and mythic items for players to explore. Focused on strategy, adventure, and tactical combat, it can be played solo or with a group, offering deep replayability and challenging scenarios.
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Sammu-Ramat
Sammu-Ramat is a 1–5 player cooperative board game set in 811 BC, where players assume the roles of advisors in the Assyrian royal court. The game challenges players to manage resources, military strategy, and political decisions to protect the empire and fulfill objectives outlined on challenge cards. Each advisor possesses unique abilities, and players must collaborate to navigate crises and prevent the fall of the empire.
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Too Many Bones
Too Many Bones is a cooperative, dice-building RPG where 1–4 players take on the roles of Gearlocs—unique fantasy characters with customizable abilities. Set in the world of Daelore, players embark on adventures to defeat powerful Tyrants, facing tactical combat, random encounters, and character progression. The game is known for its high-quality components, including neoprene mats and durable chips, and offers both solo and multiplayer experiences.
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Aeon’s End: The Descent
Aeon’s End: The Descent is a cooperative deck-building game set in the Aeon’s End universe, designed by Kevin Riley and others. It introduces a shuffle-free deck-building system where players, as mages, aim to defeat nemeses threatening the city of Gravehold.The game features a campaign mode with narrative-driven expeditions, allowing players to unlock new content as they progress.A notable addition is the “Friends & Foes” module, introducing allies and adversaries that influence gameplay dynamics.The game is standalone but compatible with other Aeon’s End content.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – Revised Core Set
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – Revised Core Set is a cooperative Living Card Game by Fantasy Flight Games for 1–4 players. Released in 2022, this revised edition updates the original 2011 core set with improved accessibility, enhanced components, and three copies of each player card for easier deck-building. Players take on the roles of iconic Middle-earth heroes, working together to complete quests and overcome challenges through strategic card play. With pre-constructed decks, a narrative-driven campaign, and support for both solo and multiplayer sessions, it offers an immersive and approachable entry point for new players while enhancing the experience for veterans.
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Robinson Crusoe: Collector’s Edition
Robinson Crusoe: Collector’s Edition is a cooperative survival board game where 1–4 players are stranded on a deserted island and must work together to gather resources, build shelter, and overcome challenges like wild animals and storms. Known for its deep strategy and immersive storytelling, players face scenario-based objectives that test teamwork and decision-making. This Collector’s Edition includes upgraded components and enhanced artwork, making it a visually stunning and highly replayable experience.
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Final Girl
Final Girl is a cooperative horror board game where 1–4 players take on the roles of iconic slasher villains while a single “Final Girl” player tries to survive and defeat them. The game recreates classic horror movie scenarios, blending strategy, deduction, and tense cat-and-mouse gameplay. Known for its cinematic feel and solo-friendly mechanics, it offers thrilling suspense whether played alone or with friends.
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Rise of the Unfolders: Tidal Blades 2
Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is a cooperative, narrative-driven adventure game where 1–4 players assume the roles of elite guardians known as Tidal Blades. Set in the vibrant world of Naviri, players embark on a grand campaign consisting of 18 interconnected scenarios, each offering unique challenges and evolving maps. Utilizing the innovative Nexus Grid combat system, players engage in strategic battles, manage resources, and make impactful decisions that shape the unfolding story. With over 40 hours of gameplay, stunning artwork, and a richly developed world, this game offers an immersive experience for fans of cooperative storytelling and tactical gameplay.
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Everdell: Duo
Everdell: Duo is a stand-alone, two-player board game set in the charming woodland world of Everdell.Designed for competitive or cooperative play, it offers a 15-chapter campaign and features over 75 unique card abilities and more than 30 different Events to achieve.The game introduces innovative mechanics, such as the Sun and Moon tokens, which influence card availability and timing, adding strategic depth to the gameplay.With easy setup and swift playtime, Everdell: Duo provides an expansive and addictive experience for players seeking a compact yet rich game.
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NYC: Emergency Room
NYC: Emergency Room is a cooperative medical mystery board game where 1–4 players step into the role of an ER doctor working the graveyard shift in a bustling New York City hospital. Players must diagnose and treat patients with mysterious conditions before time runs out.The game includes a tutorial and four unique patient cases, each with varying levels of difficulty.Players examine symptoms, run tests, consult specialists, and make critical decisions to save lives.Designed for ages 14 and up, it offers a suspenseful and educational experience without requiring prior medical knowledge.
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Dune: Imperium
Dune: Imperium is a strategic board game combining deck-building and worker placement, set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe.
Players lead factions competing for control of Arrakis, the only source of the valuable spice melange. They manage resources, form alliances, and engage in political and military conflicts to earn victory points.
With its rich theme, Dune: Imperium captures the intrigue and power struggles at the heart of the Dune saga.
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Batman: Gotham City Chronicles + Solo/Cooperative Expansion
Batman: Gotham City Chronicles – Solo/Cooperative Expansion turns the original 1-vs-many tactical game into a fully playable solo or cooperative experience for 1–4 players.
The expansion introduces an AI-driven villain system, letting players face Gotham’s criminals without a game master. It features over 60 scenarios with unique objectives and challenges for a fresh experience each time.
Players can choose from a wide array of heroes and villains, using miniatures and tiles to navigate intricate missions. Whether playing solo or cooperatively, this expansion offers an immersive dive into Gotham City.
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Skytear Horde: Monoliths
- Developer: Skytear Games
- Where to Get
Skytear Horde: Monoliths is a standalone expansion to the Skytear Horde series, offering cooperative and solo tower defense gameplay.
Players defend their castle from waves of enemies by managing resources, deploying allies, and engaging in strategic battles. The expansion adds new factions with unique abilities, along with diverse enemies and challenging bosses.
With engaging gameplay and strategic depth, Skytear Horde: Monoliths delivers an immersive experience for fans of cooperative and solo board games.
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Imperium: Classics
Imperium: Classics is an asymmetric, card-driven strategy game by Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi for 1–4 players, where you lead a civilization from a small tribe to a mighty empire.
The game features 8 civilizations—Carthage, Celtic, Greek, Macedon, Persian, Roman, Scythian, and Viking—each with unique starting decks and development paths. Players build decks, develop technologies, conquer territories, and manage internal affairs to earn glory points.
A highly regarded solo mode pits players against an AI opponent via automated rules, offering a challenging, strategic experience.
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Ark Nova
- Developer: Feuerland Spiele
- Where to Get
Ark Nova is a strategic board game designed by Mathias Wigge and published by Capstone Games in 2021 for 1–4 players. In the game, players build and manage a modern zoo, balancing the appeal of their exhibits with conservation efforts. Using a unique action selection system—where unused actions grow stronger—players build enclosures, add animals, support conservation projects, and collaborate with associations to earn points. The game ends when a player’s appeal and conservation markers meet, with the highest final score winning. Ark Nova offers a deep, engaging, and highly acclaimed strategy experience.
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Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is a cooperative, campaign-driven tactical board game designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games in 2017.Set in a dark fantasy world, players assume the roles of mercenaries exploring dungeons, battling monsters, and uncovering a branching narrative across 95 scenarios.The game is renowned for its deep strategy, immersive storytelling, and legacy elements, where decisions have lasting consequences.With 17 unique character classes and a dynamic combat system, Gloomhaven offers a rich and evolving gameplay experience.It has received widespread acclaim, including multiple Golden Geek Awards, and is considered one of the best board games ever made.
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Cascadia
Cascadia is a tile-laying and token-drafting board game designed by Randy Flynn and illustrated by Beth Sobel, first published in 2021 by Flatout Games.Set in the Pacific Northwest, players aim to create harmonious ecosystems by placing habitat tiles and matching wildlife tokens.Each animal has unique scoring conditions, such as bears favoring contiguous groups and foxes benefiting from a mix of prey species.The game accommodates 1 to 4 players and typically lasts 30 to 45 minutes.Cascadia has been lauded for its accessibility, strategic depth, and beautiful artwork, earning the 2022 Spiel des Jahres award and the 2023 International Gamers Award for Best Solo Game.
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Under Falling Skies
Under Falling Skies is a solo-only, campaign-driven board game designed by Tomáš Uhlíř and published by Czech Games Edition in 2020.In this game, you command Earth’s last line of defense against an alien invasion, aiming to advance your research to find a way to defeat the aliens before they destroy your city.The game combines elements of dice placement, resource management, and tactical decision-making, offering a challenging and immersive experience.Each round, you roll dice to activate different rooms in your underground base, with the value of each die determining both the strength of your action and how far alien ships descend toward your city.The game features a modular board, multiple cities to defend, and a campaign mode that introduces new challenges and scenarios as you progress.Under Falling Skies has been praised for its strategic depth, replayability, and thematic storytelling, making it a standout choice for solo board gamers.
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Obsession
Obsession is a strategic Euro-style board game designed by Dan Halligan and first published in 2018.Set in Victorian England, players assume the roles of noble families aiming to restore their social standing through events, estate renovations, and courting influential gentry.
The game uses a unique worker placement system, where managing domestic staff—like butlers, maids, and valets—is key to success. Players must balance resources and reputation to host activities, attract high-status guests, and ultimately marry into the prestigious Fairchild family.
Obsession delivers a rich thematic experience with deep strategy, making it a standout for fans of historical settings and intricate gameplay.
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For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game
For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game is a solo-only card game designed by Wilhelm Suer and published by Side Room Games in 2021.In this game, you aim to peacefully unify the kingdom of Northwood by engaging with its rulers through a series of trick-taking rounds.Over eight rounds, you visit eight animal fiefs, each ruled by a different ruler with unique abilities and requirements.The game features a hand management system where you must carefully plan your plays to win the exact number of tricks needed to gain each ruler’s alliance.With its compact size, replayability, and engaging mechanics, For Northwood! offers a rich solo gaming experience.
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Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall is a solo-friendly, flip-and-write strategy board game designed by Bobby Hill and published by Renegade Game Studios in 2021.Set in 122 AD, players assume the role of a Roman general tasked with constructing a milecastle and fortifying Hadrian’s Wall to defend against Pictish invasions.The game unfolds over six rounds, each representing a year, during which players manage resources, build structures, recruit soldiers, and attract civilians to earn victory points.With its intricate planning, multiple scoring paths, and engaging mechanics, Hadrian’s Wall offers a rich and rewarding experience for solo board game enthusiasts.
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Voidfall
- Developer: Mindclash Games
- Where to Get
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Hoplomachus: Victorum
Hoplomachus: Victorum is a solo, campaign-driven tactical combat game by Chip Theory Games (2023). In a mythological world, you play a gladiator hero defeating Pluto’s Scions across four 12-week acts, each ending with a Primus boss.
The game features a dynamic map with eight regions offering diverse events, from non-lethal sports to deadly deathmatches. Winning events lets you recruit units, upgrade your hero, and prepare for tougher challenges.
Combat uses a chip-drawing system, where defeated or recruited units enter a shared bag, increasing the challenge as the campaign progresses. Strategic planning is vital: manage your hero’s stats, recruit allies, and navigate events to ultimately defeat the Scion.
With rich narrative, deep strategy, and immersive components, Hoplomachus: Victorum delivers a compelling solo board game experience.
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Warp’s Edge
Warp’s Edge is a solo-only, bag-building space combat game designed by Scott Almes and published by Renegade Game Studios.In this game, you pilot a starfighter through waves of alien ships, aiming to defeat a formidable mothership before your limited number of “warps” runs out.Each warp resets the battle but allows you to retain upgrades, making each attempt progressively more powerful.The game features four unique starfighters, each with distinct abilities and starting conditions, offering varied strategic experiences.Players engage in a dynamic puzzle of chip-drawing mechanics, where decisions on when to attack, evade, or upgrade are crucial to success.With its blend of strategy, replayability, and immersive sci-fi theme, Warp’s Edge provides a compelling solo gaming experience.
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Sleeping Gods
Sleeping Gods is a cooperative, story-driven adventure board game designed by Ryan Laukat and published by Red Raven Games.Set in 1929, players assume the roles of Captain Sofi Odessa and her crew aboard the steamship Manticore, which has mysteriously transported them to a strange world.The primary objective is to find and awaken the titular Sleeping Gods by locating totems scattered across a vast, interconnected world map.The game features a unique diceless combat system and a dynamic event deck that introduces challenges and quests, each with multiple outcomes influenced by player decisions.With its expansive narrative, engaging mechanics, and immersive world-building, Sleeping Gods offers a rich and replayable solo or cooperative experience for 1 to 4 players.
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20 Strong
20 Strong is a solo board game system developed by Chip Theory Games, offering a compact yet strategic experience designed for quick play sessions of approximately 30 minutes.The core game, 20 Strong: Solar Sentinels, introduces players to a modular framework where each session involves selecting a hero and progressing through a shuffled deck of 20 cards, each presenting unique challenges such as enemies, scenarios, or environmental effects.Players utilize 20 custom dice to manage health, strategy, and recovery, with the goal of defeating a final boss by the end of the deck.The system’s versatility is evident as it supports various themed decks, including expansions like Too Many Bones and Victorum, each bringing distinct mechanics and narratives to the core gameplay.This adaptability allows for a diverse range of solo gaming experiences within a consistent and streamlined ruleset.
How can You Improve Single-Player board Games’ Gaming Experience with XMOD
XMOD is a powerful gaming tool that enhances single-player board games on PC and digital platforms. Cheats and trainers let you boost resources, tweak difficulty, and unlock features for more flexible, enjoyable gameplay.
Beyond gameplay tweaks, XMOD also offers translation tools, helping players break language barriers and enjoy games in their preferred language. For smoother performance, its FPS and graphics boost features optimize visuals and frame rates, delivering a more immersive experience.
In short, XMOD enhances convenience, performance, and accessibility, letting players enjoy richer, more personalized solo board game adventures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, solo board games offer rich, strategic, narrative-driven experiences—from classics like Gloomhaven and Spirit Island to innovative titles like For Northwood!And Warp’s Edge, the 30 best solo board games updated in 2025 provide something for every taste, whether you prefer tactical combat, story-driven adventures, or strategic planning.
Enhancing these games with XMOD further elevates the experience.
It streamlines gameplay, provides digital tools, and introduces new challenges.
These features keep each session fresh and engaging.
Whether you’re a seasoned solo gamer or just exploring single-player board gaming, XMOD helps you enjoy more.
These games and tools ensure countless hours of immersive and satisfying play.
Catherine Hu