What makes a good solo game? I find them many times when I start playing solo games to learn games cooperatively for my friends. If a game starts to enchant me and I can’t stop playing it solo … there’s something to it! Most of the games on this list were games I played solo to teach my friends … but then I kept playing! Some of these games will end up on either my Top 10 Cooperative Games of 2025, but some of them may end up on my Top Cooperative Expansions of 2025, but one things for sure … they are all great solo!
My tastes are a little funny; see if you agree or disagree.
For more great solo games, see last year’s list: Top 10 Solo Games of 2024!
Honorable Mention. Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templar (Reforged)
This is a solo game I played quit a bit in 2025, but it can’t “officially” make this list for a number of reasons. For one, it’s a video game! Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templar is a point-and-click solo adventure video game … (See our discussion of point-and-click adventure games here in Top 10 Point-And-Click Adventure Board Games here)! This game is sometimes what I want when I want to play solo: it’s an all-consuming adventure game with story and exploration!
My physical copy arrived about November 2025, so I can still count it as 2025 (even though my digital copy arrived in 2024, so that’s another reason). I know, it doesn’t really belong on this list, but these point-and-click adventure video games totally scratch my solo game itch sometimes! And I spent a fair amount of time playing it solo in 2025!
10. Wroth
What a strange journey Wroth was! This is a solo, competitive, and cooperative area control/area majority game, which is a real interesting mix of game modes! Unfortunately, the solo play is hard to get to because you have to learn the base competitive game BEFORE you can play the solo/cooperative mode!
Along the way, I discovered I actually liked the competitive game but disliked the cooperative game! And somewhat paradoxically (because the solo game is the cooperative game), the solo game ended up being a really fun puzzle! After almost selling the game (because I disliked the cooperative mode so much), it was the solo mode that prompted me to keep this game.
Wroth also has one of my favorite covers of the year! Check out our journey with Wroth to see if this is a solo game you might like!
9. Earthborne Rangers: Legacy of the Ancestors
This is an odd entry for a few reasons! Firstly, this was the expansion for the original Earthborne Rangers that was part of the first, original Kickstarter! Even though I ordered this expansion many moons ago (from the first Kickstarter: see our review here), this expansion didn’t arrive until 2025 (and even BGG says it’s a 2025 release date)!
This probably should go in my Top 10 Cooperative Expansions of 2025, instead of here in my solo list … but the thing is, I only ever played it solo! Even though you can play 1-4 players with Earthborne Rangers, I think one or two players is the best count for Earthborne Rangers! In this case, one player was best!
In some ways, the abundance of storybook games (see our Top 10 Cooperative Games of 2025) just reminded me what a great exploration and storybook game this is! I got to relive the fun of exploring in this system in this exploration and story-filled game! I got the explore … The Arcology!
8. Storyfold: Wildwoods
Storyfold: Wildwoods is both a perfect entry and an odd entry to this list. Why is that?
In name, this is a solo game only! It’s about a little girl and her animal companion roaming and exploring a dark and depressing forest. There is a little bit of worker placement, a little bit of dice, and little bit of story, and a lot of dark experience! It’s a solo game!
I ended up playing this solo game as a two-player game, as team solo! In other words, me an my friend Teresa operated the solo game as a team, with both of us working the solo position! We would operate the single position, but discuss tactics and strategy together. I argue that this is still a solo game, but you can just choose to be on team solo together! See our review of Storyfold: Wildwoods to see if you agree!
7. Santorini + Riddle of the Sphinx
Riddle of the Sphinx is an expansion that makes the Santorini base game solo and cooperative.
Of all the games on our list this year, this is the most thinky puzzle-like game; you have to figure out how to build and acquire resources in an environment of scarcity. The gods offer special bonuses and resources as you burn through them.
This game stayed on my solo table until I had to go to Dice Tower West! Although I enjoyed the cooperative game as well, I think this really engaged my solo gamer brain, and I loved moving the characters around to try to solve the building puzzle in an optimal way! Take a look at our review of Riddle of the Sphinx to see if this is something you might enjoy!
6. Unstoppable
Unstoppable is nominally a solo game or 2-player cooperative game … but almost all my plays were solo! Honestly, it feels more like a solo game than a 2-Player game anyways? Honestly, that co-operative mode does feel a little pasted on; I mean, you can’t even share money…
This is a deck-building game with some card-crafting going on! Cards slip into sleeves and upgrade your cards, all while you are still trying to build a deck!
There’s some really interesting mechanisms going on in here, as the things you battle flip and give you good stuff! Overall, I got to play through all the scenarios in the base box and really enjoyed this deck-builder. One question you may want to ask yourself: would you prefer Unstoppable or Astro Knights (both deck-building games)? See our review for more discussion!
5. War Story
This was such a unique adventure to play through solo. This is all about being part of the French Resistance in World War II, and it’s pretty brutal. You shoot Nazis, see most of your team die, and try to survive a wartime environment.
Even crazier, all of this happens in a Choose Your Own Adventure book situation! This is a game where your choices really do matter; everything you do affects the final outcome and how well your team does! Do you show mercy on the Nazi your captured? How do you silence the little boy so he doesn’t alert the authorities? Everything you do matters!
The game comes with 3 adventure books, as a full adventure unwinds over three big sessions (and each session affects the others)! After playing all the way through solo, I was emotionally exhausted but strangely fulfilled! Take a look at our review of War Story: Occupied France to see if this unique experience is up your alley!
(This is a game that has a 2024 release date on BGG, but try as hard as we could, we couldn’t get it until 2025, so we count it as 2025)
4. Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game
I ended up enjoying the solo mode for this much more than I expected! For a cooperative trick-taking game that has a lot of similarities to The Crew, its one big difference is that it has a solo mode! And it’s very very good! If you love Lord of the Rings, this is an easy recommendation. Even if you only “like” Lord of the Rings, it’s still a great solo game!
Over the course of several weeks, I ended up playing solo through all 18 chapters! Each chapter has a nominal play-time of 20 minutes … but if you fail a chapter, you have to keep playing it until you win!
The production on this game is amazing, the solo game is amazing, it’s quite thematic, and the 18-Chapter campaign was so much fun! It’s easy to get this to the table … as even though I was a little sick, it was engaging enough to forget I was sick for a week. I made it through all 18 chapters solo, and it was a blast.
(This is a game that has a 2024 release date on BGG, but try as hard as we could, we couldn’t get it until 2025, so we count it as 2025)
3. DC Super Heroes United: Batman Hush
DC Super Heroes United: Batman Hush is a great game for both cooperative and solo. In the end, though, I probably played it a lot more solo than I did cooperatively! In fact, I couldn’t stop playing it solo!
I ended playing just about every combination of heroes and villains from this base box, as a solo game! Now, you have to understand that I strongly prefer playing Marvel and DC United solo as 2-Player multi-handed, where I operate two characters and alternate between them as if it were a 2-Player cooperative game. I find the “official” solo mode of the United games just too contorted.
It was such a blast to play DC heroes like Batman and Robin together solo! See above.
I couldn’t stop playing this solo! I kept trying more and more! I even started pulling out some Marvel United and combining DC United and Marvel United together! See above at Batman hangs out in Stark Labs! I got such a giggle imagining Bruce Wayne critiquing Tony Stark’s tech!
See our review of DC Super Heroes: Batman Hush to see if this is something you might like as a solo player. This probably would have been out #1 solo game of 2025, but the next two games offered such unique solo experiences, they had to be just above it!
2. Arydia
It was very hard to choose between #1 and #2 on this list; either of them could have been #1! I also feel bad not putting Arydia in our Top 10 Cooperative Games of 2025! In the end though, I only played this solo, but I had a heck of a great time!
Arydia is a huge adventuring/dungeon crawler game with tons of content: maps and cards! See above! And the components are just fantastic!
This game, with its unique map(s) system(s) and combat stayed on my table for a straight week as I couldn’t stop playing playing! I wanted to see what would come next in this world!
This is an adventure-laden dungeon crawl that reminded me a lot of the old computer game Ultima IV: it had combat, little maps, big maps, and a big adventure! I had such a wonderful time playing this solo! Check out our solo review of Arydia to see if this is something you might like!
1. Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
At the end of the day, I slightly prefer space over fantasy, so I think that’s why Star Trek: The Captain’s Chair ended being the #1 solo game of 2025 for me!
This is such a neat deck-building game, but calling it JUST a deck-building game seems to be an insult! There’s so much to this game that it actually almost took me the whole year to absorb it, get it to the table, and play it! Make no mistake, this is a big and complicated game with lots of rules! The rulebook is very very good, but I joke that it feels like a legal document!
One major feature of the game is that there are two solo modes: the Cadet Training Mode (see rules above) aka easy mode, and the normal solo game aka hard mode! The easy mode gives you a chance to learn the systems of the game in a simplified scenario!
The Cadet Training Mode also a great way to learn a new Captain’s Deck! Another great feature of this game is that every Captain in the game (see above) has a unique play style that is encapsulated in a different Captain’s deck! Sisko is different than Picard who is different from Koloth! See the six different Captains above!
In the end, it’s the normal solo mode (which has its own rulebook!) that makes this game a wonderful challenge. An AI runs another captain playing against you; see above as I play Picard facing off against AI Koloth! This solo mode is challenging and interesting and has a ton of variety as each Captain is so different!
This is a large, sprawling, solo game with ships warping to planets, planets being taken over, landing parties landing, crew members beaming to ships, crew members on duty, drafting new people, cargo, allies, and ships on your way to being the better Captain!
It’s hard to recommend this game for many reasons: the base game is actually competitive (the solo modes are add-ons), the game is pretty complicated with a legalese rulebook, and apparently it’s sold out everywhere as I write this! Despite all that, I had a heck of a time playing Star Trek: Captain’s Chair as a solo player! It was such a unique experience that it had to be my #1 solo game of 2025. See our review here to see if this might be something you enjoy!
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