Necromancer: Rules for solitaire play?

[Aeschylus]

Hi,

I recently got my Pocket Box Kickstarter rewards. Unlike some (possibly most) here, I wasn't around when these games first came out; for me, they're a new thing with a retro style, not a piece of genuine nostalgia.

So what I'm missing may be common knowledge in the wargaming community, but please be patient with me.

The Kickstarter page listed many of these games as being playable with 1-2 players. I was expecting something like in Ogre (or indeed most current games with solo or co-op play), where there's a section in the rules for controlling enemy units. However, looking through my Necromancer rulebook, I don't see any such rules.

Am I missing something? Is there some externally available supplement that includes this?

This question may also apply to Battlesuit and Car Wars (the other two Pocket Box games I ordered), although I haven't looked completely through their rulebooks yet.

TIA to any who can help me!

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Aeschylus

Hi,

I recently got my Pocket Box Kickstarter rewards. Unlike some (possibly most) here, I wasn't around when these games first came out; for me, they're a new thing with a retro style, not a piece of genuine nostalgia.

So what I'm missing may be common knowledge in the wargaming community, but please be patient with me.

The Kickstarter page listed many of these games as being playable with 1-2 players. I was expecting something like in Ogre (or indeed most current games with solo or co-op play), where there's a section in the rules for controlling enemy units. However, looking through my Necromancer rulebook, I don't see any such rules.

Am I missing something? Is there some externally available supplement that includes this?

This question may also apply to Battlesuit and Car Wars (the other two Pocket Box games I ordered), although I haven't looked completely through their rulebooks yet.

TIA to any who can help me!

Please remember that back when these were new, solitaire play meant playing against yourself. These classics don't include a programmed solitaire mode.

I'm trying to remember where I originally read the solo info for a lot of these. Maybe a Space Gamer issue?

[GranitePenguin]

The way I played most of these games solo was to artificially play only one turn at a time for each side; playing each side's turn based primarily on the current state of the board, rather than long-term strategy. It's not perfect, but works reasonably well.

The thing you have to remember with a game like Ogre, you have to "program" only one unit (the Ogre), so it lends itself well to things like MOOSE. That's a lot harder to do when there are multiple units on both sides to control. Another good game that is "programmable" is Awful Green Things where you define some basic rules how the Green Things react (die roll to decide which group grows, etc).

[GranitePenguin]

Originally Posted by Aeschylus

The Kickstarter page listed many of these games as being playable with 1-2 players.

It's also worth noting that Necromancer rules (including the original box back) make no claim to be a 1-player game (even though the reprint back sheet for the KS does). Most of these games were 2+ player games, not 1-2 player games. While you can "get by" with 1-player for some of them, they are generally much more fun with other people.