If Only I Had Someone to Play With
Sociality in Single Player Board Games
Abstract
Since 2004, the tabletop board game market has seen a surge in solo compatibility. COVID-19 restricted multiplayer board gaming, attracting new players to the world of solo play. Despite that, games research has somewhat overlooked explanations as to why solo board gaming is a growing phenomenon. This paper takes a multidisciplinary approach, considering scoresheets, gaming capital, and chores, to examine whether sociality exists in solo board games. The importance of sociality in solo board games is also brought into question, highlighting benefits and flaws of group presence, including negative effects of social influence. Motivations of solo players are explored through a questionnaire and session report, presenting three themes: social reasons, genre preferences, and playstyle choices. Conclusions drawn provide practical applications for tabletop designers, outlining how they can more effectively approach the design of solo games or solo variants.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright for papers and articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the University of Glasgow. It is a condition of publication that authors license their paper or article under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.
