With this whole, not interacting with other human beings thing right now, we have gotten a lot of requests for recommendations of games with Solo plays. There are quite a few out there. We are compiling our list HERE, but I got a more interesting request for solo games with good theme and great art. So, I thought I would share my recommendations with everyone.

1. Scythe. I  love this game. The art is an amazing alternative history steam punk. The game play is wonderful with asymmetrical character powers. It’s not the most thematic game by itself, but when you add on the expansion it’s very thematic.
2. Scythe: Rise of Fenris expansion. Playing this expansion with the base game Scythe has been one of my favorite gaming experiences in a long, long time. It is a legacy-like game, where you are playing multiple games with different goals that follow a story. Both this and Scythe can be played one player, but will also be good for future plays when we can interact with humans again.
3. Any of the West Kingdom trilogy: Architects, Paladins or Viscounts of the West Kingdom. I love these games. You can play these individually and in any order. They all play very different from each other, but have the same symbols and art so they feel like a trilogy. The art is amazing, some of my favorite. There’s a lot of character in the … uh … characters. The theme is not as strong as with some of the other games here, but it doesn’t matter. You can play all of these games over and over.
4. Spirit Island. This game is gorgeous! It takes a normal conquer game and turns it on its head. You are playing the gods protecting an island and its natives from the conquerors. This has a bit of overhead with rules, but once you’ve got it, it’s not super complicated and it’s a really cool cooperative game when played with other people. There are multiple gods with different powers that make each gameplay feel different.
5. Everdell. I simply love the art in Everdell. It is so dang cute! This game has solid game play and how you feel when you finally find your wife to go along with your husband, it’s magic. Also the 3D tree, while it might seem a bit gimmicky, it’s awesome.
6. Root: Riverfolk Expansion. Root is one of my favorite all around games. Although it is best played with the 4 player compliment, it does have a solo version in the Riverfolk expansion. I cannot say enough about the art. It’s super cute if not slightly strange for a war game. But Root is definitely an in your face war game. I have never seen asymmetrical game play like I have in this game. I have enjoyed every faction I have played, but the Vagabond is still my favorite.
7. Horrified. If you are into old monster movies, this is the game for you. The art is wonderful, making these great monsters look gorgeous. This is a co-op game that does a really great job of making you feel like you are trying to save the people of the town.
8. Gloomhaven. This is a huge game, both in the sense of scope and shelf space it’ll take up. It’s a super thematic fantasy world with like a million hours of play time (or something like that). The mechanics are a ton of fun and I really liked getting into the character of my gold stealing rat lady (and I use “lady” loosely). It is an actual Legacy game, but I have been told there are easy ways to make sure you can play it multiple times.
9. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. Jaws of the Lion takes place before the events of Gloomhaven and  can be added to Gloomhaven as an expansion, or played as a standalone game. This takes the concepts of Gloomhaven and scales them down, in all ways. The setup is easier, there are less scenarios, the box is much, much smaller, and the price point is a bit more managable.
10. Terraforming Mars. I love this game so much. By the end you really feel like you are a corporation and you just terraformed Mars. The art, however is not anything to write home about. It’s not ugly, but it’s just a bit … uninspired.

This is not, by any means, an extensive list, just my favorite games with solo options who also have good theme and great art.