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1 player game

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MAC

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« on: <09-30-14/1607:37> »
I know board games are supposed to be played with many payers but as the box mention it can be played solo I tried to do so to test the single player playability of the game with the client set-up.

I must say that as much as I think the game does a good job as a coop card game, (even if I would love more missions and blackmarket options, i'm sure this will come later) this game is hardly playable solo. The biggest issue is obviously the assist cards, wich makes a portion of the blackmarket almost useless and some obstacles and crossfire cards that have a totally destructive effect in 1 player game like for exemple "runners cant play against obstacles facing them". In 2 player game you would play on you friend's obstacle but as you are alone you pretty much lose a turn and take damage.

It's definitely not a rant against the game ! I'm going to play it with my friends a lot for sure but it is a 2-4 player game.

kajomboman

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« Reply #1 on: <09-30-14/1704:06> »
The 1 player mode is very playable. I went through my thoughts on the strategy here: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1231259/solo-extraction-mission-1-player. Of course, as you noticed, some of the cards are very bad in 1 player. Some of the cards are much better in 1 player. Some of the assist cards (especially covering fire) can actually be rather strong in 1 player (played on the client's turn). With only one player, Crossfire plays like a  different game. I was impressed that the balance was that flexible.

As for your reference to the "runners can't play against obstacles facing them", I agree that the card is a challenge. However, keep in mind you can still attack things in front of the client. I have drawn that crossfire card before in a situation where it had no harmful impact on me. It was essentially a blank. There are some cards that are nearly instant losses on their own. I can't deny that things are more subject to random "swings" when playing solo.

The Tekwych

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« Reply #2 on: <09-30-14/1844:40> »
As a cooperative game we often play all four characters with just two players. Each person just play to separate characters and treat everything as if there were four characters.

Jamelfr

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« Reply #3 on: <09-30-14/1933:33> »
I agree with the above posts.

The link given by Kajomboman is really helpful : it got me to see the game with new thoughts and ideas. As you've realized, you cannot use the same strategies in a 1-runner game than in a 4-runners one.

And following Tekwych's suggestion, nothing forbids you to play 2 runners even if you are playing along. When I feel like playing but no one is available in my group, I sometimes do the Crossfire mission alone, playing both a human and a troll. That makes Shadowrun Crossfire a nice solo game if you want to play that way. :)