The Insane Rise of Solo Board Gaming (The Untold History)

The Insane Rise of Solo Board Gaming (The Untold History)

Are we past the Golden Age of solo gaming… or is it just the beginning?
From the chambers of a French princess in 1697 to today’s sprawling epics like Mage Knight and Spirit Island, this is the untold history of how solo board gaming rose from quiet puzzles to a global community.

In this video, we’ll explore:
🎲 Peg Solitaire and the birth of solo gaming
📖 Gamebooks and the rise of narrative adventures
⚔️ Ambush! and the invention of solo AI
🃏 How card Solitaire conquered the world (and Windows PCs)
🌍 The pandemic push that made solo gaming mainstream
🤝 And how today’s creators and players are shaping the future together

Whether you’re a veteran solo gamer or just discovering the hobby, this video will show you how we got here—and where we’re going next.

👉 What’s YOUR favorite solo board game? Drop it in the comments and let’s keep building this community together.

🔔 Subscribe to Solo Gaming Spotlight for more solo board game reviews, top 10s, and deep dives:

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Note: I tried to include as many clips from different board game creators as possible that fit within the narrative. If a video clip caught your eye, I’ve listed the games and the channels below. Go check them out — you might just find your new favorite content creator!

Peg Solitaire
-Robert Darke
-Michael Collinson
Isaac Julienne

Ricochet Robots
-Board Game Geek
Sentry Box

Onirim -Tom Teaches

Slay The Spire -Totally Tabled

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
-3 Minute Boardgames
-Shut Up & Sit Down

Chronicles of Crime
-Watch It Played
-Drive Thru Games

Paperback Adventures
-Nights Around A Table
-One Stop Co-op Shop

Barbarian Prince
-Marco Omnigamer
-Lone Adventurer
-The Dungeon Dive

Sleeping Gods -Watch It Played
7th Continent -Roll for Crit

Choose your Own Adventure -Trixon-W
Fighting Fantasy -3 Minute Board Games

Tainted Grail
-The Dice Tower
-Gaming Rules!

Viticulture
-Lower Slower board gamer
-The Rules Girl

Ambush!
-Unexplored Games
-Aaron Plays
-Geek Gamers
-Jim Lederer

Pandemic
-Tabletop Duo
-Well Played Board Game Cafe

Spirit Island
-RTFM
-Meet Me At The Table

Massive Darkness 2
-Dale The Casual Gamer
-Learn to Play Games
-Board Game Co

How to print and play
-Party Meeple
-Solo adventures with Livi

Zombie in my Pocket
-Board Game Blitz
-Mad Lab Designs

Under Falling Skies -Slickerdrips

Iron Helm -Game Knight

Carcassone -Geek & Sundry

Agricola -Before You Play

Puerto Rico -Board Game Bollocks

Lost Ruins of Arnak
-The Gameboy Geek
-The Brothers Murph
-The Grouchy Nerd

Terraforming Mars -Light Ranger Games

Everdell -Tim Chuon

Friday
-Bored Online? Board Offline!
-Rahdo
-Quackalope

Maquis
-Boardgames Bourbon
-Learn This Game

MageKnight
-Box of Delights
-Modern Cardboard
-Getting Games
-Azure Death
-Off The Shelf Board Games
-Rolling Solo
-The Discriminating Gamer
-Meeple Mountain

Spirit Island -Broken Meeple

Too Many Bones -No Pun Included!

Aeon's End -Dice & Dragons

Robinson Crusoe -Paul Darcy

Unbroken
-Simply Solo Playthroughs
-Wargamer Dad

Navajo Wars
-Marco Omigamer
-The Players Aid

Halls of Hegra -No fluff gaming with John LaRuffa

Scythe -Failroad Express

Nemo's War -Solo Gamer's Club

Anachrony -Table for One

Wingspan -The Cardboard Herald

Gaia Project
-Jay Plays
-Ready Steady Play
-Shelfside

Imperium Horizons -Sir Thecos

Isle of Cats -Man vs Meeple

Calico -Crimsonboardgames

Isofarian Guard -@Kosterix123

Hostage Negotiator -Rob's Gaming Table

Final Girl
-Jucchee
-Solo Board Gaming Knight

Kinfire Chronicles -Canje Studios

Like I said I did my best to try and include as many creators clips as possible into this video. Some creators I wanted to add but ran out of narrative are:
-Actualol
-Board Game Hangover
-Tabletop Turtle
-Ant Lab Games
-The Board Game Garden


and yes, some I accidentally added twice and didn't realize until making this list. Oops.

0:00 intro
0:19 The Princess and the Pegs(1687)
1:39 How Peg Solitaire Works
2:58 Peg Solitaire's Legacy - Ricochet Robots
4:15 Card Solitaire Takes Over The World
6:16 Puzzles, Crosswords, And Sherlock Holmes
7:38 The Rise of Storytelling (1980's)
9:02 The Gamebook Revolution
10:47 Ambush! and the birth of Solo AI(1983)
12:45 The Internet & the Print n Play Revolution
14:29 Variants & House Rules Keep Solo Alive
16:10 The Breakthrough - Friday(2011)
17:49 The Masterpiece - MageKnight (2011)
19:40 Survival & Historical games(2012/2013)
20:25 Automa Factory plus Kickstarter
21:56 The Pandemic 2020-2023
22:59 Creators & Communities
24:47 Full Circle