"What to do about to do about solo gaming ennui?" Topic

Lately, more and more of my gaming seems to be truly solo, not co-op, not pbm, just straight by myself. Ages ago, I used to enjoy such games. Lately though I am finding less and less enthusiasim. I try to write up AARs as I used to get a lot of satisfaction doing that. What do you al do when you find the magic going out of the hobby for you?

Take a break and do another hobby.

I change my focus for awhile: painting, creative planning, writing, ect.,.

I do enjoy painting figures and building terrain, sometimes that helps, sometimes it does not.

Let other people write for you the orders and them play them out…

It is great fun!

Yep, lots of options:

other hobbies
prepping and cleaning – never very inspiring, even in the best of times
paint
buy new figs
read
watch some movies
find someone to play with
join a gaming club
plan new purchases

or, just look at these:

TMP link

It could be one of several things:

* Just tired of gaming, as others have suggested.
* Games are not fulfilling.
* Solo games are not challenging.

If it is the gaming blues, as suggested, take a break. Painting, or that terrain project you thought about but kept setting aside, is a good cure. Going to another hobby is a strong possibility, if the blues are deep enough.

If you are finding you solo game not challenging, however, maybe it is time to look at other solo gaming techniques. There is the Solo Wargaming forum on Yahoo and blogs, like my Solo Battles, where people specifically talk about solo gaming. There just might be something in someone else's writings that hits the spot. The Lone Warrior magazine is now on PDF, so that is an easy option too.

Dale
Shameless Plug

Present your projects to others and let their feedback be inspirational and a source of renewed motivation. It works for me :)

Sign up to run a game, or games at a local convention, or club, and work on the figs, rules, and terrain to put it on.

Perhaps you'll meet some local regulars who like the same types of game you do.

I also think it would be good to get away from the gaming aspect and concentrate on painting, prep, or even a new project.

But at the same time, I would also try to think of innovative mechanisms to add to your game play when the "other side" is active, trying to make it less predictable for you by better simulating an opponent.

Make scenery especially trees…….

I'm going to go meet with a group of gamers today. Been playing solo for about a decade. It's still fun to game solo, but having an opponent across the table would be nice. Such could be just the change of pace you need. Of course, this is not always possible.

Port, a good cigar, and Bach--repeat until ennui dissipates as vapor.

FingerandToeGlenn,

Best suggestion so far, though I might substitute single malt scotch and Mile Davis.

Get a Blog and start a new project. Talk about researching the period, finding figures, getting inspiration off the net developing scenarios, building the armies and finally putting on a major game for yourself. I would read and follow that.

VR
James Mattes

I'm more of a Mozart man myself, but I like a good port.

A blog would work, maybe write some fiction about your solo campaigns. Painting is always fun.

By all means try to find people to game with. I know that's easier said than done; I have trouble doing that myself. But maybe you can convince people to try it out once. Even if you don't win them over, at least you'll have someone to game with once in a while.

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I have been spending most of my time lately building terrain to go with figures tat are on the way. Black Scorpion Cowboys. A new period for me, and one that will hopefully energize me. I am trying to write in my gaming journals again, as that always bought my games to life.

That works. A change in genres may also spice things up. If you do historical games, play science fiction. Stuff like that makes it different enough to avoid ennui.

Check out the Solo Wargamers Association for new inspiration via the Lone Warrior magazine and Blog ?

lonewarriorswa.com

And…maybe do something else for a bit – sometimes it's just "gaming in general ennui". It happens, we're made to have multiple interests.

As to doing something else for a bit, my Son in law has me reading Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" Magnum Opus. The sheer size of it makes this a hobby in its own right. Plus there are a number of interesting scenario ideas in there.

Those are all great suggestions. Hopefully it is limited to your gaming but if you find that you are not enjoying anything though you might be clinically depressed. Might be good to talk to a chaplain or doctor about it if that is the case.

Cheers

Dr Legan

Your problem may just be that your "opponent" is not challenging you enough. So take some time to create some reaction tables that allow the other side to have a wider set of options, sub options and sub-sub options. Build in a bit of chaos for "your" side as well to represent disobedient subordinate commanders, poor command decisions, unknown terrain effects and the like. Really mix it up. The real issue with playing a solo game is that you know your opponent too well.

I have had a project on going for several years to build an "auto opponent" using excel spread sheeting to create tables and flow charts. I still don't have it down as I want it but the general idea (pun not intentional) is that there is a mechanism to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the auto opponent's forces both in isolation and compared to what they could know about my forces, plus the effect of the terrain on their choices and lastly the strategic/tactical situation they are dealing with. This then creates an objective for the "enemy" and a set of battle tactics. By doing this I try not to create an opponent who reacts in the same way i do.

Alternatively you could just use Rudi's idea!

Plus there are a number of interesting scenario ideas in there.

Ah…he's ok : just looking for a new gaming "period".