Solo gaming: Five Leagues from the Borderlands

I simply wouldn't be me if I wasn't juggling a dozen different hobby projects at the same time.

Solo tabletop gaming has always appealed to me, even before the COVID19 pandemic, which is when many other tabletop gamers discovered it. Simply put, solo -- or solitaire -- gaming means playing a tabletop game by yourself, trying to beat the scenarios and/or the rules of the game. This often requires some sort of "A.I." or rules to play "the scenario" which you must beat; they are sometimes complex, sometimes relatively simple, sometimes extremely mechanistic and sometimes leaving many details to the interpretation of the player.

For some players it became a necessity during the pandemic, when social gatherings were curtailed; it was a way -- the only way, for many -- to get their tabletop fix. I however always found solo gaming appealing, possibly because I never enjoyed going to clubs to play games with strangers, or because my friends are too busy to play with me, or simply because I'm interested in games that nobody else is.

Five Leagues from the Borderlands, a solo/coop fantasy skirmish game.
Those giant spiders don't look too friendly!

The overriding rule of solo gaming seems to be: cheating is not really possible. You cannot spoil anybody's fun but yourself. So try to have fun, experiment with things, and house rules are always welcome if they enhance the game.

One common variant of solo games is cooperative or "coop" games, which are a bit more social: you and a bunch of friends all play on the same side, trying to beat the scenario. Some games of this type are Games Workshop's Blackstone Fortress, Rangers of Shadow Deep or Zona Alfa/Kontraband, which I've already mentioned in this blog.

A solo/coop scifi game set in the Warhammer 40K universe.
Beautiful components, but I still have to paint most of the models... 

I did paint two of them though! The robot and the Kroot explorers.

I'm ashamed to admit I own many of these games, including but not limited to the three games mentioned above. However, I've recently bought Five Leagues from the Borderlands (called by its fans "5L" for short), a solo skirmish game set in a generic low fantasy and gritty world, which you can tailor to suit your own opinion of what such a world should be like. Or simply copy your favorite fictional world, of course.

So what's appealing about it? For starters, this is a relatively low model count game, which suits me just fine because I don't have much time to paint lots of models. But also, Five Leagues has a terrific campaign system. This game isn't just about fighting battles, but also about telling the story of your little band of fantasy warriors, going from town to town like Kwai Chang Caine, assisting people, finding unexpected travel companions, solving mysteries and keeping dark threats from overrunning the land. The rules even encourage you to draw a map of your campaign! The vibe of this rulebook reminds me a lot of the Grudgebringers from Warhammer's Dark Omen and Shadow of the Horned Rat. 

The vibe of 5L reminds me a lot of the Grudgebringers!

I'm thrilled.

Now, on to the eternal problem: to start a new campaign you must pick 4 heroes, one of which will be your Avatar -- i.e. the leader of the band and your representation in the game -- and also 2 followers, lesser companions who have joined your band for coin and glory. Already I'm fretting about which are the coolest models to pick from my vast collection, and whether I'll be able to paint them all.

Also, what to pick as enemies? Bandits? Skaven? Skeletons? Goblins...? 

I've started gathering candidates for the band, but I have too many and will be forced to make some hard decisions.

The candidates. Hopefully I'll be able to pick 6 and paint them!