In the far reaches of space where humankind still dares not go, a sturdy ROVE — short for Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer — is often deployed. You are one such unit. Unfortunately your navigation systems malfunctioned and you were forced to make a crash-landing on a hostile alien planet. Armed only with your array of movement-enhancing modules you’ll have to roll, stretch, shimmy, and bounce your way to safety and complete the mission before your power supply runs out…permanently.

ROVE is a solo spatial puzzle game. In each game of ROVE, the player will face a series of mishaps that can only be solved by arranging the 6 module cards in a specific pattern. Moving a module requires Movement Points gained by discarding cards from hand for the listed amount. Players may gain additional Points if their current module layout matches the pattern shown on the discarded card.

Each module costs 1 Movement Point per activation and uses its own unique movement style, such as only moving diagonally or pushing other modules a single space. Modules also have powerful single-use abilities that can help get players out of a tight spot. Properly timing these abilities -- as well as effectively using the limited number of Movement cards -- will help the player complete ROVE’s mission successfully.

On this forgotten island in a tiny corner of the ocean the animals are hungry! Your goal is to influence the wildlife - and arrange their meals - so there is only one animal left!

A Solo Game by Scott Almes.

You own the only inn within a hundred miles: the questionable prestigious Ugly Gryphon Inn. Your patrons are rowdy and rude, but they are the only ones around. In order to keep the debt collectors at bay, but to do so you must manage some painfully particular, peculiar patrons.

In The Ugly Gryphon Inn, you’ll be tasked with managing your patrons’ various needs to ensure they all get a good night’s rest. Each turn, you’ll send one drowsy patron up to their room, then check to make sure all your patrons are sleeping soundly. If something’s irking them, they might raise a fuss, so keep an eye on what they need as you go. Afterwards, you’ll usher in more guests and keep an eye on the bar to make sure there’s no trouble. There’s never a moment to rest in The Ugly Gryphon Inn!

After you've run out of cards in the deck, then count how many patrons you have in the inn. Do not include patrons in the bar. If you have 7 or more patrons in the inn - you’ve won! If you have less than 7, then you have lost.

As the Count of the small territory of the Nine Estates, you must build up the county into a powerful economic and cultural center. However, limited nearby resources force you to make difficult decissions. Can you earn the favor of the King?

Count of the Nine Estates is a 18-card reimplementation of Count of Nine.

Search your land for resources to build basic structures that will provide more resources. Use these structures and resources to build up your estates into a powerful economic force.

—description from the publisher


For Count of the Nine Estates, I did want to focus more on the experience. Looking back on Count of Nine, it seemed the player experience was a bit "on rails": once you pick a major structure to build, you are going to find the stuff you need to build that major structure. For Count of the Nine Estates, the player will have more freedom, and will have to make a couple strategic decisions during a match. So, I guess the "experience" I was going for CotNE is: a more strategic and "free" feeling compact, solo euro game.

—description from the designer


Count of the Nine Estates is a solo city building game played with 18 cards. Nine Estate cards are your targets to build: City Walls, a Cathedral, a Castle, and more. The other 9 cards make up the Structures deck which contains resources plus structures to be built. Play through the Structures deck in multiple rounds to build the structures needed that will enable you to build one or more of the Estates. The goal is to score the most victory points in the game, which is made up of 2 separate eras.

Victory points are awarded several ways:

Victory points marked on the Estate cards and some of the structure cards

+ 1 victory point for each structure built

+1 victory point for each duplicate structure built
-2 victory points for each round played

On this forgotten island in a tiny corner of the ocean the animals are hungry! Your goal is to influence the wildlife - and arrange their meals - so there is only one animal left!

In this game, you will take as many turns as possible with a goal of only having one land animal card left on the table after starting with a grid of 16. On each turn, you must move one animal to eat another smaller, adjacent animal. If you cannot move an animal to eat another, the game ends.

—description from the publisher