So, you've heard of Iain Everett's 2-player game, A Wild Venture, and you want to play a game with your partner, but they're busy? Maybe you want to call your only friend for a board game session, but they're away on a trip? Well, good thing you can also play it solo!
No friends? No problem!
You Can Play It With An-otter Opponent
In this whimsical engine and tableau builder where two adventurers have a friendly competition between each other, you play against an automated opponent, Otto the otter. He's the clever and unshakable exchange student from beyond the mystery forest. Whoever gives the most back to their village wins the Community Cup! The official solo rulebook isn't in the box, but it can be found on BoardGameGeek and Gamefound.
So, you've heard of Iain Everett's 2-player game, A Wild Venture, and you want to play a game with your partner, but they're busy? Maybe you want to call your only friend for a board game session, but they're away on a trip? Well, good thing you can also play it solo!
No friends? No problem!
You Can Play It With An-otter Opponent
In this whimsical engine and tableau builder where two adventurers have a friendly competition between each other, you play against an automated opponent, Otto the otter. He's the clever and unshakable exchange student from beyond the mystery forest. Whoever gives the most back to their village wins the Community Cup! The official solo rulebook isn't in the box, but it can be found on BoardGameGeek and Gamefound.
How is it Different From a Normal 2-Player Game?
The simple answer is… it depends on which angle you're looking from. The setup and teardown is almost the same - both relatively quick, it's just that in the beginning, you have to set aside the theme deck you didn't choose for Otto to play and place a few random cards in his play area. From that point on, Otto requires minimal upkeep as a bot, and there's no need to worry about complex decision trees.
He doesn't even move across the board at all. Other than that, you still interact by triggering each other's gear cards, which may or may not work to your advantage. Now, as you're playing with a highly predictable automa, turns would be more efficient.
While I like that Otto's turns are consistent and quick, I still prefer seeing my opponent take time to think. It's also fun for me to see how the other person would react to cards I play. At times, you may feel pressure to optimize your tableau as you see Otto's score pile stacking up rapidly - I know I did! With another human, the difficulty seems more balanced. Either way, there's fun to be had playing solo or with a friend.
It's Otterly Simple
The game's core loop is simple. Each turn, you get two main actions:
- Play a card, paying its cost; or
- Activate a card, using its limited supplies to draw cards, gather coins, or move across the board to collect rewards.
Both of which, if played at the right time, could give enough points to win the game against Otto. On top of that, you can perform "free actions" that you still have to pay and use supplies for. It's only free in the sense that you can do as many of them as possible in each turn! It's simple, but simple doesn't mean easy, as you would experience through the three difficulty levels to choose from: easy, normal, hard. On my first time playing solo, I played on easy mode, and Otto completely wiped me out. I had poor strategy - if you can even say I had one - and I thought I could catch up if I waited for better cards. Alas, this isn't as simple as a game of chance!
Operating Otto is a satisfyingly smooth experience. On his turn, he takes a coin from every gear in play - including yours, reveals two cards from the theme deck you set aside for him, and plays the one that costs less, trashing the other. When that deck runs out, he draws from the same deck as you do. He doesn't perform complicated combos, making him easy to manage. If he plays a villager or a building card, he simply "tucks" it under his score pile, and if he plays a gear card, it goes into his tableau and is treated like any other gear card. The bot logic makes it so you can focus on your own strategy.
Which Path is Right For You?
If you like Adventure Time-esque art and whimsical adventures, you're already on the right path checking out A Wild Venture. Now, as for whether you'd enjoy this efficiency puzzle solo or with another player depends on your playstyle.
Basically, if you prefer a faster pace, like as short as 30 to 40 minutes for an experienced player, going against a more predictable opponent, and more challenge. In my experience, Otto on "easy" isn't easy, and "hard" is just plain brutal.
