Brant Guillory, 25 September 2024
Last week, we gave you the final results of our 2024 solo/solitaire wargame survey. This week, we’re doing a deeper dive into the numbers, to look as some preferences for solo gaming, and the biggest risers and crash-&-burn victims, as well as the games that are new on the list this year
Keep in mind that as we look at the optional questions from the end of the survey, they were all optional. Total values may not equal the total number of respondents to the overall survey, and they may even vary from question to question.
We asked folks how much of their gaming was solo, across several different types of games. One thing we were curious about was whether or not folks were able to play other kinds of games with other people, but maybe lacked for wargame opponents specifically. It seems as though our respondents aren’t ones that play a ton of other kinds of games.
click images to enlarge
We were also curious if there’s a correlation between how long someone has been playing, and how much of their wargaming is on digital platforms like VASSAL or Tabletop Simulator or Tabletopia, or other similar platforms
Digital Gaming? ➡️
⬇️ How long wargaming? |
Tabletop Only | Mix, More Tabletop | 50/50 | Mix, More Digital | Digital Only | Grand Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Less than a year | 3 | 2 | –– | –– | –– | 5 |
1-3 yrs | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | –– | 21 |
3-10 yrs | 21 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 51 |
10-25 yrs | 14 | 10 | 2 | 5 | –– | 31 |
25-40 yrs | 16 | 9 | 6 | 5 | –– | 36 |
more than 40 yrs | 29 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 76 |
Grand Total | 95 | 72 | 22 | 28 | 3 | 220 |
It does appear that the entire pool of respondents leans toward the tabletop, and there isn’t much correlation between their relative veterancy in the hobby and their use of digital gaming tools.
Changes from last year’s survey
Biggest changes in the list (at least 200 places)
The biggest risers from 2023 to 2024
Difference | 2024 Title | count | sum | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
346 | Undaunted: Normandy | 6 | 19 | 3.17 |
307 | Picket Duty: Kamikaze Attacks against U.S. Destroyers – Okinawa, 1945 | 4 | 9 | 2.25 |
305 | Pendragon: The Fall of Roman Britain | 10 | 31 | 3.1 |
305 | Crossing the Line: Aachen 1944 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
302 | Battles of Kursk: A Solitaire Wargame | 1 | 5 | 5 |
275 | Red Star Rising: The War in Russia, 1941-1944 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
272 | Jutland | 1 | 5 | 5 |
265 | The Lost Valley: The Siege of Diên Biên Phù | 2 | 8 | 4 |
257 | 1914: Serbien Muss Sterbien | 1 | 4 | 4 |
246 | Empires in America: The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 (Second Edition) | 1 | 5 | 5 |
242 | Paths of Glory | 4 | 8 | 2 |
217 | The Plum Island Horror | 2 | 6 | 3 |
206 | Oil War: American Intervention in the Persian Gulf | 1 | 5 | 5 |
203 | Israeli Air Force Leader | 1 | 5 | 5 |
200 | Freedom! | 1 | 5 | 5 |
The biggest drops from 2023 to 2024
Difference | 2024 Title | count | sum | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
-364 | W1815 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-322 | Case Blue | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-322 | Hadrian’s Wall | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-317 | The MOG: Mogadishu 1993 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-315 | Arracourt | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-291 | Napoleon’s Last Gamble: Battles of the Hundred Days | 1 | 2 | 2 |
-286 | Field Commander: Rommel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-285 | 1775: Rebellion | 1 | 2 | 2 |
-283 | Versailles 1919 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-279 | Target! Bearing 093 degrees! | 1 | 2 | 2 |
-263 | Lisboa | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-260 | The Eastern Front: 1914-1917 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
-237 | Commissioned | 1 | 2 | 2 |
-223 | Keep Up The Fire!: The Boxer Rebellion | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-215 | 1914: Nach Paris | 1 | 3 | 3 |
-206 | 1918/1919: Storm in the West | 1 | 3 | 3 |
-205 | Lewis & Clark: The Expedition | 1 | 2 | 2 |
-201 | Great Campaigns of the American Civil War (Avalon Hill/MMP) | 1 | 3 | 3 |
-200 | The Civil War 1861-1865 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
-200 | Sherman Leader | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Many of those large swings are often the result of just 1-2 people naming the game on their top 5 (or not) from the previous year. Jumping from 2 votes to 5 votes, even if they were all in lower places, can cause a big jump from the low 400s up into the low 200s.
New on the list this year
Games that were new to the list in 2024 vs 2023 (rank in this table is just within the new games)
2024 Title | count | sum | Average | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398 | 10 | 36 | 3.6 | 1 |
Atlantic Chase: The Kriegsmarine Against the Home Fleet 1939-1942 | 12 | 35 | 2.92 | 2 |
I, Napoleon | 11 | 29 | 2.64 | 3 |
Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air, 1916-1918 | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 4 |
Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 5 |
Global War: World War II Worldwide 1939-1945 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 6 |
Freedom: The Underground Railroad | 6 | 15 | 2.5 | 7 |
N: The Napoleonic Wars | 3 | 13 | 4.33 | 8 |
Empire of the Sun: The Pacific War 1941-1945 | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 9 |
Ottoman Sunset: The Great War in the Near East | 5 | 11 | 2.2 | 10 |
Men of Iron Battles Tri-Pack: Men of Iron, Infidel, Blood & Roses | 2 | 10 | 5 | 11 |
Sharp Practice: Wargame Rules for Large Skirmishes in the Era of Black Powder, 1700 to 1865 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 11 |
The Dark Valley | 2 | 10 | 5 | 11 |
World At War 85: Storming the Gap | 2 | 10 | 5 | 11 |
Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 11 |
Sicily: The Race for Messina | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 16 |
Corsair Leader | 4 | 9 | 2.25 | 17 |
Conquest of Paradise | 3 | 8 | 2.67 | 18 |
Warfighter: The WWII Tactical Combat Card Game | 4 | 8 | 2 | 19 |
Norman Conquests: Men of Iron Volume V | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 20 |
Stonewall Jackson’s Way II: Battles of Bull Run | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 20 |
The First Jihad: The Rise of Islam 632-750 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 20 |
The Lamps are Going Out: World War I | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 20 |
Downfall: Conquest of the Third Reich, 1942-1945 | 3 | 7 | 2.33 | 24 |
Time of Crisis: The Roman Empire in Turmoil, 235-284 AD | 3 | 7 | 2.33 | 24 |
Votes for Women | 4 | 7 | 1.75 | 26 |
Raid on St. Nazaire | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 27 |
Cities of the Damned: Aachen and Cassino | 2 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
Space Empires 4X | 2 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
Zulus on the Ramparts!: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift – Second Edition | 2 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
Austerlitz 1805: Rising Eagles | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Axis Empires: Totaler Krieg! | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Band of Brothers: Texas Arrows | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Britannia | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Crusade and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Horse & Musket: Dawn of an Era | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Lock ‘n Load Tactical: Heroes of the Bitter Harvest | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Memoir ’44 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Nations | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Panzer Leader: Game of Tactical Warfare on the Western Front | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Rule the Waves, Britannia! | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Sicily: Triumph and Folly | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Silent War | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Smokejumpers | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Stonewall’s Sword: The Battle of Cedar Mountain | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Tannenberg: The Introductory Game | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Target for Today | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
The Coin Tribes’ Revolt: Boudica’s Rebellion Against Rome | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
The Great Battles of Alexander: Macedonian Art of War | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
The Russian Campaign | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Tobruk: Tank Battles in North Africa 1942 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Undaunted: North Africa | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
Volley & Bayonet: Road to Glory | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
World in Flames | 1 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
1565: Siege of Malta | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Chain of Command | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Fields of Despair: France 1914-1918 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Levee En Masse | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Lost Battles: Forty Battles & Campaigns of the Ancient World | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Maquis | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Red Winter: The Soviet Attack at Tolvajärvi, Finland – 8-12 December 1939 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
The Dark Summer: Normandy 1944 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Tiger Leader | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 57 |
Advanced Squad Leader: Starter Kit #2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Algeria: The War of Independence 1954-1962 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Battles of the English Civil War: A Solitaire Wargame | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Birds of Prey: Air Combat in the Jet Age | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Cataclysm: A Second World War | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Close Action: The Age of Fighting Sail Vol. 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
D-Day Dice (Second Edition) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Eastern Front Solitaire | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Endurance | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Five Parsecs From Home: Solo Adventure Wargaming | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Freeman’s Farm 1777 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Great Battles of Julius Caesar: Deluxe Edition | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Historia | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Keep’em Rolling: 1944 – Race to the Rhine | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Napoleon at Leipzig (Fifth Edition) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
None But Heroes | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
PONY SOLDIERS: A Solitaire Game of Soldiering during the Plains Indian Wars (1865-1890) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Redvers’ Reverse: The Battle of Colenso, 1899 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Sammu-ramat | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Set Sails for Glory: A Solitaire Game of Naval Adventure during the Age of Nelson | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Sicily II | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Spearhead | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Star Wars: Imperial Assault | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
The Day Was Ours: First Bull Run (July 21, 1861) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
The Desert Fox: Rommel’s Campaign for North Africa April 1941-December 1942 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
The Great Game: Rival Empires in Central Asia 1837-1886 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
The Royal Navy | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
The Western Front: 1914 to 1918 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Twilight Struggle | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Valley of Tears: The Yom Kippur War, 1973 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
War at Sea (Second Edition) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
War in the Pacific (Second Edition) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Waterloo Solitaire | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
We Are Coming, Nineveh | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
World War Africa: The Congo 1998-2001 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
Aces of Valor: A Solitaire Game of World War I Aerial Combat | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Charlemagne, Master of Europe | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Churchill | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Conflict of Heroes: Eastern Front – Solo Expansion | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Enemy Coast Ahead: Operation Chastise – The Dambuster Raid | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Gato Leader | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Lock ‘n Load Tactical: Heroes of the Nam | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Phantom Fury | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Plains Indian Wars | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Warfighter: The WWII Pacific Combat Card Game | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Wooden Ships & Iron Men | 2 | 4 | 2 | 102 |
Red Flag Over Paris | 3 | 4 | 1.33 | 113 |
7th Fleet: Modern Naval Combat in the Far East | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Ardennes ’44: The Battle of the Bulge | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Aurelian: Restorer of the World | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Beyond Valor: ASL Module 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Codeword Cromwell: The German Invasion of England, 8 June 1940 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Flashpoint: South China Sea | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Gettysburg (125th Anniversary Edition) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Hellenica: Story of Greece | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Heroes of Normandie | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Infamy, Infamy! | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Kido Butai: Japan’s Carriers at Midway | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Königsberg: The Soviet Attack on East Prussia, 1945 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Lock ‘n Load Tactical: Solo | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Modern Spearhead | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Mosaic: A Story of Civilization | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Mound Builders | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Pacific War: The Struggle Against Japan, 1941-1945 (Second Edition) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Panzer: The Game of Small Unit Actions and Combined Arms Operations on the Eastern Front 1943-45 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Poland Defiant: The German Invasion, September 1939 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Prague: The Empty Triumph | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Red Storm: The Air War Over Central Germany, 1987 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Roads to Gettysburg | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Russia Besieged: Deluxe Edition | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Soldiers of Glory: An Epic Game of Swashbuckling Adventure during the 1600s. (2014) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Squad Leader | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Stuka Leader | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Target For Tonight | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Task Force: Carrier Battles in the Pacific | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
The Barbarossa Campaign | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
The Barracks Emperors | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
The Hardest Days | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
This War of Mine: The Board Game (2017) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Walnut Grove | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Winter War: The Russo-Finnish Conflict | 1 | 3 | 3 | 114 |
Almoravid: Reconquista and Riposte in Spain 1085-1086 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 148 |
Islands of the Damned: Wake Island and Peleliu | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 148 |
ONUS! Traianus | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 148 |
A Spoiled Victory: Dunkirk 1940 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 151 |
Advanced Squad Leader: Starter Kit #3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 152 |
Ancients I | 1 | 2 | 2 | 153 |
Bag the Hun | 1 | 2 | 2 | 154 |
Belisarius’s War: The Roman Reconquest of Africa, AD 533-534 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 155 |
Bios: Genesis | 1 | 2 | 2 | 156 |
Black Orchestra | 1 | 2 | 2 | 157 |
Chickamauga: The Last Victory, 20 September 1863 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 158 |
Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! – Kursk 1943 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 159 |
Dark Ages: Heritage of Charlemagne | 1 | 2 | 2 | 160 |
Dark Blue Defection (fan expansion for Red Storm) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 161 |
Death of an Army: Ypres 1914 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 162 |
Expedition: Northwest Passage – HMS Terror Edition | 1 | 2 | 2 | 163 |
Fortes fortuna iuvat: Plinius adversus Vesuvium | 1 | 2 | 2 | 164 |
Here I Stand | 1 | 2 | 2 | 165 |
Imperial Struggle | 1 | 2 | 2 | 166 |
Israeli Independence: The First Arab-Israeli War | 1 | 2 | 2 | 167 |
La Bataille de Mont Saint Jean | 1 | 2 | 2 | 168 |
Malta Besieged: 1940-1942 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 169 |
Midway Solitaire | 1 | 2 | 2 | 170 |
Naval Thunder: Battleship Row | 1 | 2 | 2 | 171 |
Pacific Subs | 1 | 2 | 2 | 172 |
Panzergruppe Guderian | 1 | 2 | 2 | 173 |
Panzers Last Stand: Battles for Budapest, 1945 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 174 |
River Rats: PBRs and PCFs in Vietnam | 1 | 2 | 2 | 175 |
SPQR (Deluxe Edition) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 176 |
Scream, Aim, Fire! | 1 | 2 | 2 | 177 |
Steel Wolves: Germany’s Submarine Campaign Against British & Allied Shipping – Vol 1 1939-43 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 178 |
The Fall of Rome | 1 | 2 | 2 | 179 |
The Library of Napoleonic Battles (OSG) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 180 |
Undaunted: Battle of Britain | 1 | 2 | 2 | 181 |
Wolfpack: Submarine Warfare in the North Atlantic, 1942-44 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 182 |
Commands & Colors: Ancients | 2 | 2 | 1 | 183 |
1989: Dawn of Freedom | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
278th Squadron “The Same 4 Cats”: SM79 Damned Hunchback | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
8th Air Force | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Air Force | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Assault on Vimy Ridge: A Solitaire Wargame | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Battles of Normandy: A Solitaire Wargame | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Beaches for the Brave: A Solitaire Wargame | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Blue vs. Gray | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Brothers at War: 1862 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Canadian Crucible: Brigade Fortress at Norrey | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Cedar Mountain: Prelude to Bull Run, August 9, 1862 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Chariots of Fire: Warfare in the Bronze Age, 2300-1200 B.C. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Cradle of Civilization | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Cross of Iron: A Squad Leader Gamette | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Death in the Trenches: The Great War 1914-1918 (Second Edition) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Disaster on K2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Great Battles of History (GMT Games) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Hell Hath No Fury | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Hornet Leader | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Imperium: Legends | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Invaders from Dimension X! | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Iskra | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Nemo’s War: The Ultimate Edition | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Norway 1940 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
O’Group: Wargames Rules for Battalion Size Actions in WWII | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Pax Pamir | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Pax Viking | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Rebel Fury | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Root: The Clockwork Expansion | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
SAS: Rogue Regiment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The Battle of Wakefield: Yorkshire, England 30 December 1460 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The Blitzkrieg Legend: The Battle for France, 1940 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The Chosin Few | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The Lost Expedition | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The Punic Wars: Rome vs Carthage, 264-146 B.C. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Tinners’ Trail | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Typhon sur le Pacifique | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Victory in the Pacific | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
War of 1812: Solitaire Travel Game | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Washington’s War | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
Wilson’s Creek: The West’s First Fight, August 10, 1861 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
World War I: 1914-1918 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 184 |
The results of our 2024 survey can be found here:
2024 Solo & Solitaire Wargaming & Historical Gaming Survey Results
ANNOUNCEMENT | RESULTS | DATA DIVING | BEYOND SOLITAIRE YOUTUBE DISCUSSION | BGG Geeklist | Historical Rankings
MORE DATA DIVING | MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES EPISODE
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