Solo play – Page 5 – Random Geek Child

Come make a country!

NationStates is an online game where you make and govern your own country. You can join regions, role-play and form your country through Issues. Your answers will alter the statistics on your nation.

I think this game is creative and fun, as it makes a way to role-play while creating a nation that can represent what you believe, what a friend believes, or just something that comes into your mind!

It is not a fast-paced game. Role-plays and other social interactions can only take place when people are online, so it spans over quite a while. Issues have a timer for how often a new one comes in, so if you aren’t in any role-plays and you’ve just finished all your issues there isn’t much left to do.

I do like the statistics, though. You can see percentages for government expenditure, how most people die and the ownership of the industry. You can click on other peoples’ home pages and hit “Challenge”, where it compares random statistics with theirs to see who has a higher number on it. This is where having low numbers isn’t always good. For instance, I have a rubbish low crime rate, which is actually quite good, but it means I almost always lose if the selected statistic is crime.

Homemade Pinball!!!

I made a pinball machine! Out of cardboard, yes, but I made a pinball machine! Out of a pattern and pre-cut package, but I made a pinball machine! Alright, alright, you get the idea. PinBox 3000

I thought it was so cool when my mom handed me a box labeled “PinBox 3000” and told me to go set it up. It took a while to finish, but I have made the first board for it (I can swap this for another one to change up the obstacles), as well as the box. It comes with a couple marbles to play with. I had a lot of fun rolling the marble around, though the obstacles should probably be a little thicker so the marble doesn’t occasionally roll right over them.

Mom found it on Kickstarter (go figure!). It is quite amusing to play with and provides much fun while constructing. Make sure to read the instructions before constructing, I didn’t do this and ran into some complications.

Enjoy!

[Mom’s note: So I conned my kid into building my pinball machine.. and the cat thinks it’s a box.]

World of Warships

World of Warships is an intricate strategy game. You choose which ship you want to play, then click ‘Battle’. You wait in queue until enough people in your rank range also click ‘Battle’, then you get drafted into a randomized battlefield. That’s when the fun begins.

You have multiple bars for what speed you want to go at. You turn by pressing A and D, move faster by pressing W, and slower by passing S. You can choose a spot on the map to autopilot to using M, and Shift will let you scroll in. 1 and 2 are different shell types and 3 is torpedoes, if you have them. R is repair, which you use if something is immobilized or a crew member is injured. T is your special skill, if the ship has one. You left click to shoot.

This, like other wargaming games, is a fast-paced, quick decision simulation game. I like the fact that though you shoot stuff, there’s no gore.

This game is fun, interactive, and strategic. It is also historical as the ships are modeled off of genuine ships. I play it with my father, uncle, and older cousin.

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Shut The Box!

Shut the Box is a traditional English pub game. Unlike some pub games, it is family friendly and unrealistically easy. I marked this as a quick game, but that doesn’t at all describe it. With 2 players, this game takes 3 minutes. It is wonderful to play with your family, because you can sit down and it will fit most time constraints. It is especially great to play when you have a purring cat next to you. (Errr… might have tried that. What can I say? She was sleeping next to our chosen game board.) Shut-the-box

This game works with any amount of players, making it great for parties or being by yourself. In Shut the Box, you roll the dice. Then you flip down any one set of numbers that you can add to make the sum found on your dice. You continue your turn until you cannot flip anything to make that exact sum. Then you add up the remaining numbers. This is your score. You proceed to reset and the next person goes. This process repeats until everyone has gone. Then the person with the lowest score wins. If anyone successfully flips down all the numbers, they shut the box and automatically win the game. Yep, that’s it. The entire game. No, seriously, that’s it. Yep.

This is just one variation of the ways it can be played. See here for more.

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Off to a new Dimension!

There is a wonderful logic game known as Dimension. You’ve got length, you’ve got width, and you’ve certainly got height, but open up to a new Dimension, where everything is round. That’s right, this game is about balancing balls. But that’s not the best part. You’re structure of spherical shapes must fit the random criteria of the draw pile, or you will lose victory points.

Each player has 15 balls, 3 of each color. Each turn one person will flip over 6 goal cards, a.k.a. the random criteria, and then the timer. Some examples of goals are: black cannot be on bottom or green must touch white. You have until the timer runs out to build as large of a structure as possible while still fitting as much of the criteria as you can. In some cases there are goals that will contradict each other no matter what, like one goal saying that green must touch green and another saying that green cannot touch green. In this case, you just choose which one you don’t want to do.

At the end of each turn you score. You get one point for each ball you use, and you lose two points for each goal you miss. If you use all five colors, and complete all the tasks, you get a bonus token. These are important for end game scoring. If you don’t have any, you lose 6 points, so I recommend getting as many as possible. Will your structures be a round wreck or a celebrated cylindrical construction? It’s your choice!

I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys logic and building.

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Master the Codes

There is a game called Code Master in which you attempt to reach the portal from your starting point while collecting all the crystals and following only paths of certain colors. You have a certain amount of paths of each colors that you are allowed to take, depending on the level. You create your code by placing your assigned color tokens on the designated guide scroll for that level, then follow it and see if it works. Code Master

This game is available exclusively at Target. The assigned places for the crystals, portal and avatar are on the level map, as well as what colors you may use. Each map has all levels who’s final digit is their map number, such as Map 1, which has levels 1, 11, 21, and so forth. There are a total of 60 levels. To keep track of the crystals you have acquired, you put them on the avatar’s sword when you land on them.

In the level pictured, I am allowed exactly 4 greens, 1 red and 1 blue routes. It uses Guide Scroll 3 and Map 2, and there are 2 crystals I have to acquire before exiting the level. If you look at the code in the Guide Scroll and then trace it on the Map, you will see how I used the color paths to clear level 22.

I would recommend this game for anyone who loves logic puzzles.

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Crates of Tinkering

There’s something called a Tinker Crate. You subscribe, and every month they send you a kit with certain supplies you assemble into the month’s December's Tinker Crate project science project using the included instructions. Some of the crafts are drip irrigation kits, bottle rockets, and homemade flashlights.

Though this is a blog for games, Tinker Crates are fun and I couldn’t resist doing a post about it. The box also comes with a few extra supplies and a booklet to explain the science behind the craft as well as a few other experiments. It is a really fun way to learn about engineering, science and history, and when you’re done you can actually use the creation! I highly recommend it for most kids, though I know many adults who would be equally interested.

My most recent crate was a “Draw-bot”. When you turn it on, it vibrates and colors your piece of paper. It included a motor, a battery case, two batteries, a gear, and much more.

Again, I recommend this item for most kids and many adults because it teaches, is a craft, and has many alterations you can make to customize it.

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Hexxagon

Hexxagon is an online game where you may either play the computer or another person. There are rubies and pearls. Each turn, you may either multiply by moving onto a space adjacent to your current position, or you may jump, where you do not multiply unless you land adjacent to any of your opponent’s pieces. If you do, these pieces become yours.

Hexxagon
The goal of the game is to do one of three things: you could turn all their pieces into yours, you could block any legal movement for your opponent, or you could fill the board and have more pieces than the other players. If you want to know how many pieces there are for each person, there is a little counter in the bottom right corner.

I actually learned this game at school. Because it is about logic, when we have spare time our teacher lets us play. We even had a Hexxagon tournament once! It took a couple days because it was double elimination.

I would play this game with my family and friends.

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