There are plenty of board games with an optional solo mode tacked on, but very few are designed with single players in mind. That makes a quality solo title like gold dust to the lone gamer. If, like me, you enjoy a private board game session, you shouldn't sleep on the Final Girl series - especially since the core boxes are 24% off at Amazon US.
A series of thematic horror games where you face off with a movie-style slasher, Final Girl might not make it into our list of the best board games ever but, as single player board games go, it's exceptionally good. Its action system, powered by dice and drafted cards, is adapted from Hostage Negotiator, a previous solo board game published by Van Ryder Games.
During play, you'll frantically fly around a spooky map, attempting to gather items, shepherd innocent bystanders to safety, and deal damage to your supernatural adversary. The killer grows more powerful with every life they take, and they'll do all they can to see that the Final Girl doesn't survive the night.
It's a tense head-to-head, where the stakes are always climbing, and one wrong move (or poor dice roll) could see you lose your head - permanently. Fans of more strategic board games may take issue with how much Final Girl relies on luck, but the dice rolls do an excellent job of recreating that edge-of-your-seat feeling you get during a horror movie.
To play Final Girl, you'll actually need two different boxes. There's a core box that powers all versions of the game, and there's the Feature Film boxes that introduce the Final Girls, slashers, and maps that you'll play with. Van Ryder has published hordes of these Feature Film boxes, each loosely based on iconic horror IP, and each with unique additional mechanics.
You can mix and match the contents of all these Feature Films, but for beginners, the simplest way to start playing is to pick up the Camp Happy Trails box. This features the most basic (though by no means less entertaining) version of the rules.
Luckily for newcomers, Amazon's discount applies to both the Core Box and this beginner set. This Starter Set, which provides everything you need to play, usually sells for $54.99. That 24% discount now means you can pick the pair up for $41.98.
As a hardcore horror movie lover, I'm continually delighted by the Final Girl series. Its complexity level makes it quick and easy to dive into on quiet evenings, but it still provides a captivating challenge. Its rules for health and random events create epic, tide-turning moments, and even when I lose, an immensely entertaining story has unfolded at my coffee table. Plus, the production value is gorgeous, with stunning art and magnetic boxes that pull apart to become the very boards you'll play on.
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