allow solo games in multiplayer games to learn mechanics

[Boomai]

I watched about 3 tutorials for terra mystica and was completly lost when i played it

One thing that would have made the learning experience much easier would be having a way to play the game "Me vs Me".

Could this be implemented?

[Foxxclaw]

I would appreciate this, too. I'm fairly new to BGA, prefer medium- to heavyweight games, don't have a circle of friends here to try out new games slowly with, and hate to feel like I'm holding up a game with a group of strangers while I figure out a possibly complicated interface for the first time.

[Nastaa]

A solo mode can be implemented on BGA only if it is an official variant of the game/allowed by the editors. So some games have a solo version that you can play, some don't (like Terra Mystica). If they don't and you really don't want to play against actual people, there is the hotseat mode that can be used to play a game alone "playing yourself the different players" to train. Hotseat mode is available for all games but requires to be a premium user.

[Boomai]

I would appreciate this, too. I'm fairly new to BGA, prefer medium- to heavyweight games, don't have a circle of friends here to try out new games slowly with, and hate to feel like I'm holding up a game with a group of strangers while I figure out a possibly complicated interface for the first time.

exactly! i dont mind losing, not at all, but i really hate the feeling i am make the game worse for other players

[Boomai]

A solo mode can be implemented on BGA only if it is an official variant of the game/allowed by the editors. So some games have a solo version that you can play, some don't (like Terra Mystica). If they don't and you really don't want to play against actual people, there is the hotseat mode that can be used to play a game alone "playing yourself the different players" to train. Hotseat mode is available for all games but requires to be a premium user.

how do we reach this hotseat mode? tried searching for it but couldnt find it, even on non premium games

[pjt33]

A solo mode can be implemented on BGA only if it is an official variant of the game/allowed by the editors. So some games have a solo version that you can play, some don't (like Terra Mystica). If they don't and you really don't want to play against actual people, there is the hotseat mode that can be used to play a game alone "playing yourself the different players" to train. Hotseat mode is available for all games but requires to be a premium user.

Doesn't hotseat just allow two people to play from the same IP address? So it's not really "Me vs me", it's "Me vs a sockpuppet".

[dschingis27]

how do we reach this hotseat mode? tried searching for it but couldnt find it, even on non premium games

It is a premium feature for all games, also for non-premium games. Just something you can only use as a premium member.

You find the hotseat in trying to invite a friend. Click on "Play with friends" in old lobby or click on the circle with the big "+" in new lobby, if you scroll down in the pop-up that appears that lists your friends, you can select hotseat (it's apparantly in beta phase).

[Jellby]

Doesn't hotseat just allow two people to play from the same IP address? So it's not really "Me vs me", it's "Me vs a sockpuppet".

It depends on what you mean with "me vs. me". As far as the game is concerned, it's a two (or more) player game, but you (can) control both players, so you can call it "me vs. me". If you mean it as "me vs. me in previous games", or "me vs. my own limitations", then no, it's not.

But the point is: it's a way for you to try the game by yourself without involving other human players, as long as you're premium (and you can be premium for free for a month just by playing and winning 20 different games).

[Nastaa]

Doesn't hotseat just allow two people to play from the same IP address? So it's not really "Me vs me", it's "Me vs a sockpuppet".

It is not just playing from the same IP, you really play from one device, with intermediate displays between players turns to say who's turn it is next (and avoid to see other players hidden cards/objects if they are).

I guess the name of hotseat comes from the idea that one player would sit on a seat near the computer, play their turn, then leave the seat (warm) to the next player for their turn.

[Foxxclaw]

You find the hotseat in trying to invite a friend. Click on "Play with friends" in old lobby or click on the circle with the big "+" in new lobby, if you scroll down in the pop-up that appears that lists your friends, you can select hotseat (it's apparantly in beta phase).

Thanks for the pointer! A game using hotseat and training mode sounds like exactly what I was hoping for.