15 BEST GAMES TO PLAY ALONE

Games are a great way to have fun with friends and family. People play games to socialize, break the ice, or simply pass the time. But you don’t need a big group to enjoy games. There are tons of card games, board games, and activities designed for single players. So don’t worry, if you are bored and alone, there are loads of entertaining games to pass some time. We have composed a list of the ten best games to play alone! Let’s dive in.

SOLITAIRE

Solitaire card gameplay

Solitaire is likely the most widely recognized solo card game. It is difficult to win a game of solitaire, but you can become a pro with practice! The goal is to get all the cards into piles in ascending order from ace to king.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

To start, deal out the cards. Create seven stacks of cards. The top card in each pile should face up. There should be one card in the first stack, with each following stack with one more card than the one before it until the seventh stack, with seven cards. Place the remaining cards in the deck to the side in a pile.

The goal of solitaire is to move face-up cards to different piles so that you can access the cards underneath them. You can move a face-up card to a separate pile if the card in the other stack is the opposite color and one number higher. For example, if one stack has a 9 of hearts and another has a 10 of clubs, you can move the 9 underneath the 10 and flip over the card underneath the 9.

If you can’t move any face-up cards, flip over the top 3 cards in the reserve deck. If you can use some of these cards in the game, do so. If not, place them at the bottom of the deck and continue flipping 3 cards until you can continue play.

If you encounter an ace at any time during the game, place the ace in the upper right-hand corner of the table. Then place the other cards of the same suit on top of the ace until you have reached the king. Once all the cards have been placed in order in their appropriate suits, the game is over, and you have won.

JENGA

Jenga gameplay

Jenga is a unique game in which you slowly deconstruct a wooden tower until it falls over. 2-5 players usually play the game, but you also can easily play Jenga solo. So if you are looking for a fun but mindless game to play, Jenga is a great option.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

Jenga is easy to play! Simply set up the tower on a flat surface by placing three of the blocks together and then stacking another three blocks on top, turning them 90 degrees. Continue stacking until you have placed all the blocks on the tower.

Once you have built the tower, choose the first block to remove. Remember, if you touch a block, you must remove it. You can only use one hand when touching the tower; this prevents you from stabilizing it.

After taking a block from the tower, place the block on top in the correct formation without knocking over any other blocks. If the tower falls at any time during the game, you lose and start again. The best way to play this game alone is to track how many blocks you remove and compete with yourself for a high score.

HOPSCOTCH

Hopscotch rules gameplay

Hopscotch is a classic game that most people will have played as kids. The game dates back to the time of the Roman Empire and was used as a strength test for soldiers. Nowadays, it is a great way to entertain kids and tire them out. The game can be played solo or in a larger group.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • Sidewalk chalk (Buy it on Amazon)
  • Sidewalk or a large slab of concrete
  • Small stone or object

HOW TO PLAY

The first thing to do when setting up a game of hopscotch is to draw the design on the ground. You can draw the design however you like, but the standard format is ten boxes with a number on each box:

To start the game, throw a small stone, coin, or another small object on the number one box of the layout. Once it lands, you must start hopping and jumping to the end of the hopscotch layout and back. To do this, jump with one foot on every single square. Then, at two adjacent squares, use both feet and put one foot in each square. You must hop all the way through and back, making sure you skip the number one box. On your way back, pick up your object before jumping back to the starting point.

Continue playing this way by throwing the object into boxes two through ten and hopping through the formation. Restart the round if:

  1. The object misses the box you are aiming at
  2. You mistakenly use two feet when jumping onto a single box
  3. You step on a line
  4. You lose balance and fall
  5. You forget to skip the box on which the object lies.

CROSSWORD

crosswords gameplay

Contrary to popular belief, crossword puzzles are not only for middle-aged men. These word puzzles can be super fun and will help you pass the time and grow your vocabulary. You can find these puzzles in your local newspaper, online, or puzzle books. There is also a wide difficulty range from easy to expert-level puzzles.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • The New York Times crossword puzzle book (Buy it on Amazon), OR
  • Crossword puzzle (either online or from the newspaper)
  • Pen or pencil

HOW TO PLAY

A crossword puzzle consists of several clues for the lines going across and several clues for the lines going down. The clues of a crossword puzzle are numbered starting from 1 across and 1 down. The goal is to solve the entire puzzle, but you don’t need to solve the clues in order.

As you solve clues in the puzzle, you will gather more hints. The more letters you have for a crossword clue, the easier it will be to crack.

For example, the crossword clue is “the capital of Thailand,” and there is a seven-letter space to put the answer.  If no letters are discovered yet, it will be much harder to solve. But after solving a few other clues, it will be easier to find the answer.

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 _ A _ G K _ K

B A N G K O K

Keep solving the clues until you finish the entire puzzle!

SUDOKU

Sudoku gameplay

Sudokus are a classic number game commonly found in newspapers and puzzle books. The goal of the game is to determine the correct number for each of the 9 squares on the sudoku puzzle.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

A sudoku grid is made up of 9 3×3 sub-grids. Sudoku puzzles will always have a few of the numbers pre-printed on the puzzle so that you can get started. To play sudoku, you must write a number from 1-9 in each square. You must never repeat the name number in the same sub-grid, row, or column. You have completed a sudoku puzzle when each box is filled correctly.

THE WIKI GAME

wiki game rules gameplay

The Wiki game (or Wikipedia game) is a unique game you play anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection. In this game, you try to get from one random Wikipedia article to your preselected target article in the fewest clicks possible.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • A phone or computer
  • Wifi connection

HOW TO PLAY

The first thing to do in this game is to decide on your target Wikipedia article. You can either choose this yourself or use a WikiRoulette to determine the target article. Then use your imagination or WikiRoulette to select your starting article.

The goal is to scroll through the starting Wikipedia page and click on a link to another Wikipedia page until you finally find the target article. The maximum separation between any two Wikipedia articles is only six pages! So, try to get to the target article in as few clicks as possible!

WORDLE

wordle gameplay

Wordle is one of the most popular trends in the world right now. The New York Times bought this small online game in 2022, significantly boosting its popularity. The site posts one puzzle daily, and the goal is to solve the word in as few guesses as possible.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • Phone or computer
  • Wifi connection
  • Your brain!

HOW TO PLAY

Each day there is a new 5-letter word designated to the game that players try to guess. Players have a maximum of 6 tries to guess the word. When you guess a word, Wordle will highlight the letters that are correct and in the right place in green and highlight the letters that are correct but in the wrong place in yellow. You will then formulate new words for the next guesses using the letters Wordle has highlighted.

ACCORDION SOLITAIRE

Accordion Solitaire gameplay

Accordion is a solitaire game you can easily spend hours playing. If you’re tired of your basic solitaire, you should try accordion. This game is also quite hard to win, but the concept is much simpler.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

Deal all 52 cards face up on a flat surface in front of you. Lay them out one by one from left to right. If you run out of space, feel free to continue laying out the cards below the first row. The goal of the game is to stack all of the cards into one pile or as few piles as possible.

Move any card immediately to the left or the third card on the left. But to move the card, the suit or the number must match. Keep shifting the cards to the left whenever there is a blank space to keep track.

You win the game when you manage to stack all of the cards into one pile.

RUBIK’S CUBE

Rubik's Cube Gameplay

Rubik’s cube is one of the most famous games you can play alone. Although this colorful cube looks like an easy game, it is deceptively tricky and requires a lot of strategies.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

First, you should identify the colors to play the basic 3×3 Rubik’s cube. The objective of the game is to match all of the same colors to the same side of the cube. It doesn’t matter which color goes where as long as all the colors are together by the time you solve the cube.

Keep moving around the little squares until the six sides of the cubes are solved with the same color on each side.

WORD SEARCH

Who hasn’t played a Word Search at some point in their lives? This game is an absolute classic word game for those who don’t want to think too hard but still want some brain stimulation. Word Search can be as easy or as difficult as you want, so pick up a puzzle book, and let’s get started!

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

While you can certainly play Word Search online with a quick Google search, this game is best played on paper. After all, there’s really no satisfaction in clicking the words you find on the screen, and circling them with a pen on a puzzle book just can’t be beat!

The objective of this simple word game is to find all the hidden words within a box filled with letters. The words can be hidden horizontally, vertically, or diagonally! Usually, a list of words that you need to find is provided. But more challenging puzzle books may only provide hints!

FLIPSLIDE

You can play four different modes with just one Flipside. While there is a multi-player option, it’s just as fun to play by yourself – with three different single-player modes! This fast-paced game is sure to get your heart racing.

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

The four different modes you can play with Flipside are: Speed Mode, Level Mode, Memory Mode, and Multiplayer Mode. The objective of the game is to match the colored blocks to the lights. But don’t be fooled by its seeming simplicity! In Speed Mode, complete 10 moves as fast as you can! In Level Mode, progress through the 10 levels, with each level having 5 moves each. You play Memory Mode just as you would assume: each of the 11 levels has 3 moves which you’ll need to memorize!

While these three modes are perfect if you are playing by yourself, if you do have a friend with you, you can also play Multiplayer Mode. In this mode, the goal is to not be the last player holding the game when time runs out. Each player has to complete a certain number of moves before they can pass the game on to the next player.

FOLDOLOGY – ORIGAMI PUZZLE GAME

Are you a big fan of origami? Then, Foldology is the perfect game for you to play. This origami puzzle game is sure to challenge your brain, with 100 puzzles that will progressively get harder as you go!

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

Foldology is pretty easy to understand how to play – though solving the puzzle can be a bit of a challenge! First, simply remove a sheed from the Foldology pad. The objective of the puzzle is to put the picture back together and fold it flat onto the table. So, start creasing the paper and folding it in different directions. You’ll be folding and unfolding plenty of times until you figure out the puzzle!

SIMON

A popular Hasbro game, Simon will certainly test your memory skills. The perfect game to play alone, Simon is a must-have in any games enthusiast’s arsenal. Plus, it’s small enough to be carried anywhere, so you can bring it with you on the go!

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

Simon is another one of those games that is super easy to understand how to play, but once you play it, you’ll see just how confusing it can get! A memory game at its core, all you need to do to play is repeat the pattern. This electronic game will play a random sequence of lights, which you will have to follow perfectly by pressing on the colored pads. One wrong push, and you’ll have to start again!

KANOODLE

A TikTok famous game, Kanoodle is another must-have game for puzzle enthusiasts. There are hundreds of possible puzzles to solve with this one unit, so you’ll never be bored! And since Kanoodle is pocket-sized, bring it with you everywhere. It’s the perfect game for those boring commutes or long flights!

WHAT YOU NEED

HOW TO PLAY

To play Kanoodle, remove all the “noodles” from the case and put them on the tray. Then, choose a puzzle that suits your level, ranging from Level 1 to Level 6. Set up the noodles as shown on the puzzle, and then start solving. The goal is to fill up the whole board with all the noodles. Level 1 is pretty easy, but once you get up to the higher levels, that’s when it gets interesting! There are also 3D puzzles that are available to solve, ranging from Levels 1 to 3, where you have to build a pyramid!

Lev
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