Button Shy Games is a small game publisher that specializes in small, highly portable games that can be played quickly. These games are ideal for playing on the go or for quick gaming sessions. With so many games available, it can be difficult to know where to begin. That is why we have compiled a comprehensive list of the best Button Shy games, ranked and reviewed.
The best part about Button Shy Games is that you can buy them retail for around $12 each, or you can buy the print-and-play files on PNPArcade for only $3 each and print them out yourself. That’s how I’ve done most of mine, and it is a great, affordable way to expand your board game collection.
Table of Contents
What Are Button Shy Games?
Button Shy is a publisher that focuses on small and portable games. Their games are usually only 18 cards (making them easy to print and play), but they have a lot of depth and replayability. Button Shy games come in several genres, ranging from puzzles and strategy games to role-playing games.
Why Play Button Shy Games Solo?
One of the best aspects of Button Shy games is that they are ideal for solo play. Their small size makes them simple to set up and play on your own, and the depth of the games ensures that you’ll have plenty of fun with them. Playing alone also allows you to concentrate on the game’s mechanics and strategy without needing other players.
How To Choose The Best Solo Button Shy Games
It can be difficult to know which Button Shy games are worth your time and money with so many to choose from. When selecting the best solo Button Shy games, keep the following factors in mind:
- Gameplay mechanics: What kind of games do you like to play? Button Shy games are available in a variety of genres, so pick one that suits your tastes.
- Replayability: If I’m buying a game I look for games with a lot of replayability, with different strategies and outcomes every time I play. If I’m printing out a game I’m more likely to just pick a theme I like as it doesn’t matter as much if I only play it a few times.
- Difficulty level: Some Button Shy games are more difficult than others, so choose a game based on how much you want to challenge yourself.
The Best Solo Button Shy Games
These are the best solo Button Shy games, based on my own experience with them as well as their ranking on Board Game Geek, which is based on reviews from experts and other players.
1. Sprawlopolis
- My rating: 5/5
- Number of players: 1-4 players (solo is best)
- Play time: 15-20 mins
Sprawlopolis is a cooperative city-building game from Button Shy Games that can be played by 1-4 players but is really best as a solo game. In this game, every card has scoring conditions on one side and city-building tiles on the other that have different districts and features on them. At the start of the game, you pick out 3 scoring conditions, and then you use the city-building tiles to build a city that scores the most points. This game is hard to score points in! And because of the ability to pick different winning conditions each time, it has a lot of variety in gameplay and strategy.
Sprawlopolis has a bunch of smaller expansions, but it also has 2 related stand-alone games that are worth looking into getting:
- Agropolis – plays very similarly but adds animals to the scoring conditions so you get to score based on the animals in each block. It feels like an advanced Sprawlopolis.
- Naturopolis – plays very similarly but adds rivers and campsites to the scoring conditions. It’s also more complicated than Sprawlopolis, but with the rivers, you are focusing more on connections than matching the districts.
- Combopolis – allows you to combine these games altogether, but be aware it turns into quite a big brain-burning game.
2. Food Chain Island
- My rating: 5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15 mins
Food Chain Island is a solo puzzle game where players arrange the animal cards in a grid and then aim to leave only one animal card on the table by moving them to eat smaller, adjacent animals. Each animal also has a special action that you have to take when you move it.
The game is challenging and interesting to play, but it is not as hard as Sprawlopolis, which makes it a more relaxed game that I end up playing more.
3. ROVE
- My rating: 5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15 mins
ROVE is a space-themed puzzle game that exercises your spatial reasoning skills. The player takes control of an explorer and has to arrange the six module cards in a certain way to finish missions.
Like in Sprawlopolis, the cards in ROVE have the mission on one side (which shows the pattern the cards must be arranged into) and the movement rules on the other (as each card can be moved in different ways). To win the game, you must complete seven missions.
The game combines an enjoyable puzzle with a simple adventure story. It’s about as difficult to win as Sprawlopolis, but the individual missions give me a sense of accomplishment even if I don’t beat the game.
4. SpaceShipped
- My rating: 5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 10-30 mins
SpaceShipped is a solo space trading game from Button Shy Games in which you buy and sell resources, upgrade your ship, crew, and equipment, and win the game by buying two Xeno Crystals before the enemy does.
This game packs a lot onto the card, as each card has an upgrade, a resource, an encounter, and a market price on it, and what part of the card you are looking at depends on where you are using the card.
The game’s unique selling point is that it feels like a full-sized pick-up-and-deliver game with a working economy. I’ve heard it likened to the popular video game FTL but without the combat (I’ve never played the video game so can’t comment on it’s likeness).
5. At the Helm
- My rating: 5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15 mins
At the Helm, you are sailing on the high seas and you need to deal with the challenges that are out there, such as fighting a giant squid or completing a smuggling job. There are 8 different objectives to choose from, and you choose three for each game, keeping the combination for each game different.
The game is a small deck-building game. With each turn, you take 3 cards out of your deck and resolve the abilities of 2 of the cards. The challenge is in managing your hand effectively and completing challenges without going down to 0 health.
I’m surprised that a deck-building game can be completed with only 18 cards, especially since that, and the theme also shines through beautifully.
6. Unsurmountable
- My rating: 4.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15 mins
Unsurmountable is a solo game where you are a mountain climber trying to climb a challenging mountain.
Each turn, 5 cards are laid out in your base camp, and you can either move a card from your base camp to the mountain or use a power on a card in your base camp to move cards around. In order to win, you need to build your mountain in a pyramid shape that has a trail all the way to the top.
This is a really nice tile-laying puzzle, and you can vary the difficulty level by having fewer cards in your base camp.
7. Ugly Gryphon Inn
- My rating: 4.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 20 mins
Ugly Gryphon Inn is a one-player game in which players own the only inn within a hundred miles and must deal with rowdy and rude customers in order to keep them happy.
You have a bunch of cards that have patrons in your bar, and you need to move them into the inn. But each guest has different conditions that need to be met in order to keep them happy, or they’ll leave the inn. The game challenges players to balance the needs and wants of their peculiar guests in order to get seven guests in the inn and win.
If you’ve ever worked in customer service, you’ll find this game amusing. While it is a puzzle game, it’s fairly simple and enjoyable rather than challenging.
8. Ragemore
- My rating: 4.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 20 mins
Ragemore is a solo game where you are battling evil in a dungeon!
You get a set of quests, and then you also get a set of heroes that make up your party. You need to complete a certain number of quests by matching cards of the same suit as one of your heroes. This game is a bit of a balancing act between increasing your party so you can match more cards or going on quests to get more cards out.
The game’s fast-paced gameplay makes it a great option for players looking for a quick solo adventure that isn’t too taxing.
9. Pentaquark
- My rating: 4.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15-30 mins
Pentaquark is a single-player game where the player collects five quarks to form a particle in a particle collider. Despite the sci-fi theme, this is really an abstract puzzle game where you are trying to collect a certain set of cards in the detector.
In this game, there are 3 annihilate cards and 15 cards that come in 3 different colors with different symbols on them, with the ‘anti’ version of the card on the back. Players must then take cards off the beam deck pile and combine the cards in different ways to ‘lock’ them in so they can be locked in the detector and can’t be annihilated when the annihilate cards comes up.
You have to be really conscious of how you manage your cards in this game, as it’s actually quite hard to win. You do quickly get better at the game’s strategy as you play more. It’s very unique, so once you get your head around how to play, I’m sure it will become one of your favorites.
10. Fishing Lessons
- My rating: 4/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 10-15 mins
Fishing Lessons is a game in which players take on the role of family members spending a day fishing together and trying to catch the right fish. You pick a family member to play, and each family member has their own unique type of fish you need to pick in order to win the game.
This is a programming/memory game. You get a bunch of lesson cards that you program into a sequence, each card lets you move around and flip cards in the lake over in order to get the right fish.
What makes Fishing Lessons fun is that the mechanics are distinct, and this type of programming isn’t something you see in a lot of games. The theme also comes through well, even though it’s really an abstract puzzle game.
11. Numbsters
- My rating: 4/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 10 mins
Numbsters is a solo game from Button Shy Games that is played with a deck of cards featuring cute, hungry monsters with numbers on them, and each monster also has a unique ability.
You keep all the cards in order in your hand, and the gameplay involves strategically arranging and manipulating the Numbsters to eat all the other numbers and not have the mouth card on top of the pile at the end of the game.
This is actually a very cute game with a good puzzle, but the puzzle reminds me so much of the one in Food Chain Island that it doesn’t feel original.
12. Count of the Nine Estates
- My rating: 4/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 30 mins
Count of the Nine Estates is a solo city-building game where the player’s objective is to build up three different estates from the cards that are laid out in order to become nobility. The cards have beautiful artwork on them, representing structures such as city walls, a cathedral, and a castle.
The structures are bought using the resources on the remaining cards, but when you build a structure from the grid, you wipe out the row and column it is in, leaving you with fewer structures you can then choose from to build.
The game provides a fulfilling solo gaming experience that is a mix of puzzle and resource management mechanics, and the engaging gameplay will keep you coming back to play again and again.
13. Twin Stars
- My rating: 3.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15-30 mins
Twin Stars is a solo game where players take on the roles of two cosmic adventurers working together to overcome obstacles in a range of different scenarios. The game comes with six scenarios and 12 characters, making a range of different combinations that each plays differently.
The scenarios are all really different, for example, escaping prison, fighting enemies, or stopping viruses. You complete scenarios by rolling dice and manipulating them to take certain character actions. You do need some markers for this one to track health, and you need a few dice.
This game feels a bit like a really light adventure from D&D, so it really hits the spot when I want to play but can’t prep and have friends over for D&D.
14. The Maiden in the Forest
- My rating: 3.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 10-15 mins
The Maiden in the Forest is a solo puzzle game where you have 12 tree cards placed in a circle, and players need to rotate and turn over the trees from their blooming to dormant sides before the maiden makes it all the way around the circle of trees.
Each round, you have different actions you can perform in order to move cards around and flip them in different ways.
The theme doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense, but it’s a fun game that makes you plan ahead for how you are going to flip all the cards over. I also really love the artwork on this one!
15. Banned Books
- My rating: 3.5/5
- Number of players: 1 player
- Play time: 15-30 mins
Banned Books is a solo game in which players take on the roles of literary characters whose books have been banned in certain countries. The goal is to fight the three powers that be (who banned the books) and get the banned books back on the shelves. The game’s theme of fighting censorship and promoting free expression really appeals to me.
Players move through the game by choosing actions that move their agenda track forward while stopping the Powers’ agenda tracks from moving forward. The game also includes unique character abilities, making each playthrough unique.
This game is a bit less puzzle-like than a lot of the games on this list, as it has more of a push your luck aspect. It’s worth noting that you’ll need a die and 11 additional tokens in addition to the 18 cards provided, so it’s not as portable as some of the other games on this list.
FAQs
Q: What are your favorite solo button shy games?
A: That’s like asking me to choose my favorite child! There are so many good ones, all of which are unique. I like Sprawlopolis when I want something to make me think, and the way the game works is just really clever. Food Chain Island gets the most plays because it’s the easiest to get to the table and has just enough thinking to keep you entertained after a long day at work.
Q: Why are there some solo games missing from this list?
A: I’ve included the games that I believe work best with one person. There are a few other great games that can be played with one player, such as Skulls of Sedlec or Tussie Mussie with the expansions, as well as games like Death Valley, but I think they are a significantly better experience with two players.
Q: Are the expansions for games worth getting?
A: In general, I don’t like to buy game expansions unless the game is incomplete without them or the expansion adds something significant. I just prefer to play a new game rather than add to an existing one. That being said, I really like the animals in Agropolis, and using Combopolis, it combines well with the original Sprawlopolis game to create a much larger experience. Twin Stars is a scenario game, which means you’ll need to buy expansions to get new scenarios.
Conclusion
If you enjoy innovative and engaging games that are quick to get to the table, then Button Shy Games should be on your radar.
There’s no shortage of fantastic solo options to choose from, with titles like Sprawlopolis, Food Chain Island, and ROVE leading the pack in terms of popularity and critical acclaim. Button Shy’s catalog has something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a light RPG game to play on the go or a puzzle game to really get you thinking.
So why not give these games a shot and see for yourself why they’ve become such a cult favorite among solo board gamers?
