Last Bus Out: survivors and the school bus on Main Street

No table needed

Solo board games online: play alone, free, in your browser

Not every game night has a table full of friends. These two games are built so one person can sit down and play a whole game, and so friends can drop in when they are free.

Play The Hollowing solo Try Candlewake

What makes a board game good alone

A solo board game works when the game itself pushes back. You need a clock you can feel, choices that matter every turn, and an opponent that reacts to what you do. Board games built for one usually do this with a deck that drives the enemy. Online, the game can also run the other seats for you and keep track of every rule, so you can just play.

The Hollowing: lead the whole team

The Hollowing is a co-op survival game set in Marrow Falls, 1996, the night the town went hollow. It was made for one player as much as for six.

You play every survivor. Alone, you lead the whole team, 2 to 6 survivors, and each one is yours to play. Fewer survivors is a tighter, harder night; more is a busier board.
The horde is the opponent. It moves after your turn, toward whoever it can see or the loudest noise, and a horde deck decides what climbs out of the drains. It grows as your survivors get stronger.
The round track is your clock. Every mission has one. When it runs out, the night wins.
Ten missions and a campaign. Each mission plays differently, from carrying heavy fuel cans to holding a roadhouse to hunting a single huge enemy by lantern light. The campaign strings all ten together, with survivors carrying skills and an item from one to the next.
A new town every game. The map is dealt from town tiles each time, so you can replay a mission without replaying the same streets. A twist can change the rules for the night, and Hard mode is there when Normal gets easy.

When friends turn up, they join the same room on their phones and take a survivor each. The extra survivors can go to AI companions or be split among you.

The daily mission

Every day there is one mission, one town and one twist, the same for everyone. It is a good solo habit: one game, then see how many tables got out today and the fastest escape. More on the daily mission.

Candlewake: AI investigators fill the seats

Candlewake is a haunted-house party game for 3 to 6 investigators. It is at its best with friends, but you do not need a full table: AI investigators fill the empty seats. Three friends make a full game, and one person can try the house with AI company.

You explore a house that builds itself as you walk it, draw Events, find Items and uncover Relics. One Relic too many and the house turns. A narrator reads the story aloud, and every investigator has their own voice. A night takes about 45 minutes.

Which one to play alone?

The Hollowing	Built for solo play. You control the whole team against the horde. 1–6 players, about 45–60 minutes, free.
Candlewake	A party game first. AI investigators fill empty seats, so a short table still plays. 3–6 seats, about 45 minutes, free.

Questions

Can I really play The Hollowing alone?

Yes. Open a room, start a mission, and you lead every survivor on the team (2 to 6 of them). Nobody else needs to join.

Do I need to download anything?

No. Both games run in the browser on phones, tablets and laptops. No account is needed.

Are they free?

The Hollowing is free, with all its missions. Candlewake is free too.

How smart are the AI players?

In The Hollowing, AI companions work toward the mission, stick with the group, fight what is in their way and keep quiet when they can. They see the same board you do, and the decks stay hidden from them too.

Can friends join a solo game later?

Friends join a room before the mission starts, using the room code on their own phones. Each takes a survivor, and the rest of the team goes to AI companions or is split among you.

The Hollowing and Candlewake are original games by Rucksy.