Why solo? To play what I CAN'T play otherwise...

We solo players are a strange bunch - hard to understand by conventional standards, and vexing to those who worship at the altar of competition. We all solo-game for many different reasons, but if there is any general umbrella our individual gaming pursuits might snugly fall under, it's that of the love of a game's aesthetics.

Alone and without the social obligation to meet the needs of others, we indulge purely in the game, and we are better able to grasp its nuances when our attention is undivided. At its simplest, solo gaming is a hobby of deep appreciation for how rules and materials capture the spirit of an adventure or a conflict.

It's also a way to experience a game that otherwise would not be accessible. When it comes to Heroclix - a product that features prominently on this blog - I get a lot of messages from people who tell me that I should stop this solo nonsense and just go out and play the game with others, as if I'd never heard of the tournament scene.

The fact is, I know a great deal about tournaments. During Heroclix's "first era," I was a regular at two venues and competed all the time. These days, I still play a regular Saturday game where I buy comics.

But that doesn't mean I'm satisfied with the playing experience. I originally got into Heroclix 10 years ago to be able to field my favorite comic book teams in battle - and that quickly turned into a losing proposition. Tournament players know that comic-accurate teams are guaranteed to get crushed almost every time against a finely-tuned min-maxed combo of the latest must-use power pieces. Worse, the venues back then held only single-elimination games; once you lost, you couldn't play anymore! (Not even a pick-up game on the side!) So, in the past, I'd play to compete just to be able to play and I'd win more times than I lost, but I'd still feel unsatisfied at the end of the day. I actually started playing solo Heroclix about 7 years ago while I was still in the thick of twice-a-week tournament play just so I could see how my favorite hero and villain teams would look and play in battle and feel like I was really enjoying my purchases.

I ruminate on this now because Wizkids has started previewing its next clix line based on the video game Assassin's Creed.

I've no desire to solo-play the Assassin's Creed pieces because I CAN actually play the video game any time I want to and enjoy it to its fullest! I think it's cool to give hardcore fans of the video game the chance to experience the property in a new way, but, for me, there isn't any pressing need to incorporate the line into my solo repertoire (although I would use the above piece in a competitive game because it's pretty sweet!).

That, I think, underscores an important point about solo gaming. It's about indulging in the full aesthetics of a game when there's no other way to do so.

To fully enjoy, say, the Avengers versus the Lava Men, I need solo play because it won't be happening at a tournament any time soon. To enjoy Assassin's Creed, I can just play Assassin's Creed.