My review of Onirim

I really have become more discerning about how I spend my gaming dollars. More and more, I find my purchasing decisions based upon how a game's design can be just as satisfying to me when I'm on my own as it will be when there are willing players to join me. Luckily, there are more 1+ games available than ever before. Here's my solo-centric review of a cute little 1-2 player game that's been around for a bit of time, Onirim by Shadi Torbey from Z-Man Games.

From the publisher:

You are a Dreamwalker, lost in a mysterious labyrinth, and must discover the oneiric doors before your dreamtime runs out - or you will remain trapped forever! A solo or cooperative game where you try to find the doors to escape from the labyrinthine nightmare. The game also includes three expansions: The Book Of Steps Lost And Found, The Towers, and Dark Premonitions and Happy Dreams.

 

My observations after about 3 dozen solo games (3 wins, many losses):

Physical Engagement: Good
• With pretty much only shuffling needed to get a game of solo Onirim going, you can grab it off your shelf and be playing in seconds.
• Quality cards with gorgeous, ethereal artwork make for a very pleasant tableau on the table. The images, though, are repetitious, and one will become desensitized to them very quickly.
• Not much table room is needed to play the basic game, though the expansion variants will take up a little more real estate. Still, you could enjoy this one easily on a mere tray which is nice for a game meant to be played in about 15 minutes.

Solo Mechanics: Very Good
• Clearly, solitaire was a top priority with the design of Onirim. Winning isn't easy, especially when expansion material is involved. Even though this is basically a game of matching colors while not matching symbols to collect other cards, the punishment of drawing Nightmares coupled with the variety the expansions provide make every play of the game different.
• As a solo experience, the greatest tension comes at the end especially if you aren't trying to count cards or peek through the discard pile. Sure, those are viable strategies that will inform your decisions when faced with what to do about a Nightmare, but, when I tried getting all Type-A with Onirim, it stopped being fun.
• The game moves quickly as long as you shuffle quickly because you will be shuffling the draw pile multiple times during play. (I just keep the draw pile in my hand.)

Immersive Aesthetic: Good
• Do I feel like I'm trapped in a mysterious labyrinth while I'm playing Onirim? At times, absolutely! When you start a basic game, you'll easily be able to find three or four doors of the eight you need without too much trouble. However, as you "move through the labyrinth," the draw deck shrinks, and you cannot help feeling that the blue or red or brown walls are closing in on you. The immersion is heightened if, as I stated above, you avoid card counting and similar meta-game strategies and embrace the spirit of the theme.
• The expansion variants shift your focus too often in ways that overtly remind you that you are playing a game of probability negotiating rather than dreamwalking. The least offensive of the trio is "The Book of Steps Lost and Found" which imposes an order to the doors you must get through to win.

Replay Value: Very Good
• Addictive, varied, and quick to get into, Onirim fills a satisfying place in a solo-gamer's life, especially when that space is an hour or less of leisure time. Add to that the ability to play cooperatively with another person with very little difference from the solitaire rules, and Onirim is a nice solo-to-social product as well.

Get this if you like quick games and the capricious nature of an all-card experience.

Don't get this if you prefer solo time spent analyzing a layout of gaming elements and mulling over multiple possibilities.