by Armchair Dragoons PAO, 16 September 2026
As already noted, we’ve partnered with Beyond Solitaire and My Own Worst Enemy to run our annual survey about your solo wargaming preferences. The master list of 2026 games was published last week, along with the short explanation of how we ran the survey.
Optional Questions
We’ve asked a variety of optional questions over the years, including ones about purchasing decisions, how much of your wargaming is solo, how much of your wargaming is digital, and favorite type of wargaming media content. This year, we asked about how you prefer to play your solo games, and we finally asked about your actual age and not just how long you’ve been playing.
One of the key things to note about these results: this not an attempt to describe the entire wargaming population, which would be a foolish thing to attempt in a survey of fewer than 300 responses focused on solo wargaming. These descriptors are painting a more robust picture of our respondents, and not “all wargamers.”
First up, there was the key question about how you play solo.
There are a variety of ways to play wargames by yourself. Of the following methods, which one most closely describes how you prefer to play on your own.
click images to enlarge
How you play solo
Now, digging a little deeper with that preference, we also looked at how those preferences might split based on how often you play solo games, and how long you’ve been playing wargames overall.
Comparing preferred solo method to how much of your wargaming is played solo
Playing multi-handed and with event-driven enemies were both far & away the most popular options.
In fact, there’s no set of solo wargamers (when sliced by how much of their wargaming is solo) where one of those isn’t the top method.
| Solo Percentage ➡️
⬇️ Preferred Solo Method |
(No reply) | 00-25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | 75-99% | All of it | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No reply) | 5 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Computer-assisted or AI-assisted enemy | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | 3 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) where I play all sides | – | 6 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 6 | 69 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) with “opponents” controlled by a card-driven bot |
– | – | – | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) with “opponents” controlled by a flowchart-style bot |
– | – | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Purpose-designed “tower defense” style solo game (includes states-of-siege series) |
– | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ event-driven enemy (locations on map, card draw, etc) |
– | 10 | 17 | 11 | 33 | 21 | 92 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ narrative or procedural results (often paragraphs in a book) |
– | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | – | 8 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ table- or lookup-controlled enemy |
– | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 22 |
| Other | – | 2 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Grand Total | 5 | 25 | 32 | 41 | 95 | 40 | 238 |
Comparing preferred solo method to how long you’ve been playing wargames
Again, multi-handed play and event-driven enemies are the most popular options.
Interestingly, among those wargaming the longest (25+ years), playing multi-handed is marginally more popular. And the choose-your-own-adventure style procedural games are not at all popular with the rookies.
| Years Wargaming ➡️
⬇️ Preferred Solo Method |
(No Reply) | 0-1y | 01-03y | 03-10y | 10-25y | 25-40y | 40+ | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Reply) | 5 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 12 |
| Computer-assisted or AI-assisted enemy | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) where I play all sides | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 37 | 69 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) with “opponents” controlled by a card-driven bot |
– | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Multiplayer game (2 or more) with “opponents” controlled by a flowchart-style bot |
– | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | 5 |
| Purpose-designed “tower defense” style solo game (includes states-of-siege series) |
– | – | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ event-driven enemy (locations on map, card draw, etc) |
1 | 2 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 32 | 92 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ narrative or procedural results (often paragraphs in a book) |
– | – | – | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Purpose-designed solo game w/ table- or lookup-controlled enemy |
– | 1 | – | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| Other | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | 5 |
| Grand Total | 8 | 4 | 19 | 43 | 31 | 38 | 95 | 238 |
Your current wargaming
How much you play wargames compared to how much of your wargaming is solo
Those whose percent of all games are played solo trends high are well-represented across all percentages of wargaming.
| Historical/Wargaming Percentage ➡️
⬇️ Solo Percentage |
(No Reply) | Less than 25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | Over 75% | All of it | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Reply) | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
| Less than 25% | – | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 24 |
| 25-50% | – | 1 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 31 |
| 50-75% | 1 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 3 | 40 |
| Over 75% | 1 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 28 | 11 | 93 |
| All of it | 1 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 40 |
| Grand Total | 8 | 33 | 42 | 51 | 72 | 27 | 233 |
How much you play wargames compared to how long you’ve been playing wargames
There an interesting dichotomy among our rookie wargamers here: those who have been wargaming under 3 years have a lower percentage of wargames in their overall gaming diet; those who make it past the 3 year mark (up to 10 years) show a greater percentage of wargaming in their overall gaming diet.
| Historical/Wargaming Percentage ➡️
⬇️ Years Wargaming |
(No Reply) | Less than 25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | Over 75% | All of it | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Reply) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Less than a year | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 1-3 years | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 3-10 years | 1 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 43 |
| 10-25 years | 1 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 31 | |
| 25-40 years | 5 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 38 | |
| more than 40 years | 6 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 16 | 90 | |
| Grand Total | 8 | 33 | 42 | 51 | 72 | 27 | 233 |
Veterancy
Since we asked about your ages, let’s look at some of those comparisons
Based on age, how much of your gameplay is wargaming?
The older our respondents get, the more they trend toward more wargames in their overall body of gaming.
| Historical/Wargaming Percentage ➡️
⬇️ Age |
(No Reply) | Less than 25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | Over 75% | All of it | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Reply) | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 18-25 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| 26-35 | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 36-50 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 67 |
| 51-70 | – | 18 | 21 | 27 | 55 | 17 | 138 |
| Over 70 | – | – | – | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| Grand Total | 8 | 33 | 42 | 51 | 72 | 27 | 233 |
Based on age, how long have you been wargaming?
Interestingly, we’ve got over 20 respondents well past 30-years-old who all started wargaming since the COVID pandemic. But yes, overall the respondents tend to be older, and with a lot of years of wargaming under their belt.
| Years Wargaming ➡️
⬇️ Age |
(No Reply) | 0-1y | 01-03y | 03-10y | 10-25y | 25-40y | 40+ | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Reply) | 6 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | 10 |
| 18-25 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 26-35 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | – | 6 |
| 36-50 | 1 | – | 12 | 26 | 17 | 11 | – | 67 |
| 51-70 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 27 | 79 | 140 |
| Over 70 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 14 |
| Grand Total | 8 | 4 | 19 | 43 | 31 | 38 | 95 | 238 |
Is Beyond Solitaire really the Queen of Solo Gamers?
We thought it might be fun to see if respondents who found out about the survey from Beyond Solitaire were actually more likely to play their games solo. Turns out, maybe not? And it looks like the folks at ConSimWorld were largely uninterested in participating.
| Solo Percentage ➡️
⬇️ Survey Source |
(No Reply) | 00-25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | 75-99% | All of it | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardwulf’s Lair | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Armchair Dragoons | 1 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 5 | 66 |
| Beyond Solitaire | – | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 16 |
| Boardgamegeek | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 22 | 65 |
| Consimworld | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 2 |
| Discord community | – | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 6 |
| Homo Ludens | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | 3 |
| Other social media | – | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| Other wargaming site | – | – | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Shared in a wargaming group on Facebook | 1 | – | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 18 |
| Shared on BlueSky | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | 8 | 1 | 15 |
| Shared on Facebook (not a wargaming group) |
– | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Shared on Twitter | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 |
| Grand Total | 5 | 25 | 32 | 41 | 95 | 40 | 238 |
Top Scores, By Grouping
We sliced the participant pool by a couple of categories to see if the favorites change much depending on how long you’ve been wargaming, and how much of your wargaming is done in solo mode.
Wargaming for 25+ Years (n=128)
As you’d expect, the population that accounts for about half of our respondents would very closely mirror the results of the overall survey
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 19 | 77 |
| 2 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 10 | 42 |
| 3 | RAF: The Battle of Britain 1940 | 8 | 33 |
| 4 | Ambush! | 6 | 25 |
| 4 | Raid on St. Nazaire | 6 | 25 |
| 5 | Ottoman Sunset: The Great War in the Near East | 6 | 24 |
| 6 | B-17: Queen of the Skies | 6 | 22 |
| 6 | Skies Above Britain | 6 | 22 |
| 7 | Target for Today | 5 | 20 |
| 8 | Combat!: Eastern Front | 4 | 17 |
| 9 | Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942 | 6 | 17 |
| 10 | Enemy Action: Ardennes | 5 | 16 |
| 10 | Silent War 2.0 | 5 | 16 |
| 11 | Atlantic Chase: The Kriegsmarine Against the Home Fleet 1939-1942 | 4 | 15 |
| 11 | Pavlov’s House | 4 | 15 |
Wargaming Under 10 Years (n=66)
The relatively newer wargamers, who’ve all entered the hobby about the same time as Hollandspiele, tend to stick closer to games that are still in print, or recently released.
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 10 | 43 |
| 2 | Pavlov’s House | 10 | 30 |
| 3 | Fire in the Lake | 7 | 24 |
| 4 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 8 | 23 |
| 5 | Pax Pamir: Second Edition | 6 | 21 |
| 6 | Navajo Wars | 4 | 16 |
| 7 | Berlin: Fall of the Reich, 1945 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea | 3 | 14 |
| 8 | Halls of Hegra | 5 | 14 |
| 9 | John Company: Second Edition | 4 | 14 |
| 10 | Cuba Libre | 5 | 13 |
| 11 | Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020 – 2nd Edition | 3 | 13 |
Solo Wargaming at 75% or More (n=135)
Again, for a population that’s around half of the total number of respondents, the top of their list looks a lot like the top of the overall survey.
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 21 | 75 |
| 2 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 15 | 56 |
| 3 | Pavlov’s House | 13 | 45 |
| 4 | Skies Above Britain | 11 | 32 |
| 5 | RAF: The Battle of Britain 1940 | 8 | 31 |
| 6 | Navajo Wars | 9 | 30 |
| 7 | Pax Pamir: Second Edition | 6 | 25 |
| 8 | Atlantic Chase: The Kriegsmarine Against the Home Fleet 1939-1942 | 7 | 24 |
| 9 | Berlin: Fall of the Reich, 1945 | 5 | 22 |
| 10 | Fire in the Lake | 6 | 22 |
| 11 | Halls of Hegra | 7 | 21 |
| 12 | Ottoman Sunset: The Great War in the Near East | 6 | 20 |
Wargaming is 75% or More (n=102)
Our grognard-heavy population sticks pretty close to a lot of the games largely recognized as classics in the pantheon of solo wargames.
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 17 | 50 |
| 2 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 12 | 47 |
| 3 | RAF: The Battle of Britain 1940 | 10 | 38 |
| 4 | Pavlov’s House | 7 | 27 |
| 5 | Ambush! | 7 | 26 |
| 6 | Silent War 2.0 | 7 | 22 |
| 7 | B-17: Queen of the Skies | 5 | 20 |
| 8 | Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942 | 7 | 20 |
| 9 | Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea | 4 | 19 |
| 10 | Skies Above Britain | 5 | 19 |
| 11 | Enemy Action: Ardennes | 5 | 18 |
| 12 | Raiders of the Deep: U-boats of the Great War, 1914-18 | 5 | 17 |
Solo Wargaming 25% or Lower (n=25)
For those that don’t play a lot of wargames by themselves, this list is still pretty heavy on games specifically designed for solo play, rather than multi-handing their usual favorites.
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | B-17: Queen of the Skies | 3 | 12 |
| 3 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Tiger Leader | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | Comanchería: The Rise and Fall of the Comanche Empire | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Fields of Fire | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Halls of Hegra | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Sherman Leader | 2 | 7 |
| 7 | Atlantic Chase: The Kriegsmarine Against the Home Fleet 1939-1942 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Bismarck Solitaire: Deluxe Edition | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | John Company: Second Edition | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Ambush! | 2 | 5 |
Wargaming is 25% or Lower (n=33)
With such a low number of respondents, this is every game that had at least 3 votes.
| Rank | Title | Count | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fields of Fire: Deluxe Edition | 6 | 24 |
| 2 | D-Day at Omaha Beach | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | Navajo Wars | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | Pavlov’s House | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | Freedom: The Underground Railroad | 4 | 14 |
| 5 | Pax Pamir: Second Edition | 3 | 12 |
| 6 | Cuba Libre | 4 | 11 |
| 7 | Hadrian’s Wall | 3 | 11 |
| 8 | Halls of Hegra | 3 | 10 |
Next week we’ll look at the year-over-year changes in the list.
2026 Solo & Solitaire Wargaming & Historical Gaming Survey Results
ANNOUNCEMENT | MASTER LIST | DATA DIVING | BEYOND SOLITAIRE YOUTUBE DISCUSSION
BGG GEEKLIST | MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES EPISODE | DEEP DATA DIVES
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| The 2025 survey info can be found here:
2025 Solo & Solitaire |
The 2024 survey info can be found here:
2024 Solo & Solitaire |
The 2023 survey info can be found here:
2023 Solo & Solitaire |
