I posted a solo variant that uses only the Dunwich board. Lemme post the cleaned-up BGG link in a few....

Nurgle said:

I ONLY play solo. My friends are not into it and my girlfriend has an attention span that doesn't go much further than a game of Agricola. It is indeed sad, but in many aspects it's not much different than any video game that eats up your time.

This game is quite fun, and I don't know if I'd call it sad to sit and play a board game by yourself (I've played this one solo three or four times and I enjoyed it--helpful to learn the rules, gives a nice break from sitting alone at the computer or watching television). I mean, is it any less sad than reading, or watching television, or sitting on the internet without chat programs running or anything? Sure the social aspect is missing (and that's one of the main draws of boardgames--they encourage socializing) but it's not too terrible. I spend hours playing vidoe games alone (ones that are maybe meant for more than one player, but can be played by only one) and don't consider that any sadder than playing a boardgame alone that is designed for many but playable by one.

Actually I wished more were 1 player games.  Biggest plus for me is that I learned the rules by playing solo and didn't have to discourage other players while trying to teach them.  The rules a very cumbersome just to start out and after going solo for a bit I made sure I was able to answer any questions knowingly instead of stating "Hold on, let me look at the directions.... *Flip, Flip, Flip*.".  Sad?  Maybe but I like it!

balsak40 said:

This results in a much better chance that other players will enjoy the game. I've heard of several people who were frustrated by their first game experience and gave up on it, because they didn't think of doing this.

Lars said:

I play it only solo and it's my favorite solitaire game!

If you want you can check my house rules on boardgamegeek file section.

I've only played solo once, I used Arkham, Dunwich and Pharoh and only one investigator.  While I did miss the interaction of the other players, I found the intensity of the game  to be heightened.

I got lucky with some spell and item cards, getting the Find Gate spell was a particularly lucky pull.

I recommend playing Arkham with more players, I find 4 people to be ideal, but I have played it with 8 as well.

Lars said:

Well I was drunk while buying the game and also saw that it can be played by 1 person. It came out good. You can win the game by yourself but it's more fun to play with your friends.

I enjoy playing it solo. A couple of recommendations though:

1. If you are playing only 1 character, select them and the Great Old One youself instead of randomly. I once had a game vs Cthulhu with Monteray Jack. Max stats of 2 are never good.

2. Only add expansions if you are playing multiple investigators. Unless you just want to have a frantic run looking for equipment before the GOO wakes up. Otherwise you just can't get around fast enough to do anything meaningful on the other boards.

I bought this game for two reasons:

1- I enjoy everything from Lovecraft, and finding a board game was amazing. Besides, I did not know what a "collaborative" game was.

2- I can be played solo.

Yes, it is always fun to play with your friends and everything that comes with that, but when you really like a game and you don't find friends or time for that, a solo game is excellent.

You can focus on the story, every little text that gives "flavor" to the board game, and even try different strategies everytime.

You should try

balsak40 said:

yeah i always do this with games when i first get them to understand the rules (it sucks doing it for CCGs as you are formulating your strategy knowing what the other person has). I am glad that there is a fun way to not only do this, but enjoy the game when i want to play but don;t have friends over.

AMBusam said:

thanks for this (and to everyone else who offered suggestions), i will definatly keep the recomendations in mind when i crack this bad boy open.

finally gave the game a go solo and it though i lost it was still fun. i tried it again the other day solo and i must say the game still keeps alot of what makes the game great even when playing by yourself. i lost both times but i only used 2 characters. if it wasnt for football tonight i probably would have played my 3rd solo game. next time ill try 3 characters maybe.

PearlJamaholic said:

I'd recommend more.  Our first game was a 2-player and we each used 1 investigator.  The very next game, we decided as a 2-player we needed 2 investigators each.  We loved it even more and found it wasn't any challenge to run 2 (though we kept the first player marker busy so we could track the turns).

When I attempted my frist solo, I thought 3 investigators would be a challenge.  Halfway through the game, I realized it was a breeze (keep track not winning!) so I have been playing 4 solo ever since.

Why do you think it's harder with four players than three players, colt?

Avi_dreader said:

It wasn't a statement about the difficulty of winning the game.