Mythwind Experience – Better Solo or with Friends?

Almost all of the Mythwind let’s plays I’ve seen on YouTube so far have been solo experiences, and that makes a lot of sense. It takes a specific type of person to want to play this kind of game – your typical board game fans, or those you play with on a weekly basis, might not attach to Mythwind and its cozy nature like you do. I’ve now played 3 seasons solo, one season with two players, and one season with 3 players. Here is where I stand.

Because each player plays a unique character with different jobs and abilities, the game feels very solo even when you have others around the table. In our three player game with The Farmer, The Crafter, and The Ranger, we didn’t do a whole lot of interacting with each other, outside of reading and deciding on Adventure Cards and on Event Cards. Sure we worked together on making sure specific things got built, or increasing resources in a cost effective way. But that was about it.

But that isn’t really an issue with Mythwind because it was just pure fun to sit around a table with friends and family and begin creating some unique to us on the table. Yes, we are isolated in our roles and what we can accomplish – perhaps a future expansion could make some interactions between characters? – but we are all still working towards a common goal – building up our town in Mythwind, and advancing the story through events.

In one sense, a solo play of Mythwind is going to get a whole lot more of the game played, in a much shorter span – but playing with friends and family makes the entire experience feel different, even if it is really just the same. There are a few changes, like how much buildings cost in 3+ player game, but those changes are offset by getting more town actions.

That being said, if each player selfishly focuses on themselves and not the greater good, then playing with more than one can be a frustrating experience, especially if the game is yours and the few playing with you are only sticking around for a season or two. While it’s fun to teach this to people, I think playing with a similar group of folks will make sure the game continues to move forward in a positive and progressive way, instead of stalling out as players make decisions that might help them, but do nothing for the greater good of the valley.

It is a delicate balance, but with the right group of people, it’s very much doable. So what is a better experience? If you can get a dedicated group, then group play is much more enjoyable in my opinion. But if you plan to just bring people in as one-off experiences, I’d suggest just playing by yourself – you control your destiny then.