Along the Briny Shores of Salton Sea with the Solo Mode
Find ways to drill for brine and operate a geothermal energy enterprise with the interesting economic elements in Salton Sea.
This month has been one about exploring a lot of my unplayed games, often with a real world location or theme. Just about time to check out Salton Sea for the first time! I knew there was a bigger game than the small box indicated, yet I was prepared to learn how to manage my own geothermal operation with a whole market to understand. Onward to the sea!
Game Overview
Game Name: Salton Sea
Publication Year: 2024
Designer: David Bernal
Artist: Amelia Sales
Publisher: Devir
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Multi-purpose cards offer a choice between money and upgraded actions to operate successfully. Drilling licenses can be obtained, brine can be drilled and turned into other resources, and market shares can offer more bonuses. Finding an optimal way to thrive takes a lot of planning!
First Play
April 6, 2026
Complexity
4
Latest Play
April 6, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
1 Hour & 30 Minutes
High Score
77
Game Area
36" x 28"
Low Score
73
A Sea of Neat Cards
One of the main mechanics revolves around the cards, which double as money or better actions. Everything has a cost, so there’s a balancing act around how to use each card.
I didn’t find the rules to be too bad, and I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of the concepts after a pretty short time.
But the strategies! Try as I might, I kept missing the timing element. I ran out of excellent actions too soon before the game ended, leading to a few underwhelming final turns.
There was a neat puzzle to work through, yet I wasn’t sure if this was the sort of solo experience I would enjoy.
Excellent Components
I didn’t expect to find such lovely wooden components! It was fun to move these around to track various aspects, or drill deeper into the next layer to extract more brine.
As much as I appreciated a lot of the aspects, something didn’t click for me. This was a lot more abstract than I thought it would be and I felt utterly lost as to what to do.
That’s not the fault of the game, though: I simply think I prefer to have more of a theme than balanced mechanics.
The fact that everything did something made it hard to parse the best options. Information was not extracted. Ha!
Simple Solo Mode
I appreciated the relatively simple way the solo opponent operated. Cards provided a hierarchy of options, and the extra rules didn’t feel like a lot of additional overhead.
The solo opponent began with a row of 4 cards, and slowly unlocked more actions. I kept pace or was just ahead, which seemed to indicate I was at least on the right track!
Yet I felt miles away from any strategy at all times. I tried many options, but never felt like I had the tools to solve it.
That’s not uncommon for the first few plays of a new game, though. It felt very pronounced here, and I didn’t have fun.
Shares and Scores
Having so many abstract elements made it hard for me to connect with the game. I appreciated the realistic setting and what the mechanics offered, but was it a game for me?
Final scoring was about as embarrassing as I thought it would be. Ha ha! I ended up with about half of the solo opponent’s score during both of my plays. What happened?
That’s where my struggles existed: I didn’t know how to improve, and the abstract feeling didn’t invite me back.
I can see why this would be an excellent choice for the right kind of player… Alas, I was pretty sure I wasn’t one of them!
The Conundrum of the Right Game, Right Now
My preferences in solo games often change. The best choice is very dependent on a lot of other factors, such as my mood and energy level. I don’t label my specific preferences, as I tend to like a wide variety of experiences at different times. But how do I figure out what the right game is right now? That’s been a little harder to piece together with lots of lessons!
What do I know? This was a solo game that didn’t work for me on many different levels. I knew pretty quickly it wasn’t going to be something I wanted to return to in order to understand the strategies. That happens, though: A game may not make sense or prove far too challenging, yet I know that I’ll want to return to it again someday to try again. Not this time.
I almost think that the best part of this session was the fact that I learned a new rule set in a short period of time. Note that I checked many rules as I played, and as far as I can tell, I didn’t make any mistakes. So despite not having fun, I took some enjoyment out of the learning process. And as I always say… This hobby is all about continuous learning!
Research and Repairs
Here’s a trick question that’s probably obvious. Is it more important to invest in research or repairs? Well, I learned my lesson the hard way. Ha! That was a lot of damage.
My scores would have been a bit better had I managed my workforce and drill better, but I struggled to get anything done when I kept everything under control.
A realistic lesson, I suppose. I usually hate accepting negative victory points, but it was hard to avoid them.
It was neat to complete contracts and research technologies, though! There were some cool moments here and there.
Managing the Markets
I understood the concept of the companies with their shares within the market. Indeed, I started to make progress in certain respects… Before the solo opponent swooped in!
There wasn’t anything confusing about the game. It simply fell flat for me with a focus on its mechanics over a connection to the theme, aside from learning about it.
In all respects, that’s another indication that I didn’t do my research ahead of time. At least it’s no longer unplayed!
Just another lesson that I need to give new games a chance to be enjoyed by aligning with my preferences. Next time!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Easy Difficulty Level
Outcome: 73-131, 77-139 (2 Losses)
I didn’t enjoy the game for myself, although there is a pretty big sort of game to discover. There are many solo games I own where I rarely, if ever, manage to win. The difference there is that I still find ways to have fun and feel like I have a chance to succeed. I didn’t mesh with this one, and that’s OK! Sometimes, struggling through an experience helps me find the next excellent game I’ll bring to my solo table.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
6
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
3
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- The component quality is excellent with a lot of custom wooden pieces that clearly mark various tracks or actions.
- Multi-purpose cards provide interesting decisions around balancing money and upgraded actions during play.
- There are a few rules to learn for the solo opponent, yet the sequence is pretty straightforward with little overhead.
- Figuring out the way various elements are tied together is interesting and fun with a very challenging puzzle.
- Learning the rules takes a little time with a lot of concepts, but they are laid out with plenty of examples to follow.
- Every action does something helpful so it’s hard not to move forward in some way during nearly every round.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Many elements are abstract, and it can be difficult to connect with the theme when the mechanics are the focus.
- It isn’t easy to see how everything works together, which can make it difficult to formulate a plan or strategy.
- Setup takes a fair amount of time with all of the individual components and shuffling of tokens and card stacks.
- Differentiating between some card backs or the drilling level can be hard with tiny icons or very thin lines.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 0%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy the most about Salton Sea? Have you figured out the puzzle of the multi-purpose cards? I know I took a chance going outside of my usual comfort zone with this one, but I was still a bit sad when it didn’t work out for me. There are some interesting concepts included and I’m sure it will be a fun time for others! Now, onto a different solo experience!
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