One by One by… One? Square One as a Solo Abstract Game
Use colorful squares to complete sequences at the right moment to gain new tiles and maximize victory points in Square One.
I finally got around to unboxing and sorting through a lot of new arrivals recently! Although I’m notorious for letting unplayed solo games languish around for a bit, I was intrigued by the concept of Square One. The thick acrylic tiles looked awesome and I was all for a bit of abstract fun! Off to the table this one traveled as I settled in to check out a new game.
Game Overview
Game Name: Square One
Publication Year: 2025
Designers: Patrik Chleboun & Jan Soukal
Artists:
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
With a handful of actions, the goal is to pick up and finish sequences with specific tiles. The white sequences provide more and more tiles, while the black sequences offer victory points. This is quite abstract and focuses on the mechanics, yet look at those tiles! Very colorful and fun to manipulate.
First Play
March 14, 2025
Complexity
2
Latest Play
March 14, 2025
Expansions
2
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
18
Game Area
30" x 16"
Low Score
14
Sequence… Recipes?
I tend to enjoy thematic solo games over the more abstract offerings, although I appreciate a game being purely about the mechanics. This one is very abstract, indeed!
Sequences show the different types of tiles, and these can be earned over time. Typically, the early game is about collecting a lot of tiles, and then this shifts into scoring.
Although the tiles are different colors and feature icons, I didn’t really mesh with all of these being single squares.
Bigger shapes were represented, but didn’t really do anything. I wasn’t sure why unique icons weren’t used.
So Many Pretty Tiles
The insert is quite nice, with room for everything. I had to get a little creative with the way I fit all of the tiles, but they fit in these trays with enough room for a fair amount more.
But I was really hung up on using a single tile. It made sense and I didn’t confuse the tiles, but the expansion tiles with a single large icon were so much clearer and easier to see.
Different levels were important for merging and splitting, but it wasn’t like I was fitting pieces together in puzzles.
Sequences boiled down to recipes. There were some interesting moments, but I felt like I saw it all my first play.
Clear Rules Summary
Learning how to play was very straightforward, and I appreciated the included player aids. Very easy to see!
The solo rules were a bit murkier and I had to read through them a little more, although it all became clear.
Everything boiled down to victory points and not wasting actions collecting excess tiles. It was neat to complete multiple sequences in one turn, too, with an extra bonus!
Trouble was… I got the maximum combo score token in my second play when I timed the completion of 4 sequences. It was cool! But it felt like I found the most exciting moment.
Collecting Tiles
I enjoyed my couple of plays for what I got out of them. It was neat to puzzle through the market to figure out the best sequences to pick up for some clever combo bonuses.
But the way the solo opponent worked made me stall the game a little bit at times, ensuring it was extremely difficult to give up any victory points. That was kind of easy.
Granted, I played on the easiest difficult level, but the only path forward for me seemed to be to optimize and speed up.
Another lesson in the land of solo games: I really need to know what I’ll get out of an abstract game in the long run.
If It Isn’t Right for Me, It Might be Right for You
One of the things I may try to define in the near future is my general solo game profile: What do I really like? It’s a good exercise for myself to understand how my tastes have shifted, and what I’m currently gravitating towards. There’s also some value there for anyone who follows along with all of my rambling! Maybe my tastes are similar, or vastly different.
Playing games outside of my comfort zone or typical preferences can be risky, and I often end up with lower ratings. But that doesn’t mean these are bad games. They’re simply not for me. Ratings aren’t right or wrong, but understanding the reasons behind them can be even more important than the values themselves. You might learn something neat, too!
I encourage anyone researching a game to dig deeper than a single number. Even some of my favorite games are skewed based on nostalgia, early memories of hunting down an achievement, or an experience that brings me a special blend of happiness. And that journey of discovery and finding those awesome moments in this hobby? Amazing!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Easy Difficulty Level
Outcome: 14-12 & 18-11 (2 Wins)
Placing the tiles on these sequences was a lot of fun! It was just a shame that I felt like I experienced the best moments so early on. I can see how this could be a good choice for those who enjoy optimizing their strategies to get better and better at scoring well very quickly. Just not really my cup of tea, unfortunately. Yet it was nice to get a new arrival to my solo table rather quickly… Onward with more games!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the tiles are bright and colorful, but also feature unique icons to easily tell them apart without relying on color.
- Learning how to play is straightforward with a set of clear actions that are laid out on a helpful player aid.
- Slotting tiles into the dual-layered sequences is quite satisfying, especially when nearing the completion row.
- Building up tiles isn’t difficult to do since none are discarded, but managing how to use these offers a challenge.
- Finding the optimal ways to time the completion of multiple sequences is the key to additional victory points.
- Everything in the play area presents a very clean and organized sort of environment, which is rather relaxing.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Single tiles to represent polyominoes works to a certain extent, but doesn’t really feel like a complex sequence of tiles.
- The component quality is excellent, yet the matte finish on the sequences and box is prone to showing smudges.
- Exciting moments surrounding combo scores and making cool moves are pretty easy to achieve in a couple of plays.
- It’s usually easy to see the best decisions or how to block the solo opponent from scoring anything for many rounds.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete 4 sequences with a single master action.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Square One? Do you have any other abstract solo games you enjoy playing? I don’t think I was too surprised that I didn’t quite mesh with this one, although it would have been nice to! The component quality is very nice, and I enjoyed moving these tiles around a lot. Guess I’ll just need to lean into some more thematic options in the future!
Curious if you’ve played Project L and could offer a comparison? My wife likes to make her own rules when playing abstract games (like I want to collect one of each color tile/I want to get at least 5 of all one tile/I only want primary colors/etc to add spice to the abstract-ness)
Good question, and I remember I picked this up since I heard good things about that one! It feels like this almost took that abstract and… Abstracted it some more? Meaning the polyominoes are now just single squares in this one. I’m afraid that means I don’t have a helpful comparison to make since I never played the original game, although I like your wife’s idea of making her own rules when playing abstract games! For me, this one kind of went a little too far being an abstract of an abstract game. Definitely has potential for the right audience, though.