From Paper to Digital: An Obsidian Adventure with Voyages
Sail the open seas in search of adventure and legendary achievements across the many different maps available in Voyages.
There was a time when I started to pick up lots of print-and-play solo games in the hopes of printing everything for a lot of low-cost fun. Unfortunately, that was years ago and I’ve never been too thrilled with my crafting skills. Yet as I perused my list, I couldn’t believe that I never gave Voyages a whirl! And so my journey began, in more ways than just one…
Game Overview
Game Name: Voyages
Publication Year: 2021
Designers: Matthew Dunstan & Rory Muldoon
Artist: Rory Muldoon
Publisher: Postmark Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
With just 3 dice, important decisions shape the journey of a ship across a number of maps. Different objectives and special rules provide various challenges, often leading to some very tough decisions! For the solo mode, earning enough legendary stars in 16 rounds is quite an adventure!
First Play
April 4, 2025
Complexity
2
Latest Play
April 5, 2025
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
35 Minutes
High Score
88
Game Area
16" x 12"
Low Score
62
Fun with Printing
This past week, I managed to strain my neck after moving outdoor furniture and a snowblower. What fun! So I was stuck barely moving for a few days without games.
I managed to pull myself together long enough to print out a few solo games, which took up a whole lot of time and ink!
When everything improved, I cautiously put in some time at my solo table to enjoy the first map. I loved the decisions and how I had to think through all of my options.
Even had a little fun adding color to this low ink version, although I made a couple of mistakes. No matter!
Tracking Scores
As the most basic of maps, I still found a fun challenge. I missed out on some of the scoring categories, although my crowning glory was that visit to defeat the Dread!
I was just concerned about how I would manage to keep playing in the future. Printing a new sheet was going to eat up a lot of paper and ink, even with these plainer sheets.
Although I enjoy wet-erase markers and laminated sheets, cleanup has proven to be a lot of work. Just too much!
So I was hesitant about continuing on, although I didn’t realize I was about to discover another avenue for play…
To Marauders Reef
Rather than play again on the same map to try to up my score, I moved onto the second map. Such a different experience with all of the marauders and ship abilities!
It was awesome to piece together a strategy that awarded legendary stars without putting me in a bad spot.
Ignore a couple of small issues that I disregarded during scoring… I outlined a few things in marker and couldn’t easily go back, although I remembered all of my errors.
Unfortunately, it was at this point that my neck started to act up and I was relegated to resting. Ah, but not completely!
A Digital Landscape
First off, I should make it clear that I prefer to steer clear of screens whenever I can. My solo games are very much about enjoying components at my table, minus anything digital.
However, I realized that I could import these maps into the notetaking app, Obsidian. With a few plugins, it wasn’t hard to roll dice and annotate a sheet like it was in front of me.
Pardon some of the mess with this first attempt, but how cool! I experienced the full game without any paper or ink.
And this meant that I could play through all of the maps, over and over, without all of the extra work of printing!
Making the Rare Switch to a Digital Version
I was surprised that I picked up on the tools to annotate these maps so quickly, as I strongly prefer physical versions of games. This one started to work out decently well, and I probably wouldn’t have explored a digital solution if I wasn’t injured. Guess some things are helpful, even when they don’t look like it! To play digitally, I used the following tools:
- Obsidian: A fantastic offline note-taking app that has lots of capabilities, although the learning curve can be high.
- Excalidraw: A plugin for sketching that includes helpful features for straight lines, squares, circles, text, and more.
- Dice Roller: A plugin to set up custom dice rolls that doesn’t require navigating away from the current screen.
There are many other plugins and ways to use this app, but I was thrilled to be able to use it in this way! Loading other print-and-play games requires a little bit of setup time, yet it feels like a good digital solution for me.
Most likely, I won’t play all that often, although I can now see enjoying some plays while traveling. No risk of losing dice or making more noise than a few clicks! I’m still a big proponent of getting away from screens when it makes sense, yet for those times when digital is the better option, I hope these suggestions might prove useful for playing some solo games.
An Excellent Map
I went back to Marauders Reef again, pulling off a very solid victory as I made my way all over the place. Talk about a long journey that took me practically everywhere!
Although I don’t expect to bring this to my solo table to play, it was nice to have something to do when I wasn’t in a condition to physically roll dice and mark up a sheet.
Lots of neat choices, too! I liked how the maps were very unique and that the rules were easy to reference and parse.
The only downside was the play time, which felt a little long… But I was also cranky with a pain in my neck. Ha!
My Magic number?
Maybe I got my math wrong, but it was interesting to see how I seemed quite capable of scoring 62 victory points! I did it again with an entirely new map and mechanics.
Cold Dark Depths was about spotting mythical creatures while avoiding too much damage. Again, a very different set of mechanics that made me think about a lot every round.
I enjoyed the decisions with the random dice rolls, and how these could often be manipulated with the sailors.
This was a little more disjointed with my strategies, yet led me to earn all of the legendary stars. Not bad at all!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Maps 1-4
Outcome: 62, 69, 62, 88, 62, 75 (6 Wins)
And for good measure, I pulled off a very satisfying victory in the fourth map! Just shy of excellent with that missing final building in the town. Next time! I’m very interested in playing some more, both to check out the final maps and also explore a campaign mode… And maybe some solo challenges! So glad I finally gave this one a chance, all thanks to an unexpected neck strain and digital plays!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Gameplay seems simple at a glance, but allows the focus to remain on the different sorts of strategies.
- Each map has its own set of rules and new mechanics, allowing for a lot of variety when playing through them all.
- As a print-and-play, the cost of entry is low with options to print out physical sheets or mark up digital images.
- Choosing how to use the dice each round opens up some clever choices, especially when a long-term plan pays off.
- Although gameplay is very abstract and icon-based, it all still feels like an adventure with a couple of big moments.
- Retracing a journey during final scoring is a fun experience to step back to see the full picture of what happened.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The solo goal of earning 3 legendary stars feels rather easy to do, even when playing a new map for the first time.
- Some of the rule interactions take a little time to understand, especially for some of the complex map mechanics.
- Icons could be better laid out in the rules, which don’t always clearly highlight what some of these look like.
- Every sheet is laid out very well, but the tiny text size, especially when vertical, can be very difficult to read.
Victory Conditions
Earn 3+ Legendary Stars
- Overall Goal Progress 75%
Goals and Milestones
Earn 5 legendary stars on Map 2.
Earn 5 legendary stars on Map 3.
Earn 5 legendary stars on Map 4.
Earn 5 legendary stars on Map 1.
Continue the Conversation
Do you have a favorite map in Voyages? Are there other times when you prefer to play a print-and-play game digitally? I surprised myself by making this work, and I suppose I have to thank myself for a minor neck injury… You just never know when you’re going to discover something new in this hobby! Now to continue resting up, and possibly try more maps!
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