Bored? Don’t want to look at a screen? Solo print and play board games to the rescue! I’m a casual gamer at best — I probably only get to play a lightweight board game once a week, and maybe a heavy board game a couple of times per year. I love games. I love the systems, the design that keeps things tight and engaging, and the social interaction. Solo games are a great way to scratch the itch when you just can’t get your friends together for a game night.

Here’s my first impression of the print and play board game Ada Lovelace: Consulting Mathematician.

This print and play game only requires two pieces of paper, six six-sided dice (6 d6), and something to write with. You’ll play the role of historical figure, Ada Lovelace, and try to collect enough evidence and scour enough rooms to solve a crime. You’ll chuck dice and choose polyominios to draw on the floor plan — Tetris style. While placing your polyominos to fill rooms is one way to earn points, you’ll also attempt to surround special blocks that contain pieces of evidence in order to gain special abilities. You’ll loop through this cycle of anxiously anticipating dice rolls, mulling over which polyomino to pick and where to place it, and considering whether to simply fill the room or shoehorn the polyominos to try to surround a piece of evidence. You’ll do this this across four rounds before time runs out and the game is over.

Ada Lovelace: Consulting Mathematician has a great flow, and the way it is laid out helps you save the game state in case you need to do something else for a bit during your game. You’ll use a printed Dice Manager as a place to set your dice and easily visualize your polyomino options. By looking at that Dice Manager you’ll know if they are reserve dice, dice you already rolled and put away, or if they have already been assigned to the Dice Wheel. I found this set up to be very useful, as I could roll the dice, place them on the dice wheel, and quickly understand the game state as a glance.

“You have a case, but it is unconvincing. Your reputation is in tatters.”

I only got 40 points on my first attempt. My second attempt I managed to get 39… According to the score chart in the rule book that puts me at… “You have a case, but it is unconvincing. Your reputation is in tatters.” To win you need 75+ points. Not easy! I’ve only played once, but next time I play I think I’m going to pay more attention to my polyomino placement so that I don’t make it impossible to complete rooms. I had a few rooms that could only be completed by the “wild shapes” that I just never happened to grab before the end of the game. In my first run I found seven pieces of evidence, and completed two rooms (the two halls). I also managed to get some extra points from evidence abilities.

There you have it. Try it out, it might be fun! Some more links on the game follow.

Ada Lovelace: Consulting Mathematician on BoardGameGeek.com has links to more reviews, the printable files, and forums with answers to common questions — and more!

The developer’s website has some interesting tidbits about the developer and some of his other games.

Check out my introduction of Raging Bulls, another simple yet fun print and play game!