Does Planet Apocalypse Actually Work as a Solo Game?
Yes, Planet Apocalypse plays solo using the same rules a full table uses, not a stripped-down variant built for people who couldn't find a group. One player runs the whole roster of champions a scenario calls for, resolves the demon horde's advance exactly as printed, and faces the same win and loss conditions a five-player table faces.
That's worth sitting with for a second. Plenty of games badge themselves "1-5 players" and really mean "buy this, then improvise something for solo." Petersen Games didn't build a bolt-on here. Sit down, decide how many champions you want to run, and play the game the way it's printed on the box.
What Kind of Game Is Planet Apocalypse, Exactly?
Hell is winning. You're what's left.
Planet Apocalypse is a cooperative demon-hunting game for 1 to 5 players, ages 14 and up, with a listed play time of 60 minutes on the official Planet Apocalypse product page. The team, whether that's five people or one, drives Hell's forces back together or loses together when the Demon Lord's countdown clock runs out. Sandy Petersen designed it. He was a lead designer on the original Doom in 1993, released Cthulhu Wars in 2015, and then turned back to apocalyptic horror with this box. Keith Thompson, whose art shows up across film and games, built its visual style.
How Do You Set Up Planet Apocalypse for One Player?
Setup starts the same way it does for a full table: pick a map, pick a Demon Lord, pick your heroes. The only real difference solo is that you're picking all of them yourself rather than splitting the roster across a group of friends.
- Choose your hero count first. The box supporting five players doesn't mean you owe it five champions every session. Two or three heroes make a manageable first solo game; running the full five-hero spread is playable, just slower to get through.
- Start with Baphomet on the Invasion map. Baphomet ships in the core box and is the fight every later Demon Lord expansion assumes you already know. Learn its pacing before reaching for the tougher Doom Gate map.
- Give each hero its own space. Champion card, gift cards, and tokens laid out separately, not stacked in one pile. You're tracking everything yourself, and a mixed pile slows down every turn.
How Does a Solo Turn Actually Play Out?
Same shape, every time. You act with each hero in whatever order makes sense, using the actions and abilities printed on that hero's own card. Then the demon side responds, and the horde advances the way the rulebook describes, regardless of how many players are actually seated at the table.
One rule matters more solo than anywhere else: a dead hero doesn't end your session. Swap in a replacement from the roster and keep going, the same move a full group makes when a champion falls. Skip that rule and a single rough fight can feel like it wrecked your whole night. Know it going in and a bad turn is just a bad turn.
Is Solo Planet Apocalypse Too Easy, or Too Hard?
It doesn't get easier by default.
The Demon Lord's countdown clock and the horde's advance don't quietly soften because fewer heroes are on the board. What changes is how thin your team gets spread; five heroes can specialize, while two or three have to cover offense and support at once. Petersen Games built named Hard, Hellish, and Nightmare difficulty tiers into the base game, plus a set of stackable escalation options such as a smaller starting despair pool or a secret Demon Lord draw, for tables (solo included) that want more pressure once Baphomet stops being a surprise. Petersen Games has also released additional Demon Lord expansions since launch, including Great Cthulhu and Jabootu, each with its own large-format miniature and fight, if you want a new boss down the line.
Is Planet Apocalypse Actually Worth Playing Solo?
Here's the honest trade-off. Solo play gives you the real game, not a watered-down approximation, and that's genuinely rare. You get the same countdown pressure, the same hero flaws to manage, the same "did we actually make it" tension a full table gets. The cost is bookkeeping: running three or five hero cards, their gift cards, and their tokens by yourself takes more table space and more mental juggling than tracking one character in a group.
Per turn, a solo game runs slower than a group game, since every decision routes through one player instead of splitting across a table. A two- or three-hero solo session moves at a comfortable pace. Running the full five-hero spread alone feels closer to working through a puzzle carefully than to a fast-moving group fight. Neither is wrong, but they're different evenings, and it's worth knowing which one you're signing up for before you sit down.
If you want a genuinely difficult cooperative game that doesn't quietly go easy on you just because you're playing alone, it holds up. If you want a fast, low-fuss solo session with minimal setup, a smaller roster and the standard Invasion map are the way to get there without stacking every hero and every escalation option on top of yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you actually play Planet Apocalypse alone?
Yes. The product page lists 1 to 5 players as a core count. A solo player runs the full hero roster a scenario calls for, using the same rules, demon horde behavior, and win conditions a five-player table uses.
Is there a separate solo rulebook or AI opponent for Planet Apocalypse?
No. There is no solo insert and no automated opponent deck. You control more than one champion at once, and the demon horde behaves exactly as it does at any other player count.
Which Demon Lord should you fight first when playing solo?
Baphomet, the Demon Lord included in the core box, on the Invasion map. It is the tested starting fight every additional Demon Lord expansion assumes you already understand.
What happens if your hero dies during a solo game?
You are not knocked out of the game. Bring in a different hero from your roster and keep playing, the same rule a full table uses when a champion falls.
Is Planet Apocalypse worth playing solo, or is it better with a group?
It holds up solo if you like tracking a small team and want a real fight, not a scaled-down one. It runs faster and feels more social with a group, since decisions split across more people rather than routing through one player.
Ready to Fight Hell on Your Own?
Planet Apocalypse doesn't make you wait for a full group before you can play it. Pick a hero count you can manage, start with Baphomet on the Invasion map, and see whether your solo team can hold the line. Check current pricing and stock on the Planet Apocalypse product page. In-stock orders process within 48 hours; US orders ship USPS Ground Advantage, typically 2 to 5 business days after that.
Sources: Cooperative board game, Wikipedia; Sandy Petersen's designer background, Wikipedia; further coverage of Planet Apocalypse via Meeple Mountain.
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