Quick answer
The 20 Strong Tanglewoods Core Set is a compact solo deckbuilding game where you manage a hand of dice and cards to survive the forest and reach Grandma's cabin. This guide walks you through setup, the core loop, and common pitfalls.
What makes Tanglewoods different from other solo games
Unlike many solo board games that require a large table and lengthy setup, 20 Strong Tanglewoods fits in a small box and plays in about 20 minutes. The core set includes the general rules and components for the 20 Strong system, meaning you can later use additional decks with the same dice and tokens.
The forest is dark and perilous. Sightings of the Big Bad Wolf 'hatchet' up the tension as you traverse the woods. The challenge comes from balancing your dice allocation between movement, combat, and special abilities.
Key components and what they do
The core set comes with custom dice, cards, and tokens. The dice represent your actions each turn. The cards form the forest path and encounters. Tokens track your health and progress. Understanding how each component interacts is essential before your first game.
Step-by-step solo play guide
- Set up the forest path: Shuffle the forest cards and place them in a row face down. Place your character token at the start. Set the Big Bad Wolf token aside until the game tells you to introduce it. Common mistake: placing the Wolf token too early. Wait for the card that says 'Hatchet' to appear.
- Roll your dice pool: At the start of each turn, roll all your available dice. Each face shows a different action: move, fight, or special. You must assign each die to a card in the forest row or to your character. Checkpoint: if you roll all move faces and no fight faces, you cannot attack the Wolf. Plan your dice allocation carefully.
- Resolve encounters: Flip the forest card you targeted. Each card has a challenge that requires a certain number of move or fight icons. If you meet the requirement, you advance. If not, you take damage or suffer a penalty. Common mistake: ignoring the order of cards. The Wolf moves closer each time you fail, so prioritize cards that are closest to you.
- Manage your health and resources: Track your health using the tokens. You start with a limited pool. If you take damage, you may lose dice for future turns. Use special abilities from cards to heal or gain extra dice. Checkpoint: if your health drops below half, consider using a turn to heal instead of advancing.
- Reach Grandma's cabin: The final card in the forest row is Grandma's cabin. To win, you must defeat the Big Bad Wolf (if present) and then meet the cabin's requirement. This usually requires a high number of move icons. Common mistake: rushing to the cabin without enough dice. Build up your dice pool and health before attempting the final challenge.
Product facts
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20 Strong: Tanglewoods Core Set: This version of Tanglewoods: Red comes with the core components for 20 Strong and the general rules of play. In the future, you’ll be able to play other 20 Strong decks while using the contents included here. You only need to buy this core set once; future expansions will reuse the same dice and tokens, saving you money and shelf space.
20 Strong: Tanglewoods Core Set
