Tabletop roleplaying games are often seen as a social experience. A group of friends gathered around a table, rolling dice, telling stories together. But sometimes that’s easier said than done. You might have a hard time finding a group to play with, or you might want to engage in the tabletop roleplaying game hobby on your own. What if I told you that tabletop roleplaying games don’t have to be social at all? What if you could explore deep narratives, make impactful choices, and experience roleplay entirely on your own?
When I decided to write this article, I had no personal experience with solo-friendly roleplaying games. I owned a few that could be played solo, but I never did. Neither had I bothered to learn much about the solo game hobby at all. In fact, writing this article became a motivation for me to explore an entirely new space.
Today, we are diving into the world of solo roleplaying games—how they work, where they came from, and why they have become such a growing trend. We will explore the history, the mechanics, some standout games, and what the future might hold. I am not an expert at this topic, and I will not pretend to be. This will cover my exploration and impression, and what I learned along the way.
THE ORIGINS OF SOLO ROLEPLAY
When we talk about solo roleplaying games, it is easy to think of them as a recent innovation—something born out of convenience, or even the pandemic. But in truth, solo games go back much further than many might expect. Long before Dungeons & Dragons, solo-friendly board games and war games were being played, and there was already an audience for solo experiences. When D&D later released in 1973, there was an interest in adapting the dungeon crawls for solo play.
In 1975, the first signs of a solo D&D experience appeared in The Strategic Review—a publication that would later become Dragon Magazine. There, Gary Gygax—creator of D&D—introduced mechanics that gave players the ability to explore dungeons without the need for a Dungeon Master. The tools were later expanded and implemented in the 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Around the same time, Tunnels & Trolls—written by Ken St. Andre and published by Flying Buffalo—emerged as a simpler, more approachable alternative to D&D. While not originally built for solo play, it was the first roleplaying game to publish dedicated solo modules, starting with Buffalo Castle in 1976.
Buffalo Castle was essentially a choose-your-own-adventure dungeon crawl, featuring about thirty pages of paragraphs containing choices and information to help navigate the dungeon. It starts with the following paragraph: “You are facing a large, gloomy castle, with three large wooden doors. If you choose to go in the left door, turn to 4A. If you wish to go in the center door, go to 8A. If you wish to go into the right door, turn to 12A.”
If I were to choose the left door, I would look up the paragraph marked 4A and read: “You walked down a short corridor, and entered a small room 10’ x 10’. There is a troll sitting on a treasure chest. He is looking at you in a bored fashion. If you wish to fight him, go to 7A. If you wish to try to talk to him, go to 14A. If you wish to try to walk by him, go to 18A. This is room number four.”
Let us say that I want to fight him, and go to 7A. That paragraph reads: “He has a monster rating of 40 (5 dice). If you kill him, go to 17A.” This is where the Tunnels & Trolls game mechanics come in.
Ken St. Andre wrote in 1979 that his system was meant to be more accessible and affordable than D&D. He highlighted the solo modules as a way for players to experience roleplaying without needing a group—something that resonated with many players. While D&D became the dominant roleplaying game in the US, it was actually Tunnels & Trolls that first gained international traction. Its use of standard six-sided dice made translation and distribution far easier than D&D’s more complex, polyhedral-dependent rules.
In parallel to all this, a different form of solo storytelling was evolving in the world of books. In 1969, even before Dungeons & Dragons, Edward Packard began developing a story format where readers could choose what happened next—an idea inspired by the bedtime stories he told his children. Although The Adventure of You on Sugarcane Island was not published until 1976, it is now considered one of the earliest examples of the gamebook genre. These interactive books offered players narrative choice and consequence, but without direct game mechanics.
In the early 1980s, interactive fiction and game mechanics merged with Fighting Fantasy by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the founders of Games Workshop, and with Lone Wolf by Joe Dever. These were hybrid experiences where players combined Edward Packard’s style of interactive fiction with game mechanics and character progression.
As this was also the time when personal computers became commercially available, digital games like Colossal Cave Adventure (later Zork) brought text-based interactive fiction to a wider audience.
The development of Gary Gygax’s solo D&D rules, the Tunnels & Trolls modules like Buffalo Castle, and interactive fiction like the gamebooks all evolved seemingly in parallel. Some argue that the gamebooks were the first true solo roleplaying games. Others consider them more in the realm of interactive fiction than actual roleplaying games. Either way, while it is hard to name a singular “origin point” for the creation of solo roleplaying games, all these formats together helped shape what solo roleplaying would become.
The interest in solo roleplaying games and other solo adventures waned in the 1990s, very likely due to video games. However, with the rise of the Internet, something changed. Online communities began rediscovering old solo modules and gamebooks. Digital PDFs were shared, and discussions around solo-friendly mechanics started to reemerge in forums, blogs, and fan sites.
In the 2000s and 2010s, the solo roleplaying scene began its renaissance. New games were created specifically for solo play—some focusing on journaling, others on procedural worldbuilding, and some were hybrids that blurred the line between game and narrative tool. It was still a niche space, largely separated from the general tabletop roleplaying game community. However, even today, solo roleplaying games stand as a unique and thriving genre. This might be in part due to the pandemic.
THE PANDEMIC’S EFFECTS ON SOLO ROLEPLAYING GAMES
When the world locked down in early 2020, tabletop gaming—like so many hobbies—hit a wall. Game nights were cancelled. Groups disbanded. And for many, the social side of roleplaying simply vanished overnight.
As players searched for ways to stay connected to the tabletop roleplaying game hobby without access to in-person groups, virtual tabletops (VTTs) and solo roleplaying games emerged as lifelines. While VTTs were already well-known at the dawn of the pandemic, solo roleplaying games were new experiences for many, and they had an unprecedented boom in popularity during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With limited social interaction and an increased need for escapism, many players turned inward. Journaling games like The Wretched, Thousand Year Old Vampire, and Alone Among the Stars offered space for self-reflection, emotional processing, and creative release. These weren’t just games anymore; they became tools for managing anxiety and expressing uncertainty. I did not personally know of these three games until I started researching this article, but I kind of wish I had explored games like these during the pandemic.
Many players who engaged in these types of games during the pandemic might have found the ritual of writing, imagining, and rolling dice alone to provide a strange sense of agency or comfort at a time when the world felt unpredictable.
Solo games also gained traction for their ease of use. With fewer components and no need for scheduling, they could act as natural entry points for people new to the roleplaying game hobby. Journaling games and lightweight systems often required nothing more than a notebook, a deck of cards, or a couple of six-sided dice.
While some larger publishers, like Free League, made solo modes for bigger games, independent creators made smaller and more digestible solo experiences and sold or shared them on sites like Itch.io, which has long been a hub for indie games.
As creators saw growing interest in solo roleplaying, more games were designed from the ground up for solo play. Mechanics evolved. Game designers experimented with tarot cards, Jenga towers, story dice, audio recordings, and even Google Forms. By the end of the pandemic, solo roleplaying had transformed from fringe curiosity into a thriving subgenre.
THE MECHANICS OF SOLO ROLEPLAYING GAMES
I have already mentioned the early iterations of solo games and solo experiences, through gamebooks and solo dungeons. However, there have been several decades of innovation since. One of the most exciting things about modern solo roleplaying games is just how varied they are in how they work. Different games cater to different moods, creative needs, and player styles. However, at their core, most solo roleplaying games fall into a few broad mechanical categories.
Journaling games focus on introspection and storytelling through writing. Players often respond to prompts, record their character’s thoughts, and document unfolding events in the form of diary entries, letters, or logbooks. These games are often light on traditional mechanics and heavy on emotional or thematic exploration. Some use randomizers like dice or card draws to generate prompts, while others follow a more structured flow. Some examples of journaling games are Alone Among the Stars, Anamnesis, Quill, and Thousand Year Old Vampire.
Oracle-based games and GM emulators act in place of a Game Master by using randomized tables and “oracle” mechanics; systems that answer yes/no questions or guide narrative developments. A player might ask, “Does the merchant betray me?”—rolls some dice, consults a table, and receives an answer like, “Yes, but …” or “No, and something worse happens.” These tools are particularly useful when adapting traditional roleplaying systems for solo play. Some examples include Ironsworn, Mythic Game Master Emulator, Scarlet Heroes, and The Adventure Crafter.
In procedural exploration and dungeon crawling games, the structure comes from the environment. Unless they have other hybrid mechanics, procedural exploration or dungeon crawling games don’t normally have roleplaying as part of the game loop. Instead, players explore maps, draw cards, or roll dice to generate rooms, corridors, encounters, or entire story paths. These games often include light combat, random encounters, and resource tracking—blending elements of board gaming with some storytelling. Some examples of published procedural solo games are Ex Novo, Four Against Darkness, and 2d6 Dungeon.
Some solo roleplaying games defy categorization entirely. They blend journaling with resource management, card drawing with dice rolling, or even include tactile elements like Jenga towers or drawing maps. Others reimagine solo play as something experiential or poetic. Some examples are Apothecaria, Be Like a Crow, Gentleman Bandit, The Sealed Library, or The Wretched.
MY EXPERIENCES WITH SOLO ROLEPLAYING GAMES
Now that we have looked at how solo roleplaying games work, let us explore a few notable games that highlight the diversity of the genre. I am going to talk about the games I looked deeper into.
The first solo game I played was the journaling game Alone Among the Stars by Takuma Okada. The concept is that you are alone in space, exploring strange planets, and recording your experiences. It follows a very simplistic structure and could be seen more as a creative writing exercise than a game. You draw cards and roll a die to determine prompts, which you then use to describe how you explore alien landscapes.
This is not a solo game for those looking for a gaming experience. It is aimed at those who enjoy creative writing. The prompts are deliberately vague, only there to offer inspiration and to add structure to your own creative exercise. Because they are vague, some can feel repetitive, handing responsibility over to you to add a unique flare. I found it strangely relaxing and poetic, and it works well for me who likes to write.
The second game I played was The Wretched by Chris Bissette. This is very similar in structure to Alone Among the Stars, using a six-sided die and a deck of cards to generate prompts. However, this game is more involved than Alone Among the Stars and feels more like a game because of it. It does this by introducing a Jenga tower to add tension and risk of failure. You are the last survivor on a ship that has been attacked by a hostile alien creature, and the prompts are there to generate experiences and activities related to the ship’s systems, structure, and crew, or the creature that is hunting you. Some prompts ask you to pull from the Jenga tower, and when it inevitably falls, the ship is destroyed. After each day of activities, you are recording your experiences as a log; which is where the journaling comes in.
I found the addition of the Jenga tower very effective, since it creates a tension that you would not feel by a simple writing exercise. This is also why it feels more like a game than Alone Among the Stars did. However, the prompts are much more specified in The Wretched, which means that multiple playthroughs will generate a similar outcome. That makes Alone Among the Stars more diverse in the kinds of stories that it generates, even if the game itself is much more simplistic.
I did not actually play any oracle games in depth, but I took a deeper look at the solo mode for Free League’s The Walking Dead roleplaying game. The oracle systems are strong prompt generators that could be used for creative writing as well, but the fact that they are based on traditional tabletop roleplaying games make them feel more like roleplaying games by default. Instead of journaling, you are actively playing the game with yourself, using simplified systems and random tables to affect the outcome. You do not actually have to sit around talking to yourself; it all takes place in your mind, as you roll dice and generate results. You need to write things up to keep track of things, but you do not have to structure it in the same way a journaling game would.
While I do not have much experience with other oracle systems, I found The Walking Dead to be well-suited for solo play. The base game is already heavily relying on random tables to generate outcomes that the solo mode felt like a seamless transition.
The final game I had a chance to play before writing this article was the city-building game Ex Novo by Sharkbomb Studios. This game uses paper, pencils, six-sided dice, tokens, and random tables to help generate a map and a growing settlement. You go through different stages of development, from the city’s founding, and help generate events, factions, and landmarks.
This game is less of a roleplaying game and more of a roleplaying tool, in my opinion. It has gameplay elements through its structure, but it is not something I would play again just for the sake of entertainment. I would, however, use it as a tool to generate maps and settlements. It could be a useful tool as part of a Session Zero to establish a setting for a roleplaying campaign. Actually, for that purpose, it is very effective.
CURRENT TRENDS IN SOLO ROLEPLAY
While the foundations of solo roleplaying games stretch back to the 1970s, and the pandemic brought renewed spotlight to the hobby, today’s solo roleplaying game landscape feels distinct from its earlier roots. What we are seeing now—especially in the indie space—is an explosion of creativity, accessibility, and diversity in how these games are made, played, and shared.
One of the most notable trends is the rise of journaling games, like the ones I have mentioned in this article. These games emphasize personal storytelling, introspection, and creative writing. While they may appeal to a more niche audience compared to gameplay-focused systems, they have carved out a devoted and loyal community, one that actively supports small creators and encourages new ideas.
The indie market in general has embraced solo roleplaying games for their simplicity and low barrier to entry. Many games are either free or pay-what-you-want, and they often only rely on basic tools that most people have access to, like a normal deck of cards, or six-sided dice. They do not require vast time investments to learn, can often just be picked up and played, and are easily found and shared on platforms like Itch.io and DriveThruRPG.
There also seems to be a renewed interest in traditional, minimalistic printing, like booklets and zines, often through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. But there is also a surge in digital tools, like GM emulators, web interfaces, and VTTs. If done right, these can offer new accessibility options, help lower the learning curve of games and offer entirely new experiences. For example, I had a chat a couple of weeks before writing this article with a game designer who was working on an automated web-based system for managing a Martian colony. It could be played as a solo game or be used as a GM tool for a roleplaying game. I am all for new, creative ideas like that, and new ways to play.
As much as we like to blame social media for all society’s wrongs, I believe that social media has played a crucial role in unifying the indie market and helping smaller creators advertise projects that would have otherwise been left unseen. There are many talented creators who help evolve the genres by blending adjacent styles and coming up with unique hybrid games that then give rise to entirely new ways of play.
Ironically, for a hobby defined by solitary play, solo roleplaying games foster a surprising amount of community engagement. Shared experiences, playthroughs, and support for creators make it feel collaborative, even if you are the only one rolling the dice or drawing the cards. And with how quickly the space is growing and evolving, I believe we are only seeing the beginning of what solo roleplaying games can become.
THE FUTURE OF SOLO ROLEPLAYING GAMES
As we have learned in this article, solo roleplaying games are no longer a niche side branch of the tabletop hobby—they have become a distinct and thriving genre in their own right. Much of the innovation happened during the pandemic, so the question now is whether things have fallen off since then, or if innovation is still moving forward?
There will always be creators passionate about the niche spaces. Today, indie game designers are experimenting with hybrid mechanics, new ideas, generative tools, and genre mashups. The tools and formats we are using are also evolving thanks to crowdfunding: from zines and booklets to browser games, mobile apps, and box sets.
One thing that seems likely to grow is the integration of digital tools, especially generative tools. Oracles and GM emulators will probably combine with AI for more advanced procedural generation. Despite controversies related to generative AI, these tools combined could, hopefully ethically, lead to more accessible roleplaying experiences, especially for those who would otherwise be unable to engage with traditional social tabletop roleplaying games. More accessibility efforts would help the tabletop roleplaying game hobby reach an even wider audience, which I think would be a good thing.
I don’t think solo roleplaying games will see mainstream recognition anytime soon, but it is a good sign that more big publishers are incorporating solo rules in games that otherwise would not have them. The new edition of the Alien roleplaying game is such an example, where the original game did not have solo rules and the new edition does.
In the end, the future of solo roleplaying games will likely be defined by the same forces that have always shaped it: individual creativity, community support, and the desire for solo entertainment.
Ekorren 