The Different Types of Solo RPGs and Why they are Fun
The Different Types of Solo RPGs and Why They Are Fun
Solo RPGs have been going strong for some time, there were solo modules for some of the first RPG systems back in the 80's and earlier. These days, there are hundreds of different Solo RPGs, GM Emulators, and journaling games. Well I'm going to make a completely unacademic attempt to catagorise them and point out some stand-out games in those catagories.
This certainly isn't a exhaustive list, so if I've left something off, please let me know! All links to DriveThruRPG are affiliate links. If you go there and buy something, I get a small percentage. It will help the blog and cost you nothing!
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| Solo RPGs have a fantastic amount of variety and systems. Try a few out and see what you enjoy most! Photo by Nika Benedictova on Unsplash |
Journaling Games
This catagory sometimes comes up for debate, and I do admit it sometimes stradles the definition of what an RPG is and what a journaling prombt is. In short, a journaling game is one where you have a premise, and then you roll dice, pull cards, or do something else to generate prompts. You then role play the prompt by writing as much or little as you'd like. There are often stats to be tracked that can affect the game and how it ends, and that is what makes it an RPG in my opinion.
This is a game that takes you on a journey through land strangely depopulated of people, being chased by something... You create a character at the start and you draw cards to see what happens on each day of travel. You then record a message to the person you are trying to get to. While I think this is still considered a journaling game, it actually encourages you to create audio journal entries.
Native Solo Games
These are games that were built from the ground up for solo play and they often have great support for solo players. In my experience these are the best to play if you are just getting startd out in SoloRPGs because the rules and oracles are already there for solo. The only issue? They aren't as popular as traditional RPGs, yet. There are still a ton and every so often a big Kickstarter campaign for a solo game will come along.
This is what I consider the pinnacle of solo RPGs. Created by the renowned Shawn Tomkin who also brought us Ironswon (it is free so no excuse not to try it out!), Starforged is built from the ground up for soloplay. I consider Starforged as an evolution or almost a second edition of the Ironswon model. It also has fantastic tools for universe creation and can be played GMless or traditional (with a GM and players).
GM Emulators
A GM Emulator is a set of rules that a player can use to 'emulate' the experience of having a GM. It does things like introduce chaos, provide oracles, drive the story and create interesting NPCs. In theory a GM emulator should be usable with any rule set or system. A bad thing could be the fact that a whole other system needs to be kept track of when you use a GM Emulator.
The brave and/or experienced solo players sometimes play systems without a GM Emulator only using Yes/No Oracles and other random tables. It can be a fun and liberating way to play.
Many in the SoloRPG community love the Mythic GM Emulator. As it is well built and can handle any system, and still provide structure and a way to drive the story forward.
Solo Rules Supplements
A new trend that I very much welcome is solo rules supplements with big name releases. These are popular and large game releases that either have a separate set of rules for playing solo you can buy, or have additional rules in the book for solo play. Why would you buy these supplements if you already have a GM emulator? The advantage is these supplements have been designed specifically for the game they were made for and play tested. Hopefully this gives the player a better, more tailored solo experience.
Lots of fans also create unofficial solo rules for their favourite games.
Created as a kickstarter reward, Strider Mode is a supplement of solo rules specifically for The One Ring 2E. It has some very useful oracle and random tables and also has specific rules for solo play and solo character creation. I'm using it currently for my The One Ring 2E actual play.
GMLess Games
What's s the difference between a GMless game and a solo game? Well not much really. A GMless game is obviously meant to be played with others and no GM. They often have tools to help move the story along and keep the action going. Lots of solo games can also be played GMLess and vice-versa.
Let me know what you think of my list and if I left anything off. I love talking and theorising about Solo RPGs so hit me up at Twitter at @croakersrpg to talk Solo RPGs.
Have a great day and may your dice always crit.
- Croaker
Update 4 July 2022
Wow! We've had a great discussion on the reddit R/Solo_Roleplaying and the Lone Wolf Discord Server. There are way more types of solo RPGs than listed here, as many people let me know. And I'll be sure to update this post in the future with more. Some that were brought to my attention are:
Dungeon Crawlers
Choose Your Own Adventure type games
Narrative War games
Solo board games with RPG elements
Poem Games
Map Making / World building games
And probably more. So check back in from time to time and thanks for the great discussions!
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