Great article! I think there are a few more categories of solo games—or perhaps more accurately—modalities of solo play that could be explored:
A. Open Soloing / Everything is Play
A multimodal, zoom-in/zoom-out freeform style where you flow between world-building, character creation, situational design, in-character decision-making, switching perspectives, writing, and scene-playing, compiling playlists and pinterest boards etc. It’s more like a stream of consciousness immersive play, for example:
1. reading random paragraphs from cyberpunk novels
2. going for a walk while listening to retro-synthwave playlists, imagining interactions and situations from a world you're creating
3. creating a character and playing a few scenes in this world
4. pondering over what the bar your character enters looks like
5. browsing 100 Pinterest boards for inspiration
6. becoming fixated on a cool piece of graffiti from one of the images
7. spending an evening writing short haikus that would appear as graffiti in this cyberpunk city
8. spending the next morning using graphic design software to create those graffitis
9. returning to the scene and picking up a quest from a biker gang—never returning to the graffiti topic again, but being aware they exist somewhere around the city :)
B. Ritual / Pervasive Games
These are games that blend into real life, infusing daily routines with a sense of ritual and magic. Examples include This Cat is an Oracle, where a cat's daily behaviors act as the oracle, or Avery Alder's game about sparrows, where seeing one on the street invites reflection. There are also games where you go into a forest and pin tarot cards to trees, and even Wreck This Deck fits this category in some ways.
C. Lyric Games
Games that you interact with simply by reading them, experiencing them almost like thought experiments on one hand or like poetry on the other.
These types of games aren’t mutually exclusive ofcourse rather, they often blend and overlap in hybrid forms.
Rafael, thanks for highlighting even more ways people can engage with solo RPGs. These approaches complement the more structured categories I listed, and it's good to be reminded of the how wide the spectrum is!
I appreciate you highlighting the various types of solo RPGs. Like many other readers, I'm looking forward to the deep dives for each type. While I don't play solo RPGs currently (but did read my older brother's SYOA books when he'd allow me to haha), I've always wanted to create them for others to enjoy (inspired by said CYOA books). Your posts will allow me to learn a lot. Cheers!
If you haven't heard of the solo RPG 'LOOM' I recommend that as another one to check out. I quite liked the system for generating encounters and fleshing out the world.
Great article! I think there are a few more categories of solo games—or perhaps more accurately—modalities of solo play that could be explored:
A. Open Soloing / Everything is Play
A multimodal, zoom-in/zoom-out freeform style where you flow between world-building, character creation, situational design, in-character decision-making, switching perspectives, writing, and scene-playing, compiling playlists and pinterest boards etc. It’s more like a stream of consciousness immersive play, for example:
1. reading random paragraphs from cyberpunk novels
2. going for a walk while listening to retro-synthwave playlists, imagining interactions and situations from a world you're creating
3. creating a character and playing a few scenes in this world
4. pondering over what the bar your character enters looks like
5. browsing 100 Pinterest boards for inspiration
6. becoming fixated on a cool piece of graffiti from one of the images
7. spending an evening writing short haikus that would appear as graffiti in this cyberpunk city
8. spending the next morning using graphic design software to create those graffitis
9. returning to the scene and picking up a quest from a biker gang—never returning to the graffiti topic again, but being aware they exist somewhere around the city :)
B. Ritual / Pervasive Games
These are games that blend into real life, infusing daily routines with a sense of ritual and magic. Examples include This Cat is an Oracle, where a cat's daily behaviors act as the oracle, or Avery Alder's game about sparrows, where seeing one on the street invites reflection. There are also games where you go into a forest and pin tarot cards to trees, and even Wreck This Deck fits this category in some ways.
C. Lyric Games
Games that you interact with simply by reading them, experiencing them almost like thought experiments on one hand or like poetry on the other.
These types of games aren’t mutually exclusive ofcourse rather, they often blend and overlap in hybrid forms.
Rafael, thanks for highlighting even more ways people can engage with solo RPGs. These approaches complement the more structured categories I listed, and it's good to be reminded of the how wide the spectrum is!
<3
I appreciate you highlighting the various types of solo RPGs. Like many other readers, I'm looking forward to the deep dives for each type. While I don't play solo RPGs currently (but did read my older brother's SYOA books when he'd allow me to haha), I've always wanted to create them for others to enjoy (inspired by said CYOA books). Your posts will allow me to learn a lot. Cheers!
My favorites are the Fabled Lands series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabled_Lands
This is a great area to explore that I have only touched on. Check out the classic Fighting Fantasy books from Steve Jackson. https://amzn.to/4gBaAZF
If you haven't heard of the solo RPG 'LOOM' I recommend that as another one to check out. I quite liked the system for generating encounters and fleshing out the world.
I can't wait ro read your deepdives!
I'm glad the older (but evergreen) content will get some new views!
Always love this newsletter and as usual sent me down a rabbit hole looking at solo games and accessories!! Bought some too! 😊😊
The CYOA Tarot cards feel like a natural pairing and a boon to soloists everywhere!
Look forward to the Cthulhu books!