🎂 The Soloist: Year 3
Highlights from 2024, goals for 2025, and more
Happy New Year! This is The Soloist’s third year, and I want to thank you for subscribing whether you’re a new reader or the first subscriber (I’m looking at you
)! Your comments and suggestions keep me energized!Let’s take a look back at highlights from last year and what’s ahead in 2025!
1. Highlights from The Soloist in 2024
🚀 Launching Solo Sessions
Solo Sessions, my actual play reports of upcoming games, was my favorite new addition. It allowed me to go deeper into a game and share my personal experience. And I heard from a few folks that these were valuable in deciding if a game was right for them.
❤️ Reader’s Most “Liked” Issue
Exploring the Solo RPG Spectrum was 2024’s most ❤️’ed Issue. I wrote this as a response to a comment that playing solo RPGs sounds like “just writing a book”. The piece covers 6 types of solo games with examples. It was also one of the most shared issues of the year. If you’re looking for an article to introduce someone to solo RPGs, this is it. Recently, game designers Shaw Tomkin and Peter Schweihofer also categorized solo RPGs from different perspectives. Both are worth checking out.
❄️ 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
The gift guide is created from recommendations by indie game creators and readers. This year’s guide focused on physical items because it’s hard to gift wrap a PDF. Who knew there was such thing as “scented dice”? I didn’t! The most-clicked recommendation from the guide was ’s Kal Arath Collection.
🥉 The Soloist Wins a Copper BLOGGIE
The BLOGGIES is an annual awards event that debuted on the Prismatic Wasteland blog in 2022 to celebrate great RPG blog writing. This year’s BLOGGIES had 320 unique posts recommended by the community. The host Sachagoat narrowed it down to 16 finalists in each of 4 categories: Theory, Gameable, Advice, and Review.
The Soloist’s Sci-Fi Special Edition was a last minute substitution in the Reviews category and made it to Round 4—winning a Copper BLOGGIE! Thanks to everyone who voted in the multiple rounds.
Visit the official BLOGGIES web site for links to all 64 nominated posts. I promise you will find articles that help and inspire you! And here is a link to the Sci-Fi Special:
2. Goals for The Soloist in 2025
I’ve been inspired by tabletop RPG designer and podcast creator
’s Patreon posts where he is sharing his goals for 2025. Like him, I am using my space for sharing my goals this year for your interest and some public accountability.📬 The Soloist
Objective: Publish regularly, expand content, and launch a subscriber tier
Publish 24 issues
Release a Solo Session every 3 months
Launch a subscriber tier (keeping the newsletter free) with extra content
🤝 Charity Fundraising
Objective: Raise $5,000 for charitable causes supporting LGBTQ+ rights
Run 1 charity event tapping the generosity of the solo community
Take part in at least 1 additional fundraising event
🤗 Solo Community Advocacy
Objective: Expand awareness of solo RPGs and spotlight new creators
Use The Soloist to highlight solo-gaming newsletters, blogs, and new voices
Organize #SoloTober, a community event celebrating solo games
Appear on 3 general gaming podcasts or interviews to champion solo RPGs
📖 SOLO BORG
Objective: Successfully fund SOLO BORG and release it by the end of 2025
Kickstart SOLO BORG during Zine Quest in February and raise at least $5,000
Commission 5+ diverse artists for interior illustrations and cover art
Release SOLO BORG by December 2025
Let me know what you think about The Soloist, my goals for 2025, or anything else in The Soloist’s 2025 Reader Survey.
3. Solo Gaming News
😱 Alien: The RPG to Get Solo Mode
A new edition of Alien: The RPG is being Kickstarted by Free League Publishing. The new Evolved Edition has new rules and tools including Last Survivor, a robust solo mode designed by Shawn Tomkin, the creator of Ironsworn and Starforged, and Matt Click, who won an ENNIE for writing and editing on Ironsworn Delve. I enjoyed playing Alien at PAXU, and I’m very intrigued to see what Shawn and Matt develop for the solo-mode!
1️⃣ The 5th Annual Solo But Not Alone Bundle
It’s time again for the year’s biggest charity bundle of single player RPGs! The Solo But Not Alone bundle on itchio includes over 100 games for $10 to benefit Take This, a non-profit supporting mental health in the gaming community and industry.
🧌 Grimwild Released
Grimwild is a new FREE RPG of narrative-driven fantasy. The system is designed for low-preparation, emergent storytelling with players setting goals and earning mechanical benefits for pursuing them. My sense is that it should work well for solo play. I like that it has a one-roll resolution system—so you won’t have to do a lot of rolling to manage a scene.
4. Tips & Resources
🎲 Zine Quest and Tabletop Nonstop
The annual celebration of indie tabletop creativity is almost upon us! Dozens of creators will be crowdfunding games on Kickstarter and Crowdfundr during February. This year Crowfundr is broadening Tabletop Nonstop’s scope to include board games—not just tabletop RPGs. The Soloist will be recommending games for you to check out in the next issue.
I’ve also put together a Bluesky list of 60+ amazing creators launching campaigns this season. Please check out, share, and support their work!
Check out last year’s coverage here.
📇 The Tiny Table Index
There are now over 300 solo and duet tabletop RPGs and supplements listed in this index hosted by Luke Miller from Graycastle Press. Search by format, language, price, content tags, and more. New games are regularly added and Luke continues to improve the site’s features.
5. SOLO BORG Coming to Zine Quest
I will be launching the Kickstarter campaign for SOLO BORG during Zine Quest 2025. It’s a 46-page standalone game based on and compatible with the award-winning MÖRK BORG RPG. SOLO BORG will work as a complete single-player RPG on its own, but its systems and generation tables will supplement MÖRK BORG and other games.
What Will Be Inside?
An Intro to Playing Solo RPGs to teach the fundamentals
Worldbuilding Tools to create a unique setting
Quest Generators that provide purpose for your adventuring
Oracles to inspire story elements and add unexpected twists
NPC & Companion Behavior rules to develop unpredictable allies and foes
Random Encounters and Challenges designed specifically for solo play
Mysteries and Veils system to keep your games surprising and challenging
And more!
Follow SOLO BORG on Kickstarter to be notified when the campaign goes live.
SOLO BORG
Fired up for Solo Borg.