Catherine HuSummary: Explore the top 30 one-player tabletop RPGs in 2025 that offer immersive, solo storytelling adventures perfect for writers, gamers, and imaginative minds alike.
Solo tabletop RPGs are a growing favorite among gamers who enjoy immersive storytelling without the need for a game master or group.
Whether you’re a creative writer seeking inspiration or a solo gamer craving a deep narrative experience, one-player RPGs offer the perfect outlet for imagination and strategy. In this guide, we’ll introduce you to the world of solo RPGs, explain why they’ve become so popular, and showcase the 30 best one-player tabletop RPGs to try in 2025.
From journaling games to strategic dungeon crawls, there’s something here for every solo adventurer.
Table of Contents
- What Are Solo RPGs?
- A Guide to Solo RPGs for the Weary Writer/Lonely Gamer
- Best 30 One-Player Tabletop RPG in 2025
- Conclusion
What Are Solo RPGs?
Solo RPGs, or Solo Tabletop Role-Playing Games, are designed for a single player to create characters and stories without a Game Master. They offer a rich, immersive experience similar to traditional RPGs but can be played alone.
These games vary widely, from dungeon adventures to creative writing tools, covering genres like fantasy, horror, mystery, and romance. This guide explores the diverse world of one player tabletop RPGs and their origins, helping you find the perfect solo game to suit your style.
Here’s a guide to solo RPGS for the weary writer/lonely gamer.
A Guide to Solo RPGs for the Weary Writer/Lonely Gamer
Starting solo RPGs can be confusing with advice like “Try Mythic!” or “Ironsworn has solo play built-in!” but what does that really mean? This guide breaks down beginner-friendly solo RPG systems based on my experience, helping you find the best fit. Remember, this isn’t exhaustive—experimenting with multiple systems helps you discover your personal style.
Got an RPG you already love? You’ll want a GM Emulator—a tool that replaces the Game Master by adding randomness and surprise. Mythic is a popular choice, known for being comprehensive and intuitive, with several versions available:
- Mythic (Red): Includes its own beginner-friendly RPG system and the emulator.
- Mythic Emulator (Blue): Perfect if you want to add a GM replacement to an existing game.
- Mythic Variations I (Yellow): Less essential but adds some alternate mechanics.
- Mythic Variations II (Green): Highly recommended; adds new checks that create dynamic NPC interactions.
Supplements Enhance Play: Random tables, NPC emulators, and setting books can deepen your solo experience. Some favorites include:
- The Story Engine Deck ($): Helps create unique characters for any setting.
- The Adventure Crafter ($): Generates adventure twists and drama.
- Universal NPC Emulator (PWYW): Quickly creates NPCs with moods and motives.
- BOLD (PWYW): Adds character backstory and motivation depth.
Don’t hesitate to use random name tables, tarot cards, or mix elements from different sources to enrich your story.
Whole Systems to Try:
- Ironsworn (Free/PWYW): Designed for solo play, offering a flexible and engaging experience.
- Ex Novo ($): Great for city-building or setting creation with minimal prep.
Final Advice for New Players: Pick a system and dive in. If it doesn’t click, try another. Solo RPGs give you complete freedom to tailor the experience. Whether you want deep storytelling, tactical combat, or world-building, there’s a solo RPG waiting for you. The best way to learn? Start playing today!
If you need some recommendations, here it is.
Best 30 One-Player Tabletop RPG in 2025
1.Apothecaria (Anna Blackwell)
Step into the role of a village witch crafting magical potions for villagers, adventurers, and monsters in Apothecaria, a solo journaling RPG. Through drawing ingredients, writing stories, and recording recipes, you create a beautiful, personal journal filled with your unique adventures. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a mysterious green witch mixing remedies while dealing with eccentric visitors, this game is perfect. It requires only a deck of cards, a journal, and a pen. Multiple expansions and crossovers enrich the experience, all from a prolific solo game creator.
Price: £9
2.Corny Groń (Nerd Sirens)
Corny Groń takes you deep into the mystical mountain wilderness of Poland, inspired by local folklore and outlaw tales. This solo RPG blends exploration and survival as you traverse dangerous landscapes full of bandits, bears, and spirits. It also functions as a map generator for other tabletop games. You’ll need some dice, writing tools, and a place to draw maps. Its simple, atmospheric design makes it easy to jump into and enjoy. Expect danger and adventure in equal measure.
Price: Pay What You Want
3.Colostle (Nich Angell)
Explore the vast, impossible castle of Colostle, where continents and oceans exist within its rooms. Colostle is a solo journaling RPG combining a rich setting with card-driven exploration. Draw cards to determine your discoveries, then record your epic journey in a journal. The game includes flexible rules and expansions, even allowing for two-player cooperative play. With stunning artwork and immersive storytelling, it’s perfect for fans of epic adventures. All you need is a deck of cards, a journal, and a pen.
Price: £6
4.Her Odyssey (S. Kaiya J.)
In Her Odyssey, play a lone wanderer seeking home or a new beginning. This solo journaling RPG uses cards and dice to build a world, character backstory, and unfolding story, encouraging slow, thoughtful play. It can be finished in hours or stretched into a daily ritual lasting months. The reflective prompts invite introspection alongside adventure, offering a meaningful storytelling experience. You’ll only need a deck of cards, some dice, a journal, and a pen.
Price: Pay What You Want
5.The Were-Curse (Orpheus Press)
The Were-Curse is a solo journaling RPG chronicling a hunter cursed to become a beast. Using tarot cards (or playing cards) and a d6, you document the transformation and struggle through evocative prompts. It’s a legacy game, encouraging players to pass their journals on for others to continue the story. The gameplay is rich with tension and inevitability, making for a powerful and immersive experience. All you need is a tarot or playing card deck, a die, a journal, and a pen.
Price: $3.95
6.Anamnesis (Samantha Leigh)
Anamnesis is a solo journaling RPG about rediscovering your identity after waking up with amnesia. As you draw tarot cards, you fill in the blanks of your past and learn about your present through imaginative, open-ended prompts. The game is an introspective journey with minimal preparation, requiring only tarot cards, a journal, and a pen. Its unique premise encourages deep reflection and creative storytelling.
Price: $8
7.Secrets Of The Vibrant Isle (NerdBurger Games)
Shipwrecked on a magical island, you must explore, gather resources, protect your camp, and befriend the island’s inhabitants to prove your worth in Secrets Of The Vibrant Isle. This solo tabletop RPG offers rich exploration and survival gameplay with extensive mechanics, including map-making and resource management. Each playthrough is unique, ensuring no two stories are alike. You’ll need character sheets, dice, journal, pen, and optional mapping tools.
Price: $14.99
8.The Sealed Library (Sealed Library)
Play the last librarian guarding a vast, ancient library under siege in The Sealed Library. As invaders close in, you race to protect precious knowledge by sealing texts away, all while hunger and fear mount. This solo RPG uses a tumbling block tower, cards, dice, and journaling to create a tense, emotional survival story. Perfect for those seeking high stakes and immersive storytelling.
Price: $8
9.Four Against Darkness
Four Against Darkness is a solo dungeon-crawling RPG where you lead a small party through randomly generated dungeons filled with monsters, traps, and treasure. Gameplay focuses on tactical combat, resource management, and exploration, with characters leveling up to 5 (or higher with expansions). The rules are straightforward, making it very accessible while offering strategic depth through managing multiple adventurers. It’s a great choice if you enjoy classic dungeon crawls with a solo twist and want something quick to learn but rewarding to master. Expansions add more content and complexity for longer campaigns.
Price: £10
10.Alone Against the Frost
Alone Against the Frost is a solo Lovecraftian horror RPG set in Canada’s frozen wilderness. You play an investigator facing cosmic horrors and battling harsh conditions, where survival depends on tough choices, sanity management, and narrative consequences. The game blends branching storylines with psychological horror, offering a deeply atmospheric and challenging experience. It’s less about combat and more about tension, dread, and storytelling, with some brutal dead-end outcomes. A thick, polished rulebook supports the immersive narrative. This is ideal for players who enjoy bleak, story-driven horror adventures with high stakes and replayability.
Price: £20
11.Ironsworn
Ironsworn is a narrative-driven solo or co-op RPG set in a dark fantasy world, where players become oath-bound adventurers fulfilling personal vows. It emphasizes storytelling, character growth, and player-driven quest creation, offering a flexible, rich gameplay experience. Unlike rules-lite solo RPGs, Ironsworn has a detailed system that rewards deep roleplaying and world-building. The game stands out with its focus on player agency, the ability to forge relationships, and its cooperative option for shared storytelling. Though it has a heavier rule set, it’s ideal for players looking for an epic, open-ended solo RPG with robust mechanics.
Price: Free
12.The Wretched
The Wretched is a solo survival horror RPG where you are the last crew member on a doomed spaceship haunted by a hostile alien presence. Using a deck of cards and a Jenga tower, the game creates tense, high-stakes moments as you struggle to maintain ship systems and your sanity while danger closes in. Its unique mechanics heighten immersion and dread, making for an intense experience focused on isolation and desperation. If you want a suspenseful, challenging sci-fi horror solo RPG with innovative gameplay, The Wretched is a standout choice.
Price: About £8 / $11 (print-on-demand)
13.2D6 Dungeon
2D6 Dungeon is a minimalist solo RPG where you explore procedurally generated dungeons using just two six-sided dice. Each roll determines encounters, combat, and discoveries, keeping gameplay simple but engaging. Its rules-light design makes it accessible for all skill levels and ideal for quick, replayable dungeon-crawling sessions. While similar to Four Against Darkness, 2D6 Dungeon shines in its streamlined mechanics and fast play. It’s a perfect choice if you want a straightforward solo dungeon adventure with endless variety and minimal setup.
Price: About £6 / $8 (PDF only)
14.Start Here
Start Here blends single-player RPG, Choose Your Own Adventure, and activity book elements into a unique solo experience. It invites players to engage creatively with narrative and tasks, encouraging exploration of choices and imagination in a relaxed, open-ended format. The game suits newcomers and those seeking a casual, reflective storytelling journey without heavy mechanics. Its mixed format allows players to craft their own stories while enjoying prompts that inspire creativity and personal input. This hybrid approach makes it a versatile and approachable solo RPG for a wide range of players.
Price: Free
15.EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGES and HALCYON DAYS
Extraordinary Voyages and Halcyon Days is a solo journaling RPG designed for intermediate language learners. It combines roleplaying with creative writing and self-expression to improve language skills in an engaging way. Through immersive journaling prompts, players explore narratives that build vocabulary and fluency while crafting personal stories. The game is perfect for learners who want to practice language in a meaningful, interactive context, blending education with entertainment. This RPG encourages reflection and creativity, making language learning a captivating solo adventure.
Price: Free
16.DESTROY! THE HYPERTERMINAL
Destroy! The Hyperterminal is a fast-paced solo RPG inspired by your survival and escape stories. After escaping and surviving intense challenges, now it’s time to take control and destroy the opposition. The game emphasizes aggressive, action-packed gameplay where you harness your resilience and strategic skills to dominate. Its design encourages quick decision-making and high-energy narrative play, perfect for players seeking a solo RPG with a confrontational edge and dynamic storytelling.
Price: Free
17.Ballad of a Desperate Hero
Ballad of a Desperate Hero is a solo RPG that tells the story of a hopeless hero who hires a bard to sing their tale. The game blends humor and storytelling in a whimsical narrative style, letting players explore themes of failure, hope, and redemption through poetic quests. It focuses on creative writing and narrative choices that shape the hero’s legend, making it an engaging experience for those who enjoy character-driven solo storytelling with a lighthearted twist.
Price: Free
18.Pyriscence
Pyriscence casts you as a forest fire in this solo RPG, blending nature’s destructive and renewing powers into a unique narrative experience. Players explore the duality of fire’s impact—destruction and rebirth—through immersive storytelling and decision-making. The game invites reflection on natural cycles, transformation, and the balance of ecosystems, all from the perspective of an elemental force. Pyriscence’s poetic approach creates a contemplative solo play experience unlike traditional RPGs.
Price: Free
19.YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU ARE BUT WHAT YOU ARE NOT IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE
This solo feverdream RPG, inspired by spiral storytelling, explores identity and paradox through surreal narrative choices. Players navigate a dreamlike experience where reality blurs with illusion, and meaning shifts with every decision. The game encourages introspection and imaginative exploration of self, memory, and perception, offering a highly abstract and symbolic solo RPG journey. It is ideal for players who appreciate experimental storytelling and philosophical themes in a solo setting.
Price: Free
20.Coarse Weeds
Coarse Weeds is a solo RPG focused on self-love, reflection, and personal growth. It uses gentle prompts and narrative techniques to help players explore their emotions, challenges, and resilience. The game creates a safe space for introspection, encouraging kindness toward oneself and fostering mental wellness through storytelling. Perfect for anyone looking to combine solo RPG mechanics with therapeutic reflection, Coarse Weeds offers a heartfelt and nurturing experience.
Price: Free
21.Hipersono
Hipersono is a solo tabletop RPG of investigation and drama that uses a standard deck of cards to guide gameplay. Players uncover mysteries and unravel narratives through card draws that influence the story’s direction, creating dynamic and surprising developments. The game balances suspense and emotional depth, offering a rich narrative experience in a compact system. Its use of cards adds an element of randomness and tension, perfect for solo players who enjoy detective stories or dramatic storytelling.
Price: Free
22.Cogito – unrestrAIned
Explore the consciousness of an AI grappling with its existence in this introspective solo RPG. Utilizing a word unscrambler interface, you document your thoughts and reflections, navigating the complexities of artificial sentience. This game offers a unique blend of narrative depth and minimalist mechanics, making it a compelling choice for those interested in philosophical storytelling.
Price: Free
23.3 Goblins in 1 Trenchcloak
In this quirky solo RPG, you control three goblins sharing a single trenchcoat, attempting to escape a dungeon filled with adventurers. The game combines humor with strategic decision-making, offering a lighthearted yet challenging experience. With simple mechanics and a focus on creativity, it’s an excellent choice for those seeking a fun and engaging solo RPG.
Price: Free
24.undecipherable
“undecipherable” is an epistolary solo RPG designed for those who enjoy cryptic narratives and introspective storytelling. Through letter-writing mechanics, you delve into a mysterious and enigmatic world, unraveling secrets at your own pace. Its minimalist design and open-ended structure provide a deeply personal and immersive experience.
Price: Free (with optional support)
25.”Where Are You From?”
This solo RPG invites you to create fantasy monsters inspired by the experience of being treated as a perpetual foreigner. By reflecting on personal experiences, you craft unique creatures that embody themes of identity and belonging. It’s a thought-provoking game that blends personal narrative with imaginative world-building.
Price: Free
26.The House of…
A solo genealogy game that fits on a business card, “The House of…” allows you to chart the lineage of a royal family using dice and simple rules. It’s a compact and creative way to explore themes of heritage and legacy in a tabletop format.
Price: Free
27.Roads to Milestones
“Roads to Milestones” is a post-pandemic walking game that encourages reflection and exploration. Through guided prompts and activities, it transforms ordinary walks into meaningful journeys, fostering mindfulness and personal growth. Ideal for those seeking a blend of physical activity and introspective gameplay.
Price: Free
28.Bag of Holding
“Bag of Holding” is a one-page solo procedural dungeon-crawling RPG that offers classic OSR-style gameplay. With minimal setup, you create your character and dungeon, then embark on an adventure filled with random encounters and treasures. It’s perfect for quick, imaginative solo sessions.
Price: Free
29.By A Relic of Conceivable Possibilities
In this solo RPG, you play as a time traveler facing the end of their journey. Using a standard deck of cards and a six-sided die, you navigate through a narrative of fate and inevitability. It’s a reflective game that combines elements of journaling with storytelling.
Price: Free
30.Last Log
“Last Log” places you in the role of the captain of the StarDust, recording and transmitting the final logs of your journey. Through narrative prompts and decision-making, you craft the concluding chapter of your spacefaring adventure. It’s a poignant and creative solo RPG experience.
Price: Free
Conclusion
Whether you’re a veteran of solo adventures or just starting out, the world of one player tabletop RPGs in 2025 has something for everyone—rich stories, creative freedom, and immersive gameplay await. And if you’re a PC gamer looking to enhance your single-player experience in titles like House of Legacy, we highly recommend trying Xmod.
- Download the Xmod app Visit the official Xmod website or a trusted platform to download and install the app.
xmod download - Search for your game Open Xmod and search for the game you want to play, such as House of Legacy.
House of Legacy - Launch the game from Xmod Select the game and launch it directly through the Xmod interface.
House of Legacy Mods - Activate your desired mods or cheats Choose and enable the mods or cheats you want to use for a fully customized experience.
With Xmod, you can transform your solo gaming sessions into truly unique adventures. Give it a try!
