One-Page Jam Solo RPGs!
This is The Lone Toad Newsletter September 2024
Welcome to the September 2024 Lone Toad Newsletter!
Came here expecting a post about playing Dungeons and Dragons 5E solo? Well first of all, you get 5 points for reading to the end of my last newsletter and 5 more points for remembering what I was going to write about.
Sadly, you have to take 5 points of psychic damage in disappointment. No D&D this week, because instead, I’m going to cover a collection of Solo games from the recently completed One-Page RPG Jam.
RPGs on one page?
Slaps one page of paper, “You can fit so much RPG into this thing”.
The One-Page RPG Jam 2024, organised by Unknown Dungeon was a smash hit! Over 660 RPGs were submitted, many of them solo RPGs! It’s really exciting to see how creative people get with just one page of paper.
If you have some time, you should really just scroll through the hundreds of submissions to read and comment on whatever looks interesting or fun. You’ll find everything from established designers to experimental stuff, to some real wacky games.
There is something for everyone there. But without further ado, here are some cool Solo RPGs I came across.
Hunk o’Junk by Cezar Capacle
How many times have I mentioned this
guy on the Lone Toad? At least a dozen I reckon, because he keeps pumping out great solo game after great solo game. And his One-Page entry is no different. Hunk o’ Junk is a sketching comedy game for two people (with solo and 3-player variants). It looks like a very fun game you could play at the pub with a friend or alone.
Want to hear more about Cezar’s two solo games? Tune in for the mid-September Ribbiting Adventures!
Caveat Emptor by Exeunt Press
Retail sucks. Am I right or what? At least in Caveat Emptor by
you get to sell things that are just too good to be true to unsuspecting humans. If you like what you see, you can buy the expanded version!
A Perfect Rock by Deep Dark
Dust off your rock collection for this game by
, A Perfect Rock is a Gmless game about exploring planets, with a goal of finding a new home for your people. You’ll need four actual rocks (I guess a stone would be acceptable, but not a pebble), and a dice and you are ready to explore. Really creative use of an object we don’t commonly associate with RPGs.
Out of Print by Jason Pickering
Run your own cozy bookshop In Out of Print. It feels like a cute Animal Crossing game, which would be great to play after a busy day.
Hawker by Nemysisrelapse
Take your wares on the road in Hawker, a fantasy hex-crawler. If you are able to gain enough coins, you may become a legendary trader.
Rolling Raceway by Hugh Lashbrooke
Gun those engines in Rolling Raceway! Create unique racetracks, racers, and random events that will keep everything interesting. Will you cross the finish line first?
Five Tiny Gifts by Almost Bedtime Theatre
I love a good physical artifact game, and in Five Tiny Gifts, you can actually create a little gift package. It’s quite fun and adorable.
The Ferryman by Black Dragon Dungeon Company
Safely take souls to the underworld in Ferryman. But be careful, souls can carry great power.
Draw! by Croaker RPGs
Get along little doggie. I sure did make a submission to the One-page RPG jam. Shoot your way to freedom against bandits, desperados, zombies, aliens and zombie aliens.
Honourable Mentions
Look, not every RPG can be blessed with a solo option. Still, these One-Page RPGs are kickass!
With Haste and Anger by Eldrich Gremlin
Play one-quarter mile at a time in this RPG. With Haste and Anger is a fast-paced, street racing, face-punching, sleeveless game where you’ll need to wager your dice to stay in the lead. It’s even got a trailer.
TCP Foundation by Ravensridge Press
Made by a friend of the Toad, Ravensridge Press, TCP Foundation is a cool artifact-generating game. Using photos on your phone, create a redacted report that can be used in any number of games.
What is your favourite one-page solo RPG? Leave a comment below.
Croaker RPGs WIP
Be sure to check out some free games from Croaker RPGs! Only available to people who read this newsletter.
On Sneak Leaps, my behind-the-curtain newsletter only the super cool kids subscribe to, I released an early ashcan version of my skirmish solo war game, Shot and Spell.
Identity (FREE GAME)!
Identity is a full-fledged Solo Roleplaying game of introspective horror:
A 29-page fully designed self-contained solo roleplaying game
Based on the simple but powerful Push system by Cezar Capacle
A horrific starting situation that will drive you into the story
Character generation that will create a unique person to play
Six compelling agenda points for you to unravel
Eight oracles to keep your play exciting and random
A printer-friendly character sheet/oracle cheat sheet.
Rules for play-by-post
Identity is free to download to readers of The Lone Toad, my gift to you all for reading along and being awesome supporters.
If anyone does an actual play of Identity, let me know! You’ll be featured prominetly in a future Lone Toad Newsetter!
The Lost City of Cargoth (FREE GAME)
I’m working on Cargoth: Ruininous Edition for a full release soon. Be sure to grab the free version while it lasts!
Please don’t share these links, instead share this Lone Toad post which will help grow the community!
Be sure to check out my other games here!
RPG and Other stuff
This post by
discussing older books and what is famous, was interesting. Will people remember or read Hunger Games and Harry Potter in a hundred years?
You don’t need fancy stuff to make amazing art!
shows us what you can do with stuff around the office.
- is ready for the weekend in this post talking about all sorts of cool stuff.
Want a cool OSR RPG for free? What kind of question is that, of course you do! Check out Songs and Sagas by
today! There is also an epic Songs and Saga jam going on right now.
What RPG or solo RPG news do you think we should all be talking about?
Up Next for The Lone Toad
Next week we are speaking with
about the challenges and opportunities of a one-page RPG, why he loves a game jam and his choices for his two games. It will be an excellent interview for any budding RPG designer or player!As always I write this because you all read it. Please like this newsletter and share it with others who may be interested.
Got an amazing solo RPG from the One-page jam I haven't covered? Please post it here!
Thanks for featuring Out of Print. Solo RPGs were a new design challenge and I had a lot of fun.