10 Solo Journaling RPGs to discover
Do you enjoy solo role‑playing games? We’ve put together a complete list of RPGs that use the journaling format.
If you prefer solo games that rely more heavily on dice mechanics, feel free to check out our article on the best solo RPGs for beginners.
All the following games are based on keeping a journal. To store your notes more easily, you can also use Tome, our RPG tool designed to help you keep track of every detail in your campaigns.
Brambletrek
Brambletrek is a solo RPG where you play a lone pilgrim, in the form of a small mouse, travelling through a magical, melancholic world. Each day’s events are guided by four card draws that may trigger encounters, combat, decisions, and much more.
It’s a perfect entry‑level journaling RPG if you want to try this format for the first time. The setting feels gentle and fairytale‑like, though your path will still be dotted with obstacles.
Colostle
In Colostle, you explore a vast open world made of colossal realms surrounded by mountain‑sized structures. This solo RPG features only four simple classes, easy to learn and quick to play.
Colostle relies heavily on creativity and improvisation, offering very accessible rules. All your adventures are recorded directly in your journal.
Sigils in the Dark
Sigils in the Dark places you in the role of a solitary investigator. Mysterious sigils guide your inquiry as you draw cards and uncover clues.
It’s an ideal journaling RPG if you enjoy dark atmospheres, secrets, and gradually unfolding mysteries. Your journal becomes an occult case file, with every entry bringing you closer to the final revelation.
The Adventurer
In The Adventurer, you become an explorer in a fantasy world, told entirely through a personal journal. If you’re looking for a solo RPG that’s beginner‑friendly and quick to grasp, this is a great option.
The stories you create are light, varied, and easy to follow. The world is broad, but the overall adventure stays fairly linear.
An expansion called Space Between the Stars is also available.
Underneath
Underneath takes you into a unique, shadow‑filled underground world. You play a traveller descending deeper and deeper, hoping to understand what lies beneath the surface.
Once inside the cavern, the game invites you to map the cave system, track your progress through card draws, and record all your discoveries in an expedition journal.
Underneath encourages introspective writing as you document everything you see and encounter. It’s a powerful, immersive, and mysterious solo RPG for players seeking a strong narrative experience.
Vanity: Glass & Stone
Vanity: Glass & Stone is a solo journaling RPG blending Snow White and the Greek myth of Medusa. It explores complex themes as your journey becomes both a physical and symbolic struggle.
Your character is slowly overtaken by a petrification curse that sometimes prevents you from moving forward. Alongside your journal, the game uses the Wretched & Alone system built around a simple deck of cards.
Vanity: Glass & Stone is intended for adult players and deals with difficult themes such as body horror, psychological manipulation, beauty standards, social status, isolation, violence, and death.
It is not suitable for all audiences.
A Visit to San Sibilia
A Visit to San Sibilia is a solo journaling RPG in which you play a visitor spending time in a city that appears on no map. San Sibilia is both anchored in our world and entirely separate from it and it manifests differently for every traveler.
Your journal becomes an impossible travel diary, filled with strange and original notes. The game encourages you to accept that this place is never quite the same as the one someone else visited or even the one you explored the day before.
The Sealed Library
The Sealed Library is a solo journaling RPG played with a deck of cards. You are the last remaining librarian of the greatest library in the world. Around you, an ancient empire collapses into war. Invaders are burning and destroying everything.
Barricaded inside, you’re under siege and must decide which texts to save and hide before the invaders break through. Your journal helps you track rescued works and the assaults you endure.
This RPG explores themes of preservation, duty, and sacrifice. It’s an immersive solo experience that requires focus and difficult choices.
The Almanac of Sanguine Paths
The Almanac of Sanguine Paths is a solo RPG where letter‑writing is at the heart of the experience, and you play a werewolf navigating a secretive network.
The Almanac is an eerie, persistent object that always finds its way back to you. Through it, you learn how to contact other holders, exchange encrypted messages, and explore this unique universe.
This solo RPG uses a tarot‑based journaling system where each draw guides your intentions, expands your world, and deepens your characters. It can also be played with another person and still without a game master.
The Wretched
The Wretched is a solo journaling RPG about human resilience against overwhelming odds. It uses the Wretched & Alone system.
You play the lone survivor of a monstrous attack. You know you won’t make it out alive, but all you can do is keep fighting, day after day.
Inspired by John Carpenter’s soundscapes and classic space‑horror storytelling, The Wretched includes an original soundtrack designed specifically to accompany your solo campaign, enhancing the immersion even further.
If you enjoy these solo RPGs, you can store all your worlds in Lore, our worldbuilding tool, and reuse your settings for future solo or group campaigns.
