Dan Bronson-Lowe
A new research assistant in an unsettling lab, tracking their daily activities in their notebook (Outliers).
A lone survivor being hunted through an intergalactic salvage ship, recording log entries (The Wretched).
An immortal jazz musician investigating untimely murders, narrating their thoughts noir-style and composing chords from ethereal tones (Midnight Melodies).
Welcome to solo journaling tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). These collaborations between you and a game designer offer curated inspiration and invite you to capture the story you weave.
Each game consists of a premise, creativity-sparking prompts, and, often, tools for incorporating chance into your playthrough, such as dice or cards. As a designer, my goal is to create building blocks that bring everything together in unexpected ways, throwing surprising twists into the tale you’re creating and challenging you to discover how it all fits together.
When you’re done, you have a record that allows you to look back through the path your imagination took, the characters who emerged, and the world you built, one prompt at a time. Some games offer suggestions about what that record should consist of, but how you journal your game is ultimately up to you. I’ve seen wonderful results from players who decided to write short stories and journal entries, draw comic strips, and even stream performances. Maybe you’ll write letters that will never be sent, sketch the memories of a deteriorating robot, or scribble notes about rituals on playing cards. The form is yours to choose.
If you’d like to try a solo journaling TTRPG, there’s a minigame provided below or you can explore a wide variety of offerings available through itch.io.
Enjoy!
A Card in Time
You discover an unused postcard, long hidden between the pages of a dusty book.
Roll a die once for each column of the table to complete this sentence: “The image on the front of the postcard is [STYLE] of [ACTION] [SUBJECT].”
● What do you recognize from the image that no one else would?
On the back is stamped the message “Postmaster: Deliver 30 years before sent.”
● What do you write on the postcard
● Who do you send it to?
● How will you know if it’s delivered as promised?
Dan Bronson-Lowe is an Illinois-based game designer focused on all-ages storytelling in tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). As the creator behind Almost Bedtime Theater, he publishes games that blend wonder and fantasy with accessible mechanics. His games have appeared in charity bundles, actual plays, and library programming, earning recognition for imaginative worldbuilding. Dan also co-hosted the Almost Bedtime Theater podcast with his daughter and nephew, providing family-friendly actual plays and reviews of TTRPGs.