Lone Adventures: Issue #1

Korg, 2D6 Dungeon and Kal-Arath

Welcome to issue 1 of Lone Adventures, a newsletter of sorts that I’m gonna put out once a month. Or not. Maybe this will be the only one - in which case, you should keep hold of it - it might turn into a collectors item!

Anyhoo, what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate (a little reference there to fans of 70s cinema…). There are so many incredible solo games coming out all the time and I am able to cover so few of them on the channel. Hopefully this format will allow me to highlight more of them.

But I’m always going to start these things with games I have managed to cover…

Games on the channel

Korg / Korg Slayer

Korg is a minimalist game that fits on a credit card-sized card - or a small number of cards, if you’re inclined to get the expansion as well.

This is a fun little game that really takes the idea of a minimalist solo adventure game to the extreme. Korg is an interesting experiment in reducing the elements of an rpg-like adventure game down to the absolute bare-bones. You can pop the game in your wallet, carry it where-ever you go and always be ready to have a little adventure!

2D6 Dungeon

I backed the first 2D6 Dungeon Kickstarter campaign and it was clear from the start that this was a game that was going to find a large audience. Since then, it’s gone from strength to strength, adding several small expansions and gaining a dedicated following. It doesn’t hurt that the designer is very present online (Toby’s update live streams are the core of the community he has built around the game), and that he’s always keen to keep the fans involved in the ongoing evolution of the game.

Now that the first significant expansion - 2D6 Realm - is getting close to being in my hands, I thought I’d put out another playthrough of the base game.

Keeping an eye on…

Kal-Arath

Kal-Arath is a self-contained solo RPG that presents you with a well-realised sandbox world, that feels vital and unique. It’s a game that retains a real sense of being the vision of a single individual - Castle Grief produces all aspects of Kal-Arath, including the art work.

At time of writing, it’s back on Kickstarter, with a new expansion (or perhaps two new expansions). Check it out and back this super-interesting game if you can.

Caveat Emptor

Caveat Emptor is a new game from Exuent Press, creator of other games such as Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast.

Exuent Press designs incredibly accessible and visually-pleasing journalling games. I haven’t played Caveat Emptor yet but this new game, where you play an Assistant Demon selling secretly cursed items to humans in Wittenberg, Germany, is clearly going to be no different.

Single Gaming Sheets

Peplexing Ruins is one of the pillars of the solo-RPG community, thanks in large part to their Single Gaming Sheets, which have recieved a major update this month.

I’ve used the sheets to run a solo game on my channel when the sheets were previously recommended for use with Cairn. Whilst the sheets can be used with any system, the new version features character stats and enemies designed to work best with White Box, a cheep and readily-available OSR-style system.

This is great news, if you ask me. This new update has been refined and improved in numerous ways and I’m keen to check it out!

Korg: Scars of Silvos

The world of Korg - the micro-game I’ve covered this month on my channel - is about to become a whole lot bigger! Caleb Engelke is bringing his new game Korg - Scars of Silvos to Kickstarter in December. Follow along so you don’t miss it!

I know next-to-nothing about the game, but I do know it’ll be well worth checking out.

Final bit

I’ve re-watched one of my favourite films this week - The Lost Boys. This is very much a film of my youth, falling into those mid-teen years where I would watch films repeatedly until I knew them inside-out.

I still know it inside out, shot for shot, line for line. This time it felt like it had dated a little. Some of the character development felt a little ropey and the plot a little rushed. But I still love it. If I were to leave you with a quote, it would be tempting to settle for the final line of the film, one of the greatest final lines of all time, but I think I’ll go with:

You're a creature of the night, Michael, just like out of a comic book! You're a vampire, Michael! My own brother, a damn, blood-sucking vampire. You wait 'till mom finds out, buddy!

See you next time!