a lonely road
A downloadable journalling game
A lonely road stretches in front of you, its point disappearing in the misty horizon. You are its companion, someone with a wandering soul, a desire to keep moving. The road will lead you to new places, each time different. Together, you and the road will set off on new adventures. Where will this lonely road take you?
This is a solo role-playing game about following a lone road and exploring stops along the way. You’ll need two six-sided dice, a standard pack of playing cards and some method to record your travels.
Physical versions available here
Based on Takuma Okada's 'Alone Among The Stars'
@takuma_okada_
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Small changesJun 22, 2023
Comments
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Just finished playing this for the first time. I really enjoyed it as a journaling game. It was low pressure and relaxing, and did not drag on longer than it needed to. The prompts were simple but thoughtful, and I can see a lot of replayability. Awesome work!
Out of dozens of solo pen and paper games, A lonely road has been my favorite by far. It’s cozy and relaxing, encompassing the freedom of writing on its own and the structure of prompted things.
It’s suck a lovely, beautiful game, that sticks with you days after playing. Thank you for such a wonderfully crafted game.
Struck a great balance of structure and flexibility. As someone new to role-playing games, I found it easy to start, play, and immerse myself into the world I had created. Thank you for A Lonely Road :)
The first journalling game I ever tried and.... I immediately fell in love with it (and then with the genre). The prompts are suggestive enough to avoid the fear of the blank page, while being open enough to allow a lot of freedom in deciding the tone of the journal. I am hoping to have time to do it a second time, as my first "journey" was very melancholy, a representation of depression... and I would love to try... a different road next time!
A meditative and peaceful experience for me, although the system is flexible enough to create more drama on the journey if you want. You can tinker this to be just about any kind of vehicle you like, including horses and spaceships, and not just cars on a highway—you just need a journey with multiple places to stop.
I like that this game additionally encourages you to add different flavors to your journey setting, too, with a simple table for 2d6.
As this game features one road of multiple stops represented by cards, should the journey seem too short with the die roll, I like to add 6 for 2d6 and 3 for a shorter 1d6 journey.
Thank you!
The PDF is quite pretty, and I really like how the card rank table includes character-oriented as well as adventure-oriented prompts.
I will certainly continue the game I just started, it feels no-pressure and has been very inspiring.
Had a lovely time with this solo rpg. Prompts strike a perfect balance between freedom and direction and the art and layout are fantastic.
I finished the game but haven't stop thinking about the story, characters, and world I created through it. That’s always a clear sign of a well-made rpg.