Solo But Not Alone’s third annual bundle offers nearly 150 single-player tabletop RPGs for suicide prevention

Solo But Not Alone returns for a third year selling a massive bundle of single-player tabletop RPGs for a good cause. The collection of nearly 150 titles is being sold at a $10 minimum and will donate all proceeds to suicide prevention charity Jasper’s Game Day.

As in previous years, Solo But Not Alone is being hosted on Itch.io and offers 148 TRPG titles that are either designed for solo play or compatible with a single party member. Those inclined towards journaling games will find plenty to appreciate, but there’s also a hefty selection of more tactical excursions, hexcrawls and experiences spanning a wide swath of genres and moods.

Tabletop designer and publisher Peach Garden Games has been organising this event since 2021, and the bundle managed to raise roughly $31,000 in its first year and $29,000 in 2022. This year, Peach Garden Games’ Cat McDonald hopes to smash that original high.

All of the games included in Solo But Not Alone’s third bundle are new, so returning donors who have participated before will get a fully fresh crop of solo RPGs. A quick glance at the list is all one needs to pick out some real winners. Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard puts you on a road towards a truly mythopoetic quest - and all the dangers such an obligation should entail. Thousand Empty Lights transforms Mothership into a lonely crawl through a derelict factory on the bottom of an abyssal ocean.

A few more: Art Collector recontextualizes images or photos from real-life museum exhibits as a form of personal exploration or character creation. Misericorde dramatises a knight and their love-lorn squire who is torn between duty and desire during an age of strict societal roles. The Sticker Game recycles spare sticker sheets lying about the house into portals between parallel dimensions as the player creates their own emotionally impactful journey, a la Everything Everywhere All At Once.

“Solo games are wonderful because you don’t have to make arrangements or convince anyone to play. So, they make great company in lonely times,” McDonald said in a press release. “Letting people know we’re pulling for them is so important. Designers get a bump of visibility for their hard work, and Jasper’s [Game Day] gets funding they need to help people stay alive. It’s wonderful for everyone!.”

The Solo But Not Alone 3 bundle, which runs through the end of March, has set an initial goal of raising $20,000 for Jasper’s Game Day, a US-based charity raising awareness of suicide prevention resources at conventions, local game stores and online streams. The donated funds will help the organisation support local crisis centres and its own continued existence. More information can be found on their website.

UK and Ireland: You can contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. Call PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide) on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.

US: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or text 741-741.

For further information on international suicide helplines visit befrienders.org.