Solo But Not Alone’s fourth annual bundle collects 124 solo RPGs to support mental health charity
All proceeds of the $10 bundle will benefit Take This, a gaming-focused nonprofit.
Annual charity bundle Solo But Not Alone is back for its fourth year, offering another collection of solo tabletop RPGs at a massive discount with all proceeds donated to a charity supporting mental health.
Organised by game designer and podcaster Cat McDonald, Solo But Not Alone’s 2024 bundle is hosted on Itch.io and contains 124 titles from 94 different independent creators hailing from all corners of the world. If you’re looking for non-popular Western creations, the bundle boasts games from Brazilian, Filipino and French creators, among plenty others.
McDonald and contributing artists have been arranging this fundraising drive since 2021 and have managed to raise nearly $100,000 for different mental health charities, always topping their previous year’s high. 2024’s funds will be donated in full to Take This, a US-based non-profit organisation that provides mental health resources, advocacy and training to both individuals and companies within the gaming space.
“Solo But Not Alone is the most important thing I do. I myself am mentally ill, and every year seeing people come together to support others like me makes me indescribably happy,” McDonald wrote in a press release. “Solo games are wonderful! You don’t need to get everyone’s schedules to line up, you don’t need to convince your friends to try them - you just need to take time for yourself. They make perfect company when you’re feeling down.”
Notable entries amongst the 124 different RPGs includes Elizabeth Mace Giosia’s Let the Tides Carry You Back to Me, a quietly devastating experience of reflecting on one’s life - the triumphs and tribulations - while standing on the edge of the sea. Will the waves bring rebirth or oblivion - and which is the better outcome? There are plenty of these small, reflective RPGs that offer players a safe environment for exploring the darker shades of existence in an attempt to foster a greater understanding.
Other titles, such as Z.R. Capell’s Fata Dira: Dawn of a New Day, To Swear on your Honour and Colin Le Sueur’s We Deal in Lead facilitate more traditional adventuring. The solo play nature still means that sessions are personally motivated and often contemplative, but there’s plenty of opportunity for drama and excitement to rise out of prompt-based roleplay.
Check out the full list of tabletop RPGs on the Solo But Not Alone 4 Itch.io page, which will be available to purchase at any price above the minimum $10 ask through March 9th. McDonald and the rest of the organisers have set a modest goal of $20,000, but if past years are any indication they’ll easily summit that peak.