Sometimes people playing solo role-playing games can have difficulty keeping the game moving forwards. And if we don’t find a solution to this loss of momentum, the game can stop before reaching a satisfying ending.
There’s some advice in Volume 42 of the Mythic Magazine (available here as a single issue or here as part of a compilation). While the Mythic Magazine generally contains supporting material for the Mythic Game Master Emulator, the “Dealing With Solo Play Fatigue” article by Tana Pigeon is applicable to other solo games as well.
There’s discussion of several possible causes of fatigue or loss of momentum, including burdensome writing processes, lack of inspiration, distraction, perfectionism and self-criticism.
Then there are suggestions for addressing each cause. For example, if you find yourself being held up by needing to be fully prepared, you can try giving yourself permission to skip most of the preparation and take a more improvisational approach. If you’re lacking inspiration, there’s a (randomised, of course!) table of nudges to help you see the game – or solo gaming more generally – from a different point of view.
I found a point at the end particularly interesting: sometimes we encounter issues but the exact cause isn’t clear. The author suggests testing a few different solutions, because the results may help pinpoint the underlying reasons. I suspect this idea could also be useful for people who are feeling blocked or uninspired in other sorts of creative endeavour.
Related posts
If you’re wondering what I mean by “Solo Gaming”, see my introductory post for this category: About the “Solo Gaming” category