#mapmaking games

THEME: Solo Maps, Fantasy-Heavy

Hello there! I've cultivated a bit of a list for you: not all of the games in this list are fantasy, but I'm hoping they still have bits and pieces that give you what you are looking for! There are also, as always, links to past games I've curated at the end of this post.

Welcome to: The Wolf Woods, by TTRPGkids.

The Wolf Woods refer to the old woods in what is now the Kilkenny region of Ireland. These woods were once home to packs of wolves along with legends of Faoladh, werewolves.

Faoladh were once considered protectors of children, the injured, and the lost. Overtime, these stories shifted towards those of curses and religious influence. Eventually, Irish wolves (real wolves) were also hunted to extinction as cities expanded.

This brochure is a game where you’ll explore shifting myths and the decline of Ireland’s wolf population in three different phases.

This is a small brochure that comes with a hexcrawl inside. You'll alter this hexcrawl throughout three phases of the game: Faodlah making the woods safer for the vulnerable, religious influences affecting myths about the woods, and wolf hunters hunting the wolf population to extinction.

I believe this is also meant to be somewhat of an educational game, as Kilkenny castle is a real place, and the game designer mentions that they pulled from Irish Mythology when designing the game. It looks fairly simple and quick to play, and it's got that touch of fantasy that might just tickle your interest!

Dodger, by Gasini.

Dodger is a solo hex-crawling escape game set in a western fantasy world. You play as the most notorious bandit in the lawless South-lands during their escape from the renowned lawman, The Silver Ranger. If you can lose the ranger in the Brushlands and make it across the border you'll be free!

This is a more pulp-fantasy game, but it's fairly straightforward. You are running across the hex map provided by the game book, towards a safe haven away from the Silver Ranger. You need dice, a deck of playing cards, and two tokens to represent the two characters. I'm assuming that dice rolls and card pulls will generate details about the hexes and the encounters found therein, and I'm also assuming that the game is fairly self-contained, throwing scenarios at you and then giving you a chance to react.

If you want something with a lot of guidance, and you also want the satisfaction of seeing your own unique version of the Southlands at the end of your run, you might want to check this game out!

Peak Calm, by ka1ikasan.

Peak Calm is a cozy solo hexcrawl TTRPG where you embody a forester in a recently reopened wildlife park. Closed and abandoned for many years, this park is today largely unknown and everything remains to be done: you will be required to map the area, discover its secrets and make it a better place. Are you ready?

This game is set in a national wildlife park, but I think it might be a style of game that you could use to inspire your own version that is fantasy-related! You use an empty hexmap and a notebook, using 2d6 to generate random elements that allow the map to form organically.

The goal of your character is kind of open: you could choose to restore the reputation of the park, discover all of the animals or plants within its borders, or even just strive to climb the highest peak. The game involves learning how to notate a map as you build it, picking up and managing gear, resting and shelters, encountering wildlife, and possibly even rescuing tourists!

If you want a game that gives you the chance to really dig into a location and make it feel lived in, you might like Peak Calm.

In Flanders Fields, by Nobile Press.

In Flanders Fields is a WW1 solo roleplaying experience where you explore the trenches of Flanders, map them out, and write about the events you witness or hear about.

In Flanders Fields is meant to be a reflective experience of a time now over 100 years ago. The First World War changed much of our world, and its horrors are still remembered to this day. This game explores those horrors.

In Flanders Fields is a heavier game when it comes to subject matter, as it is set in the terror and trauma of a WWII battlefield. You roll dice to generate the setting and the encounter, then draw, map, and label the trench line, including marking the names of the fallen. After each skirmish, you'll also roll to determine what kinds of correspondences you'll write: letters to the family of the fallen,, reports & complaints to higher-ups, requisitions for supplies, or even a poem.

This is a great option for folks who love a mix-media approach to play, as it partially uses mapping, but also partially uses a journal approach.

MIRU III, by HINOKODO.

MIRU III is a great game for folks who want to play alone (or with friends!), explore a randomly generated map (and draw it!), while managing survival resources & building up a character to take on a colossal enemy (or 3!). This game takes approximately 2-3hrs to complete in one shot & features violence and adult themes, for ages at least 13+ .

This is part of the highly popular MIRU series. All of these series games have hexcrawling as part of them, which involves filling out a series of interlocking hexes to create a segmented map that are randomly generated throughout play. The themes of each game are different: this one in particular is about defense, which means that you'll have a home base that you'll be venturing out from and retreating to, slowly unveiling the space around you while also trying to protect your home.

If you want to balance survival and resource management on top of map-making, or if you like the idea of playing a series of interconnected games, check this one out!

Escape the Citadel, by GraveRoot Press.

A solo labyrinth game about distance, pressure, and bad decisions.

Escape the Citadel is a minimalist solo exploration game about getting lost, doubling back, and pushing your luck. You start at the Citadel’s heart and carve your own maze outward, revealing spaces, surviving patrols, and trying to stay ahead of discovery for as long as you can.

This is a solo dice game with all of the rules on one page. It uses icons to teach you how to play in a succinct way. Your map will grow from the single space you start from, connecting in either a spidery web if you're playing on paper, or burgeoning bullet points if you're using a digital space.

On top of slowly creating a map, you'll also be dodging patrols, running into dead-ends, picking up items, and fighting when you have to. The map itself is kind of abstract- a kind of point-crawl, with only relevent information to what you're currently dealing with written onto the paper. At the end of the game, however, you'll have an idea of what kind of citadel you are escaping, and it might be enough to make you want to map it out in more detail!

Mail in the Megadungeon, by Z.R.Capell.

Mail in the Megadungeon in a single player half-map exploration, half-writing prompt solo game. You'll take the role of a corpse retriever who works in the Megadungeon, venturing down into its labyrinth to rescue those perished within, and then returning topside to learn what they've been up to.

The game includes rules for building an ever-changing dungeon map, a social web to keep track of NPCs, and NPC building and letter-writing prompts.

Mail in the Megadungeon has a pretty big list of things you need in order to play: a deck of playing cards, a deck of tarot cards, a deck of oracle cards, and a set of polyhedral dice. The playing cards represent the rooms of the dungeon, their suits determining specific details, with Aces representing stairs and Face cards including corpses.

Tarot cards, on the other hand, help you navigate what this game calls a Social Web: a series of relationships you build with the people you rescue as you move through the dungeon. You will draw from the tarot deck to represent the letters you get from people - and depending on you you save, those letters will change your story in their own way!

There's also elements that feel fairly standard to ttrpgs: you'll have hit points and magic points, resources you'll need to jealously guard as you dive into encounters. If you are a fan of Dungeon Meshi, you'll probably like this game.

You Might Also Like…

My Exploratory Solo Games Recommendation Post.

My Solo Worldbuilding Recommendation Post.

Wonderfall, by Catscratcher Studio.