CYOA: The Solo Choose Your Own Adventure RPG System
You’ve Never Seen an RPG This Way
The Solo Choose Your Own Adventure RPG System (CYOA, for short) is a unique blend of interactive storytelling and RPG mechanics, for solo players who want to enjoy an RPG narrative adventure in their own company. It’s like any other: dice rolling, character statistics, and encounter management, as you were playing a traditional tabletop RPG. But by yourself.
Some History Background
Choose Your Own Adventure is, in fact, a series of children’s game books, created by Edward Packard. The first book in the series, The Cave of Time, was published in 1979. In these books, the reader assumes the role of the protagonist and makes choices that determine the main character’s actions and the plot’s outcome.
Edward Packard’s books are not linear. For instance, after a few pages of reading, the reader faces two or three options, one choice leading to page 34, and other leading to page —I don’t know—77, and so on until they arrive at one of the many story endings.
Where Have I Seen This Before…?
Video games! We’ve seen it in video games! I mean, some of them. Besides, Choose Your Own Adventure is a text-based system, whereas video games are visual… You get the idea.
Take Life Is Strange and Baldur’s Gate III, for example: they are categorized as solo role-playing games. You have your character, you make decisions, those decisions have consequences and then, you get to one of many endings. Yay!
“I Work Alone, Kid”
Now that we’re familiar with CYOA RPG, let’s play! Honestly, you could find anything on Reddit, but here are some actual CYOA books::
To Be or Not To Be, by Ryan North
A retelling of Hamlet where you can choose to play as Hamlet, Ophelia, or King Hamlet’s ghost, leading to various outcomes. Playing the King’s ghost must be hilarious.
My Lady’s Choosing, by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris
This is a romantic CYOA set in the Regency period, where you control the protagonist’s romantic choices. Shout out to the girlies!
Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga
A graphic novel that combines choice-making with puzzles and explores themes like time travel and mind-reading.
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography
Harris’s memoir lets readers decide how they navigate his life story. You can follow his career in Hollywood or explore his personal milestones. I’m buying this book.
In the End, Choose to Have Fun
Whether it’s a CYOA, all by yourself, or with your friends playing tabletop RPGs, the important thing is to have fun! And you can check out our text about RPG Campaigns if you want to know more about it. Until next adventure!
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