Since gamebooks with game mechanics are arguably directly derived from RPGs in general (and often D&D specifically), I am always on the look out for the cousin to gamebooks in the form of the RPG “solo adventure.”

I need to double check if Mark Lain addresses this in his (hopefully) annual Gamebook Collector’s Check List and Price Guide (2024 edition available now on Amazon) but I would say the big difference is these solo adventures are NOT in a separate smaller book form.

RPG solo adventures might be a standalone module that is A4 or 8.5×11 sized. Or there are some GURPS solo adventures that are even perfect bound at that size.

But these are NOT ”pocket sized” gamebooks in the ilk of Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf or Sagard, etc.

Tonight I’m sharing another format for RPG solo adventures with the first ever appearance in Dungeon magazine, Vol II, No. 3, issue #9 (which is kind of a confusing numbering method!)

Dated as the Jan/Feb 1988 issue, the table of contents lists The Djinni’s Ring (D&D 3-Solo) and says “Our first solo adventure – no DM required!”

D&D released other solo adventures as standalone modules, sometimes with the mechanism of an enclosed highlighter style pen that could reveal hidden text after a narrative choice was made. See “Blizzard Pass” M1 from 1983.

But here are some photos from this adventure and the familiar gamebook style of numbered passages brings a smile to my face. Enjoy! ⚔️