I love the way that a well made journaling game can take you to parts of your imagination that you didn't expect and gently encourage you to create something that you never would have made otherwise. (appeal of journalling)
An interview with creator and writer Anna Blackwell. Latest in series of solo gaming interviews.
Disclosure - I'm a DriveThru RPG affiliate.
Chat with Anna Blackwell of Apothecaria, Delve and other Solo Games
Anna Blackwell writes and publishing games (through Blackwell Games). Titles include Delve, Apothecaria, For Small Creatures Such as We and Umbra.
We have writing first solo game, challenges & highlights of solo games, about Small Creatures Such as We, advice for playing Apothecaria and the interesting projects coming up. Among other questions.
What was your gaming story before writing solo games?
I first got into RPGs back in high school through a vague understanding of what D&D was and a couple of D6s. My friends and I played Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2e then 4th ed then searched around loads of different systems before I got frustrated and made my own RPG system in 2014 which my group still uses to this day.
I actually started my professional gaming journey as a Video Game Design student way back in 2011. I did a college and university degree in computer games design both of which were terribly out of date by the time I arrived and ended up teaching me useful skills in terms of making projects but not actually giving me the portfolio or skills needed to get a job in game development.
After graduating, I worked freelance as a games journalist for various websites but that career really took off when Tabletop Gaming Magazine took a chance on me and let me write an article about the educational merits of the boardgame Evolution.
How did you come to write your first solo game?
While writing for Tabletop Gaming Magazine, I was asked to write about Kickstarter's upcoming Zinequest event and I just felt inspired to make something for it. I had already written and self-published a generic RPG system back in 2014 and wanted to get back into that design space.
DELVE, my first solo game, came about from a doodle that I'd been doing around that time and my love for Dwarf Fortress stories so I decided to blend the two and encourage players to make their own dwarven strongholds.
What's the appeal to you of playing and writing journalling games?
Journaling games gamify writing in a way that has helped me break writers block and rediscover my love for storytelling.
I love the way that a well made journaling game can take you to parts of your imagination that you didn't expect and gently encourage you to create something that you never would have made otherwise.
What have been the challenges and highlights of creating solo games?
I love seeing people share their DELVE maps and their For Small Creatures Such As We journals on social media and in our Discord. It's especially exciting to see someone talking about the story they've created out in the wild on things like Reddit.
My favourite thing is hearing how it has helped other people break their writer's block and helping them get the words flowing in ways they haven't for months or even years.
As for challenges, the biggest one is trying to hit the right balance between player freedom and designer guidance. If a solo RPG has too much guidance it can feel formulaic, like you're just filling out a form while having too much freedom can feel like you've just paid £10 to be told to go write a book. Hitting that balance is crucial and takes time to find.
What's the story behind For Small Creatures Such as We?
For Small Creatures Such As We started as a zine project back in 2022 and originally it was going to be the same size as Apothecaria. It was my love letter to Becky Chamber's Wayfarers series and especially the first book A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet (hence the long title).
But as I designed the game, a number of huge life events happened and work started and stopped and started and stopped until eventually I had made something that was much bigger and more ambitious than my original vision.
I'm glad it turned out the way it did as I'm really proud of it and I think the new elements made the game much better and more involved than what I would've accomplished in 60-ish pages.
What advice would you give people trying to play Apothecaria?
Don't be afraid to break the rules. Apothecaria is a cosy game that gives the player a lot of freedom and some players - especially those used to D&D - get a bit freaked out by that and think they must be doing something wrong.
Honestly though, even if you get some of the mechanics wrong during an ailment, as long as you're having fun then you're playing it correctly!
What are your favourite solo games to play (that aren't yours)?
Thousand Year Old Vampire is one of my all-time favourites due to the simple mechanics that just shut up and get out of the way.
I really enjoyed Lineage for its mad royal family tree making. And Ironsworn, though all my characters die so quickly because I make bad decisions!
What are your next big projects that you can talk about
I'm launching a Kickstarter on June 17th for a 4 zine collection (and they will remain zines this time!).
It's called the Death & Pottery Collection and features a duet game about having a conversation with Death over a game of chess, a GM-less Jenga-based game about squabbling heirs feuding over their parent's legacy, an improv comedy party game where you turn household objects into museum exhibits, and a solo journaling game about running a service station in a Mad Max style world.
After that I've got a large hobbity RPG called Shirefolk which is all about building up your burrow, learning gossip, doing odd jobs, growing vegetables, rearing pigeons, and just generally enjoying the shire life!
And there's also! I kid, I won't go into too much here but if people are interested, I share snippets of my projects over on patreon.com/AnnaBlackwell including news about the upcoming DELVE sequel!
Where can people find you online?
- @annablackwell.bsky.social on bsky,
- @blackwellwriter on Instagram,
- blackwellwriter.com (main website)
- blackwellwriter.itch.io
- and of course Patreon - patreon.com/AnnaBlackwell
Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Yes! I recently released my first novel thanks to the writer's block busting powers of solo RPGS! It's called Wolf & Fang Detective Agency: The God Thief.
It's a comedy fantasy about a werewolf and vampire detective duo that have to hunt down an elusive figure known as The God Thief after they steal a holy relic in an impossible heist. Along the way they'll have to face criminal witches, mad elves, gravity defying trains, a golden goose and more.
Fans of Apothecaria will be excited to know that they share the same setting. It is available now in paperback and hardback from blackwellwriter.com or you can bug your local bookstore to get it in stock.
Finishing Up
If you haven't already give one of Anna's solo games a go. I've got an actual play of Apothecaria here on Rand Roll.
There are many more articles on Rand Roll. Plus a Rand Roll Discord and instagram of Random Tables. I also create Generators at Chaos Gen and have a monthly random tools Newsletter.
