A practical solo RPG loop
How to Play a Solo RPG
Start by choosing what your character does in a situation that matters. Then consult a procedure, accept the result, and carry the consequence into the next scene so the campaign keeps its shape.
Choose what your character does
Frame a situation with a real question in it, then decide what the player’s character attempts. The player chooses the hero’s action; solo play becomes interesting when that choice can meet resistance or reveal a cost.
Consult the mechanics
Use the rules you chose for the game: a move, an oracle, a die roll, or another procedure. The mechanics answer uncertainty instead of asking the player to decide every outcome alone. Table for One can run those procedures through a rules-driven Game Master while the player still directs the hero.
Resolve the outcome
Read the result honestly, including a complication, new information, or a consequence. The fiction follows the outcome; it does not erase the rules or turn an inconvenient roll into a preferred answer.
Carry it forward
Record the facts that changed in the journal and state: what happened, what it cost, and what the next scene must answer. That durable record lets a solo campaign continue from its consequences instead of starting fresh every time.
Continue
Read the orientation again when you need the format in view, or examine the boundary a trustworthy AI Game Master should keep.