My One-Month Crash Course in Solo RPG Design

I love learning and I love books, but I was never the best student back when education was free (sorry Mr. Bryant). That hasn’t stopped my curiosity, though. Over the years it’s taken me down a dizzying array of topics. I mean, I’m basically a ferret down a rabbit hole and some of those rabbit holes go deep. They twist around, double back and then pop up in completely different fields. It’s fun, but also kind of chaotic and unfocused and unfortunately, a lot of what I learn slips out of my head pretty quickly. Does it resurface later when I randomly need useful information, like my phone number? Sure, but all that sporadic learning makes me wish I could just go to school for the things that actually interest me.

Yeah, there are college classes and adult ed programs, which is great, in theory. In practice, they’re often expensive, scheduled when I’m working, or focused on subjects I’m not that excited about.  Enter the idea of the personal curriculum. 

This is something that’s been floating around YouTube recently (and also, apparently, TikTok though I’m not on there). The concept is simple: pick a subject you want to dive into, create a syllabus, and start learning. Of course, there are a few caveats.

First, and maybe most important, your subject should be fairly specific. “All the World’s History” sounds fascinating, but it’s also massive. If you’ve got unlimited time and an iron attention span, I salute you. My brain and schedule work better in small, focused bites.

Second, you need a syllabus. My preferred informational intake source is books, and while they are glorious treasures, they’re also expensive. If you're fortunate enough to have a local library, this can keep your costs down (and librarians are some of the most helpful people out there).

When it's not setting the world on fire, the internet can be a goldmine of information.  There are research papers, free online courses from major universities, documentaries, how-to videos, podcasts, downloadables, and tons of other resources that can form the backbone of your own personal program.

So where am I going with all this?

Well, February is TTRPG ZiMo (Tabletop Roleplaying Game Zine Month). Not to be confused with International Zine Month in July (which covers all kinds of zines) or the November one (a counterpoint to NaNoWriMo). February is all about TTRPGs. That's when it hit me - why not combine ZiMo with my desire to actually learn something new?

My first pass at brainstorming class ideas yielded “Game Design Theory”, but that is way too broad a topic, so I narrowed it down to one-page solo games. I’ve been reading a lot of Skeleton Code Machine lately, and he just happens to have a whole book on the topic. I’ve also been meaning to brush up on probability, and Khan Academy has an entire unit on it.

Just like that, I had a rough course description and a required reading list.

From there, I wrote a handful of questions I want to be able to answer by the end of the month and added some supplemental reading which, honestly, is entirely made up of books related to this topic that have been sitting in a pile waiting for their moment. I even just picked up a backlog of Tumulus magazines. What better excuse to read them than because they are now homework?

I decided to run this as a one-month experiment: four weeks of reading and assignments, plus a final project and an extra credit project. If all goes to plan, I should end the month with an 8-page TTRPG zine and maybe a one-page bonus game too, but here’s the thing about self-driven education: if you work well with deadlines (I definitely do), a timeline is incredibly motivating, but remember, you’re the student and the professor. If work, family, or mental health need more of your time this month, give yourself an extension. The goal is learning, not punishing yourself for being human. If you’re a couple weeks in and the course just isn’t clicking? You can drop it. No guilt. You decide if you pass or fail.

Now, if a class in game design sounds interesting but the whole "build a syllabus" thing feels overwhelming, I’ve got you.

Welcome to my class: One Page Worlds: Designing Compact Solo RPGs

This four-week intensive explores the art of compact solo tabletop roleplaying games through minimalist mechanics, creative expression, and zine culture. You’ll explore RPG design principles and play with probability. You’ll create an 8-page zine featuring a brand-new solo RPG and original artwork.

Sound interesting? Copy off of my paper for free! Download my Very Official-Seeming syllabus and jump in anytime (whether it’s February or not). If you do decide to play along at home, let me know how it goes.  I’d love to hear what you create.

Note: I’m not getting a kick-back for any of the books recommended on my syllabus.  They are literally books I already had on hand and have been meaning to read, and I mashed them together for the purposes of this project.  If you have them, high-five!  Similar book tastes!  If not, substitute for books that you do have that fit the theme, or check out your local library to see if any of the titles are available.  It’s your university!  You do what works for you!

Extra Note: I watched a bunch of videos to get an idea of where to start. This one by Plant Based Bride and this one from Mia's Digital Diary were useful to me, and this one from Cloth & Paper - not only was it useful to see what she's learning and (more importantly) how she's keeping her end goals in mind when figuring out her personal curriculum, her "course book" is everything I love about over-the-top-design-just-for-yourself-because-you-can. Five stars!

That said, while YouTube has some great ideas for how to build a personal curriculum, I notice that a lot of creators have four or more “classes” that they are taking, with LOTS of reading.  It's very impressive, but that’s too many classes for me at this stage of my life.  I had to remind myself that the goal here is not keeping up with the illusion of "Social Media Perfection". It's learning with intention, and focusing on a specific outcomes. I am amazed at the ambition of anyone who is working on a bunch of topics all at the same time. I would love to join them in so much learning but my inner realist tells me to try one at a time.  Your mileage may vary and if, like me, you aren’t even sure you can finish one class, let alone five, I see you.  You and I can be over here in the slow lane, and you know what?  We’ll still finish the race ahead of where we started!

Extra Extra Note: RIP Kenneth I. Bryant. When I mentioned him above, I wondered if he was online anywhere and found that he had passed in late July 2025. He was a gamer of the really old-school variety (we did naval warship battles after school on the floor in the gym.), an educator of surpassing abilities, and one of my all time favorite teachers. I'm sorry you all didn't meet him. His memory will forever be a blessing to me.