So I’ve been playing tabletop roleplaying games solo since 2020, whether the game was designed for that explicit purpose or not. Grab a game, a decent Oracle system or three, and have at it! The point being, that when it comes to the debate as to whether or not solo tabletop roleplaying is a legitimate way to play TTRPGs or not, you can count me squarely on the side of “YES, THEY ARE!”
That said, there is one style of solo TTRPG that has had more pushback from the tabletop community of late, and that is Journaling Tabletop RPGs. These games are generally played alone, and you write down what is happening in the game, often in the style of a diary or journal, so that in the end you not only have played a fun adventure, but you also have at least notes of the story to revisit later on.
Kinda cool, right? Sure… But a lot of people don’t really consider these to be legitimate TTRPGs, but think of them just as exercises in creative writing.
So, yeah, they kinda are exactly that. You are writing a story, or at least the notes thereof, and these notes/journal can (and often are) cleaned up, expanded upon, and turned into everything from short stories to full novels. But in the moment, they are at their very essence just another way of playing a tabletop roleplaying game, solo or otherwise.
Many novels, television series, and even movies have started out from the notes of someone’s TTRPG adventures. For example, it has long been said that Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” was originally based on a game of “Traveller”. So what’s the difference between that, and someone writing down their solo adventure notes, and converting it into a story, screenplay, or the like?
Anyway, I see it like this: I’ve played all manner of TTRPGs, whether they were group based, solo, traditional or journaling, it really doesn’t matter. Personally, I’m not a fan of journaling TTRPGs, because the style just doesn’t work for me. I will take brief notes during play, whether I’m playing solo or in a group, but nothing like what you need to do in a Journaling RPG. I prefer to keep my play in my head, and only take notes where it is necessary. But does that mean I think Journaling RPGs are illegitimate TTRPGs?
No, of course not.
In my experience, the people who make that claim dislike solo TTRPGs in general, and often focus on journaling TTRPGs for their ire because they are an easy target. I find that unacceptable.
Play your own game, and don’t yuck someone else’s yum.