Ever felt like you’re trying to reason with an inanimate object? MacGuffin & Co have turned that precise frustration into a solo roleplaying game. Pitcrawler Solo Mode puts you in the role of the Games Master, with your ‘player’ being a stuffed toy, a strange painting, or any uncooperative object of your choosing.
The new solo experience is a spin-off from Pitcrawler, MacGuffin & Co’s established two-player TTRPG. The original is a rules-light, head-to-head game for one player and one GM, set in a world carved up and ruined by powerful, thoughtless wizards. These wizards serve as a thinly veiled and satirical commentary on the tech billionaires currently disrupting society. In this world, ordinary people are forced into dangerous, menial jobs, with the most desperate becoming the titular Pitcrawlers.
Pitcrawler Solo Mode brilliantly inverts this premise for a single-player experience. Using random tables, the GM-player narrates a story for their chosen object, attempting to guide it towards ‘correct’ decisions it cannot possibly make. According to Sasha from MacGuffin & Co, the game works best when you narrate the drama out loud. The entire process cleverly mirrors the main game’s critique of the blind, thoughtless devotion sometimes shown to the real world’s ‘evil wizards’ and politicians.
First teased back in January, Pitcrawler Solo Mode saw its official print debut this weekend at Tabletop Scotland, with a digital version available from MacGuffin & Co’s Itch.io store.
The launch is part of a growing trend that highlights Tabletop Scotland’s increasing importance in the UK’s gaming calendar. As the largest convention for Dungeons & Dragons Adventurers League play and one of the UK’s top three gaming events overall, it has become a significant venue for premieres and follow-ups. Often, major news breaks at UK Games Expo earlier in the year, with developers using the later Tabletop Scotland event to release demos, quick-starts, or, in this case, full print runs.
With its sharp satire and inventive mechanics, Pitcrawler Solo Mode is another notable release from MacGuffin & Co, while its physical launch further cements Tabletop Scotland’s status as a key event for the industry.
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A special thanks to All Rolled Up for sponsoring Geek Native’s coverage of Tabletop Scotland. You can find them in the trade hall and explore their fantastic range of indie RPGs and high-quality gaming accessories on the All Rolled Up website. You also also win £50 to spend with them.
