How It All Started: Solo Board-Gaming & TTRPGs

It all started with a climbing injury...

So, a fun fact about me is that I am absolutely passionate about bouldering (more generic term, climbing... bouldering is essentially climbing up rocks without any ropes... yes, it can be quite scary). 

I got into bouldering June 2023 and fell in love with it. I went bouldering every week, tracked my progress, trained and worked on my weaknesses, got obsessed with "projecting" (another way to say I guess, analyzing) hard routes. Looking at the routes felt like a real-life puzzle. I'd ask myself "How can I climb this route in the most adequate way possible?" or "What would happen if I stepped on the side instead?" Whenever people are asking for fun physical activities, I always recommend climbing!

I was making all this progress til I sprained my left knee and I took so many months off from bouldering. I will admit, I was quite sad. So, I was trying to find activities that tickled my brain the same way bouldering did, and surprisingly I found that in solo board-gaming and TTRPGs!  

Similarities Between Bouldering & Board Games/TTRPGs

- Strategy: Just before I start playing, I usually try to think of a strategy behind the objective I'm trying to accomplish. It's like with bouldering! Just before I hop on the wall, I try to visualize certain moves that will help me reach the top in the most efficient way. There are also just so many different goals you can have for yourself in solo board-gaming! You can beat your own score... you can try to beat a certain monster... you can try various types of combinations of cards in your deck-builds... etc. With TTRPGs, I can test my character's skills! Instead of fighting a monster... maybe I can bribe a monster with some yummy apple pies?! 

- Solo-aspect: With bouldering, all I think about is "me and the rock-wall." With my board games, it's the same thing! I also just like playing the games that I simply want to play. For example, Mage Knight is so hard for me to get friends to play; it's a hard, heavy and long game and majority of my friends would rather play something light!

While I do enjoy playing board games and bouldering with friends, there is something special about doing things alone/solo. I get to focus solely on my skills, it's comforting too when I can just focus on the game, and it's a nice outlet to practice some self-growth!

- Creativity: It's fun to be creative with certain bouldering routes... What if I jump to that hold instead? What if I reached for that hold with my left hand, instead of my right? I get to train different parts of my body too to adjust to certain moves while I climb. This kind of relates to strategy, but I also LOVE letting my creativity flow when it comes to TTRPGs. I enjoy world-building and creating NPCs and monsters that my character will encounter throughout the adventures! 

With all that to say, that is how it all started for me! I needed to find an outlet that was similar to bouldering, and I found it in board games and TTRPGs! Playing solo is such a fun and unique experience that I always want to recommend people to try at least once!