A recent post got me thinking about the components of a solo game session. It seem to me like it's fairly common to mix and match different solo tools to build a "toolkit" that you use for a particular game. Here's my attempt at breaking down the general components of a solo toolkit. Did I miss anything?

A recent post got me thinking about the components of a solo game session. It seem to me like it's fairly common to mix and match different solo tools to build a "toolkit" that you use for a particular game. Here's my attempt at breaking down the general components of a solo toolkit. Did I miss anything?

Game System
This is the game you are actually playing and probably the reason you're looking to play a solo game to begin with. It has mechanics for movement, task resolution, and maybe more.
Examples: D&D 5e, Dungeon World, Stars Without Number, Savage Worlds

Session Framework
Part of the GM Emulation, this is the framework that guides your session from point to point and ultimately to its conclusion. This could be scene-based or site-based depending on the type of game you're playing.
Examples: Mythic Adventures, The 9Qs, The Location Crafter, CRGE Threads, Scarlet Heroes Solo

Oracle
The second half of GM Emulation, the oracle answers questions about what is happening. Usually this is a yes/no or yes/no/and/but type setup, and may optionally include likelihood and a chaos factor to make things more unpredictable.
Examples: Mythic Fate Chart, CRGE Loom of Fate, So1um Questions

Idea Generator
This category is fairly broad, but most games will need some sort of way to generate random ideas, events, and sensory information. Usually this is accomplished with large tables of random things that get combined in interesting ways and require interpretation. A game can use multipe Idea Generators to generate different types of content.
Examples: Mythic Complex Questions, Rory's Story Cubes, UNE, Maze Rats


Some systems combine some or all of these into one package. Others do one or two of them well and assume you will use other systems to fill in the rest. One of the fun parts of starting a new solo adventure is choosing the components that best fit the game. What do you guys think?