The early days of the internet were a wonderful time, one where the internet was dominated by hand-made, single-person passion projects, where people showed off the things they loved, no matter how weird they were. However, people who want to revisit this era don’t need to worry, as Mindnet Browser is a TTRPG that aims to take players on a journey through the early internet, allowing them to explore numerous weird and wonderful sites.
Mindnet Browser is a solo TTRPG set in a 200X, an alternative version of the early-2000s, where the hottest thing in tech is the Mindnet Browser. This device lets users surf the internet inside their minds (provided they’re connected to the correct equipment). Because of this, it’s never been easier to explore all the wonders the web has to offer. The game casts the player as someone who has just returned home from their day’s commitments (whether school or work), meaning they have an hour free to log into the Mindnet Browser and explore the web.
Jumping Into The Old Net
Before starting the game, the player needs to set a timer for one hour. They also have to find a set of Art Dice (though thankfully, the game includes a QR code link to a printable set and a digital version, meaning you don’t need to order a set and wait for them to arrive).
The game starts in the Mindnet Hub, a central webpage that acts as a portal to the other sites on the Mindnet. The player starts by noting down what category of page interests their character at that moment in time (basically outlining their motivation for logging onto the Mindnet).
After this, the player rolls the four Art Dice to find which websites within this category have updated recently. The player then checks the images on the Art Dice and uses them as inspiration to pick the names of these sites. Once this is done, the player picks which of the four sites they wish to visit.
The player then rolls the Art Dice again. Once rolled, the player assigns the Art Dice to one of four categories: Netsmith (focused on the page’s creator), Layout (how the page looks), Content (what is on the page), and finally Spark (what makes the page unique).
The player uses the images on the dice to write about each of these four categories in their journal, discussing both the page itself and how exploring the page makes them feel.
If the player finds links on the page, they can click through them. If these links lead to a page on the same website, the player can roll as many Art Dice as they want and use the results of these rolls to help them imagine what this new page looks like. Should the link takes the player to a new website, they roll the four Art Dice and repeat the categories phase.
However, one of the biggest joys of the pre-corporate internet was seeing how pages changed and evolved over time. Thankfully. Mindnet Browser takes this into account. If the player finds a page they particularly like, they draw a little star next to it in their journal to mark it as a favorite. If the player revisits the page later in the session, they perform the categorization phase as normal, but this time the categories represent how the page has changed since the last visit.
Once the hour timer ends, the player writes a final post summarizing their experiences surfacing the Mindnet.
Capturing The Old Internet In TTRPG Form
Mindnet Browser is a really fun solo TTRPG that does a great job of capturing the feeling of the early internet. I’m a big fan of the category system, as it simply but perfectly captures the main elements that made old-school websites so memorable. This means the game has a really solid structure where players are never left feeling lost, while still giving them room to come up with their own ideas and take their Mindnet exploration in whatever direction speaks to them.
While games that use custom dice are often a hard sell (as they add an extra barrier to playing), Mindnet’s Browser decision to use the Art Dice really does enhance the game. A big reason for this is that the Art Dice fit the categories nicely, as the images are simple and common enough to fit common website categories and content types when read literally (e.g., the sides showing a dog, a tree, and a stylized eye can easily map onto pet sites, nature sites, and fashion blogs), but have enough symbolic meaning to handle to the more esoteric categories (like Creator and Spark).
This means that the Art Dice really feel like they’re shaping the experience and forcing the player’s hand a little. This is great as it gives the game a sense of randomness that enhances the game’s atmosphere because, as anyone alive for the early internet will tell you, it was the Wild West era of the net, where a single errant click could take you down a totally unexpected (and often disgusting) road.
Because of this, Mindnet Browser’s internet adventure does sidestep a common trap many solo journaling TTRPG titles fall into, where the randomizer is so vague that it ends up feeling like it has no impact on the game as the player is having to come up with everything whole cloth on the spur of the moment.
Also, it is impossible to discuss Mindnet Browser without mentioning the graphic design. Put simply, the game is beautiful. Each page resembles a different retro website, and every single one is evocative and overflowing with personality. Plus, the book is loaded with numerous fun and nostalgic touches. However, my favourite has to be a hilariously pixelated banner ad that gave me flashbacks to my days of using glacially slow dial-up that rendered most pages as vaguely coloured blocks.
Mindnet Browser is a must-play TTRPG for fans of the early days of the internet. The game does a fantastic job of capturing the feeling of skimming through random webpages and discovering lifelong interests or brand new traumas as you do, of a time when every page had an eye-searing colour palette and enough animated GIFs to cause a modem fire. However, the game isn’t just relying on nostalgia, as under its Web 1.0 sheen, there is a really solid solo journaling game that perfectly balances structure with player choice.
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