Some fantasies are surprisingly common. Like, who hasn’t dreamed of being a lighthouse keeper? Or solving a mystery in a strange small town that seems to defy the accepted laws of reality. Thankfully, these dreams don’t have to remain dreams, as The Long Watch combines lighthouse keeping and supernatural mystery solving into one amazing solo-journaling TTRPG.
The Long Watch is set in a world where a permanently underfunded organization named The Long Watch monitors and protects Frequencies. Frequencies are rifts that allow travel around and between different realities. Naturally, these rifts didn’t just allow people from our reality to travel; they also allowed other beings (many with less than pure motives) to travel into our reality. Because of this, The Long Watch hires Beaconers to monitor the Frequencies, ensuring safe passage for travellers and preventing problems before they arise.
Another Day In The TTRPG Lighthouse
Before the game starts, you have to make your Beaconers. To do this, the player rolls 2D6 three times to get their character’s three starting stats: Fortitude, Knowledge, and Disposition. The player should also come up with a ritual or hobby that their Beaconer dedicates themselves to during their downtime.
Additionally, the player must select their Beacon (the location they’re stationed) from a choice of five, each with a distinct resource that provides the player with advantages during gameplay.
After this, the game’s general flow begins. Each in-game day is split into five phases. In the first phase, the player splits 6 activity points between three tasks: Nutrition, Ritual/Hobby, and Study/Maintenance. Each of these tasks gives the player a different buff upon completion or a different debuff if it isn’t assigned points for several days. After this, the player rolls a D6 to generate a morning event, each of which has a unique effect (usually increasing or removing the player’s activity points).
During the second phase, the players draw cards from a standard deck to find out what events they’ll be experiencing during the coming night. After drawing cards (the number depends on which Beacon you chose at the start of the game), the player checks the suit and the card’s value to find the exact nature of the event and how intense the event will be.
The next phase gives the player time to prepare for the oncoming events. Using any activity points they have left over from the first phase, they can perform five actions (fortify, study, meditate, emergency repairs, and rest), each of which bestows specific benefits.
Then, during the fourth stage, the events hit. The player draws any extra event cards they’ve acquired during the previous phases, shuffles them together with the previously drawn ones, and then lays them out face down.
After this, the player turns each card over one at a time. If the card’s suit is diamonds, the event automatically succeeds in the player’s favour, and they roleplay the outcome in their journal. If it is any other suit, the player has to roll 2D6 and add the card’s value. The player then rolls another 2D6 and adds their relevant stat to it. If the player’s total is equal to or above the value, the action resolves in the player’s favour (and the player receives rewards if they exceed the value by a certain number). If the player’s result is under the value, they get a bad outcome, and their Beacon’s integrity decreases.
Once all of the cards have been resolved, the final stage begins. During this stage, the player gets the opportunity to make repairs and gather supplies before completing their day’s journal entry. After this, the process repeats.
However, every 8th day, the routine changes as the player’s Beaconer gets their mandated day off. During this day, the player can spend time sending letters to other Beaconers (who can be generated via tables or other players also playing The Long Watch), attempting to repair or resupply the Beacon, or attempting to solve a mystery linked to their Beacon or one of the travellers that have passed through it.
A Word Of Mundane Wonders
The Long Watch is an amazing and memorable solo-TTRPG. It is clear that the developer completely understood the tone they wanted the game to have, as it jumps off the page from the very first line. Every part of the game, from its mechanics to the artwork, helps to reinforce and intensify that tone, leading to a deeply immersive and visceral experience during play.
The best way I can describe The Long Watch is Terry Pratchett-esque, as it nails the feeling of a world full of supernatural wonders and oddities. However, those oddities have all of humanity’s best and worst characteristics. Plus, the organizations that deal with them are office jobs weighed down with confusing bureaucracy and powered by put-upon workers who are counting the minutes until they can leave and go to the pub.
One of the most impressive things about The Long Watch is its mechanics. While the game is crunchier than other solo-TTRPGs, the individual mechanics are well-explained and intuitive, meaning that the game never feels overwhelming. In fact, despite the game having 5 pretty distinct phases, you’ll quickly memorize them and fall into a rhythm, meaning that you’ll be able to get through several in-game weeks during an average-length play session.
Plus, none of the mechanics feel surplus to requirements or like they were added just for the sake of it. Every single mechanic, no matter how small, supports the game’s central narrative and enhances and elevates the TTRPG game’s overall tone, helping you put yourselves in the shoes of a supernatural lighthouse keeper who is both competent, but forever out of their depth as they have no idea what they’re going to have to deal with next.
I also love the fact that the game has rules for asynchronous play, where players can send each other letters on the 8th day. I’m always a fan of games that combine solo and multiplayer TTRPG mechanics, because they are a great way for people with busy schedules or those who can’t meet for traditional gaming sessions to enjoy the social element of TTRPGs.
So, if you have the chance to play The Long Watch with other players, I 100% recommend it, because having in-character conversations with other Beaconers, sharing your experiences and intel, leads to some fantastic world building and makes the game even more immersive. In fact, if you want to take the game to the next level, try sending messages to each other via actual mail, as the physicality (combined with the unpredictability) makes the experience all the more visceral.
The Long Watch is a fantastic solo-TTRPG that is sure to become a big hit. The game combines excellent world building with perfectly tuned mechanics, meaning that you’ll quickly lose yourself in the story you’re telling and be sitting on the edge of your seat whenever you turn over a card, desperate to know both what comes next and hoping that things play out in your favour as you deeply care about your character’s well-being and the continued existence of your Beacon. Combine this with the game’s clever multiplayer options, and The Long Watch is a must-play TTRPG for fans of solo gaming and anyone who has wanted to try their hand at being a supernatural lighthouse keeper.
