Halloween is the perfect time to play a TTRPG. The longer nights and the often dodgy weather mean there is no better time to get a group of friends around a table for a fittingly spooky game. However, it is easy to fall into a rut, playing the same handful of games every year, which can quickly cause them to feel boring and predictable (no matter their quality). So here are five less-talked-about TTRPG games that are perfect to play this Halloween, from the spooky to the terrifying.
Locus
One of my favourite horror games of the last few years, Locus is all about haunted locations. Players explore a location where a past tragedy has warped reality, creating a horrific environment where echoes of the event repeat endlessly, and metaphorical monsters lurk in the shadows.
Naturally, your players are tasked with working out what happened many years ago and finding a way to put the restless spirits to rest before the monsters claim them. A task that is easier said than done. If you’ve always wanted to play a game that perfectly captures the vibe of Silent Hill, then Locus is the game for you, as every Locus game has a tense, uneasy atmosphere, because you never know what horrors are lurking around the next corner, making it the perfect TTRPG to play during the Halloween season.
Dead Letter
Dead Letter is a solo TTRPG with a simple premise: letters people try to send to the dead end up in the Dead Letter office, where they are inspected to see whether they can be passed to the intended recipient. You’re a worker at the Dead Letter office. Your job is to inspect the letters that arrive and decide whether they can go to their intended recipient or get destroyed.
The game uses a deck of standard playing cards. Each turn, you draw several pairs of cards, each representing different letters. Using the prompts, you discover what each letter is and decide what to do with it, writing about the letter, your experience handling it, and the results of your actions. While the game is simple to learn, Dead Letter is packed with atmosphere, making it perfect for people wanting to dip their toes into the world of solo TTRPGs this Halloween.
Oceans and Spirals
Inspired by Alan Wake, Oceans and Spirals is a solo TTRPG that casts you as a troubled novelist who goes to a small town to finish their book. However, things soon take a turn for the weird when they discover a manuscript they don’t remember writing and find themselves in the Dark Ocean, a netherplace that wants to feed off your creativity and twist it to its own dark ends.
What makes Oceans and Spirals stand out is the manuscript pages. You start the game with a fresh page from the manuscript you don’t remember writing. However, as you go through the game’s various prompts, you’ll be asked to alter this sheet by drawing on it, adding words to it, and crossing words out. Your goal is to change this document so the story becomes about your escape (without allowing the Dark Ocean to escape with you). Oceans and Spirals absolutely nails the Alan Wake tone, making it a must-play TTRPG if you’re a fan of the game. Even if you’re not, it is still worth a shot, as the editing mechanic is really immersive and atmospheric.
Puppetland
One of the most important but overlooked games in TTRPG history, the original version of Puppetland was published on John Scott Tynes’ website in 1995. The game is set in a world where Mr. Punch killed the world’s original creator, which lets him take total control of reality and reshape it in his own image.
You and your friends are puppets who live in Mr Punch’s world, forced to dance to his whims or suffer the consequences. What makes Puppetland so memorable is the game’s three core rules. The first is that sessions last exactly one hour; the second is that the sessions are puppet shows presented to an unseen audience; and the final rule is that everything you say is considered in-character, no matter what it is. These rules meld together to create a deeply immersive experience that, when combined with the game’s theming, leads to genuinely creepy sessions, making it perfect for Halloween.
Anomaly Hunters
Creature hunts are one of those activities that sound fun on paper. Alas, in reality, they are often very boring, with you spending hours sitting in a dark room looking for something that never comes. Thankfully, Anomaly Hunters is here to solve that problem, giving you a ghost hunt where you’re guaranteed to see something horrific.
Built on Breathless, Anomaly Hunters casts you as members of a monster-hunting reality TV show. However, as you can likely guess, during a session of Anomaly Hunters, your gang bites off more than they can chew, encountering numerous dangerous monsters. The game has easy-to-learn rules, a strong narrative focus, and plenty of GM tools, making it the perfect TTRPG for a Halloween one-shot.
