Brain fatigue

-The challenging part of playing solo ttrpg´s-

So… yesterday I felt that something was off. I felt down and completely drained. I forced myself to play for about 30 minutes, but I just couldn't keep going. This was even though my character, Allan, in Across a Thousand Dead Worlds was starting to talk to himself (more on that in the next episode)—a scenario that should have been incredibly enjoyable to play out. But no. I was so tired that my brain simply couldn't handle any more thinking, let alone being creative. So, I decided to write about it instead. And hopefully have the energy to finish this text today…

So… I felt yesterday that something wasn´t as it used to be. I felt “down” and “drained”. But I forced myself to play for like 30 minutes or so. But I couldn´t go on even though my character Allan in “Across a thousand dead worlds” was beginning to speak to himself (more on that in the next episode), and that should have been really enjoying to play out. But no. I felt too tired that my brain just couldn`t handle any more thinking. Less being creative… But I decided to write about it now.

Yesterday, I bought five Traveller PDFs and a bunch of Delta Green material, hoping to get some reading done and maybe—just maybe—roll up a few characters. That hasn’t happened yet.
At this point, I’ve played three different systems over the past two weeks. On top of that, I have my regular Monday-to-Friday job: holding lectures, navigating complex situations, attending meetings, and solving problems. Work is incredibly demanding right now, to say the least.

Gaming is a huge part of my life, second only to my family, but I just can’t fight it right now... brain fatigue.

AI… describe brain fatigue when playing solo ttrpg´s:

Brain fatigue is actually a very accurate term for that specific type of exhaustion. In the solo TTRPG community, it’s often described as the “mental tax” of being both the storyteller and the player simultaneously.

When you hit that wall of brain fatigue, your mind essentially runs out of the glucose and oxygen needed to process complex creative tasks. Here is why it hits solo players so hard.

An AI can easily summarize this, and yes, I think we’ve all seen this discussed in various forums over the years. But it’s incredibly reassuring to know that you (and I) are not ALONE in this.

For most people in this hobby, you aren’t just playing one or more main characters; you’re also the GM. You’re juggling the core rules alongside a solo engine (like Mythic GM or Omen), all while handling world-building, journaling, creating YouTube content, and writing for Substack or other platforms...
It takes a massive toll on your brain sometimes, and that is perfectly okay. You just need to take some well-earned mental rest before diving back in. Still, it’s no fun at all when that fatigue really hits you.

When playing solo you are constantly on edge. Either by playing your character(s),
npc´s, making up the story, reading rules, visualizing everything… It´s really a Lot to handle mentally. But at the same time it`s a very effective brain-training.
In my work as a Specialist Assistant Nurse in Dementia Care, I talk a lot about exercising your brain in multiple ways, and I sometimes mention my hobby as a solo TTRPG player to illustrate this. I rarely think about it as deeply as I am right now, but I truly believe it’s an important subject to discuss.
As I said, other players take this matter to conversation sometimes. It´s part of the hobby, the creative vain. We as a group have something in common (not just the fact that we are nerds and players).

Even when we rely on random tables to spark an idea, it’s still our brain working overtime to extract the right meaning from it. When I roll the dice on a table for, say, sounds, I don't just write the resulting word down. I feel the scene. It might signal that something scary is happening, or I might hear someone whispering behind my back. Sometimes, it's the deafening sound of silence, or something else entirely. The point is, my mind takes that single word, shatters it into a million pieces, and reconstructs it into a living story inside my head. It really is fascinating.

Overall, this is a negativer experience and I know more people have highlighed this so called burnout before. But it feels like I got some energy just by writing about it.

/Threads & Throws

Thank YOU for reading. Feel free to share Your thoughts on this…

And… Please follow the trail…