You are stranded on a remote island and you can only bring one thing to escape. What do you bring and why?
Form groups of four and share what you brought and why you brought it with each other.
Now let’s say you four come across each other on this remote island, each of you with your chosen item. How do you all use your items and get off this island?
I posed this set of questions as an icebreaker to a group of 50 engineering students at the beginning of a meeting. While the students weren’t thrilled by this activity (no one likes icebreakers), I like to think it was a clever way to start a conversation by having them do what they do best: solve problems.
I now realize that what I had them do was a form of gameplay. I started them off with a simple solo scenario, and then expanded the premise such that their individual choices unlocked countless possibilities when combined. This was the beginning of my discovery of modes of play.
Modes of Play
Ironsworn, by Shawn Tomkins, is probably one of the most popular TTRPGs that supports multiple modes of play. Ironsworn describes its three modes of play as:
Ironsworn, Chapter 1: The Basics, Playing Ironsworn
- Guided: One or more players take the role of their characters…while a gamemaster (GM) moderates the session…
- Cooperative (Co-Op): You and one or more friends play together to overcome challenges and complete quests. A GM is not required….
- Solo: …You portray a lone heroic character in a dangerous world.
Playing the same game three different ways appeals to me due to the valuable resource we all wish we had more of: time. Scheduling a group of friends to play a TTRPG together is a formidable task. Add to that the requirement that everyone is present (i.e., not a single absence permitted) or excluding the times the GM has a stressful day and isn’t up to running a game, and the task becomes momentous. Different modes of play ensures that the game is always played in some form and at each player’s own pace.
One Game, Many Aspects
Designing games for multiple modes of play increases the chances of your game being played, but it also allows players to engage with the game in different ways as well. A game can have the same basic rules and mechanics but with different aspects made available based on the mode of play. Each mode of play lends itself to different narratives.
- Solo: Solo adventure games typically revolve around a solitary character exploring the world. Solo adventuring often needs oracles (i.e., random tables) to offer ways to cede control and direct the narrative in surprising ways. The mechanics can be more puzzle-like and slower compared to mechanics for group play as a player isn’t waiting on others to strategize. Solo play also lends itself well for engaging with advancement mechanics.
- Co-Op (or Troupe): Co-Op play offers the opportunity for two or more characters to interact. This opens up the ability to trade information or equipment that was otherwise unavailable to each character. Mechanics such as relationship tracks or combo moves are possible. Characters team up and take on stronger threats generated by oracles. Because players have invested different amounts of time playing the game solo, the game needs to account for teams of varying power levels.
- Guided (or GM-ed): The stakes feel raised compared to the other two modes of play. Guided play is assumed to occur less frequently due to the nature of scheduling groups of players, so when it happens, the narrative should increase in drama. The GM takes on the role of powerful antagonists. Player-NPC reactions occur more quickly and spontaneously. The GM could be another solo player looking for a change of pace, or someone who has a more limited schedule to play but finds enjoyment in game prep and weaving narrative threads together. This mode of play benefits from big stakes and big rewards.
Example: Superheroes
Say you are designing a superhero TTRPG where you play as street-level superheroes, protecting your neighborhood. The game can be played guided, co-op, or solo. Depending on the mode of play, you could do the following:
- Solo: Protect your neighborhood from street-level threats, collecting clues to a greater conspiracy at play. Train your superhero to increase your abilities and upgrade your base of operations by spending rewards.
- Co-Op: Team up with one or two other superheroes to take on medium-level threats and the consequences of adjacent neighborhoods that spill into your own. Travel to each others’ neighborhoods and trade clues you’ve learned during your solo missions.
- Guided: Team up with other superheroes to take on higher-powered villains behind the conspiracy, played by the GM. Neighborhoods can be demolished, but the city, if not the world, will recognize your efforts if victorious.
The game could work perfectly well if it only supported one of these modes of play, but the experience is elevated with the ability to play in multiple modes, emulating those crossover events or “team-ups” that frequent the superhero genre.
Making the Most of a Game
Both TTRPGs and board games explore the design space of modes of play. Since the start of the pandemic, the popularity of solo games have soared, with many popular board games developing solo or co-op rules. Modes of play doesn’t just mean players have to engage with a game in the same way or with the same mechanics. Providing aspects of a game that can only be interacted with during one mode of play maximizes playtime while encouraging players to discuss the game and work towards scheduling sessions for those high-impact narrative moments.