What is this game?
The Librarian's Apprentice is a solo journaling game by Daniel Bronson-Lowe, published by Almost Bedtime Theater. The Great Library sits in the space between worlds and times, it rearranges itself while you walk through it, and you are the apprentice sent to find six documents before your Librarian runs out of patience. You build the library as you go from an ordinary deck of playing cards, roll two D6 against them, and write down what you find. A session runs about 60 to 90 minutes, and no two libraries are ever the same.

Why do we love it?
Because of how much game fits in so little paper. The whole thing is three double-sided trifold brochures, roll tables full of rooms, patrons and small strange events, and a character sheet shaped like a bookmark. There is no combat here, only fatigue, and a familiar of your own making - a cattacoon, a glow mite, or something stranger - who lends a hand and carries some of that weight when the dark closes in. The Firelights system by Fari RPGs turns every action into a small gamble: beat both cards and you get Light, beat one and you get Shadow, beat neither and it is Darkness.

Why is it our game of the month?
It won Best Solo TTRPG at the 2024 CRIT Awards, and it earns that at the table. This is the game we hand to anyone curious about solo play but unsure where to begin: no long prep, no thick rulebook, no group to schedule. Just cards, two dice, a notebook and an hour of quiet. Gentle enough to play alongside a child, deep enough to keep pulling you back into the stacks. August is a month for reading. Spend it in the Library.