The Wretched
The Wretched is a rules-lite solo journaling RPG played with cards, a tumbling block tower, and a microphone. You are the last survivor of a salvage ship stalked by a hostile alien creature. Isolated and desperate, you chronicle your final days through audio logs while the creature lurks just outside your hull.
Aliens • 1-1 players • 3/5 complexity • None prep
Solo Journaling • Cards + Jenga tower • 1 player • No prep • Rules-lite • 1-2 hour sessions Theme and Setting You are the sole surviving crew member of the intergalactic salvage ship The Wretched . After an engine failure left you adrift between stars, a hostile alien lifeform slaughtered your crewmates.
Theme and Setting
You managed to eject it into space, but the creature survived—and now it stalks your ship's hull, searching for a way back inside. The game is a meditation on isolation, fear, and human resilience inspired by Ridley Scott's Alien , the music of John Carpenter and Nine Inch Nails, and the desolate beauty of deep space.
How Play Feels
The Wretched uses three physical components to generate tension and narrative: a standard deck of playing cards (no jokers), a tumbling block tower (like Jenga), and a recording device. Each day, you draw a card and roll a six-sided die.
What Makes It Distinct
The suit determines what aspect of your situation you confront—Hearts for ship systems, Clubs for memories of the dead crew, Diamonds for the ship's physical structure, and Spades for the creature itself. The die result tells you whether you succeed or fail at your task.
Where It May Not Fit
You want combat and action to drive most of the session You mainly want short standalone sessions with minimal carryover.
What this game is about
A strong fit for groups that want hostile encounters with alien life and worlds, with rules Lite helping define the experience.
Structured data and an explicit decision profile JSON document are available for remote agents.