The Ink That Bleeds: How to Play Immersive Journaling Games

by Paul Czege

A zine about bleed, immersion, writing to find out, self care, and the landscape of your unconscious, with insights from my own play.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Writing

38 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Camilla Zamboni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This zine is a deep dive into the experience of playing solo journaling role-playing games. It is clearly written with careful and thoughtful word choice, well-organized and fluid in its structure, and persuasive in making the case for solo journaling games as journeys of self-discovery.

Czege argues that immersion, in solo journaling games, is not predicated on evocative language, or specific mechanics, but rather on the potential of letting our unconscious roam freely and guide our gameplay. It is an intriguing premise that offers new insights on the concept of "bleed" and "immersion" in games - and particularly solo games, and the author brings forth years of playing experience and a plethora of quotes and examples.

This essay gave me lots of ideas on what to play and made me want to try more solo journaling role-playing games, so I would say that it does its job as a "guide to the experience and practice of immersive journal gaming" quite well.
Recommended!

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this zine twice now. I really enjoy coming back to it as it is quite the gem.

Czege suggests a different, exciting, and fresh manner of playing solo journaling games. I don't want to spoil it for you, but he takes the potential of the genre and deepens it through the possibility of self-knowledge in gaming. (I'd be curious to take his ideas and use them to explore queerness and gender. As many a trans person can affirm--roleplaying can help you try on new identities!) Czege doesn't shy away from talking about sexuality in his games or in this zine, and I appreciate that about his work. (None of the content is explicit.)

I love how committed Czege is to solo journaling games in particular. I can't wait to see what he writes or makes next.

[Dimitri K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Czege has a gift for writing about his journaling game experiences in a truly captivating manner, and throughout it sprinkling a variety of valuable advice. Even if immersion and letting your unconscious take over while you play aren't the main goal you're after when playing solo ttrpgs (they aren't for me), there's still lots to learn from this zine, and much of it worth reflecting about. I've been applying some of the suggestions on my solo ttrpg playthroughs, and they've made quite an impact.

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul does exactly what he sets out to do: Offer insight and perspective on journaling games and the ways they can empower is through self knowledge.