Solo maps are working memory made visible. They do not have to become finished art. A map can be boxes, lines, arrows, symbols, and a few notes. If it helps you choose a route, remember a danger, place a clue, or restart next week, it is doing its job.
Choose the Map’s Job
Before drawing, name the job: room layout, travel route, region memory, relationship web, resource path, or mystery site. A room map needs doors and zones. A route map needs choices and costs. A region map needs landmarks and travel pressure. A mystery map needs clues and sightlines.
Do not draw more detail than the job requires.
Start With Shapes
Use circles for places, lines for routes, squares for rooms, triangles for danger, stars for clues, and dots for resources. Build a legend if you reuse symbols. If drawing is difficult, use stickers, tokens, stamps, or index cards arranged as a map.
High contrast matters more than decoration. Future you needs to read the map under normal light.
Let the Map Change
Solo maps can be provisional. Cross out roads, add weather, mark locked doors, draw new exits, and write question marks. A clean map is less useful than a living map.
If you are using a published map, respect the creator’s rights. Keep private notes private and avoid reposting copyrighted maps or scenario spoilers.
Close With a Return Cue
At session end, mark where play will resume. Put a token on the location, circle the route, or write the next question. The map should hold the handoff between sessions.
The most useful map is often the one you are willing to make quickly.
