119 Craw Solo Part 1

• CRAWL SOLO. This is possibly my new nickname. Certainly the name of my next and very first Star Wars character, but I'll spell it Krall. 
• SOLO DUNGEON CRAWL TOUCHSTONES. Part 1 of a loose series. I've been playing DeathMaze and Citadel of Blood as research for my own tile-laying dungeon game, as previewed on Viridian Scroll.
• 1970-76 — The Adventures of You on Sugar Cane Island" by Edward Packard. Interactive Fiction (IF).
• Manuscript submitted in1970 based on stories he told his children.
• Published in 1976. 1st edition going for >$900. 
• Later (1979) became Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA).
• 1971 — The earliest (seriously) suggested date for Arneson's conceptual invention of "dungeon crawling."
• 1975 — Gary Gygax’s (?) solo/random dungeon generator (pretty much as it appears in the AD&D DMG) from Strategic Review 1 Spring 1975. Tables, solo D&D, mapping, wargaming tradition of solitaire (teaching, practice, fun, and referee prep).
• 1975-77 — The Colossal Cave Adventure computer game. (Zork I released in 77.) 
• "SPECIAL FIRST ISSUE FEATURE! SOLO DUNGEON ADVENTURES" – the all caps heading of the article that takes up half of the circular. "
• By Gary Gygax, with special thanks to George A. Lord. Testing by Rob K and Ernie. Knowing GG's style, how much did Lord design, do you think?
• "Through the following series of tables (and considerable dice rolling) it is now possible to adventure alone through endless series of dungeonmazes (sic)! After a time I am certain that there will be some sameness to this however, and for this reason a system of exchange of sealed envelopes for special rooms and tricks/traps is urged. These envelopes can come from any other player and contain monsters and treasure, a whole complex of rooms (unfolded a bit at a time), ancient artifacts, and so forth. All the envelope should say is for what level the contents are for and for what location, i.e. a chamber, room, 20 wide corridor, etc. Now break out your copy of D & D, your dice, and plenty of graph paper and have fun." 
• About a column of text, and 2 pages of tables. Is it role-playing? 
• 1976 — Buffalo Castle by Rick Loomis, 1976, for Tunnels & Trolls, 5.79 RPGG*. First dice-based CYOA. 
• Distinctions. Infinite (generated) vs. Finite (mappable). Game like vs. Text-like. Probably related.
• 1978 — Death Test 1, (US) Steve Jackson, 1978 (DT2 in 1980). 1-5 players, 30m, 6.8 BGG*. Melee/Wizard/Fantasy Trip. Counter and hexmap, Not based on RPG Mechanics, initially. Note, linked on both BGG and RPGG, scored a little higher on the latter. 
• 1979 — DeathMaze, Greg Costikyan, 1979. BGG: 1-6 players, 90 min., 5.9 BGG. Tile-laying. Followed by Citadel of Blood 1980, 1-6 players, 120 min., 6.4 BGG. 
• 1982 — The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, (UK) Steve Jackson & Ian Livingston, 1982. 7.25 RPGG. Popularity among non-RPG crowd. A gateway drug?
• 1989 — Space Hulk, BGG: 2-4 players, 45min, 7.5 BGG. Not-solo, SF theme, miniatures driven. (Inspired games from Warhammer Quest to Descent.) 
• 2008 — How to Host a Dungeon, Tony Dowler, 2008. BGG: 1 player, 60 min, 7.0 BGG. Doesn’t really fit … but solo play, about a dungeon, randomly created dungeon. Story driven, non-PC viewpoint, "artistic"/drawing exercise. Revised edition now on Itch.io.
• 2016 —  Four Against Darkness, Andrea Sfiligoi, 2016. BGG: 1 player, 45-75 min, 7.6 BGG. Modern example.