Last Tea Shop — solo afterlife journal RPG

"You brew tea. They are dead. They have one last hour."

Dice1–2d6

Players1

Prep~5 min

Foundry VTT—

Complexity

What is this system

Last Tea Shop is an intimate solo journaling game about a tea stall on the border between the living and the dead. The recently departed find their way to you — a soldier, a lighthouse keeper, a wanderer — each one seeking a last cup before the long journey. You listen. You brew. You write down what they say. The classic version is one page and free forever. The complete edition is a 16-page zine with expanded tables, new visitor types, and illustrations by Stoneshore that are quiet and haunting in exactly the right way.

Setting

The borderlands are a misty place where time moves like steam from a clay pot. Your stall stands where the roads of the living end and the path into the Lands of the Dead begins. Nobody arrives by accident. Each visitor found you because they need to talk — about regret, love, an old promise, a light they forgot to leave on. And when the Veiled One finally comes, your own story draws to a close.

What it looks like at the table

Roll 2d6: one die for the location group, one for the specific place. Doubles: you gather two ingredients instead of choosing a spot. It came up lighthouse. Visitor: the Lighthouse Keeper. You draw a question: 'What do you regret most?' A long silence. Then he speaks about a light that was doused on certain nights, and ships that were never seen again. You write it down. You brew him tea with mint and juniper. He walks into the fog.

Playstyle

Narrative Mystery Weird

Key mechanics

Two paths, different dead

Choose whether visitors arrive by the Dice Trail or the Lantern Path — each has its own collection of possible souls. Certain visitors are path-switchers: the next guest arrives from the opposite route, keeping the roster unpredictable.

Affinity

Before play, choose or roll your Affinity — a special skill shaping how you guide conversation. It combines an elemental aspect with a physical one, giving your shopkeeper a distinct presence that quietly colours every exchange.

Tea ingredients

A d6 roll determines where you forage for ingredients before a guest arrives. Roll doubles and you collect two. What you brew matters — ingredients influence the mood of the conversation and what your journal entry becomes.

The Veiled One

The last guest. When she arrives, the game ends. Her coming is unannounced. Her conversation is the most important one. Everything you have written until now was preparation for this moment — and you will not know it was coming until she is already there.

What people say

On the second visitor, I fell into the world completely. A messenger who failed to deliver her final message. A beekeeper, untimely victim of a coup. I cried some happy tears near the end.— itch.io commenter on Last Tea Shop

Combined with the soundtrack I had to tear up multiple times. It's gentle, but deeply reflective. One of my favorite games now.— itch.io commenter on Last Tea Shop

Art & materials