RPG A Day 2017 August 8
RPG A Day, 2017
August Eighth(
Prompt: What is a good RPG to play for sessions of two hours or less?
“None I’d probably like” is the first answer that comes to mind, as my disdain for the hyperfocused “indie” games that are designed to begin and end in a single highly-scripted session is well known. But failing that, something with very light rules and no expectation of a continuing campaign and a rich background… or at least, with a sufficiently well designed “assumed background” that a quick scenario is possible. Again, for me, this goes back to humor games like Teenagers From Outer Space or Toon. Toon is probably better because TFAS relies on implicit genre assumptions that a relatively small subset of players will know well, while Toon’s assumptions have a much broader base.
I’d have a hard time with a serious or semi-serious RPG that was designed to run in two hours. (I’m not considering longer scenarios where you can only play two hours at a stretch; the answer to that is ‘any game, really’. I’m assuming, from the question, that they mean ‘a complete scenario in two hours’.)
I think you underrate the indie community here.
I mean, sure, there are absolutely games that fit your bill above — stuff like Road to Lindesfarne, or Mountain Witch, or even Lady Blackbird — where there’s plenty of improvisation in play, but the overall structure and maybe even destination is known.
On the other hand, there are also games where the structure encourages particular timing for a beginning, a middle, and an end — but what actually happens, on both small and large, is very much up to the players and the play. This is where I’d put Itras B, Fiasco, and Heroine. (it’s also where I’d put Monster Hearts, but MH is written for a season of 6-12 sessions, not a single 2 hour session, although a single session may be satisfying).