200 Word RPGs (Patreon)

Living Games Conference is in just a few days (which means my Development blog post might be weird), Finals is happening and won't stop happening, and Solomon is being released to the playtesters in less than 2 weeks. In other words, I haven't had the chance to think about much besides those things, and the past month has been a dry one. No worries, though! Starting June I'm going to be throwing myself headfirst into game design, and between Wayfinder, Solomon, and various cons, you'll be hearing a lot from me. 

In the meantime, I've been working on some little projects in my free time. The 200 Word RPG Contest is starting soon, and I've written four so far. I need to narrow them down, but they're all so weird and conceptual and I love them all dearly? 

I've included all four of them as .txt files at the end of this document, in case you want to download them, but I've also included their text in this post. The purpose of this challenge is for some strange games, and I think I'm getting there. I tried really hard to avoid the "you're throwing matchsticks into a metal bowl to represent your sorrows" cliche of gamewriting, and I think these manage to do that well.

We're Queer & In A Field

Before play begins, stand on ground and feel the weather. Imagine you're rooted. Imagine force is coming out of your hands. 

The world is (choose 1) scary, hard, dying, soul-crushing, enormous.

You are (each choose 1) scared, struggling, distant, escaping, lost.

But not right now.

Stand separate from everyone else in the field. You cannot talk about what scares you directly. 

To play, walk up to another player (or players) and ask to do one of these rituals, in this order:

Mirror: Copy each other's movements. Move like flowing water, slowly, gently. 

Watch: Lie down, look up, talk about what you see. 

Promise: Tie grass around wrists, make promises you can't keep.

Lie: Tell each other 5 lies each.

Run: Hold hands, close eyes, walk together in straight line until someone gets scared.

Vent: Take turns being quiet for 5 minutes while other player talks. 

Roll: Lock arms on ground and gently wrestle.

Scream: Get away from everyone else and take turns yelling as loud as you can. 

Join: Sit and hold hands with anyone else also doing this ritual. Tell everyone you love them. Make physical contact, asking first. Tell everyone you love them. Smile if you can.

End.

You're Alone At Night And Scared

Pretend you're a giant wolf, like the one in the sky.

People don't know how scary you are.

Snarl at something small and inanimate.

Walk by leading with your toes, and your heel following. 

Make some kind of rhythm.

Throw something on the ground and leave it there. 

Don't get out of anyone's way. 

Nothing's going to hurt you. They're too scared. You're too giant.

Imagine swallowing up the darkness with your teeth. Imagine surrounding the world like the clouds do, with an eye like the moon. 

When you don't need to be a giant wolf anymore, find a mirror and look at yourself in it. Remind yourself that you're only playing pretend, and you're not actually a giant wolf. 

Look into your eyes, and see the part of you that has a giant wolf in it. Remember that part. Keep it safe, for when you need to be a giant wolf again. You don't now though.

Apply water to your skin, smile, talk to someone, lie down. 

There's a giant wolf in the sky at night, and it's watching out for you. 

How To Make A Magic Forest

This game is about painting magic symbols on trees in the woods. Find a symbol that feels right.

Draw a card from a Tarot Deck, then remove it from the deck. Draw again when time is right.

Ace: As many as you want today.

Two: 1 today, 1 tomorrow

Three: 1 today, 1 tomorrow, 1 after

Four: 6 symbols over next 2 weeks

Five: None. Try again in 3 days.

Six: Go somewhere else, take something from there to bring back.

Seven: 3 tomorrow.

Eight: make a circle with symbols.

Nine: 5 symbols on 1 tree.

Ten: As many as possible.

Page: Someone else makes 1.

Knight: 1 per day over week.

Queen: Take care of yourself.

King: Paint 3 on yourself.

When drawing a Major Arcana, paint number of symbols equal to card value, then act out the scene the card suggests in the forest. Best with friends. Learn something from it.

Once out of cards, take the last card and bury it, in your magic forest. Then shuffle the deck and make a new symbol, with a new color paint. 

Play for many years, until all cards are destroyed. 

Reach Heaven By Violence 

      THE GODS:

Heaven is a tool to command. You are the adversaries, that challenge the player and ruin their life. You revel in your power and the certainty of your victory over all mortals.

Each create your domain. Create your personality. Defend your position. Attack the player on every angle of their existence. Break them emotionally until they're nothing. Decide which one begins the gauntlet. Add new gods when appropriate.

      THE PLAYER:

You are a fool, who seeks to overcome the pantheon of heaven and ascend.

Discover your first God-opponent. You have one day to prepare before the gauntlet. Every hour, contact your god-opponent and inform them of what steps you have taken to defeating them. They will make your life hell. You must be awake for 24 hours to defeat a God, during which time you must have a dramatic final showdown. 

Once you've defeated a God, you must immediately attempt to defeat the next God in the gauntlet.

If you fall asleep for more than 1 hour, you have failed in the gauntlet. 

Once you lose, you may never play this game again.