TEXT:  
   
   
  What’s this? 
   
  A collection of seven tiny RPG games designed during short breaks and bus rides
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  within a single week. The rules of each game have less than 200 words, making
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  them very light and easy to play. These games were carefully designed, but still
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  remain untested. Feel free to tweak the rules to make them more enjoyable. 
   
  -- games by Ludipe 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Wink, wink 
   
  3 players (two spies and the agent) 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  Two spies are meeting during an event at the embassy. Each of them has a password that
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
  they need to tell the other. One of them has to leave for the airport in five minutes, so they
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  must act fast. As soon as they meet, an agent from a rival organization joins their
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  conversation. The two spies must share their passwords during a regular conversation
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  (using any means necessary) while making sure the agent doesn’t get them. 
   
  Rules: 
   
  Set a timer for 5 minutes on your phone, each spy writes down their password (a single word
    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  with 5 or more letters) and hides it. One of the spies picks a conversation topic and starts
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  talking. When time is over the agent tries to guess the two passwords and the spies try to
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  guess each other’s password. 
   
  The spies win if they get the passwords right and the agent doesn’t. The agent wins if they
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  get both passwords right. If the agent gets only one password the winner is decided by
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  flipping a coin. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Famous international experts 
   
  2 - 4 players (world famous experts attending a conference) 
  Must be played at a bookshop or a library. 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  All the players are world famous experts that arrive to a conference only to discover they
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
  don’t know anything about the topics that are going to be discussed at the event. They are
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  all used to talking in public and there are still a few minutes left to improvise something. 
   
  Rules: 
   
  Everyone picks a book for one of the other players. When everyone is ready, set a timer for
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
   
   
  90 seconds on your phone. Players should start reading their assigned book as fast as
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  possible (reading diagonally, skipping pages, etc). When time is over, everyone must close
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  their book. 
   
  Players then take turns to give their talks about the book they just read. Their goal is to
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  pretend to be experts on that topic for 3 minutes.  
   
  One of the players must keep track of time and let the speaker know when only 30 seconds
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  remain so that they can give their talk a proper end. 
   
   
  
   
  Cheap Walking Tour 
   
  +2 players (one guide and tourists) 
  An umbrella or an alternative item which makes the guide stand out is recommended but not
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
  necessary. 
  This game is played outdoors. You can use it to wander around a city or while walking to a
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
  specific place. 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  Your flatmate works as a walking tour guide, but they fell ill last night and can’t make it to
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
  work. They had a very important tour today and they asked you to do it in their place. Yes,
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  you aren’t a certified guide, but you’ve been living in this city for a while, that should be
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  enough (hopefully). 
   
  Rules: 
   
  The guide walks in front of the group talking about streets, monuments and the history of the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  place. They can mix real facts and fake stories. The tourists will follow them and ask
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  questions about things mentioned by the guide and things they see in the street. They can
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  also point out any facts that don’t make sense. Taking pictures is encouraged so you have a
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
    
  reminder of the beautiful historical places you visited. 
   
  The game ends when the group reaches the destination agreed on by everyone. 
   
   
   
  
   
  God’s Dinner 
   
  +2 players (gods) 
  Must be played in a public space. 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  It’s that time of the year where gods gather to feast and brag about their deeds. One would
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  assume gods have some sort of hidden plan that justifies all of their actions. They don’t, but
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  they like to pretend they do. They mostly talk about how they influenced somebody’s life
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  through very small actions in order to get them to do something. 
   
  Rules: 
   
  The game starts with everyone stating the type of god they are. Here are some examples:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  sun, moon, death, storm, wind, sea, love, justice, war, media, globalization, etc. 
   
  Players take turns to describe their deeds. They point at a stranger (subtly, just looking in
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
  their direction and describing them) and say their name, job and personality. Then they
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  explain how that person fits within their secret plan. 
   
  The game goes on until the feast is completed or the time limit agreed on by the players is
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
  reached. 
   
   
  
   
  Herlock Sholmes: The RPG 
   
  3 players (police chief, renowned detective and rookie agent). 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  A crime has been committed, the police department has been investigating the scene for 6
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
  hours, and everyone is tired. A renowned freelance detective arrives with the intention of
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  cracking the case and going home. After taking a quick look, the detective announces their
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
  theory. As soon as he finishes, a rookie agent informs them a new clue has been
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  discovered. The detective must explain how this new clue fits within their theory in order to
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  convince the chief. 
   
  Rules: 
   
  Players decide the roles they’ll be playing. Once the chief explains the case (victim, location,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  clues, suspects, etc) it’s up to the detective to provide an explanation. After that, the rookie
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  adds a new clue and the detective must fit it in their initial theory without changing any
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  details (like the suspect). The rookie adds a total of 5 clues (each of them followed by a new
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  explanation from the detective). Then it’s up to the chief to decide if they think they should
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  trust the detective (and arrest their suspect) or not. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  RPG FM 
   
  2 players 
  Any app where you can play music. 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  You live in a remote village. It’s a nice place, but there’s one thing that really bothers you;
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  reception is terrible, there’s one single radio network and it only plays an annoying loop
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
  where a dull voice reads the local news. 
   
  Talking with a friend you come up with a great idea, you’ll start a local radio music show.
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  After getting all the materials you meet at your house for your first show. 
   
  Rules: 
   
  The game starts with players picking a name for their show and defining its personality. Will
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  they play all types of music? What’s its logo? At what time will your show end? 
   
  Players take turns to play songs they like. Each song should be introduced by the player
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  who chose it, either telling why that song is special to them or providing a fun fact about it.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  The show goes on following the structure agreed by both players (it could have special
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  sections defined by them). The game ends at the time set by the players, who must say
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  goodbye and remind listeners to tune in again next week. 
   
  
   
  Explorers of the known land 
   
  +1 players 
  You will need a notepad and a pen for each player 
   
  Introduction: 
   
  Nobody uses Google Maps anymore; everyone is into handcrafted maps now. You are part
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  of a group that makes maps and then sells cheap copies at local events. Today you’re
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  meeting some friends to draw a map of a specific area. Despite what some might think,
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  having several maps of the same zone isn’t an issue. People buy maps because they like
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  the personal style of the author and the things they focus on (street names, shops, cool
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  spots, etc). 
   
  Rules: 
   
  Players meet in the middle of the area they intend to map. They define the limits of that area
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  and agree on a time limit. The area shouldn’t be too big so they bump into each other often. 
   
  Each player should start walking in a different direction, but they’re completely free to go
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  wherever they want afterwards. They don’t need to map the whole area and can focus in on
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  just a few streets. 
   
  Players walk around drawing their map and adding notes. Then everyone meets at the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  starting point at the time they agreed on and take turns to share what they have made. 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Other (Unique) Systems/An Anthology Of Cozy RPGs.pdf