200 WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 FOREWORD The 200 Word RPG Challenge began as an accident. David posted a little game that he had written in under 200 words, and blasted it out, not thinking much of it. The next morning he had over 150 submissions and tons of people asking about contest details, what were the prizes, who was judging, etc. Something about the tight constraint has captured people's attention ever since. Maybe it's because you can make a 200 word game in a lazy afternoon. Maybe it's because you can read a dozen entries during your coffee break. Or maybe it's just an interesting challenge to see how much game you can fit inside such a brutally small design space. Whatever the reason, we’re glad that the Challenge has encouraged and inspired so many people to create a complete roleplaying game from start to finish, many for the first time! This wouldn't be possible without the incredible creativity of the participants, the hard work of the Readers and Judges, the generosity of those who offered Prizes, and the support of the RPG community as a whole. And of course, Thanks to Joe Banner for laying out this amazing collection. Thank you all. Now let's enjoy some awesome games! ~David Schirduan, Jacqueline Bryk, & Marshall Miller CREDITS Organisers Jacqueline Bryk, David Schirduan, & Marshall Miller Layout Joe Banner All questions, comments or concerns to: [email protected] 2 200-WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 SPONSORS & PRIZES Brian Ericson https://twitter.com/Liefbread World Anvil https://www.worldanvil.com/ Lauren McManamon & Jesse Ross https://girlunderground.org/ An Anonymous Redditor for the Potion of Dice Sigil Stone Publishing https://www.sigilstonepublishing.com/ Frank Reding https://mottokrosh.com/ Lucian Kahn https://twitter.com/oh_theogony Flying Nightbear Games https://fnbgames.com/ Chris Challice https://taoofchall.wordpress.com/ NerdBurger Games https://www.nerdburgergames.com/ Molten Sulfur Press https://www.moltensulfur.com/ Kate Bullock http://www.bluestockings.ca/p/who-am-i.html Shoe Skogan http://www.tatterhood.net/ Emily Care Boss http://www.blackgreengames.com/about Tin Star Games https://www.tinstargames.com/#/ Hydra Cooperative http://www.hydraco-op.com/ Andrew Young https://thatonegm.weebly.com/ Sixpence Games http://www.sixpencegames.com/main.html 200-WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 3 WHAT IS THE 200 WORD RPG CHALLENGE? This small tabletop game design challenge exists for two primary reasons: 1) Encourage participants to make a complete Role-Playing Game. It’s hard to work on a game, and much harder to finish one. This is an opportunity for participants to brainstorm, write, edit, playtest, and polish a game idea from start to finish. 2) To provide a collection of ideas that the community may build upon. These entries are released under the Creative Commons license to promote collaboration and innovation. It is our hope that new designers and old pros alike will use these interesting ideas and work together to expand them into something greater. Why 200 Words? A 200 word limit encourages creativity and demands the very best of your editing and writing abilities. While making a game in 200 words can be difficult, it’s less of a daunting commitment than editing and proofing 285 pages of rules, complete with art and layout. Conceiving, designing, and publishing a 200 word game is a great first step toward completing larger game design projects. Plaintext? Visual presentation can be a large and scary problem. Very few people are masters of writing, editing, art direction, graphic design, layout, and marketing. It usually takes a village to make a game. We want participants to focus solely on the challenge of creative writing and brutal editing. Connect with other Creators Making and sharing a game is a great way to showcase your ideas and connect with new and more experienced game designers. Do you see a game that inspires you? The 200 Word RPG Challenge is a forge for new collaborations! 4 200-WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 JUDGES Mariam Ahmad (they/them): Mariam Ahmad is a queer South Asian-Canadian wordsmith & editor for hire, podcaster, and streamer who lives and breathes gaming. They are the GM of The Musafirs, an actual play podcast with an all queer BIMPoC cast set in Sarzameen, a South Asian campaign setting. They can also be found streaming on Welcome to the Party RPG Twitch channel on the weekend. On occasion, they knit things and cuddle cats. Cheyenne Grimes (they/them) Is half of Glittercats Fine Amusements, which is best known for Laser Kittens and The Fool’s Journey. They were a judge for Game Chef for 3 years and are beyond excited to be joining this great team! Shoe Skogan (they/them): Shoe Skogen is probably not a cannibal but one can never be too sure. They’ve been part of the FLAILSNAILS scene almost since the beginning and have played everso many games. And now, run the OSR as Crown-Captain, which is a hard job but someone has to do it. Find them @ shoepixie on twitter. Kathleen Mercury (she/her): Kathleen Mercury has been teaching for gifted middle school students for fourteen years, using design thinking to create functional art from tabletop game design, RPG design, filmmaking, cosplay, and more. She has multiple games in various stages of design, the first, Dragnarok, hitting Kickstarter in early 2020. She currently cohosts podcasts, Games in Schools and Libraries, Board Game Broadscast, and more. Kathleen thinks happiness comes from being able to create the life you want, and she feels very fortunate that she’s been able to do that. Chris Spivey (he/him): Chris Spivey is a writer, game developer, veteran of the United States Army, and CEO of Darker Hue Studios. He writes and develops role-playing games, bringing his decades-old love of gaming, horror, and history, and a mission to create a more inclusive gaming world. His groundbreaking and critically acclaimed game Harlem Unbound won 3 Gold Ennies and the IGDN Groundbreaker award. Some of his other contributions can be found in The Call of Cthulhu Starter Set (Deadman Stomp), Cthulhu Confidential, Harlem Unbound Second Edition, 7th Sea: Land of Fire and Gold, Geist 2nd Edition, Trail of Cthulhu: Out of the Woods and Thousand Years of Night. He is the Line Developer for a new RPG science fiction line for Chaosium. He is currently creating his next Darker Hue Studios project, Haunted West, a book aimed to tell the stories of the often ignored diverse voices of the Old West. 200-WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 5 READERS Adam Blinkinsop Mike Lake Aidan Sonia-Bolduc Natalie Ash Aleksandra Sontowska Noé Falzon Andreas Lagerqvist Peter Lyons Andrew J Young Peter M.J. Gross Audun Maatje Raymond Visser Cameron Ledbetter Ryan & Gabby Wilson Ceri Bythesea Sarah Judd Christine Beard Sean Smith Cyrus Seth Piercey Dane Fogdall Tara King Danielle Lauzon Thomas David zerbst Tiffany LaPorta Eva Schiffer Whit Carter Eytan Kaplan Gabriel Robinson Gavin Rook Iain Deans Jane Higginson Jeremy Esch Joey Johnnie Pittman Jonathan Janssen Joyce Chng Lauren Schirduan Liz Stong Mark Preston Martin Manrique Matt Kaley-Burton Matthew Gravelyn Matthew Orr Matthew Seagle Megan Condis Michael Inkmann 6 200-WORD RPG CHALLENGE 2019 LICENSING All entries contained in this book are protected under the Creative Commons 4.0 License. Why? The 200 Word Challenge exists to promote encouragement and collaberation. It is NOT a place to find the “best” games in the world. When you submit to the challenge you do so with the understanding that others may re-use your work however they choose, even for monetary gain. Don’t submit anything you wouldn’t want others to use or build upon. We also enforce CC so that we can freely host entries on the website and tweak them for the Patreon.However, there are some huge benefits to submitting your entry under Creative Commons: The work must be attributed and provide a link to the copyright holder Not only does this ensure you get credit, but it also lets anyone know who purchases the work that you formed the basis of it. Name power and word of mouth go a long way in this industry. For example, Dungeon World was written by Adam and Sage, but it was jumpstarted by another project from Tony which was in turn heavily inspired by Vincent’s game. Adam and Sage gave Vincent and Tony credit for their inspirations, but they are not required to share any money or fees for Dungeon World. However the success of Dungeon World helped spread news of Vincent’s and Tony’s other games far and wide.With collaboration success for one creator helps out other associated creators. 200 Word RPGs are ideas, not products The chance that your 200 Word Entry is worth thousands of dollars is quite slim. But the chance that someone will see your idea and want to work with or hire you is greatly increased under Creative Commons. Especially for something as small as a 200 Word Entry, the CC License is a great way to get your name out there and meet like-minded designers. You can build upon cool ideas Creators can reach out to one another and build something new, even if they didn’t win. Always contact the original creator to get their permission before you use their work. It keeps things clean and opens up the possibility of collaberation. No Pressure If you have a darling idea that will pay the rent and feed your family, do not submit it to this challenge! Turn that into a kickstarter and make some money! I wish you all the luck.