From Elle Dwight, the co-founder and CEO of social gaming platform Role, comes this list of accessible tabletop roleplaying games that are easy to introduce to your family and friends over the holidays or even the weekend. With easy to adjust roles and intuitive character creation, you’re bound to find a game to suit every member of your groupchat.
Mörk Borg
Mörk Borg: The most popular “OSR” (Old School Revival) game. This category focuses on simple rules that harken back to the origin days of TTRPGs. For fans of dark fantasy, humour, and highly-accessible gameplay — Mörk Borg has become an industry-wide hit. Additionally, Mörk Borg’s open gaming licence has empowered dozens of new games to be created using the same accessible ruleset. Mörk Borg and many of the games based on it are all natively supported on Role.
Mothership
Mothership: Another very popular “OSR” title, this time focused on a “Panic System” that simulates the entertaining cascade of escalating disasters seen in horror movies. Mothership also has an open gaming licence and is the ruleset that powers Role’s own cyberpunk-horror game, CHROME.
Alice Is Missing
Alice Is Missing: A beautifully abstract game that requires no gamemaster and no rulebook to learn. The entire game is played with a simple deck of prompt cards and a group text message thread. Together, these elements help facilitate a story of small-town crime and conspiracy. Alice Is Missing makes for a great party game and a great entry point to role-playing for new groups.
Once More Into the Void
Once More Into the Void: Another simple and deep game that doesn’t require a gamemaster, this game comes from indie darling Rae Nedjadi. The entire game is played with a single standard 52-card deck and has no complex rules to learn ahead of time. Players follow the book prompts and draw cards to determine what happens next in an epic space adventure inspired by the likes of Star Trek, Mass Effect, and The Expanse.
Tales From the Loop
Tales From the Loop: A sci-fi version of Stranger Things, where the players take on the role of kids in an alternate version of the 1980s, full of strange machines and weird creatures. Based on the work of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, with simple character creation and an easy-to-understand ruleset. Tales From the Loop was also made into an eight-episode Amazon Prime Video series that aired in 2020.
The Quiet Year
The Quiet Year: Described by the creator Avery Alder as “part roleplaying game, part cartographic poetry,” The Quiet Year is a thoughtful RPG about making difficult decisions and fostering a community that does not require a gamemaster. The players work cooperatively as part of a community struggling to build something good after the collapse of civilisation.
Kids on Bikes
Kids on Bikes: A rules-light RPG where players take on the roles of kids in a small town who must deal with all manner of adventures. Reminiscent of many popular “kids in peril” films and media, such as Goonies, E.T., Stand by Me, and Stranger Things. Other titles in the system include Teens in Space and Kids on Brooms.
Dungeon World
Dungeon World: A perfect alternative for players who love the classic fantasy genre of Dungeons & Dragons without the complex rules. Players can explore dungeons, fight goblins, and gather loot, as Dungeon World combines elements of DnD with the Powered by the Apocalypse ruleset to make playing and running games quick and with minimal prep.
Masks
Masks: One of many popular games using the “Powered by the Apocalypse” rule system, Masks utilises multiple-choice “playbooks” instead of typical character sheets. This system allows players to easily jump right into playing their character, with all the rules, actions, and choices spelled out for them in a simple fashion right in their personal playbook. For fans of the superhero genre, or anyone looking for a fun story to pick up and play, Masks is a great place to start.
Modiphius’ 2D20 System
Modiphius’ 2d20 Games: Dune, Fallout, Star Trek, Homeworld, and many more… Modiphius publishes many titles based on popular franchises — all using the same “2d20” rule system. Built for easy narrative play, but with enough options for deep character development and customisation over long campaigns, 2d20 games are great for any kind of adventure in your favourite fictional universe.
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