Join us in creating a mecha ttrpg mini-game! 

This game jam is for mini games like the ones you can find in Meguey and Vincent Baker’s Firebrands. These mini-games facilitate a short, self-contained scene with simple mechanics and “pick lists.” The scenes center a mech pilot or the messy entanglements between two or more mech pilots. The games can be solitaire or multiplayer, collaborative or competitive, with mechs or without.

In Firebrands, each mini game is usually 2 pages in length and rarely takes longer than 30 minutes to play. Yours can be longer if you want.

Feel free to submit one mini-game or a collection of several! 

There are no prizes but we plan to feature some of the most innovative games in the January edition of Asa Donald’s Mecha TTRPG Newsletter. We also hope to pick several to play on stream through Aaron Lim’s Playtest Zero.

Examples

Firebrands has a mini-game titled “A Chase,” in which you choose another mech pilot, determine who is the hunter and the quarry, and decide where you’re going. The two of you proceed through four “challenges” and “admissions.” You gain a coin or two coins based on how each challenge or admission is resolved, often through coin flips. At the end, the quarry escapes if they have more coins than the hunter, or the hunter chooses what happens if they have an equal or greater number of coins. A pick list of challenges and admissions is provided, and they help create the drama.

Firebrands also has a very different mini-game titled “A Conversation over Food.” In this mini-game, pilots take turns choosing conversational partners over a meal and picking from a list of actions. Lists of optional conversation starters and topics are provided as well. 

To hear how these mini-games are played, check out the Firebrands episodes on the One Shot Network.

And finally, here is an example that Asa created, titled Reminiscences:

Themes and Seeds

Firebrands is about messy entanglements between mech pilots. You are welcome to explore messy entanglements, but we encourage you to explore other mecha themes as well. 

Here are some seeds for other themes… 

• The mech as an idealized body, such as a solitaire game in which a pilot customizes their mech.
• The boundaries between humanity and machine, such as a pilot plugging into their machine and becoming “one” with it for the first time.
• The relationship between a pilot and their machine. For example, a duet game in which pilots swap stories about their machines.
• The horrors of war, such as a duet game in which two rival capitalists trade barbs, while they watch their soldiers kill each other from luxurious box seats.
• Ambition, power, and its consequences. For example, a personal duel that catches buildings and bystanders in its wake.

System

No system is needed for these games. Many actions are resolved through coin flips, but you can use anything that fits your game, like Rock-Paper-Scissors or the card game War.

Setting

Setting-specific mini-games are welcome. Firebrands is set in the Mobile Frame Zero universe. There are many great mecha ttrpg settings out there too, such as the NOVAverse, Lancer, Salvage Union, any of the seven settings in Full Spectrum for Spectres of Brocken, Rust Never Sleeps, to name a few. The setting that you choose may suggest different themes for you to explore.

Deadline

This mecha mini-game jam runs from September 1st through December 15th.

Restrictions

• No GenAI content
• 18+ must be labeled
• Previously published content is fine
• This is for indie ttrpgs - no video games or visual novels.
• Multiple submissions permitted.

To be eligible for the newsletter or stream, the submission must be free to read.