We’re a couple of days into the jam now, and I wanted to have a place people could share any resources they thought others might find useful, and answer any common questions. If you have anything you want to share, please post a comment with any links.
What is a one-page RPG?
For the purposes of this jam, a one-page RPG is a tabletop roleplaying game where the rules fit onto a single page of letter/A4 paper. They are rules-lite by necessity.
Does it have to be one page?
The onepagerpgs subreddit defines a one-page RPG as being 1-3 pages. For the jam, backpages and character sheets are allowed to be separate. That said, if you feel your game is better on two pages, or one page has important graphics, tables, etc taking up a lot of space, then go for it. I’m not the boss of you. The important thing is that your submission is not half-a-dozen pages of text that players have to read first in order to play your game. Tunnel Goons (see examples below) is over two pages, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that philosophically it isn’t a one-page RPG.
What is a backpage?
The jam is for RPGs on a single page, but you can spread onto the reverse side of the page. It’s a loophole. Personally, I’d try and keep the core rules of the game on the front page, with optional rules, Game Master tables, additional lists, etc on the back page. Paring the game back to its core, single page is part of the challenge and part of fun. Ask yourself the question “can a group of players pick up the front page, read it through, then start playing the game without additional info?”. If the answer is yes, you’re in good shape.
Can I include extra information on a character sheet?
Including full game rules on a character sheet that don’t exist elsewhere is probably pushing the spirit of the jam. If players need to read through a character sheet to understand the game, then those rules should probably be on the main page. That said you could include some ancillary information about different characters, or rule reminders to make play smoother. Some PbtA playbooks are an example of giving players extra details on their character sheet.
What font size should I use?
Personally I think font size is somewhat of a red herring; the important thing is that the design is easy to read, and the text is as efficient as possible at explaining the game. Having said that, I wouldn’t go below 8pt-8.5pt for most fonts, and trying to stick closer to 10pt is great.
Examples of popular one-page RPGs:
Lasers and Feelings by John Harper - Popular system to hack. Very rules lite.
Honey Heist by Grant Howitt - Featured by Critical Role.
Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme - Another popular system to hack.
Resources:
/r/onepagerpgs - The one-page RPG subreddit
Blanks and Spaces - A Lasers and Feelings hack template.
Safety Tools - A description of various social and content tools for ttRPGs.
/r/RPGcreation - General subreddit about designing ttRPGs.