Last week I set up some emails to distribute download keys using a Kickstarter-generated CSV. When I tried to send the emails out it told me I needed approval, but it's not obvious how to go about that. I've contacted the general support email address but not heard back, so I'm wondering if there is a specific route I should be going through. 

Thanks

Hi apologies for missing this. You can send me a download key via Twitter, or Discord if you're in the server. Thanks!

As long as it fits on a single page, you can lay it out however you like. Using columns and/or separate sections is a great way to make it more readable.

As long as the game follows the rules you can submit it. It didn't have to be "made for the jam", just within the jam period.

Smaller sized pages are fine. Index card, business card, etc.

The One-Page RPG Jam is an annual game jam hosted on itch.io, which gives entrants just over a month to create and publish a tabletop role-playing game that fits on a single sheet of paper. The rules of the jam require submissions to be fully playable games on a single sheet of A4 or US Letter, although ‘backpages’ for extra Games Master tables and rules are allowed, as well as separate character sheets if required. 

It runs until 21st August and is open to everybody.

Hey as far as I could tell the links worked for me, but I've redone the links in the Resource section just in case there was something weird with the links (like a host permissions thing or something).

Generally, the intent is to be more specific than just 'thief' or 'barbarian'. Those are more concepts than Aspects. A lot of the design wants to push you towards using your Aspects, so having them too broad makes it easier to achieve things, and dilutes down the character concept. 'Horse riding' and the rest are good examples though.

That said, as long as everyone is on the same page going in, then you should be good. The worst case is if one person is making narrow Aspects and another is making broad, versatile ones. I'd feel frustrated if my aspects were 'climbing', 'lock-picking', 'sleight of hand', etc., and another player just had 'thief'.

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?

For the jam, your submission should fit onto a single sheet of paper but can be across both sides. Try to keep core rules onto a single side, with ancillary info, GM tools, etc on the reverse. The sheet could be a flat sheet or folded into a pamphlet. If your game has character sheets they can also be separate. 

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.

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. For example, Tunnel Goons (by Nate Treme) is over two smaller pages, and most 24XX games (by Jason Tocci) are across three half-pages, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that philosophically they aren’t a one-page RPG, especially if they can be printed on a single sheet.

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. 

How necessary are character sheets?

To some extent it depends on the game and the information you want the players to track, but 90% of one-page RPGs don't have, or need, character sheets. Often just expecting players to keep track on paper is enough.

What size paper should I use?

You can use either US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) or A4 (297 x 210 mm) sized paper. You can use smaller sized paper if you feel the need, but nothing larger. Additionally, it's okay for the design to be folded, but avoid more than a couple of folds (in-half or trifold is okay, mini-zine less so). 

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.

Is the jam ranked?

The jam is not ranked, and there are no judges. The spirit of the jam is to as welcoming and experimental as possible, without worrying about being judged.

However if you see a game you like, be sure to rate it and leave a comment, and share the game with others you think would like it too.

Is it okay to submit the same game  to this and to another jam at the same time?

Absolutely, as long as the game was made during the duration of this jam and fit the brief. Please do not submit older games or games that are not one-page RPGs.

This thread is specifically for the sharing of resources. Both One-Page-RPG-specific resources and general-RPG-design resources are welcome!

Below are a few I think might be helpful, but please add any more you think would be useful to people in the comments!

Submissions to the One-Page RPG Jam 2020

Submissions to the One-Page RPG Jam 2021

TTRPG Resource Jam - All submissions to the TTRPG Resources Jam with a wealth of templates and advice.

Open License One Page RPG Systems - A list of one-page systems with open licenses allowing you to hack the rules for your own game. (Courtesy of Chaosmeister.)

Game Icons - Free icon graphics.

Safety Tools - A description of various social and content tools for TTRPGs. 

Any Dice - Dice probability calculator.

Itch.io Image Templates - A set of templates to make images the correct size for various places on itch.io.

/r/onepagerpgs - The one-page RPG subreddit

/r/RPGcreation - General subreddit about designing ttRPGs.

Yep! The writing is about 80% done and I'm in the process of sorting cover art. No ETA yet though.

Hi there's no current plan to re-release the bundle at the moment. Often the bundles are a last-minute decision due to creator's days, etc.

I wasn't sure what to make of this at first, but when I got to the second corridor everything clicked. I love this idea and I've played out every possibility in the game. What looks like a simple CYOA evokes The Stanley Parable and similar meta-narrative games to create an experience that had me smiling throughout. 

Is there any way to see analytics of submissions to a game jam in the same way you can see joined users over time, numbers of downloads on a project, etc? I'd love to know a bit more than just total submissions at the end.

The first LD&R episode was what made me want to make a game with this aesthetic for sure! TG seemed a good fit for it. I'm glad you like the game 😁

Hey thanks for your post. You're welcome! I'm glad the jam has been inspiring people to dive in and get designing! 

Absolutely. Dice/cards/etc are a given, and there's nothing stopping you from using something else. Get creative!

The jam isn't ranked, because I want it to be a chance for people to experiment; either with their first RPG or with ideas they haven't otherwise found a home for. I think ranking would put off a lot of people from trying something new. I do however 100% encourage everyone to read other people's entries and rate them.

Yeah absolutely! No team size restrictions as the jam isn't competitive in the same way some are.

There is a 'Looking for Team' channel on our Discord server if you're looking for a team. https://discord.gg/9MsXvTJq79

This might be a niche question, but does anyone know if there is a way to have jam submissions to automatically pop up in a Discord channel? Presumably using some both or RSS or something? Thanks in advance.

Yeah absolutely. You can also submit to the jam then update the game with revisions after the jam has ended, if the project ends up being something you want to pursue in the future. Nothing is 'locked in' by submitting to the jam.

EDIT: I should clarify that you shouldn't upload unfinished games to the jam, then finish them later, but submitting a finished game, then going back to it later to improve it, add bits, etc. is fine.

The One-Page RPG Jam is back and open for submissions from today. This jam is about making new, one-page tabletop role-playing games. Entire systems and settings on single sheets of paper.  Last year the jam was a huge success, and it's the perfect jumping off point if you've always wanted to write your own RPG but didn't know where to start. https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2021

This year we have have a vibrant Discord community which is open to anyone, even if you're not sure you'll be submitting to the jam. You can join us here: https://discord.gg/9MsXvTJq79

Bonjour! There's no English language requirement, so any language is fine, providing you're following the rules of the jam. If you're able to do an English translation as well then great, but if not that's no problem.

This thread is specifically for the sharing of resources. Both One-Page-RPG-specific resources and general-RPG-design resources are welcome!

Below are a few I think might be helpful, but please add any more you think would be useful to people in the comments!

Submissions to the One-Page RPG Jam 2020

TTRPG Resource Jam - All submissions to the TTRPG Resources Jam with a wealth of templates and advice.

Open License One Page RPG Systems - A list of one-page systems with open licenses allowing you to hack the rules for your own game. (Courtesy of Chaosmeister.)

Game Icons - Free icon graphics.

Safety Tools - A description of various social and content tools for TTRPGs. Any Dice - Dice probability calculator.

Itch.io Image Templates - A set of templates to make images the correct size for various places on itch.io.

/r/onepagerpgs - The one-page RPG subreddit

/r/RPGcreation - General subreddit about designing ttRPGs.

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 r/onepagerpgs subreddit defines a one-page RPG as being 1-3 pages. For the jam, your submission should fit onto a single sheet of paper but can be across both sides. Try to keep core rules onto a single side, with ancillary info, GM tools, etc on the reverse. The sheet could be a flat sheet or folded into a pamphlet. If your game has character sheets they can also be separate. 

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.

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. For example, Tunnel Goons (by Nate Treme) is over two smaller pages, and most 24XX games (by Jason Tocci) are across three half-pages, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that philosophically they aren’t a one-page RPG, especially if they can be printed on a single sheet.

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. 

What size paper should I use?

You can use either US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) or A4 (297 x 210 mm) sized paper. You can use smaller sized paper if you feel the need, but nothing larger. Additionally, it's okay for the design to be folded, but avoid more than a couple of folds (in-half or trifold is okay, mini-zine less so). 

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.

How necessary are character sheets?

To some extent it depends on the game and the information you want the players to track, but 90% of one-page RPGs don't have, or need, character sheets. Often just expecting players to keep track on paper is enough.

Is it okay to submit the same game  to this and to another jam at the same time?

Absolutely, as long as the game was made during the duration of this jam and fit the brief. Please do not submit older games or games that are not one-page RPGs.

https://unknowndungeon.itch.io/1400-sneak

Thanks I'm glad you enjoy it!

A collection of all 5 games is definitely on the to-do list. At the moment it's a case of working out what that should look like. I also want to write advice for running the game and for combining the different games.

It's important to me that anyone who already owns the separate releases shouldn't have to pay again for a collection, so I need to figure out the best way to make that possible first.

Hi, I don't currently have any plans to compile all the games into a single release. There is currently one final release planned in the series, which I expect to be out in a couple of weeks. After that I'm not sure where the series will go.

Excellent combination of the 24XX system with a more D&D-esque style of play. It keeps the core of the system simple but expands some areas to give players and GMs more guidance in running D&D-style sessions. I particularly appreciate the nuanced way some of the rules have been subtly tweaked to fit better with the additions Dungeon Soul brings, rather than simply sticking the new parts onto the 24XX rules and calling it good

Ah the template was made in 2018 so maybe that's the issue? Glad you got something to work with though; the ID template is based off the Google Docs one so it'll be similar anyway.

What version of InDesign are you using?

Thanks. Glad you like it!

Yeah the full game has two more pages of A5 which contain items, spells, pets, vehicles, and character traits, as well as tables to help the DM populate the world with quirky NPCs, fantastic locations, and dangerous monsters, as well as create adventures and plot hooks. You're right though that it's not clear from the description. I'll update it shortly.

Thanks!

Thanks for your comment. I've uploaded a better version of the spreads, as well as a b&w version.

That's up to everyone to decide. There's no formal judging for this jam, but you can leave reviews on each submission, or head over to the r/onepagerpgs subreddit. You can also still use the hashtag #1pRPGjam on Twitter to talk about games that have been submitted, or one-page RPG creation in general.

And of course you can get a group together and play some of the weird and wonderful games that were submitted :D

The jam is over! Wow. 

When I started the jam I thought getting 20 submissions would be good. To end with 170 submissions blows my mind. It’s great that so many people embraced the spirit of the format and created some truly fascinating systems and settings. The level of creativity throughout the jam is astounding, and I hope everyone had a great time working on their games. 

If you haven’t already, be sure to share your games on the one-page RPG subreddit, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and remember to use the hashtag and mention the jam social media accounts so I can retweet and share! If you didn’t finish your game in time for the submission deadline, don’t worry; You can still share them with the jam social’s and get your retweet! My intent is to slowly share every submission to the jam through the accounts, but with 170 submissions that might take some time to do!

I’m really interested to hear your feedback on the jam, and if you’d like to see another; either another one-page in 2021, or other, similar jams before then. I have a couple of ideas in mind, but I’m open to suggestions and feedback. Also if this was your first jam, or your first experience with one-page RPGs let me know how you found it. Any new jams will be announced on the social media accounts, so follow them if you don’t already. You can also follow me on Itch if you feel like it. 

So that’s it for the 2020 One-Page RPG Jam. Thanks everyone for playing. Watch this space.

- James

Could the game be played with just the one-sheet? If it can then great! If not, and the one-sheet is just a rules reminder that needs a 10-page booklet to understand, then  really it falls out of the scope of this jam.