We are between campaigns and are looking for a good, short game to fill the prep time for the GM.
- Character creation must be very short. Minimal stats is best. We want to be able to start playing less than 10 minutes after reading the rules. Which leads to…
- The rules must be very simple. We should rarely have to look up a rule to figure out how something works.
- It must be able to have a light-hearted tone. Silly, goofy, door-busting, dungeon-crawling, laser-blasting action would be best.
- All players should be considered "playing" at the same time. This eliminates games like Everyone Is John that push all but one person to the background for a duration. We don't want anyone to lose interest to their cell phone while it's someone else's turn to play. (Note that combat turns are fine, as long as they are pretty short.)
- Made for around 5-6 players. A GM is allowed, but not required if the rules are simple enough.
Bonus points if the system is cheap/free/available online.
Edit: What games are out there that could be played in a single night, with no prep? is another good resource, however it does not necessarily follow 2, 3, or 4 from this question.
Best Answer
Risus: The Anything RPG would fit the bill perfectly:
Bonus: It's free and online! There's also a solo adventure you can try out, although half the fun is trying to justify using a strange cliché in a given situation.