We typically want a certain amount of structure in our tabletop RPGs; familiar rules that assure us the game maintains enough balance to sustain itself over a years-long campaign. But then the Game Master brings out a new game for one-shot night and things get weird. There’s lots of laughs, absolutely unhinged character concepts, and you’re left wondering what that game even was.

I’ve gathered some of the top weird TTRPGs for your consideration here. Some stand out due to their unusual settings, forcing you to think of a new type of character. Others bring novel game mechanics to the table, forcing you to leave optimization behind. And one might not even be playable. Let’s check them out! 

Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme

Of course you’d expect silly from a Monty Python RPG, but you might not be expecting just how well constructed this one is from a game design standpoint. The general premise is that this is NOT a TTRPG but a totally serious reenactment show on television. As such, you must not only complete a quest using your chosen character class but also keep your producer happy. This head of entertainment (not the Game Master but a totally separate character) can be pacified through commercial breaks or minigames. The result is part DnD quest, part story-based mechanics, and part fourth wall-breaking improv exercise. 

Toon

The Toon TTRPG was created in the 1980s to facilitate playing as a good ol’ fashioned cartoon character. Think less anime or Dreamworks and more Looney Tunes/Hanna Barbera kind of slapstick. In fact, one of the game’s big mechanics is that characters can’t die. If you get run over? Just peel yourself off the ground and the GM gives you a three-minute penalty where you are out of play. The game emphasizes keeping things moving, to the point where GMs are supposed to skip over a player if they take too long to think as their toon is too “boggled” to act. That wouldn’t fly in today’s more player agency-focused culture, but Toon’s concepts were considered novel in its time.

En-Caged

You can always count on a good one-page TTRPG to get weird. Honey Heist brought the format to mainstream but it has since taken off into even wilder territory. En-Caged is a perfect example – the group plays as Nicolas Cage, who is magically split into several of his most famous characters. Each player takes control of a Cage to team up and rush to his Bel-Air mansion to perform a ritual to reunite. But the scale of Hollywood production, LA traffic, and the IRS stand in the Cages’ way. 

Discworld TTRPG

While it’s still in development, the RPG based on Terry Pratchett's iconic Discworld series does have a Quickstart demo out there. In keeping with the spirit of the novels, the rules of Discworld encourage player shenanigans. In fact, making puns is a legitimate way to overcome trials. GMs roll a die literally named after the narrative while players are encouraged by the Quickstart rules to actively attempt to thwart the narrative. No doubt more shenanigans will be included in the full rules. 

World Ending Game

The majority of TTRPGs are meant to provide rules that start at character creation and end with a final boss. But what about a game solely dedicated to ending your campaign? That is World Ending Game – a system made for setting up your epilogue. It doesn’t matter what game system you played or how powerful your characters became, World Ending Game asks you to consider the aftermath. Everyone at the table gets at least one last chance to set up a goodbye – be it with a dramatic music video, the reveal of one last shocking secret, a flash forward to old age, or even watching the whole world burn. 

Triangle Agency

You’ve gotta have some kind of SCP TTRPG in a list of weird stuff, so here you go. Triangle Agency is also just a lot of fun to play. You become agents of a mysterious company who are also bonded to an anomalous entity. Triangle Agency understands the two tropes of its subject matter perfectly. The anomalies are more vague than your typical cryptid but in a way that facilitates interesting character creation. The corporate satire drips into the rulebook’s layout, making it both hilarious and consequential to character advancement. Overall, both the style and design of Triangle Agency fully deliver on the weird. 

Everyone Is John

Here’s a classic in the TTRPG space and one of the few competitive TTRPGs out there. The idea is simple: each player is a voice in the head of one man. Everyone fights for control of the titular John while the GM sits back and enjoys the chaos. Well, that and introduces new obstacles and consequences for John’s increasingly erratic behavior. Everyone is John is a blast for one-shot night and is great for players of all skill levels. 

Hol: Human Occupied Landfill

Hol is the original Fishblade. Yet while Fishblade is a fictitious indie TTRPG where players simultaneously control a knife-wielding fish, Hol is an actual product. It was released in 1994 to satirize popular TTRPGs, with the Core Rulebook not even including character creation rules! A later expansion added character creation but the act requires things like rolling on tables to figure out which other tables to roll on. Characters can even die during creation. After surviving that, players are given an unknown amount of “Grace of God” they can attempt to invoke at any time to save their bacon. 

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Sergio Solórzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to a Wizards of the Coast competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!