In search of rampant competition

[radiantfracture]

Does anyone know a fun indie TTRPG with competitive elements? All the ones I know are delightfully co-operative...

It doesn't actually have to be super indie, but it does have to be something a student could read and come to grips with over a couple of weeks, so not all of D&D for example. (Though D&D isn't actually competitive, now that I think of it -- combative but collaborative.)

So let's say the main criteria are that it is a game with story and/or character, but also there are competitive elements between the players.

I found an intriguing list of just such games, but it's from 2006 and all the links are dead.

{rf}

Comments

[yhlee]

Not 100% competitive but Emily Care Boss's Shooting the Moon (PDF) has two Suitors competing to win the heart of a Beloved. (I think you can modify it for more than three players.) I've played it once and had a blast. Alas, my character's accordion-playing just wasn't romantic enough. ;)

[jazzfish]

John Harper's AGON has some friendly-competitive stuff between players. At least in the first edition it did, I assume it's still there in second edition. Can confirm that first ed was an awful lot of fun. (Second ed published by Evil Hat; looks like first ed was self-published.)

Robin Laws's RUNE was explicitly players-vs-GM. I never played it, so I don't know how well it works in practice, but it was an interesting read twenty-odd years ago. (Published by Atlas Games; long out of print, but the free PDF jumpstart might be enough to get you going. Rune product line website.)

I feel like if you're not playing Amber Diceless competitively you're doing it wrong. Every game I've run or played in has been deeply intriguey and backstabby among the PCs, even when they're nominally working towards a common goal. Happy to talk more about that if you'd like. (Published by Phage Games; long out of print in hard copy but PDFs are available on Drivethrurpg.)

[elusis]

Paranoia?

[ducks]

[skygiants]

We had an incredible time with Get In the Fucking Robot, a competitive RPG in which your objective is to aggressively overcome other characters' self-doubts so that they, and not you, will get in the fucking robot.