TTRPGs, explained in five minutes

Five Minutes, Not 5e gives you the information you need to choose a game, direct from the designers

TTRPGs, explained in five minutes
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It’s not news to many people in the space that Dungeons and Dragons gets significantly greater coverage and attention than other games. Particularly for beginners, it can be difficult to find a simple, easily-understandable explanation of what a game actually is, beyond its art, eye-catching declaration of intent and general vibes.

Five Minutes, Not 5e aims to fill that need through a series of interviews with designers. Each entry is approximately five minutes, and all explain the basics in the same five key questions:

What genre is the game, and what are some relevant cultural touchstones?

Will this game see you playing as a superhero in a cyberpunk dystopia, a scared teen fleeing a slasher-movie killer, or perhaps a fanged creature of the night? What might you have played, seen or read that this game takes inspiration from?

How many players is it for, and how long does it last?

Simply, how easy is this going to be to schedule, and will it work for your group? There’re plenty of games designed to be played in a single session, and if you can’t gather friends together for whatever reason, there are plenty of single-player games, too!

What do you need to play, and how quickly can you learn?

Do you already have everything you need to enjoy the game, or will you need to track down or buy extra resources? Is this a game that can be learned in ten minutes, or do you need to wade through a 300-page rulebook before you can jump in?

What might a typical session involve?

What do you actually do in a session? Will you be solving puzzles while playing as a master hacker, going toe-to-toe in combat with enemy mechs, or building a fantastical city with your friends? What does the game do that allows you to do these things?

How have you made it accessible to beginners, and people with specific needs?

This is the big one. What has the designer done to allow this game to be a good introduction to people new to the hobby? Are there plaintext versions of the game available for those that need them? How easy to use are the rules?

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Each entry also has an additional, extended segment called Beyond Five Minutes, separate from the core questions, to give the designer a space to answer some more tailored questions about the game. There they can talk further about the parts of the game they like best, their favourite moments in playing it and how they went about designing it.

So far there are two entries of each out: the first chatting with Luka Brave about Shadow/Giant, and the second talking with Deric Bindel about weakless universe. The next batch is already in progress, so keep an eye out!

Over time the plan is to build a catalogue, with playlists for specific genres and gameplay features, of lesser-known games, as an approachable introduction to the TTRPG world outside of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.

So why not dive in and discover some games in a quick, easily understandable format? Join me in discovering the variety and wonder of tabletop games, five minutes at a time!

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Check out the Five Minutes, Not 5e channel here!