It's that time of the year again!
The Sci-Fi One-Shot Jam 2025 has wrapped with the highest amount of submissions to date–28! I'm delighted to have been apart of the game jam again this year and am even more excited for next years (as well as some potential smaller jams along the way). As always, a huge shout out to Sammy J for running the jam and helping folks nail down their submissions in the Sci-Fi RPG Collective discord.
As with last year's jam, I've gone through and reviewed each and every submission, giving my overall thoughts, what I liked, and some feedback. These mini-reviews are bit less structured, but should give an impression about what makes each submission special. If you're reading this and have submitted something to the Jam, (first of all, thank you!) don't be discouraged by my criticism: no adventure is perfect and I'm only trying to get you to make the best art you possibly can.
In no particular order, here's my roundup of the submissions!
Motherlode by Cara Vianca Funa
A solid presence with excellent presentation. The horror here is very well communicated and the entire atmosphere is obviously tense and creepy, all of which is conveyed by the mechanics quite nicely. While the twist is interesting in premise, I think I need more information about running the "Mother" to pull it off convincingly. Overall, this is a very cool mission with a strong climax!
Hintubà 1 Science Mission by J. Alan Henning
I was not familiar with planet of the week, but after reading this, I'm definitely excited to check it out! I dig the pulp aesthetic and commitment to TOS Star Trek vibes and it is clear that this adventure would slot nicely into any science exploration game. While I think this could be edited down a touch, the ideas (and retro art) are solid and it's a great adventure overall!
Mission Briefing 01: Operation Irish by Seamus Conneely
A straight-foward but dramatic mecha mission that fans of Mobile Suit Gundam are going to love. There's enough ideas and mechanics here to keep this interesting and fresh. Though I'd like a map of the Colony, I could easily run a full session of this with little prep. Very nice!
Welcome to Gamma Garden! by Elia
A well written and honestly quite terrifying adventure. The level of polish here is great! It's clear that this has been playtested and thought has been put into the pacing of the adventure. The only way this could be improved would be with some more compelling layout design, but even that is hardly an issue. This is solid stuff! Very well done!
Anything for an Upvote by Obsurdity Inc.
A basic adventure with interesting characters and some unique twists. I just wish there was more!
California Burnin by Glitched Tabletop
Wow! Very Traumatic! This is a tense set of scenarios that combined capture the chaos and destruction of wild fires. Being totally plain text is just ok, but otherwise, this is well put together and a lot to go off!
Party at the Roche Limit by Terry Herc
Party at the Roche Limit is well laid out with good design, a cast of interesting characters, and a unique tragedy to play through. I could totally imagine starting a campaign off with this, but other than the race to escape, there's not much conflict to navigate. Overall, this is a well polished, unique adventure that I'm sure is a blast to run/play.
Beneath the Ice by Wizard Tower Games
This is a classic, straight forward dungeon–Nice! There's not much to knock here, but if I had to add anything, it would be some character details about the survivors and probably a juicy reward for the player characters (also some editing and clever layout could have got this down to a single page, but I digress). This is a really solid bit of adventure that conveniently would work in just about any sci-fi setting. Fantastic stuff!
Second Skin by Davide Varne
As someone actively running a cyberpunk campaign I was immediately drawn into the concept here. This would be an excellent start to a campaign and the setting, characters, and mechanics are all super cool. However, the entire thing is a bit wordy and rough around the edges; it could really use some editing. The tone is still super cool and this being a bookmarked PDF is a great touch. Overall, I'm incredibly invested in this concept and would love to explore it further or see it expanded upon.
The Charitable Vicomtesse by mtb-za
A rock-solid space opera type adventure. The amount of thought and detail that went into the fictional planet of Roslov is outstanding! I especially like how each NPC can tie into some larger adventure. My only concern, were I to run this, is about the Vicomtesse herself. Unless the players are staunch do-gooders, from what I can tell, there isn't much reason to take her down. I'd probably have someone contact them ahead of time with explicit interest in dirt on her, or her downfall! That said, the ball is a great way of introducing PCs to the Roslov high society and this is an easy the jumping off point for some very intriguing adventures!
Sci-Fi Orpheus by L
A reinterpretation of the classic myth for a Sci-Fi RPG session which works surprisingly well. This is ridiculous. I love it. The digital afterlife you traverse is super compelling–I actually wish there were more details to it. The ending is left open ended, which I love, however I'm ultimately not sure how I would run this. Still, this is a very intriguing premise and one which I'll be thinking about for months.
Scrambled by Glitched Tabletop
Much like the resource management of their submission from last year Edge of Terminator, the time/stress management aspect of this works fantastically well. That said, I'd probably have stress be raised by failed rolls as well. Other than the lack of map, running this seems extremely straight-forward and is greatly aided by the principles and procedures outlined in the text. I'm sure I'll run this, along with Edge of Terminator, in the same campaign someday.
R.O.A.C.H. by Aquarian Design
It's not often players get to RP as giant insects fighting aliens, so R.O.A.C.H. is totally unique in that regard. The setting and world building are top-notch, but I feel I'd need more to work with as GM to make this work at the table. The layout and design on the other hand is superb! As it stands, this is a great idea with potential for some crazy shenanigans. I'd be keen to try this out after it's been expanded upon a bit.
Mutagenesis by Jo Peterson
The format of this one-shot is really sound, as is the writing and game design. I love the idea of rolling to design the map and how that plays in with the parasite moving from room and taking new forms. Actually, there could have been some more procedure to tie it all together (for example, where to place the parasite's nest). My one complaint is with the layout: some of the boxed text has been added in as images, which make them a bit hard to read. It also would have been nice if the tables didn't jump between columns. Those are only cosmetic issues though, and the bulk of Mutagenesis is really good!
Dreamdancer by Jennifer S. Lange
Until today, I wasn't familiar with the Elders setting or the Closed Mondays system, but this has really sold me on both. The presentation and ideas area super cool, and I'm a huge fan of the art. I can't wait to get my hands dirty with the system and setting!
Test, Adapt, Elevate by James Nettleton
This is an interesting concept with a solid twist. As a GM, I would have liked to have a summary of what's actually going on, but piecing together the story looks like part of the fun. While I did find it hard to read with the black text on red background, it was short and sweet. Might make for a cool start to a larger game, with some excellent open ended questions at the end!
Robo-mall mayhem by James Nettleton
An interesting premise and setting with a lot of humour! I think I'd need more details to be able to run this though, especially with some unanswered questions lingering about (what did the switch do?). Other than that, the core idea is good enough that with a bit of work, this could be really fun.
Rise of the Machines by James Nettleton
A good premise for a scenario. I only wish the ideas were presented better.
Honourable Mentions
Phagocytosis by me, Robotic Topologist
Is it fair to put your own submission in the Honourable Mentions category? Who's to say! But, I am very proud with how this turned out. It's my first real "Dungeon" and I quite like it. Were I to expand on it, I'd add some more threats and expand the location descriptions.
Three Fold Fever by Tim Standen
Despite my ignorance around the Coyote & Crow RPG, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! The puzzle and location, and how the two interact, are absolutely genius! The text and layout are clear and effective as well. Some additional complications to spice things up might just be the only thing lacking in this. While everything in Three Fold Fever could be easily converted to run in a different system, I'm certainly more interested than ever to read and run Coyote & Crow!
Wait Four Minutes in Silence by Kirt Dankmyar
Simple, to the point, and well executed! I wish there was more, especially around how the negotiations with the aliens might go. I couldn't have thought of a better way to adapt John Cage's 4'33" into a SF scenario. This is a great concept with a strong emotional weight to it!
Endless Light by Alaxander "Babcom" Schneider
Endless Light has some really cool ideas going for it. The jam's themes are really well achieved here, and I love the twist of Under the Ice to be the Cyberpunk ICE. Similarly, changing the PC's stats and character identity is a great way of communicating the effect of the secret mechanically, and again fits the theme very well. The puzzles are super creative and will obviously require some clever problem solving. That said, I do think this could have used a bit more editing, with some poorly structured sentences and text being unclear. I also found reading the second page hard, and wished the map was on its own page instead of overlaying the text. Ultimately though, this is really cool and super interesting in both concept and execution.
Variety Meat by 1999 A.D.
I really liked Storm of the Century from last year's jam so I was excited to check this one out. This is basically Terminator meets The Thing and I am here for it! The tables in this are very much welcome. My one complaint is that the key details are communicated through pretty dense paragraphs, meaning I'd probably have to go through this with a highlighter to parse out the important stuff for game night. That, plus a lack of maps/npc details means I'd have to prep quite a bit to run this. Despite that though, I absolutely would run this! It's a great premise executed very well.
Standout Submissions
Best Map
Drone Factory by RPGuPolaka
Let There Be Light was one of my favourite adventures from last years jam, and RPGuPolaka has knocked it out of the park again. This is a really well put together dungeon. For only two pages, it really has it all. I especially adore the map! All the art has such an evocative style, but the perspective and detail of the map is what really sells it for me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the typesetting, which is a little off and inconsistent in places. But that's really the only issue I can find, the rest is exceptional! I especially like the use of tags to keep this system agnostic and quick to parse.
Most Intense
Highway of Fear by Norton Glover
A deceptively simple premise with concise text and mechanics that manages to capture all the anxiety of the source material. The only thing this is missing is a cool map! The writing and procedures are fantastic of course. This is so damn good. I'm biting my nails while I think about playing this...
Best Adventure
The Old Law by Simonides
A beautiful mix of sci-fi and 17th century theater that works really well! There are so many cool ideas crammed into just two pages, and while it feels a little dense at times, the layout and illustrations add a lot of awesome energy to the whole thing. There's some great twists, turns, and mechanics begging to be run here! Fantastic stuff.
Best Overall
Pembroke-385 by Dunnad
Pembroke-385 is a solid, believable location and the perfect setting for a murder conspiracy. The unravelling of the plot and intense faction rivalries make for a thrilling scenario that I'm super excited to run in my next space campaign. The colony map and art really elevate this too! The only thing lacking is the layout, but other than that, I really really love this!
And that's a wrap! Thanks again to all who submitted such wonderful stuff this year. I had a blast participating and reading all of the submission. I hope you check out each one too. See you all again next year!
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