So I am throwing my hat into the ring with an idea around the world of Kaladesh (from Magic the Gathering), especially the Inventor's Fair, where inventors from all over the plane (world) come together to show off their latest creations.
If there is one thing that I feel really demonstrates the potential (or catastrophic lack) of elegance it is creations that try to reinvent already useful things to be more useful. Sometimes inventors come up with elegant solutions to problems we didn't know we had and sometimes they create more problems than they are worth.
The idea is that my 1 page RPG will be a system you can use as an event inside a greater RPG (which is what I see many of these 1 page RPGs can potentially be) where the GM takes the form of the judge at the fair. Based on who creates the best invention, this can trigger events for that RPG or just work as a way for players to gain points etc. Alternatively, you can use the system as a standalone game where each player takes a turn to be the judge and the overall winner at the end is the player who scores the highest.
Each player will choose a type of artificer (inventor) to be which will give them access to certain words and phrases. (Randomly assigned or decided at the start of the main RPG?)
Each player then takes turns to add Prefixes, Nouns, and Suffixes to 2d6 table. (7 will obviously come up most often on a 2d6 roll, so that will be a hot commodity for inventors that want a certain word or phrase to come up often in inventions)
These will then be assigned to the invention they create for that round based on some 2d6 rolls. (more explanation on the 1 page when it is done)
The judge then chooses the type of judge they are. (EG. Clumsy, Overly Critical, Disinterested)
There will be 3 parts to each round:
1) Invention (roll 2d6 per section Prefix, Noun, Suffix of your invention)
2) Tinkering (roll 1d6 and add or subtract it to one or more of the sections to edit your invention)
3) Display (Draw your invention as best you can and place the card face down in front of you)
Judging
The judge takes all face down cards and shuffles them.
They then add any modifiers to each card if they have any (Some judges will modify certain inventions)
The judge then chooses their favorite and reveals all at once.
Scoring
The judges favorite immediately gets 5 points
Any artificers who have modifiers looks at all the inventions and adds points based on that, (EG. the Saboteur will get +1 point for every other invention that had the prefix "Rusty")
If playing a standalone version, I suggest 3 rounds per judge and each player gets to be a judge once.
Let me know what you think, I should have the final submission done by the end of the week!
This is my first attempt at this so if I have missed something in the spirit of 1 page RPGs let me know. I have looked at the examples and feel I have at least somewhat followed the direction.
Looking forward to everyone's submission!
GVR