Regular readers of this blog will know that one of the things I always say is that sessions, and campaigns, should be shorter. On bluesky a few weeks ago, I went further – somebody asked what the biggest issue stopping TTRPGs becoming more popular was (as you’d expect, many answers ironically identified D&D5e as the problem) – and I said the session paradigm. I think shorter one-shots would help – to be able to demo a game in an hour and a half, like a movie. Also, the endless epic campaign (that, realistically, never finishes). 

Campaigns should be 4-12 sessions – if you like it, take a rest and come back for another season – but that’s another blog post. Here’s some really good forms of play that you can actually do, and give slightly different gaming experiences. 

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The 1 (-2) hour One-Shot

I’ve blogged quite a bit before about the one-hour one-shot; a tight gaming experience that lets you get a bite of gaming in your lunch break (assuming you live in the past and have an hour for lunch). Pushing the envelope a little to allow 2 hours, and you’ve got a gaming experience that’s the length of a reasonable feature film – much easier to fit into your life, and, crucially, easier to introduce people to the hobby with.

It can be done for almost any game if you let yourself have two hours – indeed, I’ve got a whole channel of Actual Plays where we’ve done it! If you’re unsure if traditional games with a bit of crunch work this way, check out Daggerheart, The One Ring, or Cold City. In my experience, you just need focus and a tight (and sometimes nice and simple) structure to get in a satisfying 1-2 hour one-shot.

The 4-Session Campaign

Before you tell me that’s not a campaign, this is very much a distinct structure – and not just one extended adventure. Indeed, there’s a ton of games on the Open Hearth that follow exactly this – keeping a weekly game within a calendar month and running a good sampler of a TTRPG. You won’t get to explore all the nuances of a system, but you’ll get a bit of space to try out different tones and approaches.

I’ve not run or played many of these, but I’ve got a structure in mind for them. First, do as much mechanical stuff before the initial session – your first session needs to be a “Session Zero to One” where you finish off PCs and get a bit of play in – maybe a quick combat or a few skill rolls, and baiting the hook for the rest of the game. The next two sessions can explore contrasting themes of the game or areas of the setting, before a cobbled-together finale in the fourth session. If you want more epic, level up and/or zoom out between sessions – and narrate quickly (or share between sessions) what went on. I’m hoping to get a bunch of these nailed down next year, starting with a quick run of Vaesen through December.

The Longcon / Weekend Campaign

This is absolutely one of my favourite game forms. If you can make it to Sheffield, UK, for Longcon itself, you are in for a treat – but if not, you can always set this up – online, even, if your players are geographically disparate. A weekend of gaming, with three sessions and a couple on Sunday, where you push towards a satisfying conclusion – its an intense, and amazing, experience.

I’ve played a few times, including a run of The Silt Verses and one of the Dracula Dossier – and this year I ran a nautical-toned campaign of The Between. The tight timings help to bring everything together at an amazing pace – you do need a fair bit of prep beforehand, but it’s very rewarding both as GM and player. And, look – this is D&D in a Castle, isn’t it – people pay big money for this sort of thing!

The Campaign of One-Shots

I’ve only pulled this off once, and I expect it was only a campaign for me as GM, but it was great fun. I went several years regularly running Mouse Guard at conventions. Same pregens every time, and an advancing plot – the Weasel War – that followed a perilous murine military invasion. Different players every time – mostly – but with some commonalities, and some experiences players returned to their characters a few sessions later. Planning these one-shots was a breeze – I just looked for the next logical step in the campaign, and prepped accordingly. 

When I return to this (and I will) I think a slightly more consistent player base would help – and some sort of journal / game reporting so that they can pick up what’s happened before. There’s something around West Marches play here; in that you’ve got limited characters and multiple players – maybe it’s the opposite. East Marches? I don’t know, let’s see if it sticks.

Anyway, four forms of TTRPG play that offer a lot of scope for great gaming – have you tried these or other non-standard forms? Let me know in the comments.