Do you have any recommendations for rules light systems that are good for running quick games without much set up? (Preferably ones that don't assume you'll be slowly increasing in power over several sessions or something.) I'm looking to run a game for some friends over the upcoming spring break; I was wondering what I could muster. Thematically, I'm sure they'd be fine with anything as long as we can have running jokes.
You know, I’m never quite sure how to respond to requests like this - “rules light” means different things to different people. Some folks think Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is “rules light”, while for others, any game-mechanical operation more demanding than single-digit addition is a disqualifier.
To err on the side of caution, then:
A one-shot-friendly game whose rules, setting, and sample adventure literally fit on one page. It’s basically a masterwork of minimalist game design. It does Star Trek pastiche by default, though it’s quite easy to adapt to a variety of other settings, provided you’re willing to work within very specific genre constraints. You’ll find a free download on the linked page.
A slightly more involved game from the same creators as the previous entry, this sixteen-page pamphlet is another system and scenario in one, in which players take on the roles of one of five pregenerated characters and help the eponymous Lady Blackbird escape an arranged marriage in a spacefaring fantasy milieu. It’s designed to run 1-3 sessions, with the bulk of the setting details filled in by the players; the GM is instructed to ask the players a series of leading questions in a particular format, and incorporate their answers into the established fiction. As above, free download on the linked page.
Previously name-checked in the RPGs by female creators thread, this one’s about the personal and romantic dramas of socially dysfunctional supernatural critters (e.g., vamipres, werewolves, etc.). It’s very slice-of-life - your stats are literally Feels, Weirdness, and Real Life, and there are no specific combat rules. Its dozen pages set forth a much more traditional you-roll-and-the-GM-tells-you-what-happened deal than the previous two entries, if that’s a selling point for you. Pay-what-you-want PDF available here.