[Free RPG Day 2025] Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster

Now in its eighteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2025 took place on Saturday, June 21st. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

—oOo—

If there was an award for the smallest roleplaying game—not the smallest item—released for Free RPG Day 2025, it would go to the Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster. It consists of twenty-four cards which all together provides a roleplaying experience that can be played through in an hour and even be played through more than once. Nobi Nobi is a Japanese roleplaying game, published by Arclight Games, and intended to be played at board game cafes as well as with beginners as introduction to roleplaying. The four core games, each covering a different genre, are designed to be played by between one and five players, including the Game Master, and played through in thirty to sixty minutes. These four have since been translated into English by French publisher, Don’t Panic Games, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster is easy to transport, fitting into any pocket, and requires just six six-sided dice. Which means that it can be played just about anywhere that has a flat surface.

The cards in the Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster consist of two Epilogue cards, one of which contains the roleplaying game’s rules on the reverse; two Introduction cards, one for the Game Master and one the first Main Character; eight Scene cards; four Darkness and four Light cards; and four Character cards. The Character cards are double-sided, each side depicting a different character archetype. Altogether, the eight archetypes are Enchanter, Wizard, Priestess, Cleric, Warrior, Shieldmaiden, Huntress, and Samurai. Each has two stats, Power and Technique, rated from one to six (together they total seven), and an Ability. These are quite simple, requiring specific rolls, add bonuses, and even require dice to land on the Character card itself when rolled! For example, the Warrior has a Power of six and a Technique of one, plus the ‘Destiny’s Strike’ Ability, which grants the player a roll with straight +7 bonus rather than adding either Power or Technique, but only if the player can persuade the Game Master that “a sword could come in handy” for the Scene.

The Scene cards come in two types, a ‘Check’ or a ‘Role-play’ Scene. Each comes with a prompt and a description that the Game Master reads out and the means of resolution. For a ‘Role-play’ Scene, this might require a player to roleplay in the traditional sense, add a storytelling element, and even act out a mime! A ‘Check’ result requires a dice roll, a player rolling two dice and adding either Power or Technique as indicated by the Scene card. If the player succeeds, determined by the dice roll for a ‘Check’ Scene or the Game Master for a ‘Role-play’ Scene, he earns a Light card. If the player fails, he earns a Darkness card. A Light card grants a bonus that can be used later in the game, for example, ‘Disciple’ reads, “You can designate any player with the arrow on this card or spin it to pick one at random. From now on, the designated PC will be your disciple. To guide them in their learning, you will need to steer them gently at times, and at others, be more severe.” and grants ‘Technique +1’. Whereas, a Darkness card grants an effect that breaks the rules, such as ‘Dark Force’, which reads “A dark force capable of twisting the laws of nature, rearranging causality… Even though it darkens your soul, right now you have no choice but use it.” and gives the ‘Dirty cheat’ ability to alter a Check by +2 or -2.

Nobi Nobi is played with a revolving Game Master and Main Character. At the start of the game, the designated Game Master sets the game up by reading out an Introduction card out and drawing the first Scene card and reading that out. The player to her left is the designated Main Character for the scene and his character will resolve the scene described. This can involve one or more of the other characters and their players, but it is the Main Character and his player who resolves the Scene. Once done, the role of the Game Master and of the Main Character passes to the left. Play like this continues until all of the Scene cards have been drawn and played. Then an Epilogue card is drawn and resolved, with every Player Character participating, and the session brought to a close.

Nobi Nobi is quick and easy to play though and the Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster even quicker. With just eight Scene cards, it plays better with either two players or four players so that every player is accorded a fair share of the Scenes. An experienced group of players will likely run through this in thirty minutes or so, whereas a less experienced group will take slightly longer. That said, the reaction to the demands of each ‘Role-play’ Scene will vary according to the experience of the players. The more experienced roleplayers will be au fait with the dice rolling, whereas the less experienced players will be more comfortable with the scenes which require something like miming to resolve.

Physically, the Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster is a simple pack of twenty-four cards. All are colour-coded according to type and so easy to spot, whilst the Character cards are illustrated in classic Manga style. The Scene cards do each have line art on them which depicts what is going on, but due to the size of the card, the artwork is slightly small.

Nobi Nobi looks to be an interesting format and means of introducing roleplaying to a wider audience, as well as having a low presence at the game table. The Nobi Nobi Quickstart Booster is an intriguing introduction, offering both a surprising amount of play in a very small package and easy replay value with different groups.