So I did actually enter the 200 word RPG contest; reposting my entries here in case anyone wants a look :)
Power Chord: A Musical RPG
The players are musician-mages, trapped to amuse the music gods in a carnival at the end of time. They must persuade deities to help them and will occasionally be set to fight one another in the arena.
Each player chooses a start playlist of 30 songs, no more than 10 from any genre. They pick one music genre to gain a power bonus on.
Before a battle, players each listen to a randomised playlist song. They may call “attack” or “call” on up to five lyric lines. In either case they write the lyric-spell on a card. Attack cards/spells may be used next battle only, as attacks or counterattacks. Calls may be used anytime outside battle. Calls on instrumentals give power cards that can boost either variety of cards.
Battle example of card plays:
P1: Attack with: “Sweet dreams are made of these”
P2: Counter: “I am the Walrus”
GM: “Attack is a sleep spell - walruses still sleep so it’s a poor counter. P2 successfully turns themselves into a sleeping walrus.”
Battle wins may give extra cards per song, special cards, bonus chosen genres, etc. Plot aims may include escaping the arena, gaining a deity’s favour, etc.
To Sea in A Sieve!
(Nb for those who need more detail on the background to this, see : https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/54364)
The players are the Jumblies, setting off to have adventures beyond the sea. In a sieve, naturally.
Each Jumbly has three skills: culineering (for creating food, machinery, or food-related machinery), seachanting (for singing, interpersonal & trading rolls), and unwibble (a jumbly with more unwibble is taller and braver). At game start they get 21 points to share between these as they wish. They must roll equal to or under their skill on 2d6 to pass a roll, taking into account any modifiers from the difficulty, equipment, etc.
Players may take 5 skills OR common household items of any sort the GM allows them and are of a tech level no later than ca 1800, excepting sporks, which are forbidden except to priests of the Jumbly deity Timballo. Priests of Timballo may *only* carry sporks as tools, but get a free starting block of stilton (effects unknown).
Note that Jumblies have no ability in combat at all but are able to set traps, talk, and run away quite effectively. Terrors might include giant silver-bees, the sea, or the Torrible Zone. Player goals may include purchasing certain items, exploring locations, finding new homelands, or simply eating as much cheese as possible.