Roleplaying games
Phenopalooza offers roleplaying games through the festival in four arenas:
The schedule
Go to The schedule!
New Designers
Each year Pheno is proud to encourage writers who are new to writing for Cons to give it a go.
At the end of Pheno the players of new designers' games will be asked to vote for the new writer whose game was the best, and the winner of this will receive a trophy and widespread adulation!
New designers' games are marked with the New Designer
Star: 
Game ratings
Pheno uses a rating system for games to help you choose games, and to help you anticipate what the GM is looking for in a game.
Games are rated from 1 (little or none) to 5 (really important) on the following:
- Characterisation — portraying the characters... 1 (play the numbers) to 5 (bring out the deep insights)
- Story/plot — telling a good story... 1 (A-Team) to 5 (Shakespeare)
- Genre — knowing the genre, staying in the genre... 1 (post-modernist parody) to 5 (Tolkienesque total immersion)
- Seriousness — romp (seriousness 1) to the big issues (seriousness 5)
- Rules knowledge — do players need to know the game system (5), or is this a good introduction to it (0 or 1)?
- Advisory rating — violence, horror, naughty bits. This can also be rated like a film: G, PG, M, MA, R.
The Triptych
The triptych: each year, Pheno invites three respected designers to present a systemless single session game. Each game showcases what we consider the best of Pheno roleplaying: characterisation, drama, entertainment, innovation. Each game will be judged separately, but teams competing in all three games will also be eligible for the Triptych Perpetual Trophy.
The Triptych games are all for 5 players.
- Eternal Companions — by Jacinta Thomler and Stuart Barrow
- Project Legacy — by James Riley and Terence Janssen
- The Sacrifice of Immortality — by Ingrid Bean and Shane Donohoe
Freeforms
Freeforms are big games for 15–30 players (or rarely, and insanely, more...) players, whose characters are collected in some kind of social gathering in which they interact, intrigue and politic with each other.
- The Community — by Mark Kramarzewski (1 session, 20 players)
- Crisis of Infinite Batman — by Evan Paliatseas (1 session, many players)
- A Darkened World — by Random (1 session, many players)
- A Feast of Kobolds — by Stephen Justice (1 session, 16+ players)
- The Fine Art of Politics — by Jason Chappel and Penny Sullivan (1 session, 10-30 players, Vampire: the Requiem)
- Min Min — by Fi McConachie (1 session, 11 players)
- Ravenloft: Holy Lands — by Joe McNamara (1 session, 20 players)
- Tales from the City: Exogenesis — by Simon Boot & Alicia Cameron (1 session, 19 players, A|State)
Multiforms
Multiforms combine the characteristics of other types of roleplaying games. They often blend the physical acting out and character interactions common in freeforms with the more GM-led plots typical of team games.
- Budapest by Blimp — by Jason Ryan (1 session, 13 players) (This game has been cancelled. Pheno apologises for the inconvenience.)
- Southern Gothic — by Marissa Harris and friends (1 session, 10 players)
Team (tabletop) games
Team games (or tabletops) are the traditional form of roleplaying, for groups/teams of about 5 players with generally one GM. There will be character sheets; there may be dice.
- The Beta Test — by Michael Christie (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Every Body Else — by Greg Tannahil (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Gaze — by Philippa and John Hughes (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Jusenkyo or Bust! — by Robbie and Stephanie Matthews (1 session systemless sort of Ranma 1/2, 5 players)
- Mad (DEMON) Men — by Narayan Bajpe (1 session Archipelago 2nd Edition, 5 players) (This game has been cancelled. Pheno apologises for the inconvenience.)
- Ordinary Vanity — by Stacy L Payne (1 session systemless, 5 players) (This game has been cancelled. Pheno apologises for the inconvenience.)
- One Last Job — by Anestis Kozakis (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Pathfinder: Year of the Shadow Lodge (4-hour Pathfinder Society interactive, 12+ players)
- Shedding Silver Tears — by Travis Hall (1 session Werewolf: The Apocalypse, 5 players)
- Sometimes — by Michael Hitchens (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Time Patrol! — by Rod Kearins (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- Up-time Girl — by Stuart Barrow and Barbara Kearins (1 session systemless, 5 players)
- What Does This Button Do? — by Random (1 session systemless Dragonlance, 5 players)
- Willowbark — by Mik Bonsall (1 session systemless about OWOD Ghouls, 5 players)