Short for "
cartoon", this is what
cartoon characters were called in "
Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Also, it's a
roleplaying game, written by
Greg Kostikyan, developed by
Warren Spector, and published by
Steve Jackson Games, in which
players portray cartoon characters. Toons can't be
killed by anything in the
game, although they can be crushed
flat by an
anvil or shot out of a
cannon into a
brick wall or eaten by a
giant Venus flytrap or severely beaten by
dinosaurs...
In addition to the main Toon book by Kostikyan, several followups have been published, all written primarily by
Robert "Doc" Cross. The "
Tooniversal Tour Guide" focuses on new genres that Toon can be played in, including
cyberpunk,
fantasy,
space opera,
superheroes, and even
parodies of other games, including "
Call of Cthulhu", "
Mekton", and "
Car Wars". "
Toon Tales" adds a few more genres (
film noir,
martial arts, and
Westerns), plus some new adventures. And the "
Toon Ace Catalog" is full of
gadgets,
weapons, and assorted
geegaws that Toon characters can use.
Toon is one of the
simplest and most
enjoyable games around. There aren't a whole lot of
stats and
skills to remember, and the
gameplay is
quick,
easy to learn, and fairly
seamless. You've got your
hit points (when you run out, you
Fall Down for either three minutes or three turns, then can jump right back into the
mayhem), some very basic
attributes (
Muscle,
Zip,
Smarts, and
Chutzpah), and a small number of
skills that cover everything from
fighting to
running to
identifying
dangerous things to
detecting (and passing!)
shoddy goods, like a certain
coyote would buy from the
Acme Corporation. You can also get
Schticks, which allow you to do
crazy, Toony stuff like walking up walls, fooling people with unconvincing
disguises, and
hypnotizing folks to make them act like
chickens. Character backgrounds are as simple as writing down your
description, your
species, and your
beliefs and
goals.
Toon is a
blast to play, as long as you remember to
think like a toon. The
rulebooks even advise players and GMs (called
Animators) to completely ignore or change the rules, if necessary, to keep the game running
fast and
funny. With the right players, it really is a lot like starring in your own
Warner Brothers cartoon...