One of my favorite hobbies is playing tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, which thankfully have become much more mainstream in recent years. My preferred system has recently been Ryuutama, which is a simple, cutsy, Studio Ghibli-style world.

Ryuutama means “Dragon Egg” in Japanese. The whole idea of the game is that the adventures of the players are just stories being fed to a dragon to make it hatch and grow up.

Each story encourages the Game Master (aka Dungeon Master) to take a more active part in the game as a fellow storyteller rather than as an opponent as players journey across a world where terrain and weather actually matter.

Why do I love this game? Three reasons:

First, aesthetics. I appreciate the lighter tone of the game and the cute, loveability of many of the enemies, environments, and draconic entities. I get tired of the medieval high fantasy grunge of other roleplaying systems, and this feels like a breath of fresh air.

One example is the first enemy on the monster list: a Walking Egg. It is described as a “mysterious thirty-centimeter tall egg with human-like arms and legs that can be seen walking around the world. Many people have tried to solve the mystery of where they came from and what they’re going to become, but so far none have.” This silly guy just sets the stage for the kind of game this is going to be, and I fell in love with it the moment I opened the book.

Second, simplicity and adaptibility. The mechanics of the game are significantly simpler than D&D with only 4 attributes and 6 skills/ability slots. This makes it much easier for newcomers to the genre to get involved without feeling overwhelmed with how many numbers, calculations, and abilities that are at their disposal.

The simplicity of the system also leaves it open-ended. The game is tailored for Game Masters who want to develop their own worlds and rules. The system provides the foundation and mechanics, but it is extremely flexible and allows for endless creativity and adaption.

Finally, adventure and team-focused. Many role-playing games focus on combat as their main interest: Not this one. For the world(s) of Ryuutama, adventures are about the journey, so every day requires journey checks with bonuses based on your clothing, the weather, and the terrain. Encounters are about how to get over the next mountain without starving or hurting yourself as much as about defeating the vampires living in the mansion at the top.

The handbook also encourages teamwork in designing the campaign and world. There are directions to show how the players can influence the different places they visit in an attempt to increase player buy-in to the world and cities. It also takes some of the pressure off of the Game Master to think of all the details.

So if you’re looking for a simpler, more adorable version of D&D to sink your teeth into, this is an excellent choice. It won’t stop your players from being murder-hobos, but if you love anime or Studio Ghibli, it’s perfect.