Toon: The Cartoon Roleplay Game is back with a new edition. Now on Backerkit, This family-friendly, entry-level RPG debuted in 1984 and is well-remembered for being one of the funniest TTRPG’s out there (especially for a time when the RPG wasn’t very funny). It has been nearly 20 years since a supplement was released, and four decades later, Steve Jackson Games is debuting a fully updated version “full of wackiness and tomfoolery”
GMs are known in Toon as Animators, and both seasoned gamers and those hoping to begin the hobby can find everything they need to start a Saturday morning cartoon-inspired game within the pages of the book. Players create characters with exaggerated features that can be humans, critters, or even inanimate objects. They’ll embark on adventures in which they’ll always fall down but will never die.
Developed by Jackson and Jay Dragon based on the original work by Warren Spector (yes, that Warren Spector) and Greg Costikyan (who also designed the 1987 Star Wars TTRPG), the new edition simplifies the game’s character creation and developed rules to make generating adventures faster. There are more Silly Tables than ever! Animators can build a custom character that could be human, but it could also be an overly-angry cloud, an ultra-intelligent robot, or a chonky cow. Kyle Miller’s cartoony art has also been retained.
Toon has “endless possibilities and endless zaniness.” Characters will never die, so if they are flattened by an anvil, exploded with TNT, or spontaneously combust, don’t sweat it! When the next scene begins, the character is completely healed and poised to join the story again.
“Every Saturday my TSR friends, my kids, and I would get together to play games. Having worked with D&D all week, the last RPG we wanted to play was D&D. Our favorite game was Toon, from Steve Jackson Games,” said Margaret Weis, author and co-creator of Dragonlance.“We created epic characters such as Quackqueline Onassis – a psychotic duck in a pillbox hat. Other party members included the Road Runner, Carmen Miranda, Dr. Who and Darth Vader. One game was titled ‘Bring Me the Head of Uni the Unicorn.’ Fun times! Thanks, Steve Jackson!” Aspiring Animators can visit BackerKit today to make their pledge before the limited-time campaign rides off into the sunset.
The new edition is on Backerkit, with interested animators able to back for a PDF, softcover, or hardcover edition. Other Steve Jackson and Possum Creek titles like Wanderhome are available as add-ons, as are colorful themed dice. The Backerkit campaign is set to run through January 15, 2026.
Images via Steve Jackson Games
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