Index Card RPG is still such a good game. It is up there with Shadowdark, EZD6, Old School Essentials, and my other "small book games" as one of the perfect "travel RPGs," and this one just does anything.
This is like a miniature version of Cypher System mixed with Savage Worlds without the narrative mechanics. Still, it leans heavily into a few 8-bit video game design theories to create a fantastic game. We are still in d20-land, but effort totals up against hearts, and we focus on "beating rooms" of varied challenges with our characters.
Progression is milestone-based, and gear plays a huge role in character power. This game changes the way you look at OSR games and simplifies the nature of challenges and encounters to an abstract method of resolution, without losing granular detail. The game will also make you a professional encounter designer, and your thoughts on encounter structure will become more fluid and dynamic.
This is a great "toolbox game" that can handle most any setting you throw at it, using the sample settings provided in the book. It is a d20 system without any of the d20 baggage.
It is not a highly detailed game. If you are looking for realistic and gritty combat, this isn't the game for you. If you want deep 5E progression trees (and tons of paid support), this is not the game for you. If you're interested in narrative mechanics, this game might be for you, but it feels more like an 8-bit adventure video game condensed into a digest-sized book.
It feels a lot like the old Legend of Zelda, Neutopia, Metal Gear, Metroid, Castlevania, or other adventure RPG games on the NES or Turbografix-16, but in a pen-and-paper game form. This game features a unique blend of fantasy, space, superhero, western, and other genres, all in a retro, d20, clear-the-board, gather-upgrades, Metroidvania style, built for fun and 8-bit charm.
This sits alongside Old School Essentials on my shelf, and this is a serious Shadowdark competitor as a "pick up and play" fun-first game.
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