Why would you want to role-play for such a short time? Come on people! Alright – sometimes you are pressed for time and you want to fit that little bit of a game in. As long as you have characters built there are a few good options.
Super Squadron
This 1980’s Australian supers RPG is actually pretty compact. Encounters play out in short time-spans and you can get masses done in a single session. A lot of this game is all to do with patrolling and encountering a variety of situations so has interesting scope for a short time. This system, while dated is good. Do not underrate the small text and number of statistics involved!
Short-Order Heroes
This is a card based supplement that I use to build NPC’s and is designed to work well for FATE. That said it has a good system all of its own supported in the box and it looks perfect for quick games. In fact you can make characters and play in a couple of hours so this is probably much better suited than Super Squadron. I have read actual play information about this and had it rated pretty well. It also is a game that can empower someone to GM without all the daunting rules.
Michtim
A game largely designed for kids. I used to run it as a prelude to bed – replacing a bed story with a bed adventure. Suits brilliantly and has complexity enough that even adults find it interesting.
There you have it – three games suited for short time spans. Each could be played in longer time-spans also but the way they are handled all suits them for short games too. Keep rolling!