Presented as a parody of the complicated RPG systems which were prevalent at the time while still being a playable game in its own right, its simple structure and humorous nature gave it unexpected popularity.

TWERPS, [(T)he (W)orld's (E)asiest (R)ole-(P)laying (S)ystem)], is a humorous universal system of minimalist rules.

A de facto skill system exists in the form of "character classes" which give numerical bonuses to certain activities if their role called for it (for instance, a pilot having a +1 modifier on their roll to fly an aircraft).

These expansions and later supplements were mainly written by Norman F. Morin Jr., Brian Rayburn, Jon Hancock and Niels Erickson rather than Jeff & 'Manda Dee.

He downplayed generic role-playing games in general but noted this product was inexpensive, which was part of the appeal of these systems.