Noobtown by Ryan Rimmel

About the Series

Jim gets isekai’d into a fantasy world and becomes mayor of Windfall, the worst town on the continent. His class (Mayor) levels through town improvement, and he also has a combat subclass. The series leans heavily comedic: Jim’s internal monologue is self-deprecating and absurd, the situations are deliberately ridiculous, and the town’s problems escalate from “goblins in the sewers” to “dimensional threats.”

The comedy-LitRPG blend is the appeal. Jim’s Mayor class creates a progression track where leveling means building better infrastructure, recruiting citizens, and solving municipal problems, except those problems involve monsters, evil gods, and dimensional rifts. The humor is constant and character-driven; Jim is funny because he’s genuinely in over his head.

This works for readers who want LitRPG that makes them laugh and doesn’t take itself seriously. The town-building progression gives a base-building layer alongside personal combat advancement. Releases have slowed to about one book every two years since book 7 (2022). The tradeoff: the humor is the point, which means readers looking for serious progression or stakes won’t find them. The comedy style is specific. If Jim’s voice doesn’t land for you in book 1, it won’t improve. The stat growth is present but secondary to the jokes. If you want crunchy optimization or intense combat, this prioritizes laughs over either.

Reading Order

1. The Mayor of Noobtown (2019)
2. The Village of Noobtown (2019)
3. Castle of the Noobs (2020)
4. Dungeons and Noobs (2020)
5. Noob Game Plus (2021)
6. Nautical Noobs (2021)
7. Tower of the Noobs (2022)
8. The War of the Noobs (2024)
9. The Noob Returns (2026)

Next: Noobtown Book 10 (listed as upcoming on Rising Shadow; no title or date)

If You Like This Series

• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Comedy layered over darker material; better writing, more emotional range
• Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer. Humor through genre subversion; cultivation setting, similar warmth
• He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon. Sarcastic MC in a system world; more serious progression underneath the humor
• The Good Guys by Eric Ugland. Similar “not-too-bright MC levels up” energy; less comedic; ongoing
• Life Reset by Shemer Kuznits. Settlement management LitRPG without the comedy focus; completed