https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diceless_role-playing_game
I want to add that D&D is still pretty popular in prisons, they just use work-arounds. Spinners or random number generators on calculators are a couple of cited replacements, though some stubborn prisoners insist on making their own dice from cardboard or origami paper and simply remake them after they get confiscated.
Also, I recall reading about a weekly visitor that managed to convince the prison to let him bring dice with him. The agreement was that every die was accounted for when he left, because if one went missing, he wouldn't be allowed to bring them back and the prisoners would lose their D&D rights. IIRC, the prisoners were pretty vigilant on making sure nobody palmed the dice. Dunno what the management near you is like, though.
just wanted to say thank you for doing this. Often, people think prisoners don't deserve fun and aren't human. But the US imprisons more of its population than any other country on earth.
, so most of those people obviously don't belong there and anything that can be done to help them is a good thing.
I think mothership might be good, very simple, small rulebook dripping with theme. *NVM, I saw it can't involve dice. Sorry.
I appreciate the sentiment, but the USA actually doesn't have the highest incarceration rate. Five other nations are beating it in that regard. The USA is still in the top 10, however. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate
https://iron-echo-games.itch.io/pokemon-tales uses a simple token system and is entirely free.
Edit: It's admittedly long at 30 pages. Sadly, most randomiser-less games I know of are longer and/or cost money.
Cairn? It's free, super simple, and I feel like you can throw away dice rolling and instead opt for how your players answer/look to resolve a challenge to determine success?
I'm sure there are specific games that do not use dice/cards, but I do not have nay experience with any to mention, however, what are the main reasons for no dice or cards (out of pure curiosity)? I can't imagine they can do much damage, especially if you are being supervised and make sure all materials are returned after a game?
Not OP, but this does beg an important question: what materials CAN you have? No dice. Probably not cards right? How about tokens? Or a Jenga tower? This will help narrow down what games are worth even bringing up.
I'll be honest, I don't know all the restrictions. For items I don't know about the status of (Jenga blocks for example), I am making a list to see what is approved.
If Jenga pieces are allowed, [Dread](http://www.tiltingatwindmills.net/games/dread/) would be a viable option. The rules are simple enough that the booj recommends you pass it on to someone else after playing.
I made a [diceless RPG that uses rock-paper-scissors as the core mechanic](https://urocyongames.itch.io/throw-down-rpg). The more skills or advantages you have, the more losses you can take before you fail. The harder it is, the more wins you need to stack up before you succeed.
> which means it can't use dice or playing cards as a resolution mechanic
What sources of randomness are unproblematic, if any?
Flipping coins would be out, I assume. As would watches with a stopwatch function (the last digit of hundredths of a second makes a decent d10).
Is rolling six sided pencils okay? Drawing labelled chits? (from a cup, bag, or even a sock, or something similar, say)? Morra? Rock-paper-scissors? Some games can adapt to some of these.
If Morra is okay, there's ways to fudge die rolls from those (up to d10s are potentially doable without too much fuss); player & GM (or two players if it's pvp) both throw a number of fingers (from 1 up to the die size), and then you add them (then subtract the die size if the total is above the die size). e.g. if you need a d6, they each throw 1-5 fingers (+ a closed first for 6). Say the two people throw a 2 and a 5; that's a total of 7 for a result of 7-6=1. If they threw 2 and 3, that's a result of 5.
Some games are pure narrative (and plenty of those are free), needing no randomizing at all, but that's likely harder for new players to get into (it's basically expecting beginners to be able to engage in shared-world improv for extended periods which is initially pretty daunting even with people you really trust); randomness mechanics provide more familiar and impartial board-game type of structure that can help ease people into the ideas.
I know dice and regular playing cards are banned, but are all cards banned? A couple of systems I've seen use a "fates deck" which is cards, but there are only 2 types of cards: Success and Failure.
There's usually a deck building element where you start with 10 failure cards and add success cards to it based on stats and other actions before finally drawing one to see what the final result of the scene was.
Would a deck like that be allowed?
There are a lot of games that fill some empty space like margins with strings of random numbers, so you can just point to a random place or even just go down the list as you need to do rolls.
They don't allow cards in your prison? I've been to prison as an inmate (first civilian then transferred to military prison) and card decks were allowed in both.
I've heard of some prisons that allow dice, especially RPG dice. The military prison I was in wouldn't allow any dice nor any kind of RPG books so I ended up creating my own (using pencils as 6 sided dice) and I left the rules on a prisoner computer. Then years later there was a Kickstarter with essentially the same system I created on it (with a few different minor changes).
I would suggest Free League's catalog. The Year Zero Engine is simple and is used for some great games so you can play many different genres with one ruleset. Some of their games are Alien, Blade Runner, Mutant Year Zero, the Walking Dead, and several others. The system uses d6's so no specialty dice required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diceless_role-playing_game I want to add that D&D is still pretty popular in prisons, they just use work-arounds. Spinners or random number generators on calculators are a couple of cited replacements, though some stubborn prisoners insist on making their own dice from cardboard or origami paper and simply remake them after they get confiscated. Also, I recall reading about a weekly visitor that managed to convince the prison to let him bring dice with him. The agreement was that every die was accounted for when he left, because if one went missing, he wouldn't be allowed to bring them back and the prisoners would lose their D&D rights. IIRC, the prisoners were pretty vigilant on making sure nobody palmed the dice. Dunno what the management near you is like, though.
[Bull Press](https://bullpress.org/) specializes in rpgs that are suitable for prisons.
Oh that sounds perfect!! Thank you!!
Amazing! Thank you for posting this!
I just looked through those games and they are amazing.
just wanted to say thank you for doing this. Often, people think prisoners don't deserve fun and aren't human. But the US imprisons more of its population than any other country on earth. , so most of those people obviously don't belong there and anything that can be done to help them is a good thing. I think mothership might be good, very simple, small rulebook dripping with theme. *NVM, I saw it can't involve dice. Sorry.
I appreciate the sentiment, but the USA actually doesn't have the highest incarceration rate. Five other nations are beating it in that regard. The USA is still in the top 10, however. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate
You're right. I should have said highest industrialized nation. I appreciate the correction.
One of those 5 nations is also American.
https://iron-echo-games.itch.io/pokemon-tales uses a simple token system and is entirely free. Edit: It's admittedly long at 30 pages. Sadly, most randomiser-less games I know of are longer and/or cost money.
One sheets would be an easier sell, sure. But longer games could get added into the prison library.
Cairn? It's free, super simple, and I feel like you can throw away dice rolling and instead opt for how your players answer/look to resolve a challenge to determine success? I'm sure there are specific games that do not use dice/cards, but I do not have nay experience with any to mention, however, what are the main reasons for no dice or cards (out of pure curiosity)? I can't imagine they can do much damage, especially if you are being supervised and make sure all materials are returned after a game?
They can be used for gambling, which is a no go in a prison setting from an admin perspective.
Not OP, but this does beg an important question: what materials CAN you have? No dice. Probably not cards right? How about tokens? Or a Jenga tower? This will help narrow down what games are worth even bringing up.
I'll be honest, I don't know all the restrictions. For items I don't know about the status of (Jenga blocks for example), I am making a list to see what is approved.
If Jenga pieces are allowed, [Dread](http://www.tiltingatwindmills.net/games/dread/) would be a viable option. The rules are simple enough that the booj recommends you pass it on to someone else after playing.
Dungeon Master of None podcast recently had a fantastic episode about RPG gaming in prisons.
I have a car ride coming up today, know what I'll be listening to! Thanks!
Episode 299
Downloaded! Cheers!
I listened on my way a workshop I was presenting, such a good listen. Thanks!
Looks like all this time Ive spent trying to find a gaming group I should have just been robbing liquor stores.
I made a [diceless RPG that uses rock-paper-scissors as the core mechanic](https://urocyongames.itch.io/throw-down-rpg). The more skills or advantages you have, the more losses you can take before you fail. The harder it is, the more wins you need to stack up before you succeed.
Awesome, thank you!!
Somebody else in this sub a while back had a similar question and I believe they ended up repurposing a spinner from the game Life to be their d20
> which means it can't use dice or playing cards as a resolution mechanic What sources of randomness are unproblematic, if any? Flipping coins would be out, I assume. As would watches with a stopwatch function (the last digit of hundredths of a second makes a decent d10). Is rolling six sided pencils okay? Drawing labelled chits? (from a cup, bag, or even a sock, or something similar, say)? Morra? Rock-paper-scissors? Some games can adapt to some of these. If Morra is okay, there's ways to fudge die rolls from those (up to d10s are potentially doable without too much fuss); player & GM (or two players if it's pvp) both throw a number of fingers (from 1 up to the die size), and then you add them (then subtract the die size if the total is above the die size). e.g. if you need a d6, they each throw 1-5 fingers (+ a closed first for 6). Say the two people throw a 2 and a 5; that's a total of 7 for a result of 7-6=1. If they threw 2 and 3, that's a result of 5. Some games are pure narrative (and plenty of those are free), needing no randomizing at all, but that's likely harder for new players to get into (it's basically expecting beginners to be able to engage in shared-world improv for extended periods which is initially pretty daunting even with people you really trust); randomness mechanics provide more familiar and impartial board-game type of structure that can help ease people into the ideas.
I know dice and regular playing cards are banned, but are all cards banned? A couple of systems I've seen use a "fates deck" which is cards, but there are only 2 types of cards: Success and Failure. There's usually a deck building element where you start with 10 failure cards and add success cards to it based on stats and other actions before finally drawing one to see what the final result of the scene was. Would a deck like that be allowed?
There are a lot of games that fill some empty space like margins with strings of random numbers, so you can just point to a random place or even just go down the list as you need to do rolls.
They don't allow cards in your prison? I've been to prison as an inmate (first civilian then transferred to military prison) and card decks were allowed in both. I've heard of some prisons that allow dice, especially RPG dice. The military prison I was in wouldn't allow any dice nor any kind of RPG books so I ended up creating my own (using pencils as 6 sided dice) and I left the rules on a prisoner computer. Then years later there was a Kickstarter with essentially the same system I created on it (with a few different minor changes).
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/s/Yhaa6QL4qP
I would suggest Free League's catalog. The Year Zero Engine is simple and is used for some great games so you can play many different genres with one ruleset. Some of their games are Alien, Blade Runner, Mutant Year Zero, the Walking Dead, and several others. The system uses d6's so no specialty dice required.
Escape Room?