Board games have been around forever, so it's high time we pay our respects by harvesting them for all the tasty bits worth stealing! Board Games Reimagined! TTRPG Jam invites game designers (whether you were one or not beforehand) to create a tabletop roleplaying game based on or inspired by a board game or board game mechanic. Create a taut political thriller rpg with checkers as its primary conflict resolution or use a cribbage board as a progress clock. Write a sprawling epic quest set in color-coded lands of candy or track resources with a mancala board. Clean out the old board game shelf and see what lights a spark!

This jam theme is inspired by my own game, Spell: The RPG, which uses letter tiles (like from Scrabble or Bananagrams) for its magic system. When you build your game, you can pick and choose mechanics or components from one or more games, or just adapt general board game vibes into a new, narrative format.

Feel free to join us in the TTRPG Collective Discord Server and share your process! We're always hyping each other up and giving a helping hand, so if this is your first or hundredth game, we’re here and we’d love to help!

Physical/analog games only. That means you’re using the “Physical Games” category on itch.io. Standalone tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), TTRPG hacks, reskins, supplements, modules or expansions, or modules, zines, LARPs (live action role play) are all accepted. It’s okay for your “physical” game to be played online, such as over discord or with virtual tabletop programs. No video game submissions.

Absolutely no AI. Any submission including AI generated or modified material, such as images, texts, or sounds, will be automatically disqualified and removed without warning.

No bigotry, fascism, racism, sexism, transphobia, or hate speech. Any games with bigotry or promotion of hatred towards marginalized groups will be removed. These themes may be included as forces to overcome, overthrow, or undermine, but not to be celebrated. Don’t make the Nazis the good guys. Don’t punch down.

Submissions must make use of established board game elements, such as boards, unique components, or settings. Cite your inspirations but respect copyright. While game mechanics themselves can't be copyrighted/trademarked, art, writing, and specific names can be. Don't claim or imply affiliation or endorsement by the original party (for example, no "Settlers of Catan: The RPG"). Inspiration can come from one or many sources and can be subtle or heavy-handed—it just needs to be present.

Your game must include safety tools. Safety tools are an important part of all roleplaying games—this is not optional. Please use the TTRPG Safety Toolkit curated by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. 

Have fun! This is not the kind of jam to lose sleep or stress out over. This jam is not judged, ranked, or intended to become a bundle. Participate with your community, share drafts, bounce ideas off each other, and enjoy the process. If your idea fizzles out, try something new! If you're running down to the wire, submit something incomplete (just try to come back to it later)! If you don’t finish, that’s okay too—I hope you had fun in the meantime, and we’ll catch you in the next jam.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions must be new games. It can be started early but can’t be released before the jam’s start date. Modules or supplements for existing games or significantly modified new versions of your own games are allowed. 
• Multiple submissions are welcome and encouraged (so long as you’re not spamming).
• Simultaneous submissions to other jams are okay as long as your game genuinely suits the themes of each jam you’re submitting to (and you’re not spamming). 
• You can collaborate with others as long as everyone involved in a submission is properly credited. Please come to an agreement well before publishing how revenue will be handled.
• Adult and NSFW content is permitted. Please label with appropriate content warnings.
• Late submissions are allowed—just ask if you need a little extension. 
• Your submission may be paid or free, but it must be available to other jam participants while the jam is active. You can include community copies, share a download link or file in the TTRPG Collective Server, or make it accessible in some other way of your choice. However, do consider putting a price on your work—your creativity, time, and energy are valuable and valid.

What is a game jam?

For our purposes here: This game jam is an invitation to design a tabletop/analog roleplaying game based on or inspired by board game(s) during a specific period of time. This jam will not be ranked, judged, or converted to a bundle afterwards.

What do you mean by "TTRPG"?

TTRPG stands for "tabletop roleplaying game." While I typically lean towards being very permissive about what counts as a ttrpg (tabletops, for example, are hardly required), I ask that you emphasize the "role" aspect in these submissions. Since we're blurring a line between board games and roleplaying games, I hope that you'll push your designs more firmly in the realm of roleplay. I'd expect to see players controlling characters (or, like "Gotham is a character" type of abstracted concepts as characters) and be able to use a greater sense of agency when it comes to decision-making and problem-solving. The more similar to "board game" your game is, the less it's a "reimagining" and more just... a different board game.

What do you mean by "board game"?

A game played on a board.

Jokes aside, I'd like to emphasize classic board games. Many modern games already do a great job of exploring the realm in between board and role playing, such as LANCER's in depth tactical grid-based combat or Gloomhaven's character-driven cooperative campaigns. I'm most interested in exploring the old, simpler games: Chess, Chutes & Ladders, Backgammon—your brightly-colored roll-and-move affairs with tokens and straightforward rules. It's true there are a lot of complicated old games and, yes, 90s eurogame resource managers are also prime for inspiration. This is both for the nostalgic theme of what "board game" evokes and also because the older the game, the looser the copyright.

What about card or dice games?

You can make a card or dice game if it is still firmly a roleplaying game: characters, story, player agency, the works. You can adapt a card or dice game if the mechanics are novel and specific enough to show through in the final product. Most roleplaying games use dice rolling, so I'd expect to see the specific dice taken from an existing game and reused for a ttrpg. Also, poker isn't a board game, but I guess Old Maid would be? I'm not going to disqualify any entries unless they're way, way off the mark. However, I'll encourage participants to play within the theme instead of trying to push the edges of it.

So you're saying I can steal anyone else's IP for my own gain?

No. Please don't do that thing. As mentioned in the rules, don't infringe on existing copyright. I am not a copyright lawyer and the following is not legal advice. Please be confident that you're not breaking any laws by monetizing your submission. It's my (not a lawyer!) understanding that game mechanics cannot be copyrighted, but text and images can. Do not reproduce or copy any of the rules or artwork of a game not in the public domain.

Where does this leave you? Well, if your inspiration is in the public domain, you're in the clear (most likely! again, not a lawyer). Board Game Geek has a list of games in the public domain here. You may be familiar with D&D fan supplements that use language like "compatible with the world's most marketed RPG!" or something to that effect. You could, for example, include a note that your game is "compatible with leading candy-themed board games!" Titles and proper nouns are often trademarked and those are a lot nastier to get mixed up with, so I'd say tread carefully there and avoid it where you can.

But here's the thing. I'm not a cop. I'm not going to disqualify a game because I think it might infringe copyright. I'm not a lawyer, and it's not my place to enforce that. I can only encourage you to act in good faith. Smaller board game publishers have any welcomed "fan expansions" or other similar products, so you might even get the designer's blessing if you're worried.

Is there a community for this jam?

Yes! There's a thread over on the TTRPG Collective discord server where you’re welcome and encouraged to share your ideas and process. The TTRPG Collective is a wonderful community of awesome people, and even outside of this jam it's a welcoming and inclusive space.

Any examples of TTRPGs that've done this already?

Sure, I've got a handful. First, I'll start with the extremely self-indulgent and biased Spell: The RPG. Spell: The RPG uses letter tiles, such as from Scrabble or Bananagrams, for a "what you spell is what you cast" magic system. Dread, Star-Crossed, and Wretched & Alone all use a wooden block tower (like Jenga) for their central mechanics. Pigeon Chess by Goosepoop Games is a spin on chess (and Jordan is also a super cool TTRPG Collective member). I'm sure there are a ton more—feel free to suggest them over in community threads or on the Collective server.