“There’s D&D in nearly every [correctional] institution in California.”
This is the line that the introductory video for Let’s Play: Dungeons & Dragons in Prison, a documentary about the American justice system, and those who fight for the right to play roleplaying games within it, to paraphrase the film’s byline. D&D is a game played by people all around the world, from kids at home, to active-duty members of the military, to people like Kevin T. Singer, who has fought for the right to play while incarcerated.
This project is helmed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Elisabeth de Kleer, who has produced work from stations as varied as the BBC, National Geographic, VICE, and Netflix. She tells this story from the perspective of inmates who have sued for the right to play D&D (or their roleplaying game of choice) while incarcerated, and raises the thorny question of what the purpose of the American prison system actually is. Are the prisons in our country designed to punish wrongdoers, and to remove them from lawful society? Or are they made to rehabilitate people and aid in their eventual return to society?
The promotional video for the Kickstarter campaign for Let's Play: Dungeons & Dragons in Prison
From handmade d20s to homebrew roleplaying games, those who play RPGs in prison must be creative in ways that many who play on the outside never have to be. And as anyone who’s played D&D knows, group creativity breeds friendship, nurtures communities, and creates a burning desire to return to the world of make-believe time and time again—especially when the real world is made of concrete walls and iron bars. "We were hardcore,” said a former inmate at a California correctional facility. “We’d play from soon as we got back from breakfast to lockup. Saturday or Sunday—all day long." For many people, playing D&D is more than just a way to have fun, it’s a way to stay in touch with your creativity and turn your mind towards constructive, positive rehabilitation—even when dice and D&D books are forbidden within prisons.
Jared Rudolph, one of the inmates interviewed in this video, went on to found the Prisoner Reentry Network, a non-profit located in Oakland, California, that helps former inmates return to everyday life—a task that goes far beyond simply acclimating to life without bars. A pivotal moment for the Prisoner Reentry Network was created when a group of prisoners about to be released from California State Prison – Solano was shown an interview with a former inmate, in order to help them prepare for life outside prison. One of the inmates recognized the person in the interview as an old buddy who he had played D&D with in prison—and the PRN decided to help reunite the former D&D party, using it as an opportunity to use D&D as a “therapeutic opportunity,” one that is “unrecognized…in California’s prisons.”
This isn’t the first time that Elisabeth de Kleer has tackled the topic of D&D behind bars. Her first forays into the topic were a pair of articles published on VICE: Dragons in the Department of Corrections and How Inmates Play Tabletop RPGs in Prisons Where Dice Are Contraband. How do inmates play D&D without dice? How do they play without books? These earlier articles are a bedrock foundation for understanding the experiences of RPG-playing inmates, but they’re not the be-all and end-all of the story. The upcoming Let’s Play documentary, which is in its final few days of funding on Kickstarter, is told through the mouths of inmates and former inmates, sharing their stories and experiences of playing D&D in correctional facilities around the United States.
A smaller-scale documentary project about gaming in prison produced by de Kleer for Waypoint in 2017
The Kickstarter campaign for Let’s Play: Dungeons & Dragons in Prison hasn’t been funded yet. It describes its funding needs as such:
- Fees for accessing and copying legal materials related to D&D cases. […]
- Cost of putting together a professional camera crew so we can film gaming groups inside prison. (We've already done the most difficult part, which is getting soft approval to film in the first place. Now we just need funding to make the most of this special opportunity.)
- Funds for hiring an animator to breathe life into hand-drawn inmate fantasy art and to create a visual style for the film. The art will be used to illustrate the story in a way that weaves together magical elements with real life. For example, the warden of the prison might be depicted as a dragon or “boss” and the prison itself, a dragon’s lair. These visual intersections of gameplay and real life show how the game becomes a platform to express and explore their inner struggles and demons.
- Creating a marketing and distribution plan that will promote both the film as well as recreational therapy behind bars.
This documentary’s Kickstarter campaign concludes on August 14, 2019 at 3 PM Pacific Time.
James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, the DM of Worlds Apart, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and Kobold Press. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and their animal companions Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.
As someone who works with these people on the day to day, I honestly have to say that I think this is a horrible idea. While some people would use it responsibly, I cannot see it not being abused. Just allowing dice, maps, and fantasy combat sounds like a horrible idea. Betting can happen under the guise of a DND game. An escape plan could literally be crafted out in the open. A riot or gang fight can be strategized by "wargaming" during DnD. Not to mention in prison anything that can be bet on will be bet on. Anything and everything can and will be used as collateral.
If this were a program for inmates that were screened I could see that as one thing. However, letting dice be held onto by inmates is something I can definitely see leading to problems. That is not to say that anyone and everyone would abuse the system. However, the jail and prison system is not designed to be a reformation system. It is designed to hold, keep secure, protect, and separate people found in a court of law to be in violation of the laws of the land and to be punished per the court by confinement. Officers have enough trouble dealing with things as is in the already crowded environments. Prison reform is something the nation needs. This is not it. Doing this as a program however... I could see great potential and benefits.
I think screening would be essential, as well as possibly avoiding dice.
Go to prison can’t play D&D. Stay out of prison can play D&D......hmmmm....I see some good decision making can solve this dilemma. Presidential campaigns and prison reform D&D Beyond?....I remember when D&D was about a fantasy RPG for a fun hobby. Time and place guys. Only a matter of time before polarized politics creeps into the conversation. Keep this fun, let’s be adults and nerd out together. Don’t we get enough of this 24/7 already. Let’s argue about what class is best instead.
Jared Rudolph, "one of the inmates interviewed in this video" is incorrect
Correction: Jared Rudolph is a Deputy Public Defender in the San Francisco Public Defender's Office (and DND enthusiast).
Sadly, they don't think it will fund in the next 2 days... :(
That is wonderful!
What a great concept! Thanks for sharing and putting a spotlight on this!
This goes along with how D&D is becoming more and more recognized for its benefits to social and pratical educational aspects. It seems to have a benefit for everyone. From helping kids with Autism with Critical Core to helping prison inmates rehabilitate back into society, D&D seems to be a tool that could help people in many aspects of life.
There is no mention of the backgrounds are of the people in the jails. Looking at the statistics: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html
Your posts suggest you are in favor of "Prison as Punishment" so lets limit the data to drug, immigration, public order, youth crimes, and involuntary commitment:
That is still 930,000 people, or 40% of the prison population. For a significant number of those people, D&D could be a way to help them re-integrate into society.
Definitely screening and separation. Not to mention keeping security of all items brought in for the game. This honestly seems like something that an outside organization could provide as a program rather than something that should happen in units or be provided by the prison system. Not to mention I'd say it just outright wouldn't work for jails.
Game On!
This sounds like the best way for DM's to make sure everyone shows up for the session
For a variety of reasons, there's no way I'd give money to help random inmates play D&D.
That said, if any given incarceration system necessitates keeping pencils, paper and all possible random-number generation tools (down to things as simple as dice or coins) away from inmates, then I'd suggest maybe said system needs a top-down overhaul.
Well, I was thinking of the larger, softer kindergarten-style pencils, but still.
If even a pencil is verboten, then surely a tablet would be too, since the screen can be cracked and glass shards can be gathered from it. And at that point, there's a whole lot more that probably needs to be considered too. (Which I won't dig into any further, lest I go off on an off-topic rant.)
Dear God, you people are attention whores.
Not the commenters. Wizards of the Coast, for putting out this reality show bullshit.
Not the prison reform we desperately need, but definitely a step in the right direction!
I'm a CO in a medium security prison with a maximum (special housing) complex. Inmates were I work already play Pathfinders pretty regularly. They use graphing calculators in lieu of dice, have access to source materials they can order as they would any other book, make pretty intricate maps using graphing paper, colored pencils, etc. In my experience, the people that would use similar RPGs maliciously simply don't need to. They communicate and coordinate just fine as is, and many wouldn't be interested in the first place. I personally think that, overall, it's a potentially constructive way for them to quietly break the monotony and keep out of trouble. Idle hands, and all that. I don't know if I would personally fund this, but it's nowhere near as ludicrous an idea as some make it out to be. Disclaimer, these are of course my own opinions and don't necessarily reflect those of my DOC.
Not everyone in prison is a rapist or a murderer. The vast majority of people are in prison for far less serious reasons, and many were pushed into crime due to socioeconomic status. Some people were at the wrong place at the wrong time and took a plea deal rather than fight a drawn out battle in court that they may wind up losing anyways. My uncle was offered 5 years in prison and threatened with a life sentence if he took it to court, luckily they found the real culprit before his trial, but he almost took the deal just so he would be able to see his daughter graduate. On the other hand, many people who actually committed crimes and were caught red-handed are walking the streets, but because of their status or wealth they didn't have to face the same punishment. Look at Epstein, his punishment for heinous crimes was all but a joke, because of his status and wealth he all but got away with crimes that would have put anyone of lower status in prison for life.
I am of the camp that the criminal justice system should be to reform inmates, not just to punish them, but to help them become productive citizens. The way we treat people in prison many go in based off a stupid mistake and come out more damaged than they went in. I'm not saying that someone who committed crimes should be rewarded, but they also shouldn't be treated so poorly that they come out of the system as worse human beings than they went in. D&D is a game that requires teamwork and problem solving, it helps pass time in what is a very bleak existence.
So true!
I love the idea. I work in a prison and talk to a lot of the inmates that play. It's pretty amazing. The ingenuity they have to be able to play is astounding. For the longest time where I work they weren't allowed to have dice of any kind because the higher ups thought all dice were just used for gambling. The inmates and several of us that work their got that idea thrown out. They used to use playing cards for their random number generator a now they can order real dice!
Where this idea lost all my respect was when they decided that the idea of transforming the warden into a, "dragon or “boss" and the prison itself, a dragon’s lair." This is very disrespectful. You're basically going to turn the people who work in the prison into the monsters/bad guys.
Pass.