Escaping Prison with Dungeons & Dragons

[D'arc_Tangent]

I can relate as our first year of playing D&D was minus dice. We used small squares cut out of plastic called chits, and we drew them out of styrofoam cups. This predated the dice where you could color in the numbers with crayons.

Here is the accompanying article for your reading pleasure and the video below for your viewing pleasure.

[Saekee]

thanks for sharing! I didn't know role playing games were part of some incarceration cultures

[emmanuelvargas]

interesting, I always find an escape to ral world in a good manner when playing Pen and Paper Dungeons and Dragons. Playing only keeps the world alive in my head

[cdbd3rd]

Finally, somebody gets it.

When Jeremy observed the games, he saw that the inmates were not just passing the time, they were learning to work cooperatively and building character, "I firmly believe gaming can help to combat the rampant mental illness in our prison system." So in a system rife with misconceptions about gaming, he did what he could to support the players: "I always encouraged these groups and always took time to explain what they were up to to any curious staff. Games were often a common ground for me to gain the respect of inmates (trust and respect are a big deal in prison, for officers and inmates alike)."

Just in living life, you come in contact with folks who have been through the system. (I even made the mistake of marrying one in the ancient past, but that is a story for another day.) Mostly I've gotten to know these folks as co-workers at past jobs. Two in particular I made friends with and they had earned my trust enough that I even invited them to my home. Both had stories of having played D&D while inside which was coincidentally the start of the conversations that led to friendship. Both of them have moved on successfully with their lives.

The luckier of the two had a CO officer and a Lieutenant who were gamers, so not only did not have to worry as much about their dice being confiscated, but had a couple real dice sets and rule books brought in for them. For a while they even had an officially allowed RPG club, complete with a meeting room to meet & play in.

They said that the guys they gamed with were of a like mind of just doing their time and avoiding trouble and trouble makers. It was never really dissected while they were playing, but in hind sight in conversations they agreed that there was also learning involved with teamwork, trust, and even integrity. Learning that being the hero of the story actually felt better than being the villain.

So anyway. I know personally of two success stories of life after prison that, maybe coincidentally or maybe not, were tied to playing D&D while inside.