What is a community? Is it a collection of strangers who came together through happenstance? Is it a group that found each other through shared goals? Or shared interests? Maybe it's even a group of people that came together for safety from an out group. No matter how you define a community, they are intrinsic and important aspects in the lives of basically everyone.

Communities can provide a lot of important facets of life, be it safety, shelter, food, knowledge, family, or connection. Regardless of what they can provide, they are not always defined in the same way. Communities can consist of people who look alike, or not at all, being made up of people who share a common bond. Communities are usually built as spaces, be they physical or not, in which people can gather together as a collective, but in the end there is always an out group. The goal of this jam is to provide an opportunity for others to take a hard look at what one defines as a community, what the members take from and provide to the community, and who is the out group. How do you define a community?

The Rules

• Write or submit tabletop roleplaying games or LARPs that reflect what you envision to be a community: what it is or should be, how it acts. Go as rules heavy or as rules light as you like! Whatever works, as long as you feel like your product is an exploration of the idea of community.
• TTRPGs/LARPs made before this jam, as well as any prototype/in-progress games, are more than welcome, with a hard limit of those made within 2019!
• Try to eliminate or minimize inclusion of any -isms/other forms of bigotry in aspects of your game. A non-comprehensive list of subjects to try to avoid or be very careful in including:
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Misogyny
  • Ableism
  • Transphobia
  • Homophobia
  • Acephobia
  • Biphobia
  • Rape/Sexual Assault
  • Domestic Violence
  • Child Abuse

Other Things We Encourage

• Entries can be in any language. No, you don't have to feel obligated to translate it into English to reach a "wider audience". Some communities and community experiences are not meant for everyone. That is just the way of it.
• Consider making your game as accessible as you can for part of or the entirety of #CommunityJam submissions. Maybe you can, for example, put it on sale for a limited run, or make it free after you submit for a set period. This is more to allow people - especially other designers floating around Itch - to check your game out.
• Try to include a text-only or print-friendly version of your game.
• Multiple submissions are 100% okay! The more, the merrier.
• Collaborations. The act of working together to make something happen is, in itself, community!

Feel free to contact either one of the co-hosts if you have questions! You can also contact here via Community Jam's dedicated forums on Itchio! And, don't forget to help us make this a thing by using the hashtag #CommunityJam.