Healthy Gaming Tabletop Jam! 2025

Oh to reconcile my dreams of helping the world become a better, healthier place, while enjoying my obsession with tabletop game design…

…Perhaps there is a way!

Welcome to the Healthy Gaming Jam, where we will come together to make and share tabletop games designed to improve our real-world health and wellbeing!

Submissions can be anything from fully fledged TTRPGs to supplements, or simple game mechanics, as long as they are playable primarily with your imagination, and perhaps some pencils, paper, and shiny math rocks (dice). 

Here are some examples of what you can make or submit:

• Roleplay Safety Tools! (Healthy communication!)
• Educational Adventure Modules!
• Game mechanics that use real-world physical or mental exercises to bolster your overall health as you play!
• A Healer class or playbook for your favorite game!
• Games about cooking nutritious meals!
• Journalling Games!
• Educational Zines!
• Games about Dancing, Singing, or other art forms that are not commonly found in tabletop games!
• Games involving Meditation, Breathwork, or other free wellness practices!
• Games about building Community and a healthier world!
• Games that have helped heal you or someone you care for.

Please feel free to submit games made before the jam! Games of any size and shape are welcome. For a huge list of open-source resources for making games, check out the Forever Open Source Jam!

This is meant to be a fun and laidback game jam. In this Jam, there will be no judging or prizes other than my eternal gratitude and the joy of helping others 💙

Community

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 a brand-new project seems daunting, we’re here and we’d love to help!

The Purpose of this Jam

I’ve been wanting to put on this jam for months now, ever since learning about the USAID cuts furthering global health disparity. Originally, the goal of this jam was to put together a bundle of games that can help you be healthier in real life, and donate all of the proceeds to Partners in Health.

But then my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

It feels selfish to say that I’d rather help my dad in this moment, but it’s true. Unfortunately, the US is a place where my dad can have “really good” heaIth insurance that still leaves him saddled with bills beyond his means, while being unable to work from a hospital bed.

So the proceeds from this bundle will be given to my dad to help ease his financial burden during his multiple surgeries and long recovery. Any proceeds in excess of his financial needs will be donated directly to Partners in Health.

This jam will begin on Father’s Day, June 15th, and continue until my dad’s birthday: July 27th. (6 weeks)

My plan is to help my dad have a smooth recovery and then run this jam every year, each time donating the proceeds to a charitable cause in support of the health of our global community 🌎

I encourage you to make a game for the bundle! And, If you would like to donate to support my father directly, you can share his GoFundMe, or even donate if you can. 

Please also check out the Cancer Research Bundle that is going on right now!

Rules

Physical Games (And Media) Only

Meaning: No video games! Submissions will use the “Physical Games” category on itch.io. Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), hacks, reskins, supplements, modules, expansions, zines, board games, card games, and LARPs (live action role play) are all accepted.

Zines, Books and other forms of physical media are allowed and encouraged!

Theme Requirement

All submissions must be related to Health and Wellbeing! I will be very lenient on this requirement because gaming itself is a healthy experience! If I can’t find the connection to the Health theme, I’ll… probably still allow it just to help my dad with a bigger bundle.

The Bundle!

If you submit an entry to this jam be prepared to approve the bundle when your games are added to it. There will be an email sent to the email address you provide when submitting your games to the bundle. I will also ask for a 2nd way to contact you via social media. By submitting your game to this jam, you are agreeing to having your game placed into this bundle and sold for this fundraiser.

• The bundle will be sold for $5 or $10, depending on the number of entries, and all proceeds will go toward easing my father’s recovery, with excess going to Partners in Health, as my dad’s needs are met.

No AI

Absolutely no AI, due to it being much healthier to create things yourself. Embrace the creation, and have fun with it!

No Bigotry

No bigotry, fascism, racism, sexism, transphobia, or hate speech will be tolerated, as these things are not just unhealthy, but incredibly toxic to life on Earth. These themes may be included as forces to overcome, overthrow, or undermine, (as long as it’s healthy) but not to be celebrated. Don’t make the Nazis the good guys.

Submission Guidelines

• Old and New Games are both welcome! We want to make a diverse bundle, so everyone can find an entry point into healthy gaming that suits their needs and tastes.
• Multiple submissions are welcome and encouraged!
• Simultaneous submissions to other jams are okay as long as you also follow the rules of those jams!
• You can collaborate with others as long as everyone involved in a submission is properly credited.
• Adult and NSFW content is permitted, so long as it relates to HEALTHY adult activity! Please label with appropriate content warnings.
• Late submissions are allowed—just ask if you need a little extension. The goal is to get the bundle live as soon as possible to help my dad when he needs it most. (He will be going into surgery again in a few months.)

Accessibility

Your submission may be paid or free. There will be no restrictions in this regard. Your creativity, time, and energy are valuable, so you are welcome to charge what you want. Please remember that all of the proceeds for this bundle in particular will not be going to your bank account, and plan healthy life choices accordingly.

Safety tools are an important part of all roleplaying games. Please use the TTRPG Safety Toolkit curated by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk.

Have Fun

Have fun! This is not the kind of jam to lose sleep or stress out over. (Unhealthy!) Participate with your community, share drafts, bounce ideas off each other, and enjoy the process. If your idea fizzles out, try something new! If the deadline is coming up too fast, submit something incomplete (just try to come back to it later)! If you don’t finish, that’s okay too—just enjoy the process! Try again in the next Health Jam!

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to carefully read all of the rules and guidelines for the jam, and thanks in advance for your amazing submissions! Your contribution is so dearly appreciated, and I look forward to seeing what you create!

Thank you so much to Rayne at Rayney Day Games for inspiration, support, and assistance in making this jam!

Thank you so much to Taylor Currey, aka Whimsy Machine Media, who skillfully crafted this game jam template! It was made with ample support (and love) from the TTRPG Collective Community.