Hello, and welcome to the second annual Stuck In a Jam!
The jam will be open for submission between 12pm ET (UTC - 5) August 30th and 12pm ET (UTC - 5) September 30th.
The premise of this game jam is quite simple:
In a way akin to Wikipedia Races or Six Degrees of Wikipedia, you'll be making a virtual escape-room-esque game for people to play when they're stuck in their own homes. It might be played alone, by a few roommates in the same apartment, a family, as a virtual date over video chat, by a group of friends trying to stay connected despite not being able to see each other, or any other group that can navigate the internet, solve puzzles, and communicate if relevant.

In other words: using the internet, a series of commonly accessible file types, or a space that's easily accessible to your intended audience, you'll guide people through a series of puzzles to achieve an end goal. Whether it's decoding a message or finding a specific video, the end goal - and how your players get there - is up to you!
In terms of what you're submitting, as I recognize that might be a bit muddy for these projects: a Word document, a link to a Google Document or Sheet, a link to a website you've made to host the game, or even just a .txt file, whatever format you feel would work best as a starting point for your players.

Here's some examples of projects and games that emulate this sort of game:
inFAMOUS Second Son's Paper Trail Missions (No longer playable in original format as of December 16th, 2018)
Wikipedia Games
Perhaps an extreme example (so, uhhh, unless you're feeling crazy don't do it): Cicada 3301
A codebreaking puzzle from Destiny 2's Warmind DLC
The Hunt A Killer series
The Mysterious Package Company games

RULES:
Excluding rules that are intended to protect player safety, which will be marked with a *, these will be more guidelines than rules.

1. Your game must have a narrative through-line that connects all of the challenges.
2.  Your game cannot require props that would not be found in the average household. Items that should work may include playing cards, a mirror, six sided dice - get creative but stay accessible. If a tool or prop can be simulated by the internet, you should provide a link to a relevant resource.
3. Your game must take no longer than an hour, on average, to complete.
4. Consider your intended audience and design accordingly.
5. Do not force your players to give out personal information.*
6. Do not make a game that is inaccessible by your intended audience, whether that's because of the location it's played in or the way files are presented.*
7. Do not endanger your players or show them illegal or NSFW content.*

SUGGESTED PRACTICES:

1. If you are using the internet as a resource, try to use websites that are unlikely to change in the future, near or otherwise. Making your own websites using resources like Wix or Squarespace are easy ways to do this, and will offer you more control over the spaces your players interact with, if that's your style.
2. Recruit for your design team outside of your normal game development circles, too! The beauty of this style of game is that you don't need to know a lot about making games to make one. Have a microbiologist friend that might wanna join you? Grab 'em! Historian? Heck yeah! Local comic book shop owner? Absolutely!
3. Have fun and be safe! If you wanna make one but end up being too stressed to follow through, please don't push yourself!

This is going to be a pretty casual game jam that will be used to test and refine things like the general rules and jam explanation, so don't be afraid to experiment and do things you otherwise wouldn't. This jam isn't going to be judged, we just want you to get creative!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc, please ask!
If you're confused about the premise or rules, please say so, so that it can be clarified for everyone before things get too crazy!