Resources for TTRPGs in the Classroom
A collection of resources and games to help you bring TTRPGs into educational settings.
My month-long look at games and game design in the classroom continues! I have shared with you how I designed my classroom TTRPG, and some of the activities I have used in my classroom to teach students how to create their own games. This week is all about resources to help you make tabletop games a part of your educational setting.
Resources for TTRPGs in Educational Settings
Looking for advice, guidance, and other resources for integrating TTRPGs into a classroom or educational setting? These websites and organizations have done the work for you:
TTRPG Kids. This website is the ultimate resource for TTRPGs for kids and education. Full of reviews, playthroughs, activities, discussions, and curated lists of games to play with kids and how to do so as a parent or educator. When thinking about gaming with kids, this should be the first place you look for information.
Storytelling Collective. A collection of courses, cohorts, and writing events with a focus on TTRPGs and genre writing. Their “Write Your First Adventure” class is how I and many other designers got their start making games, and their Book Club offers a space to review and discuss the established games with other developing designers. Beyond game design, they also offer courses on developing your skills as a creative of any type, with options for marketing, organization, and self-reflection. Seasonal community events include flash fiction, poetry, and short story writing, as well as annual anthologies to publish your work in.
Luck of Legends. Michael Low has taken the idea of TTRPGs in the classroom and developed a whole curriculum and educational program around it. In addition to the online courses he offers to develop writing skills through play, Low also has a podcast, a blog, and a collection of education games available on his website. The Luck of Legends program and website are a great place to see TTRPGs-as-curriculum in action.
TTRPGS Teach! Game Jam. This isn’t actually a game jam, so much as an ever-growing collection of games that have been designed for use in educational settings, organized by Michael Low of Luck of Legends. Currently sitting at over 100 submissions, you are sure to find something that works for your classroom here and it is always open for further submissions! There is also a great Discord community connected to the jam—a great place to discuss gaming with other educators!
Geek Therapeutics. Geek Therapeutics offers courses, certifications, and research to support psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers, and educators in using media and pop culture to connect with their clients and students. I personally know a few counselors and social workers who have gone through the certification program and speak highly of how what they learned has allowed them to fully integrate TTRPGs, video games, and comic books into their practice.
The Bodhana Group. Another organization providing seminars, workshops, and certifications for counselors and therapists on how to use and create roleplaying and storytelling games for therapeutic purposes. In addition to their courses, the group also offers consultation services and runs their own therapeutic gaming groups.
ALA GameRT. The American Library Association’s Games and Gaming Round Table provides numerous resources for libraries and librarians to incorporate gaming into their programs and organizations. Among the support and events offered are monetary grants and International Games Month, as well as conferences, webinars, interviews, resource lists and game news.
TTRPGs Designed for Education
These are game systems whose core rules and supplements are designed with educational settings in mind.
The StoryGuider by TTRPG Kids. A story system with branching narratives and choices for kids to make, this is a great introduction to storytelling games for younger players who may not be ready for dice and stats and complicated game mechanics. I’ve used this game with kids as young as 3 years old to great success. The adventures are short, whimsical, and focus on life skills. It has the feel of reading a picture book, but with choices for kids to make to determine what happens next. Coloring pages give younger kids something to focus on or take a break as they play.
Stories RPG by Luck of Legends. Turns storytelling and narrative writing into a shared game experience. The basic rules are simple and easy to use, with a great character sheet that gives students everything they need to develop fully realized characters. There are numerous supplements to the game, including a podcast that you can play along with, multiple settings and adventures, and tools to make running and tracking the game easier. Low is currently working on releasing a full educator’s guide for the game, including academic standards, assessments, and pacing guide to easily integrate it into classroom curriculum.
Inspirisles by Hatchling Games. The first in a trilogy of RPGs from Hatchling Games, Inspirisles’ setting combines the vibes of Arthurian legend, The Legend of Zelda, and folklore and fairy tales. What really makes the game standout, however, is that it teaches and uses sign language (both ASL and BSL) as a core mechanic of the game. It is an incredible setting, and great for kids ready to try more complicated storytelling and gameplay.
Sodalitas by JDR.cool. Designed for quick play in a classroom or extracurricular setting, games of Sodalitas can be completed in under an hour or extended as needed. Gameplay revolves around teamwork, with players creating a guild and making decisions together to move the adventures forward. The game is also available for free to educators by reaching out to the creator via their itch.io page!
Good Nature by MonarcWriter. My own game, based on my experiences teaching social skills in a special education classroom. You can read all about its development in the design diary from a few weeks ago! And request a free copy by filling out this form!
TTRPGs For Younger Players
Although not designed specifically for use in education, these games are very friendly for younger children or players encountering TTRPGs for the first time. Their easy-to-learn rule systems and structures also make them great for shorter sessions that can slot in easily into a class period.
Little But Fierce by DC Bradshaw. Designed as an introduction to Dungeons & Dragons for young children, Bradshaw’s game takes the rules of 5th edition D&D and streamlines them into accessible language and concepts, while maintaining a tone that will appeal to its target age group. It’s a great way to introduce the most popular TTRPG to kids and families, and Bradshaw has created multiple supplements and adventures to support the simplified ruleset.
Color My Quest by Dice Up Games. A TTRPG composed of coloring pages and cards. Simple mechanics and a cut-and-paste card system for characters and abilities make this a very fun play experience. Every component—creatures, maps, heroes, items— has an image to color. There are also additional “Dungeon Run” adventures that simplify the narrative experience into a more straight-forward board game.
Wanderhome by Possum Creek Games. A wonderfully cozy and charming TTRPG, Wanderhome is a storytelling game about animal-folk on a long journey. The narrative focus of the game is on exploring, helping, and sharing stories; there is no combat or violence in the rules of the game. The location generators and character playbooks allow for a wide-range of stories, making the game feel like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales meets Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad.
Mausritter by Losing Games. A classic hexcrawl adventure RPG set at the scale of mice. The game is very much focused on exploration, but a fast-paced stat and item system make combat and conflict resolution easy to learn. Best of all, there are so many easy to use, free resources for the game available on the website including a Mouse generator, Adventure site generator, and templates for maps and items.
I hope you find something useful for your classroom and gaming experiences among the above resources! Let me know in the comments what worked for you, or if there are any other resources for Gaming and Education you recommend!
Awesome post! Thank you for highlighting TTRPG edu resources and for mentioning TTRPGkids!!