Negative space shows up frequently in art — the shapes formed by the absence of shape. Silence is the negative space of conversation. What emerges in the absence of sound? What does it mean to play without words? If every game is a conversation, what happens if we stop talking for a bit?

The Goal: Design a game (TTRPG, board game, LARP, lyric game, poem, video game, etc.) or adventure that uses silence in some fashion as part of the experience. How exactly you approach this is otherwise up to you. It can be a single moment of silence or the entire game can take place in quiet. It can be a puzzle that needs silence to solve, or a spell which requires the player to stop talking.

Some rules:

• No bigotry, no slop, and no spam.
• Please engage with the theme of the jam, and don't just submit games you want to promote.
• (optional) It would be nice to offer the game as PWYW or available for free during the period of the jam, so everyone can discuss it.

Also, this jam is a byproduct of the Creekside Community Center (and there will be a thread there to discuss the jam). You don't have to be a member to participate but your patronage is incredibly appreciated and it helps make things like this possible.

Cover image: Photo by Karissa Mason on Unsplash.

Some inspiration:

• Ten Candles is a TTRPG where you spend four hours in play to build up to ten seconds of natural, organic, and extremely powerful silence.
• Wanderhome is a TTRPG where someone asks "Where is your home?" and everyone silently, in their head, answers that question.
• Sky Team (and many board games like it) is a cooperative board game that heavily limits and restricts communication.

What can be said when nothing is left to say?