No Prob! An Educational TTRPG About Problem Solving

No Prob! An Educational TTRPG About Problem Solving

This game is made by TTRPGkids!

In this game, you and your players will be using a unique set of mechanics to progress through a roleplaying game’s story to help with practicing the problem solving process.  

These mechanics can be used with multiple scenarios (so they aren’t limited to just one setting) and can be adjusted to fit different sets of powers (i.e. the game suggests Water, Fire, and Air powers, but you could easily swap for Electricity, Tech, and Ice powers, or some other system, if you wanted).  

To help with using the mechanics, an example scenario will be provided along with a walkthrough for facilitating gameplay so you can see how it works and either use this example with your players or make up your own.

A wizard casts a small fire spell to light a candle, and it turns into a roaring blaze! The resident chibi mage tries to pull a prank on her friend, the witch in training, by blowing her hat away over and over again, but, instead, it blasts her with icy water! Something is causing magic at the local wizarding tower to go absolutely haywire! You’ll need to figure out what’s wrong, find a way to solve the problem, and make it work with your mayhem inducing powers!

Example Process Log: Report + Notes Define +1 Find a solution to the haywire magic situation at the wizard tower Research +1 There are magical chaos mice loose that seem like the cause. There may also be magical chili involved. Brainstorm +2 Lure the mice out, hunt the mice down, trap the mice. Use water to flood the mice out, use fire to smoke the mice out, use air to lure the mice out with tasty smells. Evaluate +1 Got 1 Air, 1 Water, 4 Fire - try Fire Choose +1 Use smoke to get the mice out Test +1 We create smoke, but it is too much Fire magic! It starts a fire! Evaluate (opt) +1 Got 2 Air, 3 Water, 3 Fire - try Air Choose (opt) +1 Use Air to make a mouse luring smell Test (opt) +1 It worked! The mice came out! Report The mice were captured on getting out and the chaos stopped.

As part of the TTRPG’s TEACH game jam, check here for some more details!

TTRPGs TEACH

AGE RANGE that this game targets

  • All-ages, aligns with 5th grade science and writing class subjects

SUBJECT & SKILLS the game will help players learn

  • Understanding and using a problem solving process
  • Writing a report
  • Working on a team
  • Creative storytelling

NUMBER of students/players 

  • 1-4 players

PLAYTIME required for a full game 

  • 30-50 minutes (depending on reflection and discussion time)

RULES are designed for easy, intuitive play 

  • Teaches rules as you go with no prep needed from the facilitator
  • Facilitator to guide players during the process with Q&A built into mechancis
  • Rules-lite all-ages system that requires only printed materials/matching

TOOLS that are needed 

  • One to four players per team
  • One process log per team
  • Pen or pencil for each player
  • 5 each of the Water, Fire, and Air tokens from Glyfi for each player (printable)
  • A Glyfi character sheet for each player
  • A container for each player to hold their tokens
Example lesson plan Grade: 5th Lesson Goals Subject: Writing/ Science Understand and use the problem solving process Generate a summary of a group oral story Topic: Creative writing Prob. solving Required Knowledge: Learning Objectives Be able to write basic ideas Be able to discuss and come to agreement with group members Be able to form and ask questions Students should be able to state the steps of the problem solving process Students should be able to recount a story created as a group Materials Needed: Content Standards 1-4 players Pens and pencils [1] Process Log per group [1] Character sheet per player [5] of each token per player (printable) ELA/Literacy - W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. (3-5-ETS1-1) W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. (3-5-ETS1-1) Lesson Structure: Total time: 35-50 minutes 5 minutes - activity introduction and group formation 5 minutes - safety tools explanation 20-30 minutes - activity/game playthrough 5-10 minutes - class discussion Student reflection: Evaluation: Report is required as the last step of the activity May be conducted through turning in the Log or by extending the Report into a submitted assignment Notes:

Thank you for checking this game out, and I hope it helps with your classroom or home games!

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