Serving Time on the River

Serving Time on the River is a game created by a prison inmate and sold at prison craft sales. It is intended to simulate life in the Angola Louisiana State Prison. Players take on the roles of inmates from Angola prison with different sentences, and spin their way around the board, hoping for eventual parole when they obtain 1,000 points. They must endure "Unavoidable Circumstances," ranging from frame-ups by enemy inmates to extortion, and players may commit offenses as well, which could land them in the work camp or the "Dungeon," or simply lose you the game (e.g. suicide). Good behavior and informing on other inmates may help players to be freed. The game is made to convey the hopelessness of prison life, as some players may not win at all if their sentences are not commuted. The designer created the game to be played by youth offenders to encourage them to stay out of prison.