Robot in Jail › Teachers

Robot in Jail for teachers

A free browser game that turns fairness and justice into choices students can feel. Settle a case, see the consequence, then talk about why.

Why it works in class

• Choices, not lectures. Students decide a case first, then meet the idea behind it.
• Trade-offs. Every law helps one thing and costs another, which makes for good debates.
• Short sessions. One case takes a minute or two.

Practical details

• Ages 13 and over. Free. Runs in a modern browser on phones, tablets and computers.
• No account needed. Progress stays on the device unless a player chooses cloud save. Players under 16 need a parent or guardian’s agreement before using cloud save. See the privacy policy.
• Fiction, not legal advice. It teaches general ideas, not one country’s laws.

A seven-lesson arc: the Sun-Gear mystery

The in-game mystery follows a case from accusation to sentence, one chapter a day. Each chapter matches a law page with a discussion question:

1. Chapter 1: Who took the Sun-Gear? → Innocent until proven guilty
2. Chapter 2: Search the scrap yard? → Search needs a warrant
3. Chapter 3: Can Old Tock see that far? → Check the witness
4. Chapter 4: Whose crane was it? → Keep receipts: proof of where things came from
5. Chapter 5: Court day: is it fair? → Right to a defence
6. Chapter 6: What should happen to Tick? → Repair the harm
7. Chapter 7: The Sun-Gear rises → Repair the harm

Lesson idea (20 minutes)

1. Students play until their first case appears and decide it alone.
2. In pairs, they compare what they chose and what happened.
3. Read the matching law page together and discuss its “Think about it” question.
4. Ask: which choice was fairest, and fair to whom?

Discussion starters

• Innocent until proven guilty: Why is it worse to punish an innocent person than to let a guilty one go, at least sometimes?
• Check the witness: Think of a time you were sure you saw something and turned out to be wrong. What made your memory slip?
• Keep receipts: proof of where things came from: Why is a deal that is “too cheap to be true” a warning sign?
• Repair the harm: When is fixing the harm better than punishment, and when is it not enough?
• Ask before fixing: informed consent: Why does it matter who makes the final choice about your own body?
• Private homes: cameras need a reason: Where is the line between safety cameras and spying?

Questions or ideas? Write to [email protected].

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