This work is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. The full terms of this licence may be seen at Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this work (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. This chapter aims to explore how a prison-themed video game may have come to shape some understandings of the nature, character and function of the carceral realm. It considers the case of the leading prison simulation game, Prison Architect ( Paradox Interactive, 2019), and considers how that game's portrayal of prison, specifically both its function and management, polarises and contrasts between themes of punishment and rehabilitation, in turn reflecting what are often broader societal debates about incarceration. For cell block designations, you will only be required to click once in the hallway connecting the cells to assign all cells to a security level. If the corresponding room for the job has a security level only these prisoners are allowed to work here. The primary intent and purpose of this piece then is to consider how this extant prison-themed video game reflects dominant (and often quite binary) norms and ideas concerning imprisonments competing function (juxtaposing security and rehabilitation as binaries that can never be fully reconciled). It can also be used to prevent certain prisoners from doing certain jobs.
