I’ve played a lot of these games, so I thought it’d be fun to try writing one. Thanks to everyone else who did it first!
Setting up the Family
The year is 1924.
It’s time to name your family! Use a dice roller (I recommend Roll a Die) to roll for the different options.
Use a four-sided die to roll for their last name.
- Generate some using Last Name Generator and pick your favorite
- Choose one off this Nameberry list - American Last Names as First Names - All Names | Nameberry
- Combine two random nouns that you think sound good together
- Use this generator and pick the first one it gives you - Surname Generator (namegeneratorfun.com)
If you want to give the mom a different last name, hyphenated last name, or include her maiden name next to her name, you can do that.
Then, use a six-sided die to roll for the parents’ ages. Roll for each parent separately.
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
Use a four-sided die to roll for how many children they currently have:
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
Use a six-sided die to roll for each child’s age (skip this step if they have 0 children). If you get multiple children with the same age, they are twins/triplets.
- newborn (nb)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Use a die with an even number of sides to roll for the children’s genders. Even numbers are girls, and odd numbers are boys.
Naming the Characters
For the first and middle names, roll a die with ten sides.
- What’s a Classic Name? | Nameberry (Deep Classics only)
- Forever Geeky Names | Nameberry
- French Names You’ll Want To Borrow Now | Nameberry
- Vintage Baby Names | Nameberry
- Nickname Names | Nameberry
- 390+ Biblical Names (with Meanings and Popularity) | Nameberry
- For a kid: a name that honors one of their parents. For an adult: roll again
- For a boy: Top Surname Names | Nameberry For a girl: Floral Girls Names | Nameberry
- Extinct Names That Are Never Ever Coming Back | Nameberry
- One-Syllable Baby Names | Nameberry
Optional Steps
Do you want to add grandparents?
Roll a die with an even number of sides. The first roll is for the father’s father, the second roll is for the father’s mother, the third roll is for the mother’s father, and the fourth roll is for the mother’s mother.
If you get an even number, this grandparent is still alive and can be added to the family. If you get an odd number, they are dead, and can’t be added.
Roll a 6-sided die for each grandparent’s age:
- 20 years older than their child
- 22 years older than their child
- 24 years older than their child
- 26 years older than their child
- 28 years older than their child
- 30 years older than their child
Name grandparents the same way that you named the other characters. If the grandparents are the mothers’ parents, remember to give them her last name.
Do you want to add pets?
First, roll a 2-sided die (or flip a coin) to see if they have 1 pet or 2.
Roll 1 / Heads: They have 1 pet.
Roll 2 / Tails: They have 2 pets.
Then, roll a four-sided die to determine what kind of pet each pet is.
- A dog
- A cat
- Another mammal (rabbit, hamster, guinea pig, etc)
- A non-mammal (bird, fish, tortoise, etc)
If you get a pet that isn’t a cat or dog, it’s okay if the pet is something that is very rare or impossible to keep as a pet in real life.
To name a pet, roll for only one first name and no last names.
Do you want to add careers?
Use this random job generator to pick a career for every character over 18. If the career would require you to go to college and the character is 18-24 years old, you can make them a student majoring in something related to the career instead. If you get a career that would not have been possible in 1924, generate again until you get one that would be possible.
Random Job Generator (randomgenerate.io)
You can also make any character you want choose to be a stay-at-home parent instead.