What is the most effective way to start a riot in my prison?
When you want to make a selective prisoner riot:
- Build (or use an existing) cell block with a few more than 50 prisoners (some might kill each other before you have an "official" riot going on)
- Build (or pick) a canteen where you want the riot to happen.
- Use micromanagement to make sure that the prisoners of the chosen block (and only them) use that canteen (Logistics -> Food Distribution)
- Add solitary doors to the canteen (other doors work too, but when you want the riot to cause the least damage possible, you need to contain it until the guards and riot police are in position)
- Wait until meal time. When all prisoners are in the canteen, order any guards to leave the canteen and then set all doors of the canteen to "Door Mode: Locked Shut".
- Now just wait for about a day.
While the prisoners are locked in the canteen, they can't satisfy most of their needs (they won't even get more food because there is no path between kitchen and canteen) making them more and more angry. Sooner or later you will have a nice but contained riot on your hands.
One easy way to make the prisoners really angry is to stop serving food. Food is a big part of how happy the prisoners are. That's why food is important if you don't want the prisoners to riot.
You can also take away all sleep time from the regime. This prevents them from sleeping and they will become more angry.
Just be careful so you don't start a riot you can't control. If you have a riot too long, you will lose the game.
I've done it by accident when I cut off one of their needs, I had electric issues so my kitchen didn't operate for a few days, when everyone got hungry at the same time the riot that started quickly snowballed as everyone else were right on the edge of rioting themselves!