Paper-and-Pencil Mechanics in Board Games
Definition and Characteristics
Paper-and-Pencil games are a subset of board games where players write or draw on paper as the primary method of gameplay. These mechanics often involve players drawing or writing in response to game prompts, puzzles, or other player actions.
- Flexibility: Adaptable to many themes and styles.
- Low Cost: Minimal components required.
- Creativity: Encourages creative thinking and strategy.
- Scalability: Accommodates varying player counts and difficulty levels.
Game Design Implications
Incorporating Paper-and-Pencil mechanics introduces unique design elements:
- Replayability: Each game can result in different outcomes based on what players draw or write.
- Portability: Transported easily due to minimal components.
- Player Interaction: Can range from collaborative to competitive, depending on the game's rules.
Examples
Some classic and modern examples include:
- Tic-tac-toe: A simple and ubiquitous strategy game.
- Hangman: A word guessing game where incorrect guesses build towards a pre-determined outcome.
- Telestrations: Combines drawing with a "telephone game" dynamic to humorous effect.
Conclusion
Paper-and-Pencil mechanics are a timeless aspect of board gaming that continue to inspire game designers and entertain players with their simplicity and depth.
Humor themed games with Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil and Contracts games
Paper-and-Pencil games illustrated by Marta Tranquilli
Paper-and-Pencil and Dice Rolling games
Family Game with Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil games designed by Scott Almes
Paper-and-Pencil games illustrated by Takako Takarai
Let’s Make a Bus Route is a 2-5 player board game where players draw bus routes on a map of Kyoto. You play the role of a bus company employee tasked with making a new bus route.To make an effective route you must fulfill the needs of visiting tourists...
Let's Make a Bus Route
$89.95
$65.00
In Let's Make a Bus Route: The Dice Game, each player is a member of a bus company and creates bus routes by drawing lines on a map. You want to meet the needs of each client — tourists, commuters, local university students, the elderly, and parents...
Let's Make a Bus Route - The Dice Game
$55.00
Paper-and-Pencil games published by GaGa Games
Paper-and-Pencil games published by Delta Vision Publishing
Exploration themed games with Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil games published by 2D6.EE Games
Arabella
$45.00
Arabella is an 18XX-themed roll-and-write for 1-4 players, set in Estonia. The goal is to collect most victory points but similar to other 18XX games trains, shares and dividends play here an important part.During their turn players choose dice from...
mostly negative, 39%
10 y/o +
1 to 4 players
45 minutes
Relaxed
Trains
Transportation
Network and Route Building
Paper-and-Pencil
Roll and Write
Stock Holding
Puzzle themed games with Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil games published by Lavka Games
Fliptown is a flip-and-write game in which you are trying to earn stars by exploring a wild west town. The game uses a standard poker deck to drive an open world-style of game play, along with dry erase boards or print-and-play sheets that serves as...
Fliptown
$25.00
#ARTBOX is an unusual and fun game, where each player becomes a modern artist. Each game round is an exciting competition of trying to depict your word using just several shapes. Players will also have to challenge their deduction, trying to guess what...
#ARTBOX
$35.00
$25.00
Paper-and-Pencil games designed by Markus Brand
Paper-and-Pencil games illustrated by Sol Azpiroz
Words of a Feather
-29%
$34.99
$24.99
Words of a Feather is a party game with a unique focus on presentation and table presence. Players reveal words from the general supply and add their own words to the mix. All players try to write down matching words based on the clues provided. Players...
mostly positive, 70%
10 y/o +
3 to 8 players
20 minutes
Light
Party Game
Give a clue, Get a clue
Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil games designed by Matt Riddle
Paper-and-Pencil games published by Renegade Game Studios
A fast, tricky roll-and-write game.1. Choose NumbersRoll the dice! Then each player chooses two sets of dice to use from the common pool.2. Fill & ConnectFill up regions and connect lines of numbers to get lots of points.3. Use BonusesThe player who ...
Hex Roller
$20.00
$10.00
Since 2016, astronomers have been searching for a distant planet to explain the unique orbits of observable objects in the solar system. Do you have what it takes to find Planet X?1. Survey for objects and take other actions using the companion app.2...
The Search for Planet X
$77.48
$28.00
Paper-and-Pencil games illustrated by Karel Titeca
Rolling Realms Redux
-40%
$40.00
$24.00
In Rolling Realms Redux, players compete to earn the most stars over 3 rounds in a series of minigames (there are 12 different all-new "realms" included in the game). This is a roll-and-write game, meaning that players will write on the game components...
positive, 81%
14 y/o +
1 to 6 players
30 minutes
Relaxed
Solo / Solitaire Game
Dice Rolling
Paper-and-Pencil
Roll and Write
Simultaneous Action Selection
Fantasy themed games with Paper-and-Pencil
Deadly Doodles
$17.95
In this quick-playing doodle game, 1–4 players simultaneously draw paths through a dangerous dungeon. Draw cards, draw a path through your dungeon, and rack up points! Collect loot and fight monsters . . . or run away screaming! Can you defeat the dragon...
mixed, 62%
8 y/o +
1 to 4 players
20 minutes
Light
Strategy Game
Fantasy
Paper-and-Pencil
Flip and Write
Paper-and-Pencil games published by Repos Productions
Number, The
$11.00
Each turn, all players secretly write a number from 000 to 999 on their tile, then simultaneously reveal them. Writing a bigger number gives you more points, but it’s also a risky bet... since if you share a digit with any of the smaller numbers, you...
mixed, 56%
8 y/o +
2 to 5 players
15 minutes
Light
Family Game
Paper-and-Pencil
Paper-and-Pencil and Territory Building games
Paper-and-Pencil games designed by Wolfgang Warsch
Subtext
-37%
$37.95
$24.00
Subtext has players trying to communicate with one another by drawing hints about the word on their card. Drawing well is not required— in fact, it’s a bad idea! - But rather just be clever in selecting your hints.Each round, one person is the dealer...
mixed, 63%
10 y/o +
4 to 8 players
20 minutes
Light
Abstract Game
Hidden Roles
Paper-and-Pencil
Targeted Clues
Voting
