Tag: Paper and Pencil

Games with a Paper and Pencil mechanic typically require players to take notes of actions during a game to keep track of resources and scoring.

Twilight Inscription

Twilight Inscription

Twilight Inscription

The Lazax Empire has burned to ash, rejected by its subjects. The aftermath was tragedy and petty conflict in equal measure, a time of loss and exhaustion. In the ensuing Dark Years, the factions of the galaxy retreated and recovered their strength. Now, they look upon the stars and see an opportunity—a chance to reclaim what was lost. A chance to redefine galactic civilization. A chance to leave their mark upon the stars.

Twilight Inscription, an epic roll-and-write game for one to eight players, offers an experience unlike anything Fantasy Flight Games has done before. With a limited pool of resources at your disposal, you’ll need to carefully manage Navigation, Expansion, Industry, and Warfare as you amass victory points and earn your right to the throne on Mecatol Rex. Will your faction become the new rulers of the galaxy? Or will your fledgling empire fade into obscurity? Anything can happen in this strategic, infinitely-replayable game!

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 8 Players
  • 90 – 120 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.16

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

Three Sisters is a strategic roll-and-write game about backyard farming. Three Sisters is named after an indigenous agricultural technique still widely used today in which three different crops — pumpkins, corn, and beans — are planted close together. Corn provides a lattice for beans to climb, the beans bring nitrogen from the air into the soil, and the squash provides a natural mulch ground cover to reduce weeds and keep pests away.

In the game, you have your own player sheet with multiple areas: the garden, which is divided into six numbered zones, each containing the three crop types; the apiary; compost; perennials; goods; fruit; and the shed, which is filled with tools that have special abilities. All the crops, fruits, flowers, and hives are represented by tracks that you will mark off as you acquire these items. Many of the tracks are interconnected with other elements in the game, giving you bonuses along the way. A common feature of these tracks are circles that represent a harvest, which generates goods; get enough goods, and you unlock bonus actions. Advancing on all of these tracks offers various amounts of points, advancements, and bonuses.

The game lasts eight rounds. Each round, roll dice based on the number of players, group them by number, then place them on an action space of the circular action wheel, starting with the current position of the farmer; the farmer moves each round, which means that dice showing 1s, 2s, etc. will end up on different spaces each round. Once the dice have been placed, each player drafts one die and uses it as described below. Once everyone has drafted a die, all players get to use the lowest-valued die remaining on the action wheel. A die lets you do two things, which you can do in either order:

  • Plant or water the numbered zone matching the value of the die.
  • Take the action of the space from which you removed the die.

To plant, you mark the bottom space of two empty crop tracks. (Note that you can’t plant beans until the corn adjacent to the beans is tall enough to support them.) To water, you mark one space in all the crop tracks that already have at least one mark in them. As for the actions on the action wheel, you can:

  • Plant or water again in the same numbered zone.
  • Gain one compost (which lets you adjust die values) and four goods (which will get you bonuses at the farmer’s market).
  • Mark off the hive track, which can bring you points, goods, or bonus actions.
  • Mark one of the four fruit tracks. Each fruit is worth different points and different amounts of goods and has different track lengths and circle positions.
  • Visit the farmer’s market, which gives you points and bonuses based on the number of goods you’ve collected.
  • Mark one of the fifteen tool tracks in your shed. As soon as you complete a track, you gain that power or end-game scoring opportunity.

Perennials don’t have a direct action associated with them and are marked off only through actions in other areas, with the various perennials giving different bonuses as you mark them.

At the end of the round, all players receive a bonus action, either rain that waters all numbered zones in your garden, a trip to the shed, or a visit to the farmer’s market. After eight rounds, you score points for harvested crops, perennials, the apiary, fruit, and some shed items. Whoever has the most points wins.

Three Sisters has a solo mode in which you try to top your own score against an “opponent” that drafts dice and blocks areas of your sheet.

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Drafting
  • Dice Rolling
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Rondel

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.62

Mind MGMT

Mind MGMT

Mind MGMT

Working from the shadows, Mind MGMT once used its psychically-powered agents to put a stop to global crises. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Mind MGMT is now rotting from the inside. To tighten its iron grip on the world stage, Mind MGMT deploys covert operatives around the world to recruit other psychically-attuned individuals to their side. How can this enigmatic organization, hell bent on global domination, be defeated?

Thankfully, a few renegade agents have figured out that Mind MGMT has been compromised and have defected, turning their backs on the syndicate. They now use their own psychic abilities to prevent Mind MGMT from achieving its nefarious goals.

In Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”, one player controls Mind MGMT and must scour the city for new recruits. They move around on a secret map, trying to visit locations that match one of their three randomly drawn feature cards. They can also use their four Immortals to protect locations from being exposed.

All other players control the rogue agents who must try to stop Mind MGMT before it’s too late! They ask questions to the Recruiter and deduce their whereabouts from the answers they receive. Rogue agents can use dry-erase “mental notes” to track all the information they’re given.

Mind MGMT wins by either collecting twelve recruits or surviving sixteen turns. The rogue agents can win only by capturing Mind MGMT, which they do when they believe they’re on the same block as Mind MGMT.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deduction
  • Grid Movement
  • Hidden Movement
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Team Based

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 5 Players
  • 45 – 75 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.84

Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall

When visiting the North of Britannia in 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian Augustus witnessed the aftermath of war between his armies and the savage Picts. In a show of Roman might, he ordered a wall to be built that would separate the Pict tribes from the rest of England. Grand in its design, the wall stretched 80 Roman miles, from coast to coast. Hadrian’s Wall stood in service to the Roman Empire for nearly 300 years before its eventual decline. Today, Hadrian’s Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the remains of the forts, towers, and turrets can still be explored.

In Hadrian’s Wall, players take on the role of a Roman General placed in charge of the construction of a milecastle and bordering wall. Over six years (rounds), players will construct their fort and wall, man the defenses, and attract civilians by building services and providing entertainment — all while defending the honor of the Roman Empire from the warring Picts. The player who can accumulate the most renown, piety, valor and discipline, whilst avoiding disdain, will prove to the Emperor they are the model Roman citizen and be crowned Legatus Legionis!

Game Mechanics:

  • City Building
  • Hand Management
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • 30 – 60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 3.11

Zombicide: Gear Up

Zombicide: Gear Up

Zombicide: Gear Up

Zombicide: Gear Up is a co-operative flip-and-write game set in the world of Zombicide.

To set up, each player takes a survivor card, which shows four weapons, along with damage, armor, and ammo tracks. Determine the level of play (easy to nightmare), then give each player the appropriate number of random regular and special zombie cards to place next to the “third street level” of their card. Shuffle the ten turn cards, then lay out nine in a row, placing seven spawn cards by the last seven of these cards.

On a turn, reveal the next turn card, which shows which color weapon each player activates. Each weapon has a “hit shape” (typically a polyomino), and you must fit the hit shape into the outline of a zombie to use it, with no overlaps to any damage you’ve dealt previously. Some zombies might then advance toward players, moving from their third street to their second one. If a zombie is on your “first street” and would advance, you take damage equal to the unmarked red stars on that card. If you mark off ammo or armor on a zombie, you circle those symbols on your survivor card; you can spend one ammo to mark off a single zombie space, and you can spend armor instead of taking damage.

After the third turn, you reveal the first spawn card, which will put more zombies in play, with players collectively deciding how to add those cards to their third streets. Whenever you mark off the final space on a zombie card, remove it from play, then upgrade one of your weapons, perhaps gaining the ability to use it multiple times or gain armor when you cover red stars. After nine turns, reshuffle the ten turn cards, then lay out nine of them, along with the level 1 and 2 boss cards under the final seven turn cards. Place the boss in front of one player. During a turn, if the boss is in front of you or if you have an activated long-range weapon, you can attack the boss instead of zombies close to you. If you defeat the boss before the ninth turn ends in the second round, you win; if not — or if any player is killed by damage — then you lose the game.

For the solitaire mode of Zombicide: Gear Up, take companion cards for three survivors not in play and place them next to your survivor card. When a turn card has a smiley face on it, you can activate the power of one of your companions, in addition to your own weapon. Each companion can be used only once in a round.

Game Mechanics:

  • Cooperative
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.00

Vengeance Roll & Fight: Episode 2

Vengeance Roll & Fight: Episode 2

Vengeance Roll & Fight: Episode 2

Vengeance: Roll & Fight is a real-time, roll-and-write game, where the frantic action around the table mimics the kick-arse fighting action in the game-world! Set in the world of Vengeance and designed by Dávid Turczi, Noralie Lubbers and Gordon Calleja, Vengeance: Roll & Fight is a stand-along game that transforms the fast-paced dice puzzles of the original Vengeance into roll-and-write mechanics where you’re building combos, striking off enemies and scoring points for an action-packed, brain-teasing fighting game that’s easy to learn and hard to master.

The aim of Vengeance: Roll & Fight is to infiltrate a gang den, carve your way through it’s rooms and killing the Boss, while completing side objectives printed on the dens themselves.

The game is split into three parts: planning, fighting and montage. In the planning phase players roll and re-roll 4 dice in real time, aiming to roll a combination of dice that match an ability they wish to trigger in the upcoming, fight phase. Assigning dice to an ability allows players to fill their hand back to 4 dice from a large, common pool and repeat the process as quickly as they can manage.

Once the dice pool is depleted, the fighting proper begins. Here players take a set of dice assigned to an ability and execute that ability, moving their piece through rooms full of enemies, and crossing them out when they are hit with the multitude of available abilities. Finally, players heal and upgrade their characters, bring new abilities and items into play to help them on their road to vengeance.

Vengeance: Roll and Fight comes in two boxes: Episode 1 and Episode 2. Both episodes are stand-alone games with the same rules, but with entirely different content: different heroes, dens, bosses, abilities and items. Each episode accommodates up to 4 players so combining the two increases the player count from 1-4 to 1-8! Content in both Episodes can be switched like-for-like as you choose.

Game Mechanics:

  • Area Movement
  • Dice Rolling
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Push Your Luck

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.33

Troyes Dice

Troyes Dice

Troyes Dice

Troyes Dice invites you to discover (or rediscover) the history of the city of Troyes during the Middle Ages when society was organized around three orders: the nobles, civilians, and religion. The responsibility of the first order is to protect the land and ensure justice; the responsibility of middle order is the hard work of providing food and goods essential to the life of the entire city; and for the last, the mission is to ensure the awakening of spiritual and cultural development!

Troyes Dice is a roll-and-write strategy game in which you play a rich Champagne family. It’s up to you to seize the best opportunities offered by the dice to leave your mark in the history of the city! Will you get the most fame by fighting events, developing markets, erecting the cathedral, or participating in the construction of prestigious buildings? At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Dice Rolling
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 10 Players
  • 20 – 30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.31

Sonora

Sonora

Sonora

You have entered the Sonoran Desert, a place of vast beauty. Technicolor sunsets pop out over vistas revealing deep canyons, trickling tributaries, and ancient pueblo cliff dwellings. Immerse yourself in the secrets of the desert in a flick-and-write game in which cunning and dexterity meet.

In Sonora, players flick wooden discs onto a game board representative of different vibrant landscapes across the Sonoran sands. Each area encompasses a different unique game, so skillful aim is required to play in the region of a player’s choosing and score points on your dry-erase sheet! But watch out for other players eager to bump discs to score points for themselves.

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Area Control
  • Dexterity
  • Networker Building
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Set Collection

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.32

The Search for Planet X

The Search for Planet X

The Search for Planet X

At the edge of our solar system, a dark planet may lurk. In 2015, astronomers estimated a large distant planet could explain the unique orbits of dwarf planets and other objects. Since then, astronomers have been scanning the sky, hoping to find this planet.

In The Search for Planet X, players take on the role of astronomers who use observations and logical deductions to search for this hypothetical planet. Each game, the companion app randomly selects an arrangement of objects and a location for Planet X following predefined logic rules.

Each round, as the earth travels around the sun, players use the app to perform scans and attend conferences. As they gain information about the location of the objects, they mark that information on their deduction sheets. As players learn the locations of the various objects, they can start publishing theories, which is how players score points.

As more and more objects are found, players narrow down the possible locations for Planet X. Once a player believes they know its location and the objects on either side of it, they use the app to conduct a search. The game ends when a player successfully locates Planet X, and all players have a final chance to score some additional points.

The Search for Planet X captures the thrill of discovery, the puzzle-y nature of astronomical investigation, and the competition inherent in the scientific process. Can you be the first to find Planet X?

Game Mechanics:

  • Action Points
  • Deduction
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Puzzle

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 2.35

Rolling Realms

Rolling Realms

Rolling Realms

In the early days of the coronavirus, a time of self-isolation for many people, Jamey decided to create an infinitely scaling roll-and-write game to teach and play with people around the world via Facebook Live.

In Rolling Realms, players compete to earn the most stars in a series of minigames over 3 rounds. This is a roll-and-write game, meaning that players will write on the game components using dry-erase markers.

Each turn, one player rolls 2 dice, and all players use the dice results on their realm cards to generate resources and earn stars. After 3 rounds, the player with the most stars wins!

Game Mechanics:

  • Bingo
  • Dice Rolling
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 1 – 6 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.93