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.

Clue: Simpsons

Clue: Simpsons

Clue: Simpsons

Chief Wiggum finds wealthy industrialist Charles Montgomery Burns dead, and it looks like foul play. Wiggum rounds up six likely suspects: Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart Simpson, Krusty the clown and Waylon Smithers. The fingered suspects, dressed up as their favorite Clue character, try to figure out who bumped off Mr. Burns. To win, you must determine the answers to these three questions: Who did it? Where? and with what weapon?

Game Mechanics:

  • Deduction
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 6 Players
  • ~45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.65

Clue: Harry potter

Clue: Harry potter

Clue: Harry potter

Discover the secrets of Hogwarts in this version of the classic Mystery game. Enjoy new game play features and a moving Hogwarts game board. Dark magic has been performed at Hogwarts. A fellow student has vanished from the famous School of Witchcraft and Wizardry–and it is up to you to solve the mysterious disappearance.
Play as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna or Neville and try to discover who did it, what spell or item they used, and where the student was attacked. Was it Draco Malfoy with a Sleeping Draught in the Owlery?


Move around Hogwarts making suggestions–but watch out. Wheels on the board actually move to reveal secret passages, hidden staircases, and even the Dark Mark. Think you’ve gathered all the facts you need? Go to Dumbledore’s office to make your final accusation to win the game.

This version of the classic Clue game combines the standard clue idea of going from room to room making suggestions of who, what, and where. However, this version adds a few new ideas. The first is the ever changing board. On a players turn s/he roles three dice, two regular and a special die. The special die has the four houses of Hogwarts on it. This allows a player to change the layout of the board, by opening/closing doors, changing the secret passage way, reveling the dark mark (causing lose of house points), or getting help cards.

The house points are a second change. In this version either a player can win, or all players can lose and the dark side wins, by getting all the players house points. House points are lost when the dark mark appears and a card is reveled from the dark deck. The players affected must either show a help card that protects them from the dark deck card, or lose the set number of house points. Dropping to zero house points causes a player to lose and out of the game.

The other two card types are the third change in the game. There are help cards that consist of items, allies, and spells. These are used to combat the second deck, the Dark Deck. The dark deck cards are revealed when a dark mark appears either on the dice roll, or by moving the house wheels changing the door layouts. The dark mark card affect players in specific locations and those players must be able to show the indicated help cards or lose house points.

All-in-all the idea is the same as traditional clue, but the extra things makes the game just different enough. People that like Clue and/or Harry Potter would enjoy this version.

Game Mechanics:

  • Deduction
  • Paper and Pencil

Game Specifications:

  • 3 – 5 Players
  • ~30 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.63

Battleship

Battleship

Battleship

Battleship was originally a pencil-and-paper public domain game known by different names, but Milton Bradley made it into the well known board game in 1967. The pencil and paper grids were changed to plastic grids with holes that could hold plastic pegs used to record the guesses.

Each player deploys his ships (of lengths varying from 2 to 5 squares) secretly on a square grid. Then each player shoots at the other’s grid by calling a location. The defender responds by “Hit!” or “Miss!”. You try to deduce where the enemy ships are and sink them. First to do so wins.

The Salvo variant listed in the rules allows each player to call out from 1 to 5 shots at a time depending on the amount of ships the player has left (IE: players each start off with 5 ships, so they start off with 5 shots. As ships are sunk, the players get fewer shots). This version of the game is closer to the original pencil-and-paper public domain game. Many versions of the pencil-and-paper game have different amounts of shots based on the ship (IE: Battleship: 5 shots. Destroyer: 3 Shots, Etc.).

Game Mechanics:

  • Deduction
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Wargame

Game Specifications:

  • 2 Players
  • 30 – 45 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.22

Balderdash

Balderdash

Balderdash

A clever repackaging of the parlor game DictionaryBalderdash contains several cards with real words nobody has heard of. After one of those words has been read aloud, players try to come up with definitions that at least sound plausible, because points are later awarded for every opposing player who guessed that your definition was the correct one.

Versions of the game as a parlor game go back at least as far as 1970, although Balderdash itself was not published until 1984.

Game Mechanics:

  • Bluffing
  • Paper and Pencil
  • Party Game
  • Word Game

Game Specifications:

  • 2 – 4 Players
  • ~60 Minutes
  • Difficulty Weight 1.41