Paper and Pencil Games

Free Pen and Paper Games

Freely available print-and-play paper games


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Freely available pen and paper games, listed alphabetically (click on the game's entry for more info)

[A]

  • [Abs-Trac-Toe] - A winnable variant of Tic-Tac-Toe for two modern artists.
  • [Anansi] - An abstract game for 2 to 4 players inspired by Tibetan sand mandalas and named after a mythic spider from African folk tales.

[B]

  • [Battleship(s)] - Sink your opponent's fleet before he sinks yours in this classic public domain pen and paper game.
  • [Box Hex] - A Hex variant on a three-dimensional 'boxed' topology -- be the first to connect your two opposite segments with a continuous line of colored-in circles.
  • [Boxes] - The classic pencil and paper games where players take turns connecting dots that are horizontally or vertically adjacent, trying to complete squares.

[C]

  • [Christmas Lights] - It’s nice to spruce up the Christmas tree with light even if your brothers and sisters are a little competitive about it. This year you’ll show them how to do it right.
  • [Copolymer] - A paper-and-pencil game where players take turns coloring in cells on a paper board, at least one cell per turn. When a 'connection' is formed you must color in at least one more cell while it is still your turn. Once the board fills up, the player who has claimed the majority of cells wins.
  • [Cube Digger] - A three-dimensional seek-and-find game for two players. Object: To find your opponent's treasure chest and return to your home base without getting blown up.

[F]

  • [Fattoria] - Gasp! What’s up? A group of pretty animals have lost their colours, will you help them come back out?
  • [Five Sides] - Five sides is a throw back to your early days of playing games. When all you had was a pen, some paper, and time to kill during study hall.

[G]

  • [Ghoulash] - An action-adventure game for two players, played entirely on paper.

[H]

  • [Hangman] - The classic public domain pen and paper game. One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters.

[J]

  • [Jam Doodle] - One part art, one part communication. For two or more players. Object: To describe a drawing composed of basic figures accurately enough that your partner can draw it.
  • [Jewels in the Sand] - Only the Sultan knows what things are 'jewels.' Everything else is sand in the desert. The Jewel Thief devises sieves to sift jewels from sand. An entry into the About.com: 2005 Deduction Game Design Competition.

[K]

  • [KromoSauri] - Who knows which colour dinosaurs were? Nobody! So have fun and colour them as you wish! Rules to 6 different games that can be played with the included dinosaur picture cards.

[M]

  • [Maven] - Every player is given the same 25 letters, in the same order, and they compete to make the most of them.
  • [Middleman] - Players take the part of traders dealing in tins of some commodity -- buy and sell with the object of ending the game with more money than your competitors.

[N]

  • [Net Y] - A vaiant of the game Y, there are three superimposed, interdependent instances of Y which are played simultaneously.

[P]

  • [Pipelayer] - A pen and paper game played with two grids of dots that are slightly offset from one another. To win, a player must make a continuous connection from one side of the board to the other.
  • [PocketCiv] - A Solitaire Civization game that's compact enough to play on a plane. Hopefully. Well, maybe not, but it's close...in it's most basic form. Winner of The Gone Gaming 2006 Board Game Internet Awards: Best Downloadable Board Game
  • [Poker Squares] - Using the same 25 cards, players compete to score the most points by making Poker hands both vertically and horizontally on a 5x5 grid.

[Q]

  • [Quadrant Z] - A paper and pencil game of galactic warfare. How will you win -- by occupying the most of the galaxy, by capturing your enemy's home base star, or by completely destroying your enemy?

[R]

  • [Robot Maze Race] - Each player tries to program their robot to maneuver through a disorganized warehouse without bumping into too may crates or walls on the way. An entry into the About.com: 2005 Deduction Game Design Competition.

[S]

  • [Scribe] - A pen and paper game where players try to form 'glyphs' on nine 9x9 mini grids. Wherever you leave your mark will determine where you play next! Capture the most mini grids and win.
  • [Settlers of Catan: Paper and Pencil] - Settlers? as download print-and-play? Oh yes. When you print the main PDF you find the resources, the rules (in german) and 4 boards. (4 more available in a separate PDF). Cut out the resources (wood, wheat, sheep, ore, brick) and the robber and you're ready to play.
  • [Solo Dungeon Bash] - On your own and stuck for something to do? Try this free Hack and Slash Solo Dungeon Crawl. You only need six sided dice pen and paper and of course the free rules from the game's website. It's simple, it's fun, it's free.
  • [Sprouts] - An abstract line-and-dot pen and paper game. The strategy in Sprouts lies in using your lines to divide the paper up into parts that trap dots.
  • [Surveyors of the Galaxy] - A game where players are flying spaceships in a scientific race to discover and survey the most star systems. After all players run out of fuel, the player who discovered the most systems wins.

[T]

  • [Tako] - Based loosely on a mathematical game called Tsianshidsi, Tako is a fun little game.


Copyright © 2005-2007 by Donald Seagraves, but feel free to use whatever you find here. Images © their respective owners -- see the kudos page for a list of the people and companies who generously allowed me to use their images.
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Last Updated: November 2nd, 2007.