Is there a nice roll and write game that requires no printing at all, just some six-sided dice, pen and paper?

Context: I'm going on a trip soon (can't access a printer), and I'll be quite isolated.

I'm flagging this as Game Design and cross-posting it because misery loves company. Should be self promotion but it feels like that's a 1,000 miles away right now. This is a full on rant.

It all started playing small silly dice games with my daughter (we'd make up some of our own rules and fight each other's made up people) and slowly developed over a year into a system that was always in flux with crazy balance swings we'd add game mechanics to. It was always fun because the fun thing was playing with my daughter.

One day I woke up with a free day and a crazy idea to make a solo short game loop, just for us, rather than a PVP game. Just for fun... and the project just developed from there. I knew enough about probabilities and game mechanics from playing endless games with her, playing Kill Team, D&D since a teenager.

Well, fast forward a bit, I've grown it out a lot since then.

I have a Print & Play tabletop rogue-like game based on the Vietnam War pretty much developed now because it's grown way past the original game. It's going through final play testing for balance (friends, and my daughter of course), checking instructions are nice and clear, all the usual stuff.

So I thought right, let's do a Kickstarter as a way to get a bit of cash back, but also handle all the (excuse my French I've been watching The Sopranos) fucking bullshit like getting payments, delivering the instructions, all the stuff I don't want to have to sort out myself.

It's so much to do! Definitely the crappy part of the whole project. I was even looking to try and get a graphic artist to collaborate (no-one wants AI generated images!) as it's all handled through Kickstarter as well. I actually almost got conned (twice!) by people wanting the money up front blah blah blah...

No links to any of it, the Kickstarter page is not even done yet... I'll make a non ranty self-promotion post later.

So yeah, when you see some of the prices for these projects genuinely I think there's a portion of it that goes towards all the extra effort it takes doing all this other stuff.

Have a friend whose brother is into One Piece. I like One Piece. I like Smash Up. So it this was a fun project to put together. The faction is a bit on the strong side because it's pretty self sufficient (no real weaknesses, got some card draw and extra minions/actions), but it was pretty flavorful and not meant to be competitively balanced. You could say it's OP 😂

We've played with most of the Smash Up factions and it feels like it might be in like A or S tier, like around how powerful the Frozen faction feels.

Anyways this was a short and small project for a friend. Hopefully I have a few more cool projects to share by the end of the year!

You can check out my other re-themes here:

[One Piece Legendary](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/10p0q0j/i\\_made\\_a\\_one\\_piece\\_version\\_of\\_marvel\\_legendary/)

[Pax Westeros \(Game of Thrones Pax Pamir 2nd Edition\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1fmseex/i\\_made\\_pax\\_westeros\\_game\\_of\\_thrones\\_retheme\\_of/)

[Runeterra Reforged \(League of Legends Tyrants of the Underdark\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1eew974/i\\_made\\_a\\_league\\_of\\_legends\\_themed\\_tyrants\\_of\\_the/)

[Pokemon Ark Nova](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1hdby4p/i\\_made\\_a\\_pokemon\\_retheme\\_of\\_ark\\_nova/)

[Pokemon Splendor & Pokemon Splendor Duel](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1mn9h3i/i\\_made\\_pokemon\\_splendor\\_again\\_updated\\_the\\_cards/)

[NBA Innovation](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1nua3z1/with\\_the\\_nba\\_preseason\\_coming\\_in\\_a\\_few\\_days\\_i/)

[Zelda Forbidden Island/Forbidden Desert/Forbidden Jungle](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1nnjeaa/i\\_made\\_a\\_legend\\_of\\_zelda\\_retheme\\_of\\_forbidden/)

[Spy x Family Agent Avenue](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1qh1sfq/i\\_made\\_a\\_spy\\_x\\_family\\_retheme\\_of\\_agent\\_avenue/)

[Lord of the Rings Clank Catacombs](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1qndolc/i\\_rethemed\\_clank\\_catacombs\\_into\\_lord\\_of\\_the\\_rings/)

[Disney Legends of the Void](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1r02rba/i_rethemed_legends_of_void_into_a_disney_themed/)

[Genshin Impact Knarr]
https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1s7n8ey/i_made_a_genshin_impact_retheme_of_knarr/

[Pokemon Harmonies]https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1s8kib9/i_made_a_pokemon_retheme_of_harmonies/

[Avatar the Last Airbender Duel for Cardia]https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1sdvycf/i_made_an_avatar_the_last_airbender_retheme_of/

I've been watching and reading print and play, TTRPG, and board game content for years now. I get the impression that the visual appeal of a game is more important than almost anything else. e.g. some people buy a game because it is beautiful and ~never play it. e.g. I assume lots of people would struggle to play an ugly game even if it had incredible mechanics.

Happy to hear disagreements here, but I'm most interested in counter-examples. What is the most successful/best print and play game that also has little art, or "bad" art? Are there examples that show a game can be successful without a strong visual approach?

The central idea is simple: cross the board word by word before your opponent. But here, where words become weapons, hijack your opponent's letters, puncture their words, and collapse their word chain.

In short, it's Scrabble combined with chess. No score keeping. First one across wins.

Ideally, the game eventually has two color wooden tiles, but for this print and play, we have front and back printable tiles. If you have Scrabble tiles and a board, that is a great starting point. There are several nuances to attacking so please be sure to read the instructions.

Are you ready to take your words to war?

Sever by Nellwood Games

"The official rulebook text for your custom 24-card hockey simulator."

Do you already own a bunch of Hockey Player Trading Cards that you want to do more with then just collect dust? Feeling a little crafty, and love Solo-Micro card games?

Pocket Hockey is a fast-paced, solo card game Hockey simulation played entirely with 12 real hockey trading cards from your pre-existing “Upper Deck” Hockey collection and 12 custom, DIY action cards you make. As you are the Play Tracker, you deal 4-card “Shifts” and evaluate equations left-to-right to see if a legal play happens on the ice.

Components & Setup

• The Tracking Tools: A pen and paper to act as the official scorekeeping.
• The 24-Card Uniform Deck: All 24 cards must be placed in matching card sleeves so the backs look and feel identical during shuffling.
  • 12 Player Cards (6 per team): Draft up 1 Left Wing (LW), 1 Center (C), 1 Right Wing (RW), 2 Defensemen (D), and 1 Goalie (G) for two teams (Rangers vs. Penguins for example).
  • 12 DIY Action Cards: Using duplicate trading cards, custom-prep them using markers, pencils, spray paint, or paper cutouts to create:
    •  3 Goal! Cards
    •  3 Hit! Cards
    •  3 Pass! Cards
    •  2 Assist! Cards
    •  1 Penalty! Card
    • (I personally took 12 duplicates, spraypainted them and sharpie penned the title and crappy art puck on most of them and a literal box on the penalty card. And my Hit card had the pound symbol. Whatever you want to do is good. Oh, so you decided to use the pdf I made available? Bonus points to you!)

The Game Structure

A full game consists of 3 Periods. Thoroughly shuffle all 24 cards together and place the deck face-down.

To play a “Shift”, draw cards from the top of the deck and starting from left to right, laying out four cards in a row in front of you. Once a shift is evaluated, move all four cards directly to the discard pile. You may have shifts where no legal plays occur. A period ends when you run completely through the 24-card deck (6 total shifts). Reshuffle the entire deck to begin the next period.

The Action Equations

An action card must be adjacent on either side of a player to activate. You evaluate the 4-card row from left to right to resolve these baseline plays:

• The Hit Card: Needs an opponent team member to trigger a body check. Clarification to rule: You cannot hit the goalies, and goalies cannot hit opponents.
• The Assist Card: Needs a teammate card to it to play with.
• The Goal Card: Needs an opponent team member to count as a scoring opportunity.
• The Pass Card: Needs a teammate card to play with. Clarification to rule: a Goalie can pass but you cannot pass to a Goalie.
• The Penalty Card: Needs an opponent to trigger against. And can overrule other plays for the team it applies to. Place the player who committed the penalty off to the side for the next period. And award the opposing team the point.

Advanced Multi-Play Equations

When actions and rivals collide in a single row, they create immediate, high-impact multi-point swings:

The Penalty Stoppage

• Goalie Serves Time: If a Goalie triggers the Penalty card, they cannot physically leave the ice. Instead, remove one teammate card from your active discard pile to serve the penalty box sentence in their place.
• Penalty Overrules a Goal: [Penalty] + [Team 1] + [Goal] + [Team 2]
  • The Play: Team 1 commits a foul against Team 2, but Team 2 pushes right through the whistle and lands a shot on net.
  • The Score: Two separate +1 points awarded to Team 2 (one point for being penalized, one point for landing the goal).

Double Hits & Dual Plays

• The Double Hit: Triggered anytime two hits occur in the same shift alongside opposing skaters. Valid equations include:
  • [Hit] + [Team 1] + [Team 2] + [Hit]
  • [Team 1] + [Hit] + [Team 2] + [Hit]
  • [Team 1] + [Hit] + [Hit] + [Team 2]
  • The Score: +1 Point to BOTH teams.
• The Net-Front Dual Play: [Goal] + [Team 1] + [Team 2] + [Hit]
  • The Play: Team 2 lands a good hit but not before Team 1 smacks a goal.
  • The Score: +1 Point to BOTH teams simultaneously.
• The Short-Handed Dual Play: [Team 1] + [Penalty] + [Team 2] + [Hit]
  • The Play: Team 1 draws a penalty flag while Team 2 fights off the infraction to deliver a massive body check.
  • The Score: Two separate +1 points awarded to Team 2 (one for landing the hit, one for being penalized).

Rules of Cool (Bonus Points)

• The Integrity Bonus: Award a Bonus Point to no duplicates on a team lineup (e.g., no drafting a line of 6 identical Sidney Crosby cards). Just all in good fun, collect a team.
• Jersey Bonus: Award a Bonus Point to a team if all 6 of their skaters' physical trading card photographs match in Home colors or Away colors.
• House Rules: You wanna have each team have one MVP who scores +2 points? Go for it! 

Referee Pledge

All of these equations are a few examples, and as you are the Play Tracker and Referee, you make the calls. So, if any of my guidelines sound confusing, you’re the Ref! What are you doing?!

Google Drive Link for Pocket Hockey PnP and Rulebook

The fourth version of the board game, where players compete to color the entire board the fastest. The number of players is not limited. All playing fields are compatible with each other.

- To play, you need a board: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIVyqQ2-AHVzMe9r9GujU9-rSfuypJtZ?usp=sharing

- Dice

- Markers

The rules are simple. Roll the dice and color the sectors with the numbers shown on the dice.

Game rules: https://youtu.be/IxR4JpINzfI

​Hey everyone!

​A big thank you to everyone who commented on my previous post your feedback was amazingly helpful! ​I put together a second version of the card layouts for my 54-card Print-and-Play game, and I think it’s a huge improvement!

How does this new version look to you? Do you think the layout is ready, or are there still details I should polish?

Thanks again for all the support!

A space to share what their best practices are for designing and crafting Print and Play games. 

Designers

What techniques do you use to design the games? How do you think about different mechanics you might use to create an engaging game that keeps players coming back. 

Crafters

What techniques are you using these days to craft your games? Please be as specific as possible about materials you’re using. 

I’m new to PNP games, but I recently discovered Netrunner. I’m fascinated by this sort of head-to-head, deck-building game, and there are even translations into my native language (Spanish). I want to print it out and play, but I feel the rules are a bit complex and might put my friends off playing and trying out different decks.

I’d like to know if there are any other PNP games similar to Netrunner, preferably with a Spanish translation, although I’d also appreciate a wider range of recommendations so I can get to know PNP games better.

Yesterday I made a post about a small video game I made called Black Swan Chess, which starts as ordinary chess on a green-phosphor CRT, but then your pieces have free will. They can refuse a bad order, desert to the enemy, or get taken out by events you don't control. It's a game about the fantasy of control: you can plan all you want, but things happen that you don't get a vote on.

Someone asked if they could play it without a computer. So I spent a while translating it to a chess set, three dice, and a notepad, and it came out better than I expected, so I'm sharing it here because I'd love feedback from people who actually play variants and PnP.

It's real chess underneath: castling, en passant, promotion, mate, all of it. But you declare each move out loud and then roll. Two "Order" dice decide whether the piece obeys: on a low roll it flat-out refuses to move, or if you were capturing, your attacker either bounces off harmlessly or dies in the attempt (yes, your queen can lose to a pawn). A third "Fate" die occasionally wakes "the void" and triggers one of six events: a piece wanders off on its own, someone's randomly promoted or demoted, a piece vanishes for good, a meteor deletes a piece, or someone defects to the other side.

Two rules keep it from turning into nonsense: kings are immune to all the chaos (checkmate is still the only way a king dies), and any random event that would leave the player who just moved in check gets undone. Everything else, you're on your own.

Now, I really cared about the dice matching the videogame instead of just feeling chaotic, so every danger band is pinned to a real constant from the game's code, and I ran a 20,000-game Monte-Carlo to check the pacing. It lands at roughly 5.6 / 10.8 / 21.6 chaos events per game across the three intensity presets, against the original's ~5.6 / 10.5 / 24.5. There are three small deliberate deviations -betrayals a bit more common, underdogs a bit luckier, the queen never totally safe- and I documented all of them in the back of the rulebook, because a port that hides its seams doesn't really deserve to be trusted, which is sort of the whole theme.

Also, I added a notepad "Souls" part where pieces earn names, grudges, and laurels as the game goes, the chaos starts hunting your most resentful and most heroic pieces specifically, and at the end you crown a "Piece of the Match" and write its epitaph. Or a third player can run the whole thing as a hidden "Void" referee, which restores the videogame's secret per-piece stats exactly.

It's free and print-and-play: a rulebook PDF plus a one-page quick-reference and a Chronicle sheet.

If you try it, let me know.

Hello, I have created my own board game. At the moment, I have a paper prototype of it. I would like to know how I can contact a publishing house or upload it somewhere so that it can be released.

If you enjoy Wordle, you'll love this one. As always, feedback is welcome. It has become a favorite at family game night for us. Will your word win?

Final Word by nellwoodgames

note: reposted for the title pic

Hi everyone — I’m an independent creator developing CasePursuit: Last Call at Blackwood Lounge, an immersive murder mystery game built around investigating a realistic case file.

Players will review evidence including police reports, interviews, forensic findings, scene photographs, and more to uncover clues, piece together what happened, and identify the culprit.

After completing the first round of playtesting, I made revisions based on tester feedback, and the updated version is now ready for Playtest Round 2.

I’m looking for a small number of new testers who can:

-Complete a full playthrough within the next 5–7 days

-Test the full game experience

-Fill out a feedback form afterward

-Provide honest, detailed feedback

This is not a sales post. Selected testers will receive the game for free.

Because this is a smaller, more focused testing round, please only volunteer if you realistically have time to complete the game and feedback form within the requested timeframe.

Estimated playtime: 90–150+ minutes

Players: Solo or small group

Format: Digital download; playable on-screen or printed

Content: Non-graphic murder mystery for adults and older teens

If interested, comment whether you would be playing solo or with a group and confirm that you can complete it within the next 5–7 days. I’ll message selected testers with the details.

The description of the game is a Gage-Beil Compendium, A Cooperative DnD-Style Adaptation of “Scoundrels”.

All rights reserved to Zach Gage and Kurt Beig for the core inspiration and gameplay set up for my DnD Adaption of their game Scoundrels. My inspiration was from this game and I am so happy to have made this adaptation of their wonderful card game.

Moving on, Scoundrels & Saboteurs is pretty much described in the rules I have provided in the link above (you can read them for more information and detail). Like I said, it is a dungeon-crawler like DnD-Style cooperative gameplay. You can play with up to 5 players (or more if you can make it work, I’ve only tried 5 players for now with one of the 5 included as DM).

I just got done creating this game tonight, and am going to test it with my family coming over who are into DnD and who have actually played it, so I hope they enjoy it as much as I did coming up with the adaptation.

Again, this game is still undergoing development. And what that means is, I am up for any support of any kind or any critiques that need to be made to the game to make it better. So, please feel free to contact me here or personally for more information and if you have any questions, concerns, or additions to “Scoundrels & Saboteurs!”

If the link above doesn’t work, or if you would like me to send you a copy of the rules personally, DM me, and I’ll send you a copy if needed!

Thank you!

Also (I’m sorry if I am writing too much) I am unsure if my flair is correct, I am hoping it is. I believe what I am describing is the rules and mechanics, but I hope if it isn’t correct that it’s not a big problem, and I can fix it if I need to!

Hi everyone! Following up on my last post, I decided to take the community's advice and design the cards myself using basic assets instead of AI. This is my very first time doing any graphic design, and I did it all on mobile using Canva.

​These are for mechanical testing. (And maybe to try a crowdfundig to hire a professional artist) My goal was to make everything functional and clear before investing in a professional artist.

​

​Since it's my first time, I'd love to hear your thoughts:

​Is the layout clean enough for a prototype?

​Are the icons and text easy to read?

​Any tips to improve the readability before I print the whole deck?

​Thanks for pushing me to do this myself, it actually feels great!

I've been building a Windows desktop tool to solve a problem I kept running into with print-and-play games.  I couldn't find a simple way to prepare print-and-play cards for digital play, so I decided to create something that would.

CardLift extracts individual cards from print-and-play PDFs into PNG files for platforms like PlayingCards.io, Tabletop Simulator and other virtual tabletops.

It's now at the point where I'd really appreciate feedback from people with a variety of games and publishers. I'm particularly interested in PDFs that don't behave as expected or workflows that feel confusing.

The project is open source and the current Alpha is available on GitHub.

https://github.com/Gwydione/CardLift

I also recorded a short walkthrough video on yt if anyone is interested.

I'm not looking to spam anyone or sell anything—I'm genuinely hoping to find a handful of experienced PnP players willing to help make the tool better.  Any and all feedback, positive or negative would be greatly appreciated

A macOS version is on the roadmap, but I’m focusing first on making the Windows version as solid as I can.

Thanks so much for reading and I’d love to hear what you think.

Tidepool Teaparty is a cozy 15-minute solo print-and-play card game. A hermit crab in her tidepool imagining a teaparty. You welcome sea creatures into your teaparty while the tide keeps carrying them back out to sea.

Small print: a 40-card deck plus goal cards, in one PDF with full-color and low-ink versions so you print only what you want. Each game you commit to two hopes (drawn from 36 goal cards) and try to bring both true before the deck runs out, a different puzzle every deal. There's also a booklet of curated "Daydream" challenges, each with a harder wish.

Free files, rules, and more images on BoardGameGeek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3709724/wip-tidepool-teaparty-15-min-cozy-card-fishing-sol

Want to try before you print? There's a free browser version (same game, no install) with a built-in tutorial:
https://tidepool-teaparty.netlify.app

A gentle challenge to start: "Everyone Arrives": welcome a guest from every family, plus a run of five consecutive values. And a hard one: "The Longest Afternoon": 8+ even-valued guests and 13+ odd. One player won it 12 evens / 14 odds, but nobody's reached the harder wish (15 odds) yet (browser seed E412DBAA).

It's my own game, an entry in BoardGameGeek's 2026 Solitaire Print & Play Contest. I'd love feedback — how it plays, where the rules trip you up, even "I bounced off it in five minutes."

While cleaning my desk, I stumbled upon an some sheets old print-and-play game I had completely forgotten about. It had been sitting there for ages, waiting for another chance.

So, I decided set it up, and played it after a long time. Sometimes the simplest games remind you why you fell in love with board gaming in the first place. It's amazing how a forgotten game can still deliver such a fun experience.

Have you ever rediscovered a game you hadn't played in years?

Hi! I’m a first-time creator currently developing my very first PnP game. Since I don't have a budget right now but deeply admire the work of graphic designers and illustrators, I know I shouldn't spend money on final art until I’m 100% sure the game mechanics actually work, are fun, and spark some interest. If the project gains traction down the road, my long-term plan is absolutely to hire a professional artist to give it the high-quality finish it deserves.

​For this current stage of playtesting, layout design, and balancing mechanics, I’m considering using AI exclusively to generate temporary art (placeholders).

​Before I share any future updates or files, I wanted to ask: How does the community feel about this approach? Do you see it as a valid alternative for indie creators with zero budget, or do you generally prefer prototypes to be shared with generic icons, public domain art, or just blank boxes?

​I want to be completely respectful of the community's standards and sensitivities. I'd love to hear your thoughts!