The biggest obstacle to enjoying board games is often getting the group to learn the new game from the beginning. So games based on well-worn classics often find a smoother path to the table. All the more so when both classics and derivatives are fast to learn and play. Perennial classic Yahtzee has been neglected for years in this regard, but now spawns a whole genre of more strategic and engaging titles known as “roll and write” games. Roll the dice, hope for the best result, and use that result to create a pattern of points on your scoresheet.
Modern versions take this formula to the max, with seats that range from creating maps to chasing pinball around the table to mimicking fast-paced martial arts fights. With so many different themes and depths to choose from, most of them cheap, easy to learn, and play well as solo board games, there’s never been a better time to join the Roll and Write craze.
clever cube
The roll and light craze began with a German game called Ganz Schön Clever (That’s Pretty Clever). It had a Yahtzee-like scoresheet where you cleared different dice combinations to score points, but with two smart innovations. First, the dice are colored, adding a whole new dimension to scoring. Then, like Yahtzee he can reroll the dice three times, but he chooses a scoring die, rolls the second and his third, and loses the lower value dice from the pool. , the strategy is added to the selection. It was a huge hit and spawned his two sequels, the more complex Doppelt Saw Clever (Twice as Clever) and his Clever Hoch Drei (Clever Times Three or Clever Cubed), which we chose. challenge the player.
Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up
In most roll-and-write games, there aren’t many ways to remember a theme, but Super Skill Pinball replicates a pinball table with just a pen and a few dice. Play by choosing one of the four provided tables, entering at the top and dropping down with the choice to hit different bumpers and targets depending on your role. It’s the same when falling on the flipper, but the kicker says the box can’t be reused twice, so the ball eventually runs out of target and drops. It’s up to you to maximize and create engaging and thrilling puzzles. A number of sets are available, including Star Trek–themed onesbut Ramp It Up is a pick of the lot and also includes a co-op table.
Welcome
Welcome To is not strictly a roll and write game. It belongs to a closely related genre called Flip and Write, which replaces dice with cards. This gives you more options. Here, you’re thrust into the services of a city planner by selecting pairs of house number and building effect cards to create three suburban streets. It’s a tough question because you have to get the houses in numerical order as you have to first fulfill a city plan that requires a certain layout while balancing your score with different bonuses like pools, parks and races .It’s very satisfying when done, and there’s a surprising amount of strategy, but gamers who want more can opt for their more complex sci-fi cousins. welcome to the moon.
Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
Rather than filling out a score sheet, Railroad Ink asks you to draw a transportation network on a grid based on tracks and junctions rolled by custom dice. There is a reward for linking as many exits to the same network as possible, but it’s a balance between the need to minimize dead ends and the desire to keep things open in hopes of linking them later. If you take it, it quickly becomes a tricky task. various editions Add to breed.Deep Blue, which can add rivers and lakes to the map along with potential ferry routes, is a lot of options, but it can take you to volcanoes. blazing red,forest lush green or desert shining yellow.
Next station: London
Another train-based game, but this time Flip and Light’s Next Station: London adds a fresh twist that makes pencil colors an integral part of the game. Each color is associated with a starting station on the player’s map. Now start drawing the network based on the station symbols of the card drawn. Extend or fork lines in either direction to traverse as many districts as possible, pass tourist sites, join other lines along the way, and cross rivers. However, please note that you cannot cross the line outside the station. Then all players exchange pencils and start over. It’s a simple concept that reveals surprising nuances through repeated play, yielding colorful and fun maps while giving it an edge to additive puzzles.
Dinosaur Island: Rawr N Write
Part of the appeal of roll-and-write games is their speed and simplicity, and Rawr N Write was the first of a new breed of genre that used that concept as a springboard for more complexity and depth. By rolling the dice, the player can select resources such as money and DNA to build his own unique Jurassic World-style dinosaur-themed park. You’ll have to sketch out a park with both attractions and concessions lined up in mini-grids, while taking care of staff, special buildings, and security. Earn points by doing real-life tour routes around the facility as you wish. With so many different aspects to juggle, planning a park is a rich brain-burning challenge, and running a tour brings the numbers to life with a thematic kick. For more information, read our review of Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write.
cartographer
Games in this genre often play well in large groups as they have a central roll or flip and everyone tries to make the most of the outcome. This means a lack of player interaction that cartographers have come to challenge. It’s a flip-and-write idea that uses cards to map the terrain of a fantasy kingdom and try to accomplish some variable scoring challenges. A fun twist is that monster cards are frequent. At that point, you’ll have to give the map to your neighbors and they’ll have to figure out the most annoying places in your kingdom to draw negative monster icons. Not only does this make Cartographers feel more personal, but the maps you’re left with in the end have a compelling sense of evoking several themes and world-building. Cartographers: Heroesadded more dynamic monsters and new hero cards to ride and save the kingdom from being plundered.
Longshot: Dice Game
The horse racing game’s long shots were fine, but this roll and light derivative has proven to be a huge hit with players. Unusually for the genre, there is an actual board of the track the horses race on based on the roll of the dice, although some horses are more likely to move than others. It’s all about watching the races in progress and betting wisely on the odds when progress pops into your head. . You can also use various options to adjust the odds in favor of the horse of your choice. web of dependencies is created. With interaction, excitement, and a ton of themes, Long Shot: The Dice Game satisfies areas that other roll and writes don’t.
Vengeance: Roll and Fight
Most games in this genre fit a certain relatively stable pattern of having random seeds and marking sheets to provide choices for all players. In attempting to recreate the hectic pace of martial arts movies, Vengeance: Roll and Fight turns those expectations upside down. This is a frantic real-time he game where the player generates the action of his turn by grabbing dice and rolling combos faster than other players. Once your pool of dice is empty, you can use your actions to draw a route through a warehouse full of rogues to move, fight, and loot for a boss showdown. A variety of characters, each with their own unique abilities and roster of items, plus many maps, the short playtime and variety will keep you rolling and fighting over and over again in a short amount of time. increase.
three sisters
While roll-and-light games typically reward players for achieving certain combinations of rolls or scores, Three Sisters takes this concept to the extreme. The scoresheet here is a garden where you can grow different crops and flowers and buy different tools based on the results of rolling the dice to take advantage of different actions. However, when you complete a particular action, the reward is often a bonus action that can be used to get another bonus action. In fact, the chain of action can get so intense that there is a special space on the scoresheet for recording bonuses and for earning and using bonuses during turns. Getting the most out of these chains requires more strategic planning than most games in the genre, making this a tactical treat. For more information, read our review of the Three Sisters board game.
Fleet: dice game
This is another combo-tastic game that tries to further trap players with a multitude of interconnected options. As a fishing fleet owner, you must decide whether to purchase a license for the type of seafood drawn with the dice, or launch a boat to catch it. The further down you go in each tree, the bigger the reward. The boat later returns to port, where it can sell its game or build buildings that provide additional advantages over 10 rounds of play. It’s all about finding the optimal set of interconnected benefits that can be gleaned from each tree of potential options, using the dice as a random seed. Fast, fun, and with themed simulated mother-of-pearl dice, Fleet: The Dice Game is far less dangerous and smells less than real high seas fishing.
Rajas of Ganges: Dice Player
Avid gamers may have noticed that many roll-and-write games are stripped-down translations of larger, more complex games, often surpassing the originals. Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Player repackages the experience of governing states in 16th-century India into a faster, more accessible box. Use pastel-colored dice-rolled symbols to create goods and roads, sail the Ganges, or seek support from influential subjects. These checkboxes and maps on the scoresheet intersect at various points to gain additional bonuses and bring a compelling spatial element to building your kingdom. The game also comes with a 3D cardboard elephant.
For more ideas, be sure to check out our list of the greatest board games of all time.
