Pencil-and-paper games
E-Paper Games
Classic and little-known games you can play with a pencil and a sheet of paper, drawn on an e-paper screen. Learn the rules here, then play a friend, a doodled character, or the printed sheet.
Rules of the games
- Tic-Tac-ToeTwo players · gridTake turns marking a three by three grid. Three in a row, across, down or corner to corner, wins.
- Stained GlassTwo players · window panesFill the panes of a window one at a time, never next to your rival's. The first player with nowhere to go loses.
- HangmanSolo or two players · wordsGuess the secret word one letter at a time before the drawing is finished.
- Five in a RowTwo players · gridTake turns writing X and O on a big grid. The first to make an unbroken line of five, across, down or diagonal, wins.
- Four in a RowTwo players · drop in columnsTake turns dropping X and O into the columns of an upright grid; each mark falls as far as it can. Line up four to win.
- Order and ChaosTwo players · gridBoth players may write X or O. Order tries to line up five of the same letter on a six by six grid; Chaos tries to stop it.
- Ultimate Tic-Tac-ToeTwo players · nested gridNine Tic-Tac-Toe boards inside a big one. Where you play decides which board your rival must play next. Win three boards in a row.
- SOSTwo players · gridTake turns writing S or O on a grid. Spell S-O-S in a line to score a point and move again. Most points when the grid is full wins.
- Row CallTwo players · gridThree in a row on a four by four grid, with a twist: you call out a row or column, and your rival decides where in it your mark goes.
- ObstructionTwo players · gridTake turns marking a square; every mark blocks the squares around it. Whoever is left with no free square loses.
- NimTwo players · rows of marksRows of pencil marks. Take turns crossing out as many as you like from one row. Whoever crosses out the last mark loses.
- SimTwo players · dot graphSix dots in a hexagon. Take turns joining two of them with a line of your own. Whoever completes a triangle of their own lines loses.
- Dots and BoxesTwo players · dot gridTake turns joining two dots with a line. Close the fourth side of a box to claim it and draw again. Most boxes at the end wins.
- Bunch of GrapesTwo players · graphEach player puts a counter on a grape. Take turns moving to a touching grape and filling in the one you left. Whoever cannot move loses.
- Knight ChaseTwo players · gridTwo knights in opposite corners. Jump like a chess knight and cross out the square you leave. Land on the other knight, or leave it with no jump, to win.
- CornersTwo players · dot gridTake turns marking dots. Own all four corners of a square and the whole square is yours, shaded in. Most shaded marks when the grid is full wins.
- Number ChainTwo players · gridGrow a chain of counting numbers from your corner, one square at a time, and block your rival's. Highest number when the grid is full wins.
- HexTwo players · hexagon boardTake turns filling one cell of a diamond of hexagons. One player owns the top and bottom edges, the other the sides. The first to join their two edges with an unbroken chain wins.
- DomineeringTwo players · dominoes on a gridOne player draws dominoes standing up, the other lying down, each covering two empty squares. The first player with no room for a domino loses.
- Hold the LineTwo players · one shared lineTogether you draw one long path of straight lines across a square of dots, each line added to one of its two ends. Lines may not cross or touch the path. Whoever is forced to draw the last line loses.
- Paper SoccerTwo players · dot gridKick the ball one dot at a time across a pitch of dots, drawing its path as you go. Land on a dot that already has a line and the ball bounces: you go again. Score in your rival's goal to win.
- Black HoleTwo players · triangle of circlesTake turns writing your numbers, 1 up to 10, in a triangle of 21 circles. The circle left empty is a black hole that swallows its neighbours. The player who loses fewer points to it wins.
- DandelionTwo players · wind and seedsOne player plants dandelions on a 5 by 5 field, the other is the wind that blows their seeds across it, a different direction each round. After seven rounds, the dandelions win if every square is covered; otherwise the wind wins.
- Sea BattleTwo players · hidden fleetsHide your fleet, then take turns firing at squares of your rival's sea. Sink every enemy ship before they sink yours.
- Bulls and CowsTwo players · secret codeCrack your rival's secret code. Each guess scores bulls for right digits in the right place and cows for right digits in the wrong place.
- NonogramsSolo puzzle · picture gridNumbers beside each row and column tell you the runs of filled squares. Work them out to uncover a hidden picture.
- MazesSolo puzzle · generatedFind the one way through a fresh maze. Every step counts, so look ahead before you walk into a dead end.
- SlitherlinkSolo puzzle · dot gridJoin the dots into one closed loop. Each number tells you how many sides of its box the loop runs along.