by Ryan Apr 18,2025
The roll and write genre has seen a significant surge in popularity in recent years, evolving from the classic board game Yahtzee. In these games, players roll dice or flip cards and use the results to mark up their individual sheets, creating a unique blend of luck and strategy. This simple yet engaging concept has led to a wide variety of sophisticated gameplay experiences.
Roll and write games are particularly appealing due to their straightforward nature and instant gratification. Players enjoy the freedom to personalize their sheets or boards, while the rules remain accessible. This winning combination has led to widespread success across diverse player demographics, thanks to the genre's low barriers to entry. Below is a curated list of the best roll and write games currently available.
Rolling Realms offers a unique twist where each realm is inspired by another board game, and players use a card to assign die rolls to mini-games that reflect these inspirations. Over nine rolls, all players engage with the same three realms, then draw three new ones from a set of twelve, repeating this process twice for a full game. The charm lies in the realms themselves, which are engaging microcosms of their source games, offering family-friendly puzzles to master. For more challenge, consider the standalone sequel, Rolling Realms Redux, which introduces even more complex realms.
Marabunta, designed by the renowned Reiner Knizia, brings his strategic prowess to the roll and write genre. In this two-player game, players control tribes of ants vying for territory, represented by hexes that include cupcakes and other goodies. The dice provide options to spread influence across color-coded hexes or gain bonuses for the final score, blending spatial and mathematical strategies in a way that Knizia excels at.
Inspired by a real-life experiment on fox domestication, The Fox Experiment by Elizabeth Hargrave delves into genetic heredity using dice. Players use trait dice from parent foxes to influence the characteristics of their offspring, aiming to breed the friendliest foxes to meet their research goals. This game is more complex but highly rewarding, offering a delightful exploration of genetics through gameplay.
Twilight Inscription stands out by merging the expansive world of Twilight Imperium with the roll and write format. This game emulates the 4X genre of video games, allowing players to build space empires through exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination in about 90 minutes. Each aspect is managed on a separate sheet, offering a strategic depth that feels more like a full-fledged board game than a typical roll and write.
Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up captures the essence of a pinball table using just a pen and dice. Players choose from four tables, navigating bumpers and targets based on their rolls, with the challenge of not reusing boxes. This creates a thrilling puzzle as players strive to maximize their scores, with the Ramp It Up edition being the top choice, even featuring a cooperative table.
Welcome To... Your Perfect Home is a flip and write game where players plan suburban streets using house numbers and building effect cards. The challenge is to sequence houses while balancing scores across various bonuses like pools and parks. For those seeking more complexity, its sci-fi counterpart, Welcome To The Moon, offers an even deeper strategic experience.
Based on Reiner Knizia's acclaimed My City, this roll and write version features a campaign structure across multiple episodes, each adding new rules gradually. This approach builds complexity without overwhelming players, offering flexibility for one-off sessions or a complete campaign, ensuring a highly replayable experience.
See it at Amazon | Also at Target
Railroad Ink challenges players to draw a transport network on a grid using custom dice. The goal is to connect as many exits as possible, balancing the need to minimize dead ends with the potential for future connections. The Deep Blue edition, which includes rivers and lakes, adds a fresh twist, but other editions like Blazing Red, Lush Green, and Shining Yellow offer varied thematic experiences.
Next Station: London, a flip and write game, innovatively incorporates pencil colors into gameplay. Players start at different stations and extend their network based on drawn cards, aiming to cross districts and tourist sites. The game's simple yet nuanced mechanics reveal depth over multiple plays, resulting in engaging, colorful maps.
Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write introduces complexity to the roll and write genre, challenging players to build a Jurassic World-style dinosaur theme park. Using dice rolls to gain resources, players sketch out their park, manage staff and security, and conduct tours to score points, offering a rich, thematic strategic challenge.
See it at Amazon | Also at Target
Cartographers adds player interaction to the genre by introducing monster cards that players pass to neighbors to place, adding a strategic and personal element. The game's focus on mapping a fantasy kingdom with variable scoring challenges enhances the sense of world-building and thematic engagement. The sequel, Cartographers: Heroes, introduces dynamic monsters and hero cards for added depth.
Long Shot: The Dice Game transforms horse racing into an interactive roll and write experience. Players bet on horses as they race around a board, influenced by dice rolls, and can buy horses for special powers and bonuses. The game's dynamic betting system creates interdependent strategies among players, adding excitement and theme.
Three Sisters takes the concept of action chaining to new heights, with players growing crops and flowers on a garden-themed score sheet. Completing certain actions often leads to bonus actions, requiring strategic planning to maximize these chains. This tactical depth sets Three Sisters apart in the roll and write genre.
Fleet: The Dice Game challenges players to manage a fishing fleet, deciding whether to buy licenses or launch boats based on dice rolls. The game rewards players for progressing down trees of options, with boats returning to harbor to sell catches and construct beneficial buildings. This interconnected system offers fast, fun gameplay with thematic dice.
Sagrada Artisans builds on the original Sagrada by adding a campaign mode and the ability to color in stained-glass windows. Over ten sessions, players complete their windows with new tools and challenges, maintaining the game's simplicity and Zen-like feel while offering a rewarding progression.
Motor City, from the designers of Three Sisters and Fleet, brings a new level of strategic depth to the genre. Players control aspects of car production, using dice-drafting and a blueprint board to coordinate actions from design to sales. This innovative approach offers a joined-up strategic challenge that stands out in the roll and write genre.
For more gaming inspiration, explore our list of the best board games of all time and the best puzzle tables, including a versatile multi-purpose table from Bits and Pieces, perfect for cards and board games.
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