How to make games on a piece of paper

Children can sometimes engage in the most imaginative and enjoyable activities with the most basic supplies. Kids can be entertained for hours with just a piece of paper and a pen, which can serve as the basis for countless games that ignite their imaginations. Paper games are an excellent choice whether you’re at home, on the go, or simply need a quick way to keep your child entertained.

The options are endless, from making your own original challenges to playing time-honored games like tic tac toe. These games are ideal for spontaneous play because they don’t require a lot of supplies. They are also simple to set up and modify for various age groups.

This post will discuss various paper games that you can play with your children, along with easy-to-follow instructions so that everyone can participate. These games not only provide entertainment value but also foster the growth of critical abilities like creativity and problem-solving.

Game	How to Play
Tic-Tac-Toe	Draw a grid of 3×3 squares. Players take turns marking X or O in the squares. The first to get three in a row wins.
Dots and Boxes	Draw a grid of dots. Players take turns drawing a line between two dots. Complete a box to score points. The player with the most boxes wins.
Hangman	Think of a word and draw blank spaces for each letter. The other player guesses letters. If they guess wrong, draw parts of a stick figure. The game ends when the word is guessed or the figure is complete.
Word Search	Write a grid of random letters and hide words within the grid. The other player must find and circle the hidden words.

How to make games on squared paper

I’ll tell you about the most well-liked and fascinating games, which only require two fervent opponents, a notebook sheet of squared paper, and a pen or pencil.

Tic-tac-toe

An iconic, vintage game. Play on a large field (4 * 4 or 5 * 5) to make it more engaging.

Golf on checkered paper

You’ll need a large sheet of double-checkered paper for this entertaining game. Draw the start and the finish (golf holes) on opposite sides. Players create impediments on the field by drawing hills, streams, holes, and other features.

Each player draws a line, or a vector, for their ball during the game. It can also move diagonally, vertically, and horizontally, just like a true vector, but it cannot break. Avoiding drawn obstacles is necessary.

Choosing the best path is a crucial strategic undertaking.

By using a cube with dots and moving the "ball" only the number of cells that correspond to the dots that are dropped, you can make the task more difficult.

Bulls and cows

The number four comes to the player’s mind. The number’s digits have to be distinct from one another. The number must be guessed by his opponent. Additionally, he names a four-digit number with distinct digits each time. It’s a cow if a digit from the given number appears in the estimated number. It is a bull if a digit from the given number appears in the estimated number and appears in the same location.

Racing

A piece of squared paper is drawn with a racetrack. The track’s boundaries are indicated by these two lines, which must be closed.

The racing cars then start from a start/finish line that is drawn at random locations within the resulting ring.

The racers move along the ring with short, clean strokes, navigating turns and unique obstacles, flying out into the ditch, and then reentering the field. As a result, one of them crosses the finish line first and wins the prize.

You can also move your car based on how many dots fall out of a cube that has dots on it. You have the ability to specify that the car trajectories cannot cross.

Miniatures

For one thing, this is a meditative game. One sheet of paper in a box is required. Using a pen or a sharpened pencil, create a distinct final image in every box. house, pyramid, car, teapot, pencil case, face, tree, and briefcase. Being a skilled artist is not necessary; what matters is that the drawing is identifiable and the images are unique.

Hand (Palms)

Because the mechanics of this trainer are similar to those of Schulte tables, it’s a fascinating tool for improving peripheral vision, reading speed, attention stability, and even finding information quickly.

There are two players. On a sheet of paper, each person traces their hand (it is best if the hands are roughly the same size). They then write numbers randomly ranging from 1 to 100, staying within the hand’s outline.

After exchanging pieces of paper, the players begin listing the numbers from 1 to 100. The person who finished it first is the winner.

Patchwork quilt

On a sheet of paper inside a box, a square playing field with no more than 10*10 cells is drawn. Every participant alternates in painting a single quilt square. Your goal is to line up your squares so that none of their corners or sides touch another. You can make contact with colored squares!

The number of "penalty" touching squares is tallied at the conclusion of the game. The winner is the one who has fewer of them. Playing in groups of three, four, or more players is more engaging than playing in pairs.

Silent artist

Growing creative and associative thinking skills! Mom gives her nonliterate children an oral assignment: using a lake, mirror, mother cat, and stars, how would you illustrate a holiday? The main thing is creative thinking; the drawing needs to be schematic, just an outline.

The terms become less precise as the child gets older: "dinner" instead of "saucepan," "end of the quarter" instead of "an A in the diary." You’ll be shocked at how fascinating children’s thought processes are!

Prepare a set of paper with an arbitrary word count (based on age-appropriate difficulty), then draw and guess.

Here, conveying the meaning is more important than competing.

Drawing

After coming up with an idea for a picture, the player sketches some of it before passing it to another player.

Treasure map

You must sketch out the apartment’s layout, essentially creating a treasure map, and indicate the location of the hidden treasure.

Doodles

The procedure sparks creative thought. One fills in any squiggle with his own color, and the other uses his imagination to make it into anything.

Chain

We laugh a lot, expand our vocabulary, and foster imagination! We start with a word that consists of three or four letters, and we change it one letter at a time until it becomes something else. The chain may consist of three to fifty words. After that, we improvise a tale using the written text as a guide. Tested: it is impossible not to laugh!

Strategic games on paper for two children or adults with your own hands

Sea battle

The objective is to sink every enemy ship. We take turns placing the ships and firing.

The ships are situated on a 10 x 10 cell field. Coordinates are represented by the letters and numbers lining the square’s edges. Each player has ten ships total: four single-deckers (one cell), three double-deckers (two cells), two triple-deckers (three cells), and one quadruple-decker (four cells). Between each ship, there needs to be at least one empty cell.

An additional comparable field is depicted to demonstrate "shooting" at the adversary’s field. When the player shouts out the coordinates, such as "K5", the opponent frank response is either "missed," "wounded," or "killed." Whoever hits, shoots once more. The person who misses gives the other person the opportunity to shoot.

You can print off the Sea battle field from this page.

Knight’s move

Utilizing reasoning and spatial awareness! teaching a child the movements of a knight in chess. Using a piece of paper in a cell, sketch a tiny game field. The game begins in any cell with the instruction to "walk." Players take turns placing a cross in older cells (numbers ranging from 1 to…) as long as there is still time to move.

The child can "draw" the trajectory in his head after you have first shown it to him. The goal is to fill the field to the fullest. Whoever has nowhere to go with older kids loses.

Bridges

Draw an abstract figure first, then divide it into sections—ideally between 30 and 50. Players construct bridges in turns, beginning in one area, going across the second, and finishing in the third, using various colors. It is forbidden for players to begin, continue, or end a previously used section. In turns, players construct bridges until they are finished. The player who finished building the bridge first wins.

Bridges

The goal for the players is to construct a bridge connecting their two banks. Green has green zeros and banks, and red has red crosses and banks as stones. On the field, the game can begin at any time.

A player can create a vertical or horizontal bridge to connect two of his nearby stones in a single move. Green and red bridges shouldn’t be crossed. Whoever constructs a continuous bridge connecting one of their banks to the other wins.

Nim

An ancient game called Nim is typically played with stones or tokens. However, pen and paper can also be used to play it.

Make the pyramid-shaped marks 1, 3, 5, and 7 as seen in the illustration. The object is to make the other player cross out the final mark. Each player gets a turn to cross out as many marks as they’d like. They are limited to crossing out marks on a single line each turn, though.

Sim

Draw a hexagon with six dots for the vertices. Each player draws a line from dot to dot in their own color alternately. The first person made to draw a triangle in their color is the loser.

Lasso (Segments)

On a sheet of paper, you must place multiple dots—at least eight, the more the better. Playing in pairs, each of them links any two points with a segment. The player circles the point they have reached in the "Lasso" variation.

The lines have to stay inside the grid. Only unutilized points may be circled, and your line cannot split any other line.

It is possible to begin from a point that has previously been utilized as a beginning point. The last person to draw a lasso wins when there are no more free moves. As a result, the person who remains motionless loses.

Treasure Hunt

We unfold two pieces of paper and set out on a treasure hunt. We will practice logic, counting, and spatial thinking at the same time.

As demonstrated in the example, draw a map in a grid format on a piece of paper. Players begin in opposite corners of the sheet, with the treasures drawn in the center. Draw impediments that must be avoided, such as mountains, sharks, and islands. It gets harder the more barriers there are.

As they travel toward the treasure, players alternately roll the dice and cover the cells. You can only move in two directions at once: vertically and horizontally.

Dots

This is a two- or four-player paper-based strategy game. Making squares out of the drawn lines is the aim. The winner is the player with the most squares drawn.

A field of dots must be created; 10*10 is a good starting size. However, you can use any field to play. In turns, each player draws a line that connects two nearby dots.

When a player completes a square, he can move on and paints the square with his color or places his sign inside.

Snake

You must use different colored pens or pencils for each of the two players. A square of any dimension is drawn; a 9 by 9 cell square, for instance. Two hues on two sides and two colors on two. After selecting some dots, each player begins to draw their snake, extending it alternately by two cells at a time. You are not allowed to cross your own or another person’s snake or move diagonally. The snake can be moved along the side of the color that is opposite. Whoever is unable to act loses.

Football

Draw a goal with six cells on either side of each other on a sheet of paper laid out in a grid. Although there are no restrictions on "field" size, the traditional version has 12 by 8 cells. We begin at the center of the field (sheet), which is marked with a traditional "ball."

The lot plays the opening move. Every move is represented by a broken line with three segments that can go across the square’s diagonal or side. The motion helps the "ball" reach the target. As a result, each player starts to mark the spot where his rival left the "ball."

It is not permitted to touch or cross the lines. The opponent receives a penalty—a straight line of six cells in a straight line or diagonally—if a player is unable to make their next move.

Play through to the initial goal. The field will be a continuous spiral or twisted line at the conclusion of the game.

Tromino

This is a straightforward pen and paper puzzle that improves spatial reasoning and visual perception. Being the last player to successfully place a tromino on the board is the aim of the game.

A tromino is a piece consisting of three sides that are joined together. You can choose to play with just straight pieces, just corner pieces, or both at once.

Being the last player to put a tromino on the board and obstruct an opponent’s move is the aim.

I’ll talk more about the game of tromino in the upcoming article.

Print games on paper with a pen

The same engaging educational games, all you need to play them with are a pen (or pencil) and a printed template!

Many words

You have to take one long word and use the letters to form numerous shorter words. Whoever has the most wins!

Hangman

The concept is even teachable to young children. The primary requirement is that all players be literate and able to form words. You will need a pen and paper or a printed template in order to get ready for the game. To "hang" the player before he guesses the word is the trick.

In the preparation phase, a gallows is drawn on paper. The "executioner" sketches blank cells beneath the scaffold after coming up with a word. They will have the letters of the guess word written in them. With each incorrect move, the player gets closer to being executed.

There are a total of 8 elements. Only seven incorrect tries are allowed; after that, the player is deemed "hanged." Start drawing from the gallows itself instead of the rope to increase the number of possible variations.

It’s surprising that the hardest words are short. Fly, muse, sea, seaweed, magnifying glass, etc.

"Hangman" printable templates:

Tanks

On one half of a blank sheet of paper, divide it in half and sketch the outline of "tanks." Trade sheets with your opponent and arrange the "mine" dots so that the tanks are hit by the mines when the sheet is folded in half.

The quantity and size of tanks and mines affect how difficult it is. Mines should be left with a ballpoint pen with a thick rod because it will leave traces when the sheet is folded.

This is a game you can play with just a piece of paper. Print off our handy template if you can.

Alien capture

A two-player paper game. Consider that this image represents a brand-new, uncharted planet. The objective is to use markers of different colors to capture more territory, both you and your opponent. In order to prevent participants from bordering each other, color each piece individually.

Field capture

Here, a dice or two are required in addition to a sheet of paper and a pen (to speed up the pace and develop quick addition skills in children). In the event that there are two dice, the first player throws the dice, adds the numbers that fall out, and paints as many squares on his playing field as he receives as a result.

The person who colors every square first wins. Three cubes can also be played! Multiplication can be used to play instead of addition for those who are already familiar with the multiplication table!

Make up a new story

The first step is for each player to tell their story (to themselves). Player 1 then asks a friend to name the words (using the clues to help them identify the words that are needed) and fills in the blanks with the answers. Once everyone has completed the missing details, take turns reading your stories aloud. Who had the funniest story?

These are games from Lydia Kruk’s book "The Big Book of Games for You and Me" that are played on paper.

Making entertaining and inexpensive games out of paper is a great way to spark kids’ creativity and keep them occupied. You can make your own puzzles and challenges, or even recreate old-fashioned games like dots and boxes or tic tac toe, with just a pen and paper. Not only do these paper games help kids pass the time, but they also enhance their ability to solve problems, focus, and have fun without using a screen.

Games on a piece of paper with letters and words

Troika

A letter-based game inspired by the popular board game tic tac toe. Two players place one letter of any kind on a 3 by 3 field. The winner is the player who, when all the fields are filled, is able to write the most well-known words made up of three letters in a diagonal, vertical, or horizontal pattern.

Erudite

Under the name Scrabble, the game is well-known throughout the world. You have to form words out of single letters and enter them into the field. You can play on paper or purchase a Scrabble board.

Balda

On a sheet of paper, a square playing field with five by five cells is drawn for the word BALDA or with a different number of cells that correspond to the letters in a different word. In the middle row, write the word. Each player moves in turn. A letter can be written in a free cell in one stroke, each time forming a new word.

Words are readable from any angle. The player is awarded points based on the number of letters in each word. When every cell is filled with letters or when no player can think of another word, the game is over.

Diagonal

On a sheet, squares with sides of 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 cells are drawn. The same vowel letter is written diagonally in every square. It is the players’ responsibility to think of appropriate words and enter them in the squares.

You can alter how you play. Enter words containing the current letter horizontally and write any lengthy word diagonally (as in a crossword puzzle).

The game improves vocabulary and sharpens intellect.

Comb

Write a few letters (you can start with two or three) on a piece of paper. You have to think of as many words as you can that contain these letters. One can exchange the letters.

Name-plant-animal-river

Pencil and paper are required for every player. Create five columns on the sheet: name, city, plant, animal, and river. As decided, there may be more or fewer columns.

Select an alphabet letter, then proceed to write a word that begins with that letter in each column upon hearing the command "Start!" "Stop" is yelled by the first person there!

Frame

The game establishes the word’s "framework." To create new words, you can add any letter to it anywhere.

As an illustration, OOO stands for milk, tin, powder, and even some intriguing terms like zootdel, doooonovsky, and zoosociety.

AAA stands for avatar, drum, karandash, arkada, angara, ararat, ananas, and ataman.

TV: foliTva, tsarsTVo, TraVa, Anxiety, TeleVisor, etc.D.

Games on paper – ideas from books

From a deck of cards, scans from the Asborn edition "100 Home and Street Games"

"Games on a Sheet of Paper" by White City Publishing House. An entire encyclopedia and a nearly full library of these books!

Free printable templates include developing cards, verbal and paper games, walkers, board and card games for kids, and much more!

Making games out of paper is an easy and entertaining way to pass the time with loved ones. All you need is a pencil and a little bit of creativity to create your own puzzles or play classic games like Tic-Tac-Toe.

These games not only provide entertainment value but also foster social interaction, imagination, and problem-solving abilities. The best part is that they don’t need any extra supplies, which makes them ideal for travel or a relaxing night at home.

So pick up a piece of paper and start playing the next time you’re looking for a quick and simple pastime. There are countless options!

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