The Canonical List of Free Print-and-Play Games A-D
Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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The 'list' is a work in progress -- it is my goal that every single game that is freely available on the internet will be listed here. A lofty goal, to be sure, but a noble one....
Since there are literally hundreds of free games available on the internet, I've decided to break the list into alphabetical chunks.
The format I'm using is pretty simple -- name, designer, publisher, status (free, shareware, demo, etc.), a short summary, and the website where it is available.
All summaries are either taken directly from the designer's/publisher's website, from the rules, or from the BGG entry. Any references to 'me' or 'I' refer to the designer, not yours truly...
Feel free to add to the list, but please only add games that have been released to the public by their designer or publisher -- don't add games that could be made for free using details and rules found on the internet but are actually commercially-published games. Also, please don't add public domain games such as chess, backgammon, poker, etc -- this would make the list unwieldy, to say the least.
Also, if you have played any of these games, please leave your comments.
A version of this list is also available at:
http://www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/canonical_list.html
http://www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/list_a.html
http://www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/list_b.html
http://www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/list_c.html
http://www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/list_d.html
Links to the other Canonical Lists of Free Print-and-Play Games:
0-9: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
E-H: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
I-L: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
M-P: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
Q-T: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
U-Z: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
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Dan Foster
United States
St. Paul
Minnesota
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Convocation,
The first release from Tendonitis Games. Designed by Patrick Leder, free pdf download (though you can purchase a pre printed/cut copy for only $5.00 plus shipping).
The game plays fairly quickly and is easy to pick up. Players match symbols on cards, trying to get the fewest symbols in their hand at the end of each round, the lowest number scores a point. When someone reaches the set number of points they win.
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Aitor G Guridi
Spain
Vitoria
Alava
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Deck Deck Revolution
Designer: Aitor G Guridi
Free
A cardgame about japanese dancing videogames.
Can be downloaded directly from BGG.
60 poker-sized cards and a rulebook.
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Deron Dorna
United States
Chelmsford
MA
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Hopefully not too presumptuous to post my own game.
"In Blood of Kings, players compete to build the most glorious dynasty in medieval Europe. You start as the ruler of a single kingdom, but over the course of the game kingdoms can change hands, and you may find yourself wearing several crowns - or no crown at all. Your ultimate goal is to gain Glory by enriching the kingdoms you have had the opportunity to rule; when you develop a kingdom’s institutions or increase the size of its domain by conquering new lands, you gain Glory. Accumulate enough Glory and you get to claim an Achievement, which grants all your kingdoms a special bonus or capability. When all Achievements have been claimed, the game ends and the player with the most Glory wins."
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Emmanuel Aquin
Canada
Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Quebec
And D-Day Dice, too!
I'm an "A"vatar.
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Designer: Emmanuel Aquin (me)
Publisher: none (it's free!)
Print-and-play game about the Normandy landings. You must silence a German machine gun nest that's killing all your comrades! To do this, you will gather soldiers, recruit specialists, find items and muster the courage to move from sector to sector, until you reach the bunker.
This game requires no cutting and no pasting. Just print 2 sheets, add some dice and some blood and voilà, instant violent fun!
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The Great City of Andalanshar, capital of the nation of Andal, ruled by the great potentate and council of Andals, but controlled by the 6 great guilds. Now the great potentate has died and the council members are all vying to gain control of the city. To do this they must gain the support of the people and the guilds...
City of Guilds is a board game for 1-4 players, where the players try to gain control of the city by gaining influence in the various districts of the city. They do this by assuming the roles of 1 of the 6 great guilds and by playing action cards.
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31.
Board Game: Dvorak
[Average Rating:6.93 Unranked]
'Bernard Wingrave'
United States
Wyoming
Ohio
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Dvorak is a "Nomic" card game where all of the cards start out blank; players choose a theme, sketch enough cards to get started, shuffle and deal, then add further cards to the game as the game progresses (voting on whether or not to add the new cards).
It can be played as a throwaway party game of in-jokes and silly pictures, a cut-throat win-by-any-means Nomic, or used as the skeleton for a replayable card game. (The web site has a printable archive of submitted decks, many of which are good enough to play as standalone card games.)
Decks in the archive include Frankenstein, When Kittens Attack, Paranoia, Quidditch, and over sixty more.
http://www.dvorakgame.co.uk/index.html
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32.
Board Game: Cold War
[Average Rating:6.83 Unranked]
[Average Rating:6.83 Unranked]
Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Cold War
Designer: Nicolas Normandon
Publisher: Hexagames
Language: French
Free
At last peace has arrived... But it is evident that our old allies are profiting from the peace to arm themselves, sign alliances with the enemies with plans of invasion!!! As a president, it is your duty to make the first move on the other countries. It is necessary to act and to quickly! Cold War is a strategy game of bluff and diplomacy for 3 to 5 players, from 14 years. A game lasts about 1 hour.
http://www.hexagames.com/coldwar.htm
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Death Angel
Designer: Anthony Gill
Publisher: White Mask Productions
Free (with web registration)
Death Angel. An Oscar winning game if there ever was one. Basically, you and the other players are stuck in an abandoned farming community, hunted by a psychotic 21 year old with 10" metal blades bolted through her fingers. The game play is very gory, the odds are in Angel's favor, and you must often fight with weapons no better than a flashlight. (Or a rake if you get really lucky..) However, that's the fun of the game! You see, the point of Death Angel isn't really to "win", but to survive. Face it; Angel is better. She can appear and disappear at will, she's always got a deadly weapon, and worse of all, she regenerates almost instantly. Lucky for you, she does play fair; if you out run her, she might leave you alone. If you do something silly like jump through a window, she'll go away. (If you survive the fall, you can rejoice!) If you hit her too hard, she'll disappear. (Of course, next time you see her, she's going to be pretty peeved at you.) And finally, if you survive until 5AM, she'll allow you to continue your life in peace. And so, the primary goal is not to defeat Angel, but to survive her wrath. I wouldn't bet money on surviving all 6 hours, though. Expect to lose 2, maybe 3 victims before daybreak...
http://www.whitemask.com/angel/main.htm
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Robert Carroll
United States
Lawrence
Kansas
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Battle Leader Tactics (BLT)
From the Rules:
"Have you ever wanted to match the tactical brilliance of Napoleon versus the charismatic sheer will to succeed of Alexander the Great? Do you want to see how Caesar’s ingenuity flourishes with the use of mechanized infantry or missiles? How about seeing Genghis Kahn flying in low over the steppes to terrorize his opponents with attack helicopters? Go into battle with some of the most feared and successful military leaders of all time. Use the same tactics they used to win their battles. Fight with the military forces revered throughout history. All this is possible with the abstract wargame--Battle Leader Tactics (BLT)."
BLT is a component and introductory game for the Battles Leaders Tactics & Technology (BLTT) master game. BLTT is an abstract wargame that depicts some of the greatest military leaders (e.g., Alexander, Napoleon, Caesar, etc.) commanding historical units in some of the world most decisive battles (e.g., Megiddo, Zama, Hastings, Waterloo, etc.) using proven tactics of history. BLT serves as a basic game introducing players to the interaction between army units, leaders and tactics. BLT allows players to command standard troops (e.g, infantry, cavalry, artillery and guard) and special military units (e.g., 300 Spartans, Panzer Army Afrika, etc.) with historic military leaders using real tactics and fog of war--all without any dice. The primary resolution engine for the game is housed in the Tactics Results Chart (TRC), which compares tactics selected by the players and determines losses, if any, of army units.
Components:
21 Leader Cards
24 Tactics Cards (12 for each player)
28 Army Cards (14 for each player)
10 Special Army Cards
1 Tactics Results Chart
1 Rules Booklet
1 Leader Card Explanation Sheet
Available on BGG.
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35.
Board Game: Dicefest
[Average Rating:6.70 Unranked]
Jon David Faeth
United States
Hilliard
Ohio
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Dicefest
Designer: Jim Faeth, Jon David Faeth
Publisher: Board Game Spiel
Free
A misnomered abstract strategy game. The dice are only rolled once, and the rest of the game is all strategy.
Object: Race your dice across the board to win.
The game is played on an 8x8 square grid (like a Chess board). The corner squares aren't used, and most of the game takes place on the inner 6x6 squares.
Dice are moved by reading the numbers on the sides of the die, instead of just the top. The die always moves (forward, back, left or right) exactly the number of spaces as the face on the die facing in that direction. So, if a die is moved towards the 3 face, it moves 3 spaces.
Dice can be rotated by spending counters that are picked up from the board when dice move. These counters are spent back onto the board to keep them cirulating and in play.
As dice reach their final desination on the opposite side of the board from where they started, they become locked (cannot move anymore). Once a player locks all of their dice, and has no counters left, they win the game.
http://www.boardgamespiel.com/dicefest/
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Demonlord
Designer: Arnold Hendrick
Publisher: Reaper Miniatures
Free (limited permission)
After centuries of sleep, the Demon Empire once more sends forth its hideous armies to conquer the lands of men. Desperate fighters stand with bow and shield against the goblin hordes which blacken the fertile valleys. The wizards and priests are called together in a desperate attempt to counter the Demonlord's dark magicks. But the balance of power lies with the neutral kingdoms. Will the Dwarven King, the Cloud Prince of Lyung, and the mysterious Ancients join with the forces of light, or will they cast their lots with the dark host commanded by the shadowy presence of the DEMONLORD. . .
DEMONLORD is a game of strategy for two players. It vividly recreates the grand sweep of empires in conflict in an age of sorcery and enchantment. Infantry and cavalry sweep across the land to meet in battle or besiege fortresses, as winged troops wheel overhead. Priests invoke friendly spirits, as magicians prepare potent battlefield magic, or summon great beasts to their aid. And controlling it all, the dread Demonlord, and the Captains of the Hosar alliance with their retinue of personalities and special powers.
http://dwarfstar.brainiac.com/ds_demonlord.html
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Alpha Playing Cards
Designer: Tim Schutz
Publisher: TJ Games
Demo (must join Yahoo! group to download)
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2762
Alpha Playing Cards are a game system. What is a game system? A game system is a set of components that can be used to play several games with. A standard deck of cards is a great example, you can play many games with a standard deck of cards, games like Go Fish, Rummy, Poker and Bridge to name a few. Currently there are 13 different games you can play with a deck of Alpha Playing Cards and more on the way.
Only Alpha Playing Cards have the semi-wild vowels. What are semi-wild vowels? The vowel cards are specially designed so you get to choose between one of two vowels on each vowel card in your hand. So? So, vowels are the most frequently used letters of the alphabet and the semi-wild vowels are a great way to get more of those much needed letters into your hand.
A demo deck is available for download from the AlphaPayingCardGames Yahoo! Group. However, you will need to join the 18XX group before you can download the game.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlphaPlayingCardGames/
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Scott Davenport
United States
Dickson City
Pennsylvania
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The fog of war from Battleship meets the firepower of Battleship Express. This free Print and Play game combines two good games and comes up with something better than their sum,
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Ancients
Designer: William L. Banks
Publisher: Good Industies, One Small Step, Relative Range
Free
Created by designer Bill Banks, Ancients is a low-complexity tactical combat system, which allows players to recreate virtually any battle from the ancient (pre-gunpowder) world. Teaching the game system takes an experienced player about fifteen minutes, and each game can usually be completed in under an hour, making it an optimal system for 'lunch-time brawls' as well as tournament play.
http://www.relativerange.com/ancients/index.htm
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♫ Eric Herman ♫
United States
West Richland
Washington
I like elephants. I like how they swing through trees.
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A free Old West themed PnP solo dice game. Enjoy!
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S C
Belgium
Unspecified
Unspecified
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Alexius 1113 A.D.
Publisher: The Perfect Captain
Free
Anatolia is being plundered by the Turks!
A short and easy to play campaign that has its own counters, map and battle rules! Can be used to generate miniatures battles with Ironbow, or any other rules.
http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/captain.html
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Chevee Dodd
United States
Fairmont
West Virginia
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Doubloons!
Designer: Chevee Dodd
Free
In Doubloons! players take on the role of swashbuckling pirates divvying up their booty. To begin the game, doubloons are dumped in a pile in the center of the table. Doubloons have differing values and are only marked on one side. On their turn, players use cards to take doubloons for themselves or give them to their opponents. Be the pirate with the largest take and you win!
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Jesse McGatha
United States
Sammamish
Washington
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Agricola Express
Designer: Jesse McGatha (that's me)
Free
A dice variant on the themes of Agricola, in this game you attempt to build up your farm by improving your house, fields, and pastures; gathering produce, animals, and resources; and taking on one or more occupations.
Intended for 1-4 players.
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Breakthrough
Designer: Dan Troyka
Publisher: Boardgames.About.com: 8x8 Game Design Competition
Free
Winner of the 2001 About.com 8x8 Game Design Competition.
Each player -- black and white -- has sixteen counters occupying two rows on opposite sides of the board (exactly as Chess is set up). You win by moving one piece to the opposite side. Pieces move one space forward or diagonally forward, and capture diagonally forward.
Breakthrough has one of the simplest rule sets among boardgames. The game develops quickly because pieces have no choice but to move forward. Draws are mathematically impossible, which is a rare feature for move-based games.
The game is intuitive and immediately playable, but very difficult to master.
http://boardgames.about.com/od/free8x8games/a/breakthrough.h...
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the bits guy
United Kingdom
London
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solo dice game, kind of a fantasy-themed Yahtzee. Your party of heroes will face several encounters in a dungeon. Only needs a player sheet and some dice.
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46.
Board Game: Croda
[Average Rating:6.56 Unranked]
Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Croda
Designer: Ljuban Dedic
Publisher: MindSports
Free
Croda was invented by the Croation mathematics professor and Draughts master Ljuban Dedic in order to create a draughts game with a smaller margin of draws. In issue 9 of Abstract Games Magazine (spring 2002) I [Christian Freeling] already argued its obvious superiority to Draughts. Anyone but a Draughts player can see that.
Object: If a player has no legal move he loses the game. This may come about either by being eliminated or being blocked completely.
Each player takes turns moving either his men (which can only move straight forward or diagonally forward one space) or his kings (which move like rooks from Chess). Pieces capure by jumping, as in Draughts, but can only capture orthagonally.
http://www.mindsports.net/Arena/Croda
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Clay-O-Rama
Designer: David 'Zeb' Cook
Publisher: Dragon Magazine
Free
This game was published in Dragon Magazine, Sept 1987, pgs 51-54.
Clay-O-Rama is a silly game played with modeling clay. Players create their own 'claydonian' creatures, assign them powers, movement them in handsbreaths, depending on the number of lates they have. Creatures can attack, using powers such as 'the drop' (drop your creater from 3' and see if it survives); the bowl (use your creature like a bowling ball), the blob of death (if you hit, smash the creature with your fist), use opponent as missle... well, you get the idea.
To play, you need the rules, pencils, paper, dice, and clay.
http://www.portcommodore.com/gaming/
http://www.portcommodore.com/gaming/clayorama.pdf
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Jack Neal
United States
Madison
Ohio
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Here's my entry for a free P&P game. Published option available in March.
A train game with some card playing mechanics with resource management.
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S C
Belgium
Unspecified
Unspecified
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Cousin Jonathan
Publisher: The Perfect Captain
Free
Miniatures rules for field battles in the War of 1812.
Comes with exhaustive army list, General's characteristics, Scenarios, and full colour counters!
....and now available,
http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/captain.html
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Lerum
What a lot of work you put in to produce these geeklists!
RESPECT
Zaragoza
Zaragoza
http://gratis.labsk.net
Greenwood
South Carolina
Nothing to print except the rules, so maybe not technically print and play.
Las Vegas
Nevada
Reno
Nevada
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/1567