Free-to-print games that might actually be worth printing
Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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Yeah, free games are cool - and we all appreciate efforts to keep the cost of the gaming hobby down.
But the fact remains some games are better than others, and printer ink isn't cheap.
So, I know there are several lists that just list free games, but, what are the really *good* free games?
(I've also selected a sorting by rank, so we'll see what happens  )
(Note to designers: Due to this list basically becoming a dumping ground, I have had to set up a few base rules: To not get deleted, any game added must a) have at least 5 ratings, b) have a rating of at least 6.0, c) actually be available for download. Anything added that doesn't fall into those criteria will be trashed!)
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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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Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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Carcassonne for those of us who haven't found the cash to buy the real thing yet?
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Donald Walsh
United States
Columbia
Maryland
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This one looks promising.
Printed today. Gaming group to give it a spin tomorrow.
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29.
Board Game: 1800
[Average Rating:6.66 Unranked]
Karim Chakroun
France
Besançon
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THanks to Antonio Leal for allowing his game to be upoloaded to BGG. The picture is my version, but RadiKal made one in another style that you can download too. Very nice short 2P/3P 18xx game.
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Frank Strauss
Germany
Berlin
Unspecified
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Ok, it´s my game, but enough people like it and so I think it´s ok to put it here.
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Ryan Hackel
United States
Falls Church
Virginia
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This chaotic and silly game first saw the light of day as a freebie published in Inquest magazine in 1998. I played it many times back then, and recently dusted it off for the first time in a decade. It's as good as I remember it being.
Two to five players compete to board the self-destructing space station's only escape pod. Arm yourself with the Atomic Stapler, the Machete Launcher, or the Plutonium Rod. Dare to try the Molecular Blender, the Implosion Belt, or the Portable Black Hole? Or will you just fall victim to a cunningly placed bucket of antimatter? And if you die, don't worry... you have a (limited) supply of clones to take your place.
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All My Hits Are Crits
United States
Berkeley
California
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Ok I can’t honestly say if this is one of the best since I’m the guy who made it but it’s been a big hit at my gaming table for over a year. Good warm up game.
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Jeremiah Lee
United States
Ypsilanti
Michigan
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My solo zombie game has been getting good ratings from other folks, so I thought it would be a good fit here. 38 ratings now, and it's at 7.06!
Zombies, solo, print and play, free, and quick. Might be worth printing.
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Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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Another one I haven't had a chance to try but has good reviews - this one used to be a commercial product but has been re-released as a free-to-print.
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Robert Carroll
United States
Lawrence
Kansas
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Weilong or "Powerful Dragon" is a simple dice game based loosely on the dice game One-O-Five and the Chinese card game Shou Ba Yi. Each player represents the role of one of Wei Fu's sons on their quest to collect the Five Elements or capture the Dragon. Each player rolls their dice and sets aside those dice showing their target number (Element). The objective is to roll all five dice of the target number before any other player. Target numbers are determined by drawing cards (Son Cards). The Son Cards also have unique abilities for the players.
Once a player has set aside all five dice of the target number or captured the Dragon (by collecting the dice 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), the remaining players add up the total of the dice they have collected along with the penalty number at the bottom of the card and track those points. Your goal is have the lowest point total each round and for the game. The Son cards are then passed to the left and the next round begins (5 Player Game). The winner is the player who has the least amount of points after 5 rounds.
Available on BGG.
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Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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Actually several of the DwarfStar games look like they might be pretty good, though this is the only one I've had a chance to try out. It's one of those games that almost seems like more work than play though.
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38.
Board Game: Glik
[Average Rating:6.33 Overall Rank:2938]
Jacek Nowak
Poland
Warsaw
Unspecified
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This is very much worth printing and playing. Very good game in my opinion and same bits allow playing it's sibling, GLAK, which is also a terrific game.
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Nick Hayes
United States
Los Angeles
California
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Jasper and Zot was an entry in the recent single-page game design contest here on BGG. There were a ton of great entries (you can peruse the list of entries for links), but Jasper and Zot came away with first place.
It's probably safe to say that many people consider Jasper and Zot worth printing, but I would suggest taking a look at other users' reviews and comments before deciding. The game is for one player only and can be printed on a single sheet of paper (you supply two six-sided dice).
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Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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I've been playing this one quite a bit lately - rules might still need some slight tweaking, but it's challenging (if you don't cheat), and plays quickly (often doesn't take me long to die at all!)
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Alkis Moraitis
Greece
Greece
I wanna be... ...a Wallaby!
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For a simple and quick cardgame for two, you can freely print and play my little boxing game called Punch!
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/20302
Make sure you play the advanced variant with card drafting as this is a bit more challenging than the simple game.
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Mike Petty
United States
Lapeer
Michigan
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I'm not sure I agree, but several people tell me this is my best game. I quit making the inexpensive copies and I posted it here at the 'Geek for download.
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Donald Seagraves
United States
Copperas Cove
Texas
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Ghoulash is probably the easiest P&P game to make -- you literaly just have to print the game out and then play it! It's a variation on paper battleship -- each page has a maze for your opponent and a maze for your own use, kinda like in battleship. You hide items and Ghouls in your opponents maze and then take turns wandering the maze. The first one to meet the game winning objective wins (there are over a dozen scenarios available on the website.)
I rate this game an 8.
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Andreas Propst
Austria
enzenkirchen
upper austria
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In push&move, a board game for 2 - 4 players, each player has a set of five dice with which he or she tries to push at least 3 of an opponent’s dice over the edge of the playing field or onto one of the dreaded "death-tiles" in order to win. Each and every time you play, the playing field can be assembled individually and randomly from a varity of tiles with special effects by throwing a 20-sided die.
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Steve S
United States
Rockford
Illinois
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A simple-looking tile game that's getting really good reviews.
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Eric Pietrocupo
Canada
Montreal
Quebec
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The core game is not so bad but I strongly suggest using variants submitted by the players and by myself.
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Steve Oliver
United States
Alameda
California
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Cronberg -- a quick-playing tile game, probably my favorite print & play game. It feels like an abstract but I like the theme, and you can't beat the price -- FREE! Very good game. The 3 player version is by far the most interesting, but the 2 and 4 player versions are still fun. (2 player is less challenging until the end game, and it plays too quickly with 4 players, IMO.)
Download it at:
http://www.kronberger-spiele.de/eng/cronberg/cron.html
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Fran F G
Spain
Barcelona
Cataluña
Café Race is a race game set in a business office. The players take the role of office workers going upstairs to the first floor to get a cup of coffee who then improvise a race while they are going back downstairs… with a cup full of coffee.
I translate games from English and German to Spanish for Devir and LEGO.
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My own free boardgame. It's a race downstairs with a cup full of coffee... really!
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Now I just have to find the right backing board and cutter...
