Top Roll and Write Board Games of 2025

The roll and write genre has seen a significant surge in popularity in recent years, drawing inspiration from the classic board game Yahtzee. In these games, players roll dice or flip cards and use the results to mark up a personal sheet, offering a simple yet engaging gameplay experience. This genre's appeal lies in its accessibility and immediate gratification, allowing players to personalize their sheets while following straightforward rules. This combination has led to widespread success among a diverse range of players, thanks to the low barriers to entry. Below, we highlight some of the best roll and write games available.

TL;DR: The Best Roll and Write Games

• Rolling Realms
• Marabunta
• The Fox Experiment
• Twilight Inscription
• Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up
• Welcome To... Your Perfect Home
• My City: Roll & Build
• Railroad Ink
• Next Station: London
• Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'n Write
• Cartographers
• Long Shot: The Dice Game
• Three Sisters
• Fleet: The Dice Game
• Sagrada Artisans
• Motor City

Rolling Realms

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Rolling Realms offers a unique twist by basing each of its realms on another board game. Players assign die roll results to play mini-games that reflect their 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 complete game. The charm lies in the realms themselves, which are excellent microcosms of their source material, offering family-friendly puzzles to master. For those seeking more challenge, the standalone sequel, Rolling Realms Redux, introduces more complex realms that can be played alone or mixed with the base game.

Marabunta

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Marabunta, designed by the renowned Reiner Knizia, brings his strategic prowess to the roll and write genre. This two-player game simulates the competition between two ant tribes over hexes of territory, including cupcakes and other rewards. Players use dice to spread their influence across color-coded hexes or earn bonuses, blending spatial and mathematical strategy in a way that Knizia excels at.

The Fox Experiment

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Inspired by a real-life experiment on fox domestication, The Fox Experiment by Elizabeth Hargrave offers a more complex roll and write experience. Players use dice to represent genetic heredity, selecting traits from parent foxes to breed offspring that align with their end-game goals. This game rewards strategic planning as players aim to breed the friendliest foxes for their research.

Twilight Inscription

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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, where players build space empires through exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination. Each aspect is represented on a separate sheet, allowing for deep exploration and mastery over multiple plays. The game's challenge lies in choosing which sheet to focus on each turn, leading to strategic trade-offs and diverse approaches.

Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up

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Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up uniquely captures the theme of a pinball table using only a pen and dice. Players choose from four tables, navigating bumpers and targets based on their rolls. The challenge is to maximize scores without reusing boxes, creating a thrilling puzzle. The game includes a cooperative table and various sets, including a Star Trek-themed one, but Ramp It Up is the top choice.

The Best Board Game Deals

Welcome To... Your Perfect Home

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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, the sci-fi themed Welcome To The Moon offers an advanced experience.

My City: Roll & Build

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Based on Reiner Knizia's popular My City, this roll and write game features a campaign structure that gradually introduces new rules over multiple episodes. This approach allows for increasing complexity without overwhelming players. The game is flexible, allowing episodes to be played as one-offs, making it a versatile and engaging experience.

Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

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Railroad Ink challenges players to draw a transport network on a grid using custom dice. The goal is to link as many exits as possible, balancing the need to minimize dead ends with the potential for future connections. The Deep Blue edition adds rivers and lakes, enhancing the game's variety. Other editions include Blazing Red, Lush Green, and Shining Yellow, each with unique elements.

Next Station: London

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Next Station: London, a flip and write game, introduces colored pencils as a key gameplay element. Players start at different stations and draw networks based on drawn cards, aiming to cross districts and connect tourist sites. The game's strategic depth comes from managing line expansion without crossing existing lines, resulting in colorful and engaging maps.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write

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Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write adds complexity to the roll and write genre by challenging players to build a dinosaur theme park. Using dice rolls, players gather resources to construct attractions and manage security, then run a tour to score points. This game offers a rich strategic challenge with thematic depth.

Cartographers

6See it at Amazon Also at Target

Cartographers introduces player interaction to the genre through a flip and write mechanic where players map a fantasy kingdom. Periodically, players pass their maps to neighbors to place monster icons, adding a personal touch and enhancing the game's thematic engagement. The sequel, Cartographers: Heroes, adds dynamic monsters and hero cards for added depth.

Long Shot: The Dice Game

0See it at Barnes and Noble

Long Shot: The Dice Game transforms horse racing into a roll and write experience. Players bet on horses as they race around a board, using dice rolls to influence outcomes. The game's unique feature is the ability to buy horses for special powers and bonuses, creating a web of player dependencies and adding excitement and interaction.

Three Sisters

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Three Sisters takes the concept of rewarding specific roll combinations to new heights. Players grow crops and flowers on a garden-themed score sheet, using dice rolls to access a rondel of actions. Completing actions often triggers bonus actions, leading to intense action chaining that requires strategic planning.

Fleet: The Dice Game

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Fleet: The Dice Game challenges players to manage a fishing fleet, using dice rolls to buy licenses or launch boats. The game rewards players for progressing down interconnected trees of options, culminating in selling catches and constructing buildings. With thematic mother of pearl dice, this game offers a fun and strategic experience.

Sagrada Artisans

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Sagrada Artisans builds on the original Sagrada by adding a coloring element to the roll and write experience. Players color in their stained-glass windows and engage in additional decorative coloring while waiting for others. The game also introduces a campaign mode, adding new tools and challenges over ten sessions, maintaining simplicity and a Zen-like feel.

Motor City

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Motor City, from the designers of Three Sisters and Fleet, transforms the roll and write genre into a car production line simulation. Players use dice-drafting and a blueprint board to coordinate vehicle design, engineering, testing, production, and sales. This game offers a strategic challenge focused on coordinated actions rather than explosive combos.

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 by Bits and Pieces perfect for cards and board games.