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 player base, as the entry barriers are minimal. Below, we highlight some of the best roll and write games available today.

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 realm 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 engaging 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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Designed by the renowned Reiner Knizia, Marabunta is a two-player game that pits two ant tribes against each other for control of hexes filled with tempting treats like cupcakes. Players use dice to expand their influence across color-coded hexes or earn bonuses to boost their final score. This game blends spatial strategy with mathematical challenges, showcasing Knizia's signature style.

The Fox Experiment

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Inspired by a real-life experiment on fox domestication, The Fox Experiment by Elizabeth Hargrave, the creator of Wingspan, uses dice to represent genetic heredity. Players select traits from parent foxes to breed offspring that align with their end-game goals, carrying these traits forward into subsequent rounds. This game offers a deeper level of engagement, rewarding players for strategic breeding to achieve the friendliest foxes.

Twilight Inscription

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Twilight Inscription brings the expansive universe of Twilight Imperium into the roll and write format, emulating the 4X genre of video games. Players manage their space empires through exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination, all within about 90 minutes. Each aspect of the game is represented on a separate sheet, allowing for focused gameplay and strategic trade-offs, making it feel more like a full-fledged strategic board game.

Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up

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Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up captures the excitement 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. The game's puzzle-like nature is both fascinating and thrilling, with various sets available, including a Star Trek-themed one, but Ramp It Up stands out with its cooperative table.

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, and racing to meet city plans. 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 My City, this roll and write game follows a campaign structure across multiple episodes, each adding new rules and complexity. This gradual approach allows players to adapt without feeling overwhelmed, and the game remains flexible for one-off sessions. My City: Roll & Build is an engaging game that stands up to repeated plays.

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 is a flip and write game where pencil colors play a crucial role. Players start at different stations and draw networks based on drawn cards, aiming to cross districts, visit tourist sites, and connect lines. The game's simple concept reveals strategic depth over multiple plays, resulting in colorful and engaging maps.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write

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Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write introduces complexity to the roll and write genre, allowing players to build a dinosaur theme park using dice-rolled resources. Players sketch out their park, manage staff and security, and run tours to score points. This game offers a rich strategic challenge and thematic immersion.

Cartographers

6See it at Amazon Also at Target

Cartographers adds player interaction to the genre with its flip and write mechanics. Players map out a fantasy kingdom, fulfilling scoring challenges, but must contend with monster cards that allow neighbors to place negative icons on their maps. This adds a personal touch and enhances the game's thematic world-building. The sequel, Cartographers: Heroes, introduces dynamic monsters and hero cards.

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, influenced by dice rolls. Players can also buy horses for special powers and bonuses, creating a web of dependencies and excitement. This game stands out for its interaction and thematic depth.

Three Sisters

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Three Sisters takes the concept of rewarding 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. This game requires strategic planning, making it a tactical delight.

Fleet: The Dice Game

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Fleet: The Dice Game challenges players to manage a fishing fleet, using dice to buy licenses or launch boats. The game rewards players for progressing down interconnected trees of options, 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 allowing players to color in their stained-glass windows and engage in decorative coloring. As a campaign game, it unfolds over ten sessions, introducing new tools and challenges while maintaining simplicity and a Zen-like feel, culminating in an exciting finish.

Motor City

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Motor City, from the designers of Three Sisters and Fleet, mirrors car production lines in a roll and write format. Players manage vehicle design, engineering, testing, production, and sales using a dice-drafting mechanic and a blueprint board. This game offers a strategic challenge, focusing on coordinated actions to bring a muscle car to market.

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.