Word game on paper

Everyone likes to play games, and pen and paper games are a quick and easy way to pass the time. Our selection includes games for one, for two, and for groups. We have games easy enough for small children and challenging enough for adults. Our selection includes old favorites and some you have probably not heard of before. Carry a pen or pencil, and a tablet or a few sheets of paper in your pocket or purse, and you are ready to play these games anywhere.

Often, we need a quick way to fill time. A party bogs down, we are caught waiting at a restaurant or airport, or we simply want something quick and easy to help us pass the time. All one needs is a pen and some paper for the following easy games to challenge the thinking and create some fun. The following games are challenging enough for adults, but older children will enjoy them as well.

Categories Pen and Paper Game

Simply choose five to ten categories and write them at the top of a paper. Each player takes turns picking a letter of the alphabet. Then all of the players take turns listing something in each category starting with that letter. The players each have one minute for their turn. Each round, the points are totaled. A player only gets points for words that are uniquely theirs. After all of the categories are finished, the player with the most points wins the game. Try the following categories or choose your own:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Movies
• TV Shows
• Pets
• Things That Whistle

Pen and Paper Pictionary

Any number of people can play this game. Give each person a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Instruct them to write down a common phrase and fold the paper up. Collect all of the papers and place them in a box or basket. Players take turns choosing a paper and either act out the phrase or draw it on a large piece of paper. (Newsprint works well). The person who guesses correctly draws or acts out the next phrase. If you wish, you can provide a category for the game, such as one of the following:

• Book titles
• Movie names
• Sports teams
• Famous places

Bulls and Cows Pen and Paper Game

Put on your thinking cap for this one! Each player creates a secret numeric sequence of four numbers. Players take turns guessing the number with “Bulls” indicating the correct number of digits in the correct place and “Cows” indicating correct numbers in the wrong position for each guess. The goal is to discover secret sequence in the least number of turns.

Pen and Paper Games for One

Sometimes one sits alone and wishes to look busy. Or maybe one is bored or trying to pass time while waiting for a friend, phone call, or appointment. Solitary pen and paper games are difficult to find. We have original pen and paper games for one person you will find easy and fun.

Word Watch Pen and Paper Games

Wherever you are sitting, jot down as many words as you can see easily from your surroundings.

• Game 1: Form sentences or even a short story from the words you find.
• Game 2: Put the words you find in alphabetical order.
• Game 3: See how many smaller words you can make from larger words.
• Game 4: See if you can find a word for every letter in the alphabet.

Close Your Eyes Drawing Game

Close your eyes and draw a picture. Choose something simple, such as a house, tree, or stick figure person. Those watching may think you are praying, meditating, or in deep concentration. All the while you are attempting to draw a familiar object from memory without looking at the paper.

Category Doodling Pen and Paper Game

Choose a category of something that is simple to draw and see how many variations you can create. Examples are leaves, decorated balls or boxes, circles with designs, hearts, flowers, or drink glasses.

Pen-or-Pencil Paper Games for Multiple Players

Even though we live in a technological world, there are times when one can use a pen and pencil game to have fun in a group. The following two games work well at parties and as icebreakers in classrooms and offices. Although they are challenging, older children will enjoy them also.

Word Square Pen and Paper Game

Two or more players will enjoy this simple yet challenging game. Each player begins by drawing a four space by four space square on a piece of paper and hiding it from the other player(s). The players take turns calling out a letter. As each letter is called out, players must write the letter somewhere on their grid. The goal is to make as many four-letter words as possible. Called out letters may be repeated. When all of the grids are full, players disclose their grids and count how many four-letter words they were able to create vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. The player with the most wins the game.

Pen and Paper Telephone

You will need three or more people to play this pen and paper game also known as “Gossip!” Begin with a standard 8 ½ x 11-inch sheet of paper for each player. Everyone draws a picture at the top of the paper and passes the paper to their left. Then each player captions the picture and folds it so only the sentence shows. The papers are passed again and the next player draws a picture to fit the sentence. This continues until the paper is full. The papers are unfolded to see a funny story. If you wish, you may begin by folding the papers into four or more sections – one for each player.

Pen and Paper Games for Two Players

Pen and paper games are perfect for two players and there are many two-player games out there. Very young children begin with Tic-Tac-Toe and move to more challenging games. Students become secretive proficient players when bored in class. Some of the following games provide a challenge to even the most sophisticated players.

Tic-Tac-Toe

Probably the first and easiest pen and paper game learned by a child is Tic-Tac-Toe. Grids of two vertical and two horizontal lines are filled with either an X or O as players take turns. The goal is to have three marks in a row – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally – before your opponent. The player who goes first can have the advantage. Two experienced players often end the game in a draw. Tic-Tac-Toe teaches good sportsmanship and beginning reasoning to young children.

Sim Pen and Paper Game

You need two different colors to play this two-player game, but we have included it here as it is so much fun. Draw six dots in a hexagon (a six-sided geometric shape). Take turns drawing lines between each dot. You can either use two different colored pens or a pen and a pencil. The object is to avoid making a triangle. The first person whose line completes a triangle loses this game.

Dots and Boxes Pen and Paper Game

Begin with a grid of dots drawn on a piece of paper. You can choose what size grid you wish to use. A six-by-six grid works well for younger children. More advanced players may wish to draw a much larger grid. Two or more players take turns with different colored pens or pencils drawing lines between dots. The goal is to complete a box while preventing the other player from doing so. When a block is completed by a player, they write their initials inside and draw another line. When all of the dots are connected, the person with the most completed blocks wins.

Sprouts Pen and Paper Game

Another connect-the-dot game, Sprouts is challenging and fun. Two players take turns drawing curved lines to connect dots until one of the players is unable to do so. Begin with two or more dots drawn on a piece of paper. Take turns drawing lines to connect dots with the following directions and rules:

• A line must not pass through another spot or cross another line.
• Lines may be drawn joining two spots or a single spot to itself.
• No more than three lines can emerge from any spot.
• When a player draws a line, they draw a spot on the new line.

The last player able to draw a line wins the game.

Battleship

You may know this as a boxed strategy game, but it is easily played with pen and paper. Players begin by drawing two grids with ten vertical and ten horizontal lines on two separate sheets of paper. The horizontal side is lettered and the vertical side numbered. On one sheet, each player draws rectangles representing a fleet of ships without letting the other player see their location. On the other grid, hits are marked with an X and misses with an O. The ships must take adjacent squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player’s fleet consists of the following:

• 1 aircraft carrier covering five squares
• 1 battleship covering four squares
• 1 cruiser covering three squares
• 2 destroyers covering two squares each
• 2 submarines covering one square each

Players take turns firing a salvo of seven shots, calling out guessed locations of the other player’s ships, example F6, G9, etc. An opponent must state the number of hits and the type of ship, but not which shots were hits and which misses. Once all the squares of a ship are discovered, a player must say, “You sank my battleship (cruiser, destroyer, etc.).” Each time a player loses a ship, the salvo is reduced by one shot. The goal is to sink all of an opponent’s ships to win the game.

Variations:

• The grid can be made smaller.
• Players can have fewer ships.
• Only one shot is allowed each turn.

If you wish, you can play with the optional rule that no two ships can touch.

Hangman Pen and Paper Game

An expert player of this simple word pen and paper game knows how to stump their opponent with repeated letter words and short words. One player draws gallows with an empty rope and blanks for each letter of a word below it, leaving space to complete the drawing of a hanged man. The other player guesses each missing letter of the word with each incorrect guess resulting in another part of the hanging man’s body – head, torso, two arms and two legs. If the player guesses the word before the hangman is completed, they win. If not, the player who chose the word wins.

Connect Four Pen and Paper Game

No need for a store-bought version of this fun game. Simply draw ten lines horizontally and vertically to create twenty squares. Then take turns drawing circles in an attempt to get four in a row. Once the bottom row is filled, players must “drop” their circles on top of another. Players can either mark the circles with their initials or use X and O. The first to get four in a row wins.

SOS Pen and Paper Game

SOS is played on a grid of squares of any size, usually 3 x 3. Two players attempt to label sequential squares either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally with SOS. Once a player succeeds, they take another turn and continue until they cannot create any more. Players may play either an S or an O on their turn. To differentiate between players, one player circles their letters, and the other places a line through theirs. (They can also use different colored pens.) If neither player gets a SOS, the game is a draw.

Pencil-or-pen and paper games provide a quick and easy solution to the complaint, “I’m bored!” These games can be played anytime and anywhere. So, grab a pen or pencil and challenge a friend, introduce a group game at your next party, or teach you child strategic thinking with our collection of fun games.

Paper and pencil games can be incredibly fun for kids, teenagers and adults alike. Playing word games on paper is simple and a fantastic way to pass the time or practice vocabulary.

As a teacher, there are always those times in class when you have extra time to fill. Simple paper games are perfect as a time filler and they require no prep.

That’s why we have put together this list of our top five pencil and paper games / word games on paper. All you need for these activities are, you guessed it, a pencil and paper.

1. Connect 5

This simple paper and pencil game is very easy to set up and is best played in pairs. Simply ask students to draw a large grid on the paper with many squares, or make a simple grid on your computer and print it out.

To play, one student will be ‘X’ and one student will be ‘O’. The students should take turns choosing a square and marking their shape. The aim of the game is to connect five shapes in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row.

To adapt this game for the classroom, you can ask students to first write the lessons key vocabulary / sentences in the squares before starting the game. And then, as they choose a square they should make a sentence / dialogue using the information in that box.

2. Hangman

This classic paper and pencil game is great for reviewing vocabulary and spelling, and a fun time-filler activity.

To, play one student should think of a word and write a small horizontal line for each of the letters of that word. Then their partner should try to guess what the word is by guessing letters of the alphabet.

If he/she guesses correctly, then the student should write that letter on the corresponding blank line. If he/she guesses wrong, then the students should begin to draw the ‘hangman’ picture. This is a simple stick figure drawing of a man hanging. Guess wrong too many times, and the drawing will be completed and the game is lost.

If you are teaching kids you may, like me, think this drawing is not appropriate. A great alternative is to ask students to draw a sad face, or some other simple shape. Another great alternative to traditional hangman is Games4esl’s ‘Save The Teacher Game’.

3. Draw A Monster

In this incredibly fun pencil and paper game students will work together to draw many funny monster pictures.

To play, first give each student a blank piece of paper and tell them to fold it into 3 equal sections. Then on the top section, tell students to draw the head of the monster. They can draw this in anyway they want.

Next, students should fold over the paper so they cannot see the drawing of the monster head, and then pass their paper along to the student to their left. Now, all students should have a different piece of paper.

Then, ask students to draw the body and arms of the monster, without looking at the ‘head’ drawing. Then again, students should pass the paper along to the next student, and they should then draw the legs of the monster.

At the end of this pencil and paper game, collect the drawings and then reveal the funny monster pictures to the class. This activity is great for reviewing body parts vocabulary and descriptions.

4. Battleships

You may be surprised that this popular board game started out as a simple pencil and paper game for two. This game is best played in pairs.

To play, give students a piece of paper and ask them to draw out an 11×11 grid. Then tell them to mark the numbers 1-10 across the top row, and A-J down the side. These will be used to call out the coordinates when guessing where their partner’s battleships are. Alternatively, you can ask students to write key vocabulary from the lesson in place of the alphabet and numbers.

Next, each student needs to draw their ‘battleships’ wherever they want on the grid. They must draw one ‘carrier’ consisting of 5 squares, 2 ‘battleships’ consisting of 4 squares each, and 3 ‘destroyers’ consisting of 3 squares each.

Once students have drawn their battleships, the game can begin. Students should take turns calling out coordinates as they try to find their partner’s battleships. The first student to find and ‘sink’ all their partner’s battleships is the winner.

5. Tic Tac Toe

The last paper and pencil game on our list is Tic Tac Toe. This incredibly easy and simple game is best played in pairs.

To play, ask students to draw a 3×3 grid on a piece of paper. Then students will take turns drawing their shape (usually O or X) in one of boxes. The aim of the game is to get three of your shapes in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line.

To make this game more language focused, you can ask students to write key words from the lesson in the boxes before starting the game. Then, when a student chooses a square, he or she must make a sentence using the word in the box.

Other Pencil and Paper Word Games

The ladder game is another fun game that you can play with just a pen / pencil and paper.

Check the above video for instructions on how to play. For more paper games, including board games, check out our printable board games page where you can download over 100 printable word games for free on many topics.

Thanks for reading.

Everyone should know how to play pen and paper games! They make great icebreakers, waiting games, quick boredom busters, and fun activities for gatherings with friends or family.

And best of all? All your need is a pen or pencil and paper to play!

Fun pen and paper games come in several types. There are drawing games for one or more players, two player games of strategy and logic, of which the most well-known is tic-tac-toe (a.k.a. noughts and crosses), and paper games that can be played with two or more players. So whatever situation you find yourself it, there is a pen and paper game for every occasion!

Single Player Pen and Paper Games

Most of these pen or pencil and paper games are suitable for more than one player as well! Children can collaborate on the activity with another person, or they can play them side by side.

Blind Drawing. Grab a pencil and paper, take a look around you and pick one object. Close your eyes and try to draw it without picking up your pencil!

Word Flip. Click here to read the full instructions for the funny flips game. This is a fun pen and paper game to practice grammar skills and make you laugh. When you’re done, pass the game off to another person if possible and have them put together sentences with your creation.

Drawing Game. Based on the game exquisite corpse, this is a flip picture game. While it can be played by just one person, getting another artist into the action to alternate drawing the body parts will increase the fun. Watch the video below to see how it is done.

Two Players

These pen and paper games require two players. Some of the games require that players have pens of different colors.

Dots and Boxes. You can’t go wrong with this classic pencil and paper game! You can use graph paper, but it’s not necessary; simply plot out dots in an array. Watch the video below to see how to play!

Hangman. This game needs no explanation, but I’ll give it to you anyway. One person thinks of a word and draws dashes along a paper to represent each letter in the word. Above the dashes he draws platform and stand. The other person guesses one letter at a time. If the letter is in the word, the first person fills in the blank(s). If not, the incorrect letter is written below and the first person draws one body part at a time.  If the person guesses the word before the body is completed (head, torso, 2 arms, 2 legs), he wins, if not — well, he loses.

Apple Tree. This is a less-macabre version of the old favorite, Hangman.  One person thinks of a word and draws dashes along a paper to represent each letter in the word. Above the dashes he draws a tree with 7 apples. The other person guesses one letter at a time. If the letter is in the word, the first person fills in the blank(s). If not, the incorrect letter is written inside one of the apples.  If the person guesses the word before all the apples are filled, he wins, if not — well, he loses.

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MORE: 8 Variations on Tic-Tac-Toe

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Bridges. Begin by drawing an abstract shape and dividing it into sections, 30-50 sections is ideal. (see photo below) Taking turns and using different colors, players build bridges by starting in one section, crossing a second, and ending in a third section. Players may not start, cross or end in a section that has previously been used. Players alternate building bridges until no bridges can no longer be built. The last player to build a bridge wins.

Nim. Nim is a very old game that is usually played with stones or tokens. But it’s also a game that can be played with pen and paper. Draw 1, 3, 5, and 7 marks in the shape of a pyramid as shown in the illustration. The objective is to force your opponent to cross out the last remaining mark. Players alternate turns crossing out as many marks as they wish on each turn. However, they can only cross out marks on one line per turn.

I have a variation of a Nim subtraction-type game here, or watch the video below:

Sim. Click here to read the full Sim instructions. Draw six dots as the vertices of a hexagon. Players alternate drawing lines from dot to dot in their own color. The first person who is forced to draw a triangle formed from their own color and three of the vertices loses.

Lasso. Draw a grid of dots on paper, as many or as few as you want. You can experiment to see how many dots you prefer. Taking turns players start at one dot, draw a line to any other dot and circle it. Lines must stay within the confines of the grid. You may only circle a dot that has not yet been used and your line may not bisect any other line. You may start on a dot that has already been used as a starting point. When there are no available moves left, the last person to draw a lasso wins.

Tandem Drawing. This is a very enjoyable, low-stress way to connect with your child. Watch the video to see how it’s done!

Two or More Players

These pen and paper games work well when you have more than two players. Potentially, you could try playing Bridges and Lasso (see above) as three person games.

Unscramble. Write a list of 10 words, but instead of spelling them correctly, mix up the letters and challenge your opponent(s) to unscramble them. To make it a little more fun, select all words from a single category. For example: kcae, kieooc, epi, ssertde, eci mreac become cake, cookie, pie, dessert, ice cream. The first player to unscramble all the words wins.

Words Within A Word. Write out a long word on a piece of paper or a white board if you have one. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes and everyone tries to find as many smaller words as they can using only the letters in the designated word. (See photo below for an example.)

What pen and paper games will you play today?

More games here:

• 20 screen-free waiting games
• Memory games — no screens necessary!
• 15 word games
• Screen-free road trip games for kids and families
• 15 brain games

Часто бывает, что мы с детьми оказываемся где-то в скучном месте, и, как назло, нечем заняться: нет ни книжки, ни мячика, ни игрушек. Зато есть тетрадка и карандаши или обыкновенная шариковая ручка. А может быть, этого достаточно для игр?

Итак, что можно придумать с листом бумаги?

Из бумаги можно сложить самолетики и запускать их — даже сидя в очереди в поликлинике! И даже в вагоне поезда! (Согласитесь, это куда лучше, чем утихомиривать драки и капризы и слушать непрерывное нытье.)

А еще можно сложить кораблики и поиграть ими. Например, расставить кораблики на столе и дуть на них. Можно сложить лист бумаги гармошкой и сделать веер — многим детям нравится аккуратно складывать бумагу и раскрашивать свои самодельные веера.

Еще можно сложить бумагу несколько раз — и вырезать ажурную снежинку. Из плотной бумаги получаются отличные воронки для пересыпания песка или крупы, а если скатать лист и склеить из него трубу, то можно сделать для игры подзорную трубу и даже бинокль.

А во что еще можно играть на листе бумаги?

Половинки. Каждый игрок задумывает картинку, но рисует ее не всю, а только половинку. Потом игроки обмениваются листами и дорисовывают. Иногда получаются очень смешные картинки, например, один хотел нарисовать очки, и на его листе были два кружочка, а из них были созданы вишенки или колеса машины.

Дорисовки. Каждый рисует на листе какую-нибудь закорючку, потом все меняются листочками и другим цветом дорисовывают картинку так, чтобы получилось что-то осмысленное.

Поиски клада по карте квартиры. Для этой игры вам понадобится нарисовать план или карту своей квартиры или двора. После этого можно приступать к самой игре. Обозначим на карте место, где спрятан клад, и то место, где мы стоим, — и можно приступать к поискам! Детей подобные игры очень увлекают!

Поиски клада по серии записок. А для тех, кто только учится читать, можно устроить поиски клада — например, красиво завернутых орешков или изюминок — по запискам. В записках может быть написано: «на столе», «в кухне на табуретке», «у мамы в ботинке», «в коляске у куклы».

Каркас. Расскажите ребенку, что раньше люди записывали не все буквы слова, а только согласные, и до сих пор есть языки, в которых согласные буквы пишут, а гласные иногда пишут сверху, а иногда — и вовсе пропускают. Попробуйте придумать, сколькими способами можно бы было прочитать слово БР, если бы в русском языке тоже писали только согласные. (Бор, бур, бар, убор, буря, бра, Боря, бюро.) А потом попробуйте взять любой другой каркас — и придумывайте по очереди разные слова, где эти согласные встречаются именно в такой последовательности.

Можно добавлять к каркасу буквы спереди, сзади, в середине.

Например, каркас — СЛ:

• СЛон
• СоЛь
• СеЛо
• СаЛо
• СЛово
• СЛоварь
• УСЛовие
• ПоСеЛок
• ПоСоЛ
• СаЛют
• СЛеды
• СиЛа

Каркас может состоять и из гласных, например ООО:

• МОлОкО
• МОлОтОк
• ЗОлОтО
• ОлОвО
• КОрОлевствО
• ОкОрОк
• ПОрОшОк
• ГОрОдОк
• КОрОмыслО
• КОлОвОрот
• ОстОрОжность

Наборщик. В эту игру можно играть всей семьей, с друзьями, в классе. Выбираем длинное слово, пишем его сверху на каждом листочке, и потом из букв этого слова составляем короткие слова. Удобнее выписывать слова столбиками — из 4 букв, из 5 букв, из 6 букв, из 7 и более. Как правило, играют на время — 10 или 15 минут. После игры каждый зачитывает свой список получившихся слов.

Есть несколько вариантов подсчета очков. Можно вычеркивать все слова, которые встретились больше, чем у одного. А можно считать и хитрее: если слово написали в свои списки все игроки, то все это слово вычеркивают, если слово встретилось у всех, кроме одного, — то индекс 1, если у всех, кроме двоих, — индекс 2, и потом умножают число букв на индекс при слове — и получают суммы. Таким образом учитываются и те, кто придумывает мало редких слов, и те, кто пишет много частых слов.

Например, возьмем слово «Ромашка».

Выписывать будем, как и в других словесных играх, только существительные в именительном падеже, в единственном числе и договоримся, что слова в 2–3 буквы мы не берем (в примере выписаны, разумеется, далеко не все слова — это скорее просто образец удобной записи игры).

Итак, РОМАШКА…

3	4	5	6-7
КОМ	аРКа	МОШКа	КОШМаР
РОМ	КОРа	КОРМа	МОШКаРа
МОР	КОМа	КОМаР
РОК	КаШа	РаМКа
ШОК	МРаК	МаРКа
МаК	ШРаМ	КОШМа
РаК	ШаРМ
аКР	МаРШ
ОРК	ОМаР
ШаР	РаКа
МаШ	КРОШ
	РаМа
	КаРа
	КОРМ

Крестики-нолики. Классическая игра, которую, впрочем, теперь знают уже не все. Самые простые крестики-нолики — на квадратном поле три на три. А вот более сложный вариант — на большом листе в клеточку, где нужно поставить 5 крестиков или 5 ноликов в ряд, по вертикали, горизонтали или диагонали. Если противник поставил три крестика в ряд, то уже пора «закрывать» этот ряд своим ноликом с любой стороны.

Города. Эта игра хороша и без бумаги, на слух: один говорит «Москва», второй придумывает город или страну, чье название начинается на последнюю букву предыдущего слова. Например, МосквА — АшхабаД — ДаниЯ — ЯпониЯ — Ямайка… Аналогично можно играть и просто в слова, а не только в города. Заодно детям легче будет запомнить правописание слов — особенно если вы вдоволь насмеетесь над такими курьезами:

— Слушай внимательно, на какую букву кончается слово «окно»?
— На букву «О»! Сейчас придумаю. «Одмерал»!
— Боречка, «адмирал»!
— Ну, тогда «окодемек»!

Морской бой. Эта игра помогает детям разобраться с координатами по вертикали и по горизонтали, а также приучает логически мыслить и рассуждать. Думаю, правила родители еще помнят и сами! Можно играть на листочке бумаги, а можно купить коробку с пластиковыми чемоданчиками и фишками-корабликами — многим детям так проще, чем аккуратно записывать все на листочке.

Зашифрованные письма и удивительные сказки. Когда дети уже умеют писать и читать, им нравится расшифровывать секретные записки, где для каждой буквы есть свое обозначение — например, цифра или маленькая картинка.

А можно говорить на секретном языке — например, как Тофсла и Вифсла в сказке про Муми-тролля. Я-сла пошла-сла в мага-зин-сла. Скоро-сла приду-сла!

А можно добавлять «секретный слог» после каждого слога, а не только в конце слова: Тя-па-тя-па, Тя-па-тя-па, на-па-ши-па се-па-ти-па при-па-та-па-щи-па-ли-па мер-па-тве-па-ца-па!»

Угадали?

А теперь попробуйте угадать, что это за сказка: «По Де Ре. Вы ре бо-пребо. Ста Де ре из зе тя. Тя-потя — вы не мо. По Де Ба. Ба за де, Де за Ре, тя-потя — вы не мо!»

А сможете ли вы в том же стиле рассказать сказку про Курочку Рябу?

Лоскутное одеяло. Рисуем на бумаге в клеточку поле для игры 4 на 5 клеток (сторона каждой клетки 1 см). За один ход каждый игрок должен заштриховать одну клеточку своим цветом. Надо стараться, чтобы клеточки одного цвета были как можно дальше друг от друга. В ходе игры под игровым полем рисуют столько палочек, сколько заштриховано этим карандашом соседних клеточек. Соседними считаются клеточки, имеющие общую сторону или расположенные наискосок друг от друга. Выигрывает тот, у кого в конце игры меньше палочек.

Мостики. В ходе игры каждый из игроков старается построить мост с одного своего берега на другой. У Красного — красные берега и крестики в качестве камней, у Зеленого — зеленые берега и нолики. Игру можно начинать в любой точке поля. За один ход игрок может соединить два своих соседних камня вертикальным или горизонтальным мостиком. Красные и зеленые мосты пересекаться не должны. Выигрывает тот, кто построит непрерывный мост с одного своего берега на другой.

Эрудит. Известная игра, именуемая также «скрабл», когда нужно из отдельных букв составлять слова и выставлять их на поле по определенным правилам. Многие дети с удовольствием играют в подобные игры уже в младшей школе!

Blogger / 3 August, 2018 / Nanny Anita

I have made many busy bags over the years, but sometimes nothing can beat some good old-fashioned pen and paper games. Here are my top 10 favourites (in no particular order):

Make sure you follow my activity board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later.

1. Hangman 5years+ / 2+ player

Player 1 thinks of a word, a title of something, or a saying. They then draw dashes to represent each letter of the word(s). The other person then tries to guess what letters are in it. If they guess correctly player 1 writes the letter on the corresponding dash. To win player 2 must guess the missing word(s) before the hanged man is completed.

2. Noughts and Crosses 4+ years / 2 players

A firm favourite pen and paper game for a lot of families. My charges have been playing this game since they were about 4 and 5.

3. Squares 6+ years / 2+ players

Now this is my favourite pen and paper game! I have been playing this one since I was about 6 and I have always been really good at it. A friend and I recently went to Hong Kong Disneyland and we played a game that lasted about 15 minutes because I refused to give up looking for the best place to make my move. It paid off, because I won in the end.

To play you need to make a square array of dots i.e. 10 by 10 dots.

Each player takes it in turns to draw 1 line between two adjacent dots. Lines can either be horizontal or vertical, NOT diagonal.

The aim of the game is to make as many boxes as possible, without letting the other player get them. If you managed to complete the 4^th side to a box then add your initial on the inside.

The winner is the person with most initialled boxes.

4. Heads, Bodies, and Legs 3+ years / 2+ players

Each player begins by drawing a head in the top 3^rd of a piece of paper without letting the other players see.

When they are done, fold the head over so that just the neck part is showing.

Pass the piece of paper to another person who then draws the body. Once that is completed fold it over again so that just the top of the legs are showing.

Pass it on again so that the next person can draw the legs.

Once everyone is finished you can reveal your finished work of art.

5. Categories 6/7+ years / 2+ players

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10 Brain Teasers for Children

50 Riddles for Children (And Adults)

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I used to play this game a lot while working for Disney Cruise Line, we actually played it as a team game, but it works just as well with single players.

Think of about 6-7 categories such as:

Boy’s names

Girl’s names

Places

Food

Objects

Subjects

Jobs

At the beginning of each round think of a letter, then set a timer for 1-2 minutes and try to come up with something for each category. For example; if you had M as your letter you could come up with Matthew, Matilda, Monaco, Milk, Motorbike, Maths, Microbiologist.

Once the timer has run out stop, even if you haven’t finished filling in all the categories.

Players then need to say what they got.

Points are awarded for each answer as long as another player hasn’t also written it.

At the end the person with the most points win.

6. Battleships 7+ years / 2 players

So once upon a time this famous board game was actually a pen and paper game.

The object is to “hit” your opponent’s ships on their grid by trying to guess where they are hiding.

Start by making 2 grids that are sectioned 11 by 11. The top row is marked 1-10, the left side column is marked A-J.

Each player gets the following:

carrier (5 squares)

battleship (4 squares each)

destroyer (2 squares each)

cruiser (3 squares each)

submarine (3 squares)

Both player outlines their ships on their grid; the game goes on just like the board game.

Each player takes it in turn to guess the other player’s coordinates. Make sure to mark down any hits and misses.

Play is over when all of one player’s ships have been sunk.

7. Blind drawing 4+ years / 2+ players

Player 1 stands behind player 2 and draws a picture on their back. When they have finished player 2 then has to recreate that picture on the piece of paper with their eyes shut.

If you have more than 2 players then add them to the line of people, so that player 1 is drawing onto player 2’s back, who then draws it onto player 3’s back etc.

It is kind of like Chinese whispers but with drawing rather than words.

8. Doddles 2+years / 2+ players

Not only is this a great game but it is also a way to help develop little ones imaginations (or help older ones rediscover theirs) and get them thinking out of the box.

One person draws a line on a piece of paper; this doesn’t have to be a straight line, it can be curvy, looping, long, short etc.

The other person then uses that line to create a picture and has to incorporate it somehow.

9. Consequences 7+years / 2+ players

This is a similar game to the head, body, and legs game but for slightly older children.

The object of the game is to fill in a template story with your own characters, descriptions and actions. This is done by taking turns to choose a word or phrase to complete the story. Just like the head, body, and legs game you need to fold over the paper after each word or phrase is written.

Although there are lots of variations on the story, it usually follows a pattern like this:

Adjective for a person

Name of a person

Met (in a standard game, two characters always meet but you could adjust this to another verb)

Adjective for a person

Name of person

Where they met

First person wore

Second person wore

First said to second

Second replied

The consequence was…

When the story is finished don’t forget to read it out so that everybody can enjoy it.

10. Paper Airplanes

Of course this is not a pen and paper game, but it is still fun to make and guaranteed to keep children of all ages busy and entertained.

If you liked these, I also have some brain teasers as well.

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