The best roll & write games 🎲🖋 2023

Roll&Write games are (usually) small and handy dice games 🎲🖋. The player rolls the dice and marks the results on sheets of paper or erasable boards. Another common factor is that marking decisions made in previous turns constrain a player's marking decisions in future turns.

Roll & Write games in a nutshell

  • The forefather of roll-and-write games is Yahtzee). In Germany named "Kniffel" appeared in 1972, but in the USA under the name "Yahtzee" already in 1956. Since then many different kinds of games with many creative ideas have appeared.
  • In contrast to Kniffel (Once on your turn, you may roll the dice 3 times to make special combinations of dice. The goal is to achieve the highest possible score at the end. Risky decisions are provoked to win the game), modern incarnations of roll-&-write games may involve more direct player interaction. Sometimes in the form of dice selection, but sometimes by being the first to trigger a particular event or by locking out other players.
  • Often not only one player's dice result is active, but all players can use it to take an action. The waiting time is therefore much shorter than with Kniffel - especially with several people.
  • The games in the Kniffel family and their generic version "Yacht" are subgroups of the Roll-and-Write family. So these games also belong in this overview.
  • Roll & Write often contain an extra solo variant.
  • Sometimes cards are used instead of dice - then the games are called "Flip-and-Write". Since the principles are so similar, we have included the flip-and-write games in this list as well.

The best Flip-/Roll-&-Write games 🎲🖋

But now to our overview with the best Flip- and Roll-&-Write games 2023

This list was last updated on November 27, 2023. We compared 571 board games for this list and selected the top 30. There's also a print version for this list.
  1. That's Pretty Clever!

    All details for the board game That's Pretty Clever! and similar games

    Nominated for 8 awards and won 1.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018

    More details for That's Pretty Clever!
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  2. Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

    All details for the board game Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition and similar games

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    More details for Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  3. Qwixx

    All details for the board game Qwixx and similar games

    Nominated for 9 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2013

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2013

    More details for Qwixx
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  4. Encore!

    All details for the board game Encore! and similar games

    🔥 Deal: 6% cheaper than the best Geizhals deal, likely for a short time only!

    More details for Encore!
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    🔥 Great price!9€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Encore!

    • YouTube Review for the game "Encore!" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  5. Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition

    All details for the board game Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition and similar games
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  6. Qwixx: Connected

    All details for the board game Qwixx: Connected and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  7. Qwinto

    All details for the board game Qwinto and similar games
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  8. Qwixx: 10 Jahre Limited-Edition

    All details for the board game Qwixx: 10 Jahre Limited-Edition and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  9. Lost Cities: Roll & Write

    All details for the board game Lost Cities: Roll & Write and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  10. Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition

    All details for the board game Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green Edition and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 15 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  11. Qwixx: Big Points

    All details for the board game Qwixx: Big Points and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  12. Qwixx Mixx

    All details for the board game Qwixx Mixx and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  13. Twice as Clever!

    All details for the board game Twice as Clever! and similar games

    Nominated for 3 awards.

    More details for Twice as Clever!
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 10+ years old
    • Easy to learn
    👍 Good price!9€ atAmazon.de
  14. Calavera

    All details for the board game Calavera and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
    👍 Good price!10€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Calavera

    • YouTube Review for the game "Calavera" by Shut Up & Sit Down
      Video is in English
  15. Qwixx On Board

    All details for the board game Qwixx On Board and similar games
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  16. Dizzle

    All details for the board game Dizzle and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  17. Trek 12: Himalaya

    All details for the board game Trek 12: Himalaya and similar games

    Nominated for 2 awards.

    More details for Trek 12: Himalaya
    • 1 - 50 Players
    • 15 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  18. Fleet: The Dice Game (Second Edition)

    All details for the board game Fleet: The Dice Game (Second Edition) and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  19. Qwixx: Bonus

    All details for the board game Qwixx: Bonus and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  20. Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age

    All details for the board game Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age and similar games

    Nominated for 10 awards and won 1.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2010

    More details for Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  21. Rolling Realms

    All details for the board game Rolling Realms and similar games

    Nominated for 3 awards.

    More details for Rolling Realms
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 30 Minutes
    • 14+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  22. Railroad Ink Challenge: Shining Yellow Edition

    All details for the board game Railroad Ink Challenge: Shining Yellow Edition and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 15 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
    👍 Good price!19€ atAmazon.de
  23. Fleet: The Dice Game

    All details for the board game Fleet: The Dice Game and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Medium difficulty
  24. Roll Through the Ages: The Late Bronze Age

    All details for the board game Roll Through the Ages: The Late Bronze Age and similar games
    • 1 - 4 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  25. Knapp Daneben!

    All details for the board game Knapp Daneben! and similar games
    • 1 - 5 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Knapp Daneben!

    • YouTube Review for the game "Knapp Daneben!" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  26. Harvest Dice

    All details for the board game Harvest Dice and similar games

    Nominated for 1 award and won 1.

    More details for Harvest Dice
    • 2 - 4 Players
    • 15 - 30 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable
  27. Bravo!

    All details for the board game Bravo! and similar games

    Nominated for 2 awards.

    🔥 Deal: 10% cheaper than the best Geizhals deal, likely for a short time only!

    More details for Bravo!
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 20 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Easy to learn
    🔥 Great price!8€ atAmazon.de

    Video reviews for Bravo!

    • YouTube Review for the game "Bravo!" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  28. Twenty One

    All details for the board game Twenty One and similar games
    • 2 - 6 Players
    • 15 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Twenty One

    • YouTube Review for the game "Twenty One" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English
  29. Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers

    All details for the board game Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers and similar games
    • 2 - 5 Players
    • 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 12+ years old
    • Easy to learn
  30. Criss Cross

    All details for the board game Criss Cross and similar games
    • 1 - 6 Players
    • 10 Minutes
    • 8+ years old
    • Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Criss Cross

    • YouTube Review for the game "Criss Cross" by BoardGameGeek
      Video is in English

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