Top Roll and Write Board Games of 2025

The roll and write genre has seen a remarkable surge in popularity in recent years, drawing inspiration from classics like Yahtzee. This engaging style of play involves rolling dice or flipping cards and using the results to mark up a personal score sheet. While the concept is straightforward, the genre offers ample room for creativity and sophisticated gameplay, making it accessible yet deeply rewarding for a wide range of players.

Roll and write games are particularly appealing due to their simplicity and immediate gratification. Players enjoy the freedom to personalize their sheets or boards within a structured set of rules, leading to widespread success across diverse audiences with minimal entry barriers. Below is a curated list of the finest 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

0See it at Amazon
Rolling Realms invites players into diverse realms, each inspired by other board games, where they assign die roll results to play mini-games that encapsulate their source material. Over nine rolls, all players engage with the same three realms before drawing three new ones from a selection of twelve, repeating this process twice for a complete game. The charm lies in the realms themselves, offering family-friendly puzzles that reflect their inspirations. For an added challenge, the standalone sequel, Rolling Realms Redux, introduces more complex realms to play solo or mixed with the base game.

Marabunta

0See it at Amazon
Marabunta, crafted by renowned designer Reiner Knizia, pits two players against each other in a strategic battle over hexagonal territories, representing rival ant tribes. The dice provide options to expand influence across color-coded hexes or gain bonuses for the final score, blending spatial and mathematical strategies in a manner typical of Knizia's designs.

The Fox Experiment

0See it at Amazon
Inspired by a real-world scientific endeavor from the 1950s, The Fox Experiment by Elizabeth Hargrave delves into fox domestication. This roll and write game is more complex but rewards players with a unique system where dice represent genetic traits. Players breed foxes to meet end-game goals, offering a delightful and strategic gameplay experience.

Twilight Inscription

1See it at Amazon
Twilight Inscription stands out by translating the expansive universe of Twilight Imperium into a roll and write format. It captures the essence of 4X video games—exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination—within a manageable 90-minute playtime. Players manage separate sheets for each aspect of their space empire, choosing actions strategically to maximize their score, resulting in a deep and engaging experience.

Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up

2See it at Amazon
Super Skill Pinball brings the thrill of a pinball table to life 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. This game combines puzzle-solving with the excitement of pinball, and Ramp It Up even includes a cooperative table for added variety.

The Best Board Game Deals

Welcome To... Your Perfect Home

3See it at Amazon
Welcome To... Your Perfect Home is a flip and write game that focuses on town planning. Players select house numbers and building effects to create three suburban streets, balancing scores across various bonuses. The game offers strategic depth and satisfaction, with an advanced version, Welcome To The Moon, for those seeking more complexity.

My City: Roll & Build

1See it at Amazon
Based on Reiner Knizia's My City, this dice game features a campaign structure that unfolds over multiple episodes, each adding new rules and complexities. This gradual build-up makes the game accessible yet challenging, and it can be played as standalone sessions or as part of the full campaign.

Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

9See it at Amazon
Also at Target
Railroad Ink challenges players to draw a transport network on a grid based on custom dice rolls, balancing the need to connect exits with avoiding dead ends. The Deep Blue edition adds rivers and lakes, enhancing the game's strategic depth and variety.

Next Station: London

1See it at Amazon
Next Station: London introduces a unique flip and write mechanic where pencil colors influence gameplay. Players draw networks starting from colored stations, aiming to cross districts and connect tourist sites. The game's simplicity belies its strategic depth, making it highly replayable.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write

4See it at Amazon
Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'N Write expands the genre with added complexity, allowing players to build a dinosaur theme park. The dice determine resources used to construct attractions and manage operations, culminating in a tour that scores points. This game offers a rich, thematic challenge.

Cartographers

6See it at Amazon
Also at Target
Cartographers adds player interaction to the genre with a twist: players pass their maps to neighbors to place monster icons, impacting each other's scores. This game combines mapping with strategic challenges, creating a personal and thematic experience.

Long Shot: The Dice Game

0See it at Barnes and Noble
Long Shot: The Dice Game transforms horse racing into an interactive roll and write experience. Players bet on horses as they race around a track, using dice rolls to influence outcomes. The game's dynamic betting system creates engaging player interactions.

Three Sisters

3See it at Amazon
Three Sisters takes roll and write to new heights with action chaining. Players grow crops and flowers on a garden-themed score sheet, using dice rolls to trigger bonus actions. This strategic depth and the game's unique mechanics make it a standout choice.

Fleet: The Dice Game

0See it at Amazon
Fleet: The Dice Game challenges players to manage a fishing fleet, using dice to buy licenses or launch boats. The interconnected options grow more rewarding as players progress, offering a fast-paced and thematic experience.

Sagrada Artisans

0See it at Amazon
Sagrada Artisans builds on the original game's concept of arranging gem dice to create stained-glass windows. Now a campaign game, players color in their windows over ten sessions, adding tools and challenges while maintaining a calm, Zen-like experience.

Motor City

0See it at Amazon
Motor City, from the creators of Three Sisters and Fleet, integrates car production into a roll and write format. Players manage vehicle design, engineering, testing, production, and sales using a dice-drafting mechanic, offering a strategic and innovative gameplay experience.

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 playing cards and board games.