The Best Roll and Write Board Games in 2025

The roll-and-write genre has exploded in popularity recently. This accessible style of gameplay, reminiscent of classic Yahtzee, involves rolling dice or drawing cards to determine numbers or symbols that players then use to fill in a personal score sheet. While deceptively simple, this genre offers surprising depth and strategic possibilities.

Roll-and-writes appeal to a broad audience due to their immediate gratification and straightforward rules. The creative freedom of personalizing your score sheet combines with easy-to-learn mechanics, creating a low barrier to entry that's perfect for casual and experienced gamers alike. Below are some of the best examples the genre has to offer.

TL;DR: The Best Roll & 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

Rolling Realms

Available on Amazon. Rolling Realms' unique charm lies in its realms, each inspired by another board game. A die roll assigns results to mini-games reflecting the source material. Three realms are played concurrently over nine rolls, then replaced with three new ones, repeated twice for a full game. The realms themselves are cleverly designed microcosms, presenting engaging, family-friendly puzzles. For a greater challenge, consider the standalone sequel, Rolling Realms Redux, featuring even more intricate realms playable solo or combined with the base game.

Marabunta

Available on Amazon. Renowned game designer Reiner Knizia brings his strategic prowess to the roll-and-write format in this two-player game. Players compete as ant tribes vying for territory rich in cupcakes and other resources. Dice rolls offer choices: expand influence across color-coded hexes or gain bonus points. This clever blend of spatial and mathematical strategy showcases Knizia's signature style.

The Fox Experiment

Available on Amazon. Inspired by a real-life Russian fox domestication experiment, this game, designed by Elizabeth Hargrave (of Wingspan fame), uses dice to represent genetic inheritance. Players breed foxes, selecting traits to meet end-game goals, creating a unique and engaging experience.

Twilight Inscription

Available on Amazon. A truly unique entry, Twilight Inscription adapts the grand strategy of Twilight Imperium into a roll-and-write format. This sprawling experience, encompassing exploration, exploitation, expansion, and extermination, condenses the epic playtime of its predecessor into roughly 90 minutes. The game uses separate sheets for each aspect, creating a series of strategic trade-offs and diverse approaches.

Super Skill Pinball: Ramp It Up

Available on Amazon. Unlike many roll-and-writes, Super Skill Pinball cleverly replicates the experience of pinball. Players choose a table and use dice rolls to navigate their ball, hitting bumpers and targets. The challenge lies in maximizing your score while managing limited target usage. Various themed sets exist, with Ramp It Up being a standout, even including a cooperative mode.

Welcome To... Your Perfect Home

Available on Amazon. A "flip-and-write" game (using cards instead of dice), Welcome To... tasks players with town planning. Players select house numbers and building effects to create suburban streets, balancing house order with various bonus objectives. Its sci-fi counterpart, Welcome To The Moon, offers a more complex challenge.

My City: Roll & Build

Available on Amazon. Based on Reiner Knizia's My City, this dice game features a rewarding campaign structure. Gameplay unfolds across multiple episodes, each introducing new rules and increasing complexity gradually. Episodes can also be played individually, offering flexibility and replayability.

Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

Available on Amazon and Target. In Railroad Ink, players draw transport networks on a grid using custom dice. The goal is to connect exits while minimizing dead ends, creating a strategic balance of risk and reward. Various editions (Deep Blue, Blazing Red, Lush Green, Shining Yellow) offer diverse gameplay experiences.

Next Station: London

Available on Amazon. A flip-and-write game where pencil colors are integral to gameplay. Players draw train networks, connecting stations and districts while navigating spatial constraints. The unique twist of swapping pencils adds a layer of interaction and strategic depth.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write

Available on Amazon. This game introduces more complexity to the roll-and-write genre. Players build and manage dinosaur theme parks, balancing resource management, park design, and tour routes. The interplay of planning and execution creates a rich and challenging experience.

Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale

Available on Amazon and Target. This flip-and-write game introduces player interaction. Players map out fantasy kingdoms, fulfilling scoring challenges, with the added twist of monster cards that require passing maps to neighbors for placement, adding a personal and engaging element.

Long Shot: The Dice Game

Available at Barnes & Noble. This horse racing game features a track board where horses move based on dice rolls. Players bet on horses, buy horses for special abilities, and influence the odds, creating interaction and excitement.

Three Sisters

Available on Amazon. This game emphasizes action chaining, where completing actions grants bonus actions, leading to intense strategic planning. The score sheet includes a space for tracking and using these bonus actions.

Fleet: The Dice Game

Available on Amazon. Players manage fishing fleets, using dice to buy licenses and launch boats. The interconnected options and benefits create a strategic challenge of maximizing rewards.

Sagrada Artisans

Available on Amazon. This campaign-style game expands on the original Sagrada, adding coloring elements and a series of sessions with increasing challenges while maintaining its relaxing feel.

Motor City

Available on Amazon. This game simulates car production, using a dice-drafting mechanic and a blueprint board to coordinate actions and bring a muscle car to market. It offers a more integrated strategic challenge compared to previous games by the same designers.

For more gaming options, explore our lists of the best board games of all time and the best puzzle tables, including a versatile table from Bits and Pieces perfect for card and board games.