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Free-to-print games that might actually be worth printing
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Yeah, free games are cool - and we all appreciate efforts to keep the cost of the gaming hobby down. But the fact remains some games are better than others, and printer ink isn't cheap. So, I know there are several lists that just list free games, but, what are the really *good* free games? (I've also selected a sorting by rank, so we'll see what happens  )
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The items in this GeekList are ordered by average rating
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Posted Sat Jul 23, 2005 5:54 pm
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Battle Leader Tactics (BLT)
From the Rules:
"Have you ever wanted to match the tactical brilliance of Napoleon versus the charismatic sheer will to succeed of Alexander the Great? Do you want to see how Caesar’s ingenuity flourishes with the use of mechanized infantry or missiles? How about seeing Genghis Kahn flying in low over the steppes to terrorize his opponents with attack helicopters? Go into battle with some of the most feared and successful military leaders of all time. Use the same tactics they used to win their battles. Fight with the military forces revered throughout history. All this is possible with the abstract wargame--Battle Leader Tactics (BLT)."
BLT is a component and introductory game for the Battles Leaders Tactics & Technology (BLTT) master game. BLTT is an abstract wargame that depicts some of the greatest military leaders (e.g., Alexander, Napoleon, Caesar, etc.) commanding historical units in some of the world most decisive battles (e.g., Megiddo, Zama, Hastings, Waterloo, etc.) using proven tactics of history. BLT serves as a basic game introducing players to the interaction between army units, leaders and tactics. BLT allows players to command standard troops (e.g, infantry, cavalry, artillery and guard) and special military units (e.g., 300 Spartans, Panzer Army Afrika, etc.) with historic military leaders using real tactics and fog of war--all without any dice. The primary resolution engine for the game is housed in the Tactics Results Chart (TRC), which compares tactics selected by the players and determines losses, if any, of army units.
Components:
21 Leader Cards
24 Tactics Cards (12 for each player)
28 Army Cards (14 for each player)
10 Special Army Cards
1 Tactics Results Chart
1 Rules Booklet
1 Leader Card Explanation Sheet
Available on BGG.
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This game is not listed as free to print, but I found all the items. Either at the GMT site or at the designer's site. Just burrow through the BBG Links and you'll be able to make your own copy.
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This one looks real nice, and plays decent. Nothing terribily new, but it all works well together.
I translated the rules from French, and am still getting the bugs out of the translation.
Awful lot of gold mines in Canada though.
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Free introduction into the world of Two Hour Wargames.
Much improvement over the previous versions of the game, streamlined rules, useble for head-to-head, cooperative, or solitaire gaming.
It was intended to be played with miniatures, but you are free to use tokens, meeples, card cutouts, paper miniatures, or anything you can come up with, so it can easily be a free print-and-play game.
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5.
Board Game: Weilong
[Average Rating:7.56 Unranked]
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Weilong or "Powerful Dragon" is a simple dice game based loosely on the dice game One-O-Five and the Chinese card game Shou Ba Yi. Each player represents the role of one of Wei Fu's sons on their quest to collect the Five Elements or capture the Dragon. Each player rolls their dice and sets aside those dice showing their target number (Element). The objective is to roll all five dice of the target number before any other player. Target numbers are determined by drawing cards (Son Cards). The Son Cards also have unique abilities for the players.
Once a player has set aside all five dice of the target number or captured the Dragon (by collecting the dice 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), the remaining players add up the total of the dice they have collected along with the penalty number at the bottom of the card and track those points. Your goal is have the lowest point total each round and for the game. The Son cards are then passed to the left and the next round begins (5 Player Game). The winner is the player who has the least amount of points after 5 rounds.
Available on BGG.
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6.
Board Game: 18Scan
[Average Rating:7.44 Overall Rank:1378]
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18Scan is a great game, though I'll admit it is the only rail game that I've tried. The rules are a bit complicated but worth it. It'll take you a while to make as well -- there's a lot of cards, tiles, and such to print, mount, and cut.
If you've been interested in rail games but haven't been willing to pay a lot, 18Scan is a good choice.
I rate the game a 7.
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From the Rules:
"Have you ever wanted to build a basketball dynasty to rival that of Wooden’s legendary UCLA teams? How about experiencing the thrill of recruiting, developing and a starting a team of Champions? What about trying to improve a run-of-the-mill team into a tournament team, all while trying to keep your job? You can do all of these things a more in Basketball Dynasty—in under an hour.
Basketball Dynasty is a game about recruiting and developing college basketball players, while trying to qualify for the tournament and win a championship. Each player acts as the head coach of a college basketball team and has 12 years to win as many games, go to as many tournaments and win as many championships as possible. As the coach, you determine who to recruit (do you want solid season performers or the star who can win in the big game), who to develop, who to start and bench, and what style of team do you want (e.g., a group of 'team players' or bunch of talented 'individuals' who happened to play on the same team)."
Components:
1 Six-Sided Die
1 Rules Book
1 School Rating Chart
1 Coach Record Sheet
14 School Roster Boards
25 Red Chips
150 Blue Chips
168 Player Counters (General Supply)
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I was suprised this wasn't on the list. You can get the rules and map printouts for free on the website. It's a bit of a long and drawn out game, but with the right group, it's pretty good.
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This is the best one. This is better than many games I've spent a lot of money for. It has a tricky auctioning system, a cool wargame embedded with both tactical and strategic decisions, and a monster rampaging everywhere. Read my session review at the page for an idea of how it plays.
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Ok I can’t honestly say if this is one of the best since I’m the guy who made it but it’s been a big hit at my gaming table for over a year. Good warm up game.
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This one is a really good abstract tile game. Makes you think even with solo play, and likely is just as good with more players.
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Haven't had a chance to play it yet, but it's gotten good ratings, looks fun to play, and has gained enough of a fan base that there are now several add-ons for it as well...
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Mesopotamia, according to the author, is derived from History of the World. I've never played HotW, so I can't say whether or not that's true. The game reminds me of Risk, but a bit smoother. I'll warn you, you'll use at least a half a cartridge of ink printing this game out, but it's worth it.
I rate this game an 8.
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I think this game looks more interesting than Bloody Mary.
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Explore the land of Dawn, find special items and fight wandering monsters as you search for the ingredients to a magical potion to defeat the impending bandit horde and their leader. You only have eight days before they raze the village of Dawn.
A good fantasy RPG card game that uses unique hand management to determine your abilities and your life.
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My solo zombie game has been getting good ratings from other folks, so I thought it would be a good fit here. 38 ratings now, and it's at 7.06!
Zombies, solo, print and play, free, and quick. Might be worth printing.
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Found this gem on Armchair General website. Very nice production and easy to understand rules, quick to play.
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This one looks promising.
Printed today. Gaming group to give it a spin tomorrow.
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20.
Board Game: Dicefest
[Average Rating:6.62 Unranked]
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This chaotic and silly game first saw the light of day as a freebie published in Inquest magazine in 1998. I played it many times back then, and recently dusted it off for the first time in a decade. It's as good as I remember it being.
Two to five players compete to board the self-destructing space station's only escape pod. Arm yourself with the Atomic Stapler, the Machete Launcher, or the Plutonium Rod. Dare to try the Molecular Blender, the Implosion Belt, or the Portable Black Hole? Or will you just fall victim to a cunningly placed bucket of antimatter? And if you die, don't worry... you have a (limited) supply of clones to take your place.
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This is my favorite board gaem. It is so much fun with almost any amount of people, and more can jump in at any time with no big disadvantage.
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23.
Board Game: Glik
[Average Rating:6.51 Overall Rank:1826]
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This is very much worth printing and playing. Very good game in my opinion and same bits allow playing it's sibling, GLAK, which is also a terrific game.
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Another one I haven't had a chance to try but has good reviews - this one used to be a commercial product but has been re-released as a free-to-print.
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My own free boardgame. It's a race downstairs with a cup full of coffee... really!
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Posted Tue Nov 6, 2007 6:16 pm
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...
* Tumblewords - A cross between Scrabble and Connect Four. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/119/tumblewords
* Blam! - One of several Icehouse games on our site. Quick to learn with deeper strategy than you might think at first. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/29/blam
* Cthulbeque - Iron Chef meets the Cthulhu mythos. (I recently revised and expanded the rules to make it more playable.) http://www.invisible-city.com/play/42/cthulbeque
* Zombie Rancher - Silly theme and a little random, but folks seem to like it... http://www.invisible-city.com/play/91/zombie-rancher
* Grunt, Growl, and Tear - A hex-based dueling game where you can rip the limbs off of your opponent and attach them to yourself to increase your power. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/89/grunt-growl-and-tear
* MetalTalon - A hex-based space-themed wargame with a simple, but versatile, modular spacecraft building system. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/99/metaltalon
* Rocketball - A no-hands, no-feet, no-touching game of soccer for two players and a screaming-hot ball. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/62/rocketball
* RYB - Okay, the name is lame, but the game is pretty nifty. Roll combinations of dice to complete goals before your opponents beat you to them. http://www.invisible-city.com/play/32/ryb
Keep on gamin',
Jonathan Leistiko
Games Advocate
Invisible City Productions
http://www.lpdgames.com/gamehsbacw.html
It comes in a downloadable print-n-play edition, and there's a Cyberboard gamebox for PBEM. It is about Oklahoma's only major Civil War battle, the Battle of Honey Springs.
Take a look and enjoy.