Pencil and Paper Games

 

Othello

This one was my favorite when I was a kid, and I still enjoy playing it. This is not the classic board game version of Othello, but a variation that works better for paper and pencil. It does require an eraser, and if you play for a long time, the board may get a little messy. But in my opinion, it's worth it!

You start by drawing a board that looks like a checker board. Put a circle in both corner squares on one side of the board and an X in both corner squares on the other side of the board. Player one will be circles and player two will be X's. Player one begins by putting a circle in a square adjacent to where there is already a circle. If there are any X's in adjoining squares to where player 1 puts the circle, those X's become circles (erase them and make them circles). Then player two does the same with X's. The game is won if one player eliminates the other player entirely, or by having the most X's or circles when every square on the board is filled. Here is an example play (the board should obviously be made bigger than this):


Set up.


First move.
By putting a circle into the middle square on the right side, player one turns the X in the corner into a circle.


Second move.
Player two puts an X in the middle square on the back row, turning both adjoing circles into X's.


Third move.
By moving into the middle square player one makes all X's into circles, thereby winning the game.

To make the game interesting, the board needs to be at least 5X5 and preferably bigger. Make the board even more interesting by blacking out some squares like this:


 

 

 

 

 

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