The theme of the game is that you’re collecting these pieces of paper, postcards or something, that are memories of where you’ve traveled in the world. But really, it’s a game about stacking numbers in order from low to high in four different colors. Is that enough to make a good game, or is this game kind of a dud? Let’s dive into how Paper World from Lumberjacks Studio plays.

How to Play Paper World

Paper World is the race to most points. You get points for each visible star that you have in your grid. And then you lose points for cards that you have discarded and cards in your hand at the end of the game.

Actions

On your turn you do one of two actions. And the actions are very similar in some of the details. You either take cards from five piles or play cards to your grid. But there are rules as for what cards you can take or what cards you can take. We’ll talk about the part that is the same for both, and then how playing can be slightly different. When you take or play cards you either take all of the same color of card or all of the same number of card to add to your hand or play area.

The rules do differ slightly playing cards, though. In that you need to play out cards, but you always need to build up. So you go from one to two, or from three to four, for example. But you can break that rule. There are two ways to break that rule. The first is that you can simply skip a number. If you skip a number, you discard a card for that, remember that discarded cards are worth negative points.

Or there is the scissors. The scissors can go on top of some cards. If you end the game with the scissors, they are worth two points. But there is another bonus. On a pile without the scissors (since you can’t cover up the scissors), you can skip a number without discarding a card.

Bonuses

The game also gives you three bonuses to go for. These bonuses give points to the first player to complete them, and then fewer to the next player. You get your bonus points from either placing numbers or colors in certain ways. For example, you might need to get 12 points in a column. Or you create a square in your grid with each different color. The points are fixed, though, so first always gets a set number and so on.

That’s how the game is played. Once three piles are emptied each player gets one more turn. And the most points in stars is the winner.

What Doesn’t Work

The game is very simple. This is not a massive negative, but it’s going to feel like there’s not much going on at times. And as you get down in stacks of cards, you are going to feel like you are doing the really obvious things. Because of the simplicity we’ll get some good things, but it does mean that it feels more limited in how it plays out and if you can do interesting moves.

What Works

Firstly, the game is simple. It’s a negative and a positive depending on who you are playing with. Because it is simple the game is also a fast game. You shouldn’t run into too many situations where you feel like you are locked in a long game. Even if someone maybe is struggling for a turn, the decision space is limited enough that you can’t spend too long on it.

There are a few clever moves you can do as well. Though that’s somewhat offset by the fact that there is sometimes not a great move. But you can be smart about how you play out your cards from hand, or add cards to your hand. Towards the end of the game you don’t want to get too many cards. So you might make a decision to take a number that only is showing in one spot and forgo taking more with a color.

Who is Paper World For?

I think that this game works best for people who want that quick little game. I actually think that adding cards to your hand element is pretty nice with deciding on number or color. But for people who want a game that has more thought going on with it, Paper World is going to feel very simple.

Final Thoughts on Paper World

There are elements of the game that I like. And I’ve had fun with my plays of it on Board Game Arena. But I think for me, it has a limited shelf life so it’s not one I’m likely to get in person. The game is just very light overall. And while I think there are some minimal strategies that you can employ, the game isn’t going to feel that different from play to play.

The two biggest differences in the game are number of copies of numbers, which I believe is based on player count. And the bonuses. But the bonuses are very limited in difference. 12 points in a column, a row of three of the same color, or ascending numbers. That is going to vary your strategy slightly. But the bonus points, especially at two players, aren’t enough to massively sway the game. One points versus two if you’re first is not that much. So it just works okay and the differences don’t feel that different.

My Grade: C
Gamer Grade: D
Casual Grade: B
Strategy (out of 10): 4
Luck (out of 10): 4

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here