Pen and paper resource development game with an emergent world
I've been working for a while on trying to curate a game that has the emergence of procedurally generated computer games but that can be played with only pen and paper. Here I present the best version I've been able to come up with that is simple and emergent. I've really enjoyed being able to engage with this sort of game while not feeling like my brain in rotting. I recon my numeracy improves while playing it.
Pen and paper resource development game with an emergent world launched on June 16, 2026 with 36 votes, #701 of 22,647 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.
In plain words
This pen-and-paper resource development game uses procedural generation mechanics to create emergent gameplay without requiring a computer. Players manage resources and navigate a dynamically generated world using only writing materials. The game is designed for people seeking engaging entertainment that exercises numerical thinking. Its simplicity and emergent systems allow for varied and unpredictable gameplay experiences across multiple playthroughs.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
I have been working on a game recently that is played on paper but has the emergence of a procedural game like Minecraft, without forcing the player to do all the computation that would normally require. What I wanted from this game was the feeling of progression, automation and discovery without needing anything other than pen and paper. I also wanted it to be something I could engage with that wouldn't rot my brain, but that I could actively do while very tired. If you are trained in computer science you will already know enough of the primitives to find the rules simple and memorable. If you haven't, then concepts like XOR and hexadecimal may need a little research. If you feel up to the…from jameshylands.co.uk
Does a similar job
all alternatives →
Little Procedural Pixel Worlds2022 · jason.today · ▲227Took a break from the falling sand simulation blog posts this week to work on another small project. It's a little pixel world generator- each time you visit, you'll see a new little world. I really like this stuff and had a blast building it yesterday!
I made a web game that makes practicing basic arithmetic fun2024 · worchle.com · ▲161Hey, maker here. After launching a daily word search game, I randomly thought of this math game while driving. Finally got around to making it and I think it turned out pretty cool. It’s a math search game that’s meant to help you practice your quick addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. I’m hoping it’ll help people (even those like me who aren’t big on math) learn and increase their speeds. (There are also some settings you can enable to make the game harder) If you try it out, please let me know if you found it fun, if you have anything you’d like me to add, or if you…
I made a tiny book using a pen-plotter and AI2025 · muffinman.io · ▲150Hey HN, I want to share a personal project: I made a tiny pen-plotted book for my wife. I did everything myself—drawings (with some help from Midjourney), plotting, cutting, and binding. I even used a 3D printer to make a helper tool. It's absolutely over-engineered, but I enjoyed it a lot. Multi-disciplinary projects, especially those with a physical output, are a lot of fun for me. The post covers the process in detail, but if you're interested in anything specific, let me know. Cheers!
I made an interactive math crossword puzzle with infinite levels2024 · scientific.place · ▲165Hey there! I'm the brains behind the math crossword game on my site. This game is all about making math a little more fun – users just drag and drop numbers to fill in the blanks and move on to the next level if they get it right. Let me know if face any issues or have any suggestions! :)
I made a digital circuit drawing and simulation game2024 · github.com · ▲139Inspired by games like Turing Complete/Virtual Circuit Board/Logic World, I tried to make a mix of aseprite and wiredworld/wired-logic, the idea being the user can build a digital circuit using a "fullstack" pixelart creation workflow. The circuit is just an image. The primitives are (i) connected wires which have undefined, 0 or 1 state during simulation (displayed brighter or darker in function of the state) and (ii) NANDs, which are little pixel triangles. During simulation the user can interact with any wire by clicking on it, toggling its state, which is cool for messing…
More life & fun this month
the category →
A free city-building game in your browser. You are the mayor. You know what the city needs. Now get it past the zoning board, the neighbors, the appeals court and the next election.
Life & fun · 3d ago · permit.petercai.com
- IV
Life & fun · 15d ago · tanzaniaeducationproject.org
Turn a phone, tablet or TV into a sign. Type a message and it fills the screen: welcome signs, timers, Wi-Fi passwords and more. No app, no account, free.
Life & fun · 16d ago · bigwords.page
Play a free virtual guitar online with your keyboard or by touch. Slow songs down and see every chord, string and strum. Acoustic, classic, electric and bass.
Life & fun · 10d ago · guitoro.com
Carrier settings from iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy firmware, decoded and compared: APNs, VoLTE, 5G and Wi-Fi Calling per carrier, and what each build changed.
Life & fun · 14d ago · carrierexplode.com
Life & fun · 24d ago · space.bl2.net
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, June 2026
the whole month →
Fundraisly▲1,537AI fundraising agent that finds investors and books meetings
AI · Jun 2026 · fundraisly.com
Homebrew 6.0.0▲1,481Today, I’m proud to announce Homebrew 6.0.0. The most significant changes since 5.1.0 are a new tap trust security mechanism, the new faster, smaller, default internal Homebrew JSON API, sandboxing on Linux, better defaults informed by our user survey, many brew bundle improvements, improved performance and initial support for macOS 27 (Golden Gate). Happy to discuss any questions here!
Dev tools · Jun 2026 · brew.sh
Hi HN! I was super frustrated at apps like tiktok and wechat preventing me from saving or downloading the animated gifs, so I made a little tool to turn a screen recording into a slack-sized emoji. Hope you get some value from this!
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · vorpus.github.io
Search 18 years of Hacker News and chart how any topic, tool, or person trended. Overlay terms to compare their rise and fall across 45M posts and comments.
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · hackernewstrends.com