The Cardboard Shelf
Free

Print & Play Games

Timeless public-domain games you can print and play tonight. Boards, sheets, and rules — all free, with our own original write-ups. Just add tokens, dice, or a deck of cards.

Checkers (Draughts)
Printable board

A clean 8×8 board with full rules. Doubles as a chess board, too.

Nine Men's Morris
Printable board

A centuries-old two-player strategy classic. Form mills, capture pieces.

Dots and Boxes
Printable sheet

The pencil-and-paper favorite, with an adjustable grid size.

Go (Baduk / Weiqi)
Printable board

The ancient game of territory. Print a 9×9, 13×13, or 19×19 board.

Backgammon
Printable board

Race your checkers home and bear them off. Add 30 tokens and two dice.

Ludo (Pachisi)
Printable board

The classic four-player race game. Add tokens and a die.

Reversi
Printable board

Outflank and flip discs on an 8×8 board. Most discs wins.

Mancala
Printable board

One of the oldest games on earth. Sow stones and capture them.

Cribbage
Printable board

The classic card game scored by pegging to 121. Add a deck and pegs.

Classic Dice Games
Rules

Pig, Farkle, Liar’s Dice, and Bunco — play with ordinary dice.

Traditional Card Games
Rules

Hearts, Rummy, Crazy Eights, and Go Fish — play with any standard deck.