Paper App Golf makes minimalism a virtue

My interest in Gladden Design’s Paper app series was rekindled when I heard about Paper App Golf. Golf seemed like a good fit for the Paper App mission statement of a minimalist game you could carry in your pocket and play anywhere.

Oddly enough, I find golf an interesting subject for board games, particularly solitaire games, while I’m not very interested in the actual sport itself. I think part of that is that golf can be functionally a solitaire athletic sport. 

In a nutshell, each hole is a grid of dots and you roll a six-sided die to see how many spaces you draw the line per turn/stroke. You also always have the option of putting just one space. Amazingly, this is not the simplest golf board game I’ve played! (I’d say that goes to Par Out Golf)

The grit of the game comes from the terrains. Fairways give you a plus one to distance and let you draw a line through trees. Sandtraps, on the other hand, give a minus one. You can’t stop in water but you can draw over it. Near some holes are slopes, automatically moving the line. And you just draw the line normally in the rough.

There is also a speed variant if you can’t be bothered with dice. The ball can move six spaces if it starts on the fairway, three everywhere else and you can still putt one space.

Look, if you’re looking for a deep, involved golf game, you are looking at the wrong game. If you’re are looking for a game you can play while waiting in line at the bank, then you’ve come to the right place. And you probably don’t care about the weird looks you get at the bank.

I have to compare Paper App Golf to Paper App Dungeon, the game that made me aware that the series existed. While Golf is somehow even simpler than the minimalist Dungeon, I enjoy it more. The mechanics are cleaner and fit the theme much better.

Paper App Golf is very niche. It’s a game to play when you have basically no time, no space and no concentration. And there are times like that when I need a game break so I know I am going to keep playing it. I think the dice-less variant just turns it into a meh puzzle but I appreciate that the option exists. 

Paper App Golf isn’t that good a game but it does a very good job at what it’s meant to do.

Jim Shooter leaves behind such a messy legacy

On Monday, June 30, 2025, comic book editor, writer and publisher Jim Shooter died.

And when I read that, I was struck by two thoughts. First, as the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1978 to 1987, he had a huge impact on my childhood. Second, man, he left a complicated legacy.

Because, history has judged him as, to put it politely, quite the jerk. And, from what I can tell, not unfairly.

(I also can’t get over how he started writing comics professionally when he was fourteen.)

Trying to summarize his career, even just the Marvel part, is more than I think I can do without getting too much wrong.

However, during his time as Marvel’s editor-in-chief, he restructured it to be, well, more professional. I think it’s safe to say that allowed Marvel to thrive in the 1980s and his influence on both Marvel and the comic book industry can be felt to this day. From what I have understand, Marvel Comics was close to shutting down when he took over and he turned things around dramatically, making it the market leader.

It’s also safe to say that he could be a tyrant and a jerk, particularly near the end of his time as editor-in-chief. He instituted what were then viewed as homophobic editorial policies (which has to be saying something since it’s not like other media were very embracing) And some of the stories that were made under his watch or even under his pen are terrible. (Avengers #200 is one of the crowning examples. And, no, I don’t feel comfortable describing it)

I’m not very familiar with his work after Marvel so I can’t comment on it.

Jim Shooter leaves behind a complex, divisive legacy. He was profoundly hated by many. And I was only on board for a relatively small part of the journey, albeit what might have been the most important part. And I don’t know if I would have become a comic book fan without his work.

My June Gaming

For most of June, our printer didn’t want to talk to any of our devices. And, while I have plenty of games already made that I could have learned, the annoyance got in the way of me wanting to. Wow, I feel petulant writing that. However, for reasons known only to it, the printer decided to connect to the computer near the end of June and my whole dynamic changed.

I learned:

Roll for the Goal (Gladden Games)

Hens

Crunch the Numbers (Dr. Finn)

Leftover Letters (Dr. Finn)

Paper App Golf

Spell It Out (Dr. Finn)

Word Wrap (Dr. Finn)

The Little Flower Shop: Open for Business (Dr. Finn)

Nanga Parbat: Alone in the Wilderness (Dr. Finn)

Pen Pals (Dr. Finn)

Looking at the list, I realize that my real frustration was that I wanted to get into Dr. Finn’s Book of Solo Strategy and Word Games and wasn’t able to. In fact, I learned Hens on Board Game Arena just to learn a game.

I’m going to have plenty to save about Dr. Finn’s book as I go through it but I have to say that the best part is I want to keep playing the games. I go through a lot of Roll and Writes and a collection that keep me saying ‘let’s do that again’ is impressive and a joy.

It ended up being a good month for learning new games.

My June PnP

It originally looked like June would be a minimal PnP crafting month because our printer was acting up. However, near the end of the month, it decided to connect back to devices and I was able to make up for lost time.

I made:

Control (first edition)

Solo Dice (half sheet)

Six Sons of the Sultan

Roll for the Goal

Rolling Realms vol 9

Wayfarer - Switzerland 

Wayfarer - Spain

Wayfarer - Poland

Cosmic Run (Doctor Finn)

Crunch the Numbers (Doctor Finn)

Leftover Letters (Doctor Finn)

The Little Flower Shop: Open for Business (Doctor Finn)

My Perfect City (Doctor Finn)

Nanga Parbat (Doctor Finn)

Pen Pals (Doctor Finn)

Spell It Out (Doctor Finn)

Word Wrap (Doctor Finn)

Caterpillar Feast

Bowling Solitaire (skinny cards)

Seal (Creative Kids)

TetriGo (Creative Kids)

Koala Rescue Club - Map 3

Paper App Golf - Course 1

My big project for the month was the first edition of Control. I actually printed, cut and laminated it over two years ago. I decided that it was time to trim it, particularly since I wasn’t getting any printing done.

I’m giving Bowling Solitaire another try with Pack O Games style cards. I’ve tried it with regular cards and the tile set. It’s a Sackson design so I want to like it but I have yet to like it. The charming design of these cards was the real reason I made them.

However, what has led to the most fun and laminating has been Dr. Finn’s Book of Solo Strategy and Word Games. It’s exceeded my expectations and I thought it would be good to begin with.

The end of the month gave me a lot of Roll and Writes, ones I can see getting a lot of play out of.