Paper Putt isn’t bad but not nine pages in a sitting

Robin Gibson played an important role in my exploration of PnP. Their Legends of Dsyx definitely pushed what I understood could be done with Roll and Write, particularly Hall of the Dwarven King. And I still regularly pull out their Paper Pinball series.

However, I have to admit that Gibson has fallen off my radar. Their work feels more on the  experimental and unpolished side. More than that, the Covid lockdown breathed life and innovation into the PnP world and Gibson didn’t stand out as much. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Gibson influenced the next generation though)

So Paper Putt had been out for a couple years before I found out It existed.

Paper Putt is a solitaire PnP R&W about playing a nine-hole mini golf course. Each hole has theming, which doesn’t do a thing mechanically but it creates some engagement. Which, I’ll be honest, the game does need.

Each hole is a a network of forking paths with a clear start and end. Each point in the path has a numeric requirement. Less than X or greater than Y or equal or even/odd. 

At the start of each turn, you mark a stroke roll six dice. You need to use two dice to leave each spot. If a spot has a numeric requirement and you get that number exactly, you get a style point. You can spend style points to regain a used die without rerolling it. If you can’t make move, mark a stroke and reroll all the dice.

Each hole has a par two or three. It’s golf so low score is the goal.

I think Paper Putt had a pretty decent decision tree. I think it gives you room to make decisions and plan ahead. Truth to tell, I think it’s more mechanically solid than some of Gibson’s other games.

However, I don’t think it sustains itself for nine holes. I can see playing a hole or two at a time but I think playing the entire course in one sitting would be a slog. Just too much of the same.

I do see it coming out occasionally to play a hole or two but Paper Putt isn’t firing Paper Pinball.

(In case you are curious why Gibson has fallen on the wayside for me but Alexander Shen, who often operates in a similar design space has not, I would say that Shen designs more accessible games. In fact, I think that Shen has an amazing knack at creating accessible games and puzzles)