Benoit Turpin, co-creator of the hit Welcome To…, invites us into a world of paper cutouts. Paper World is a fast-paced logic game where players take on the role of travelers trying to recreate beautiful landscapes by layering sheets of paper.
Gameplay
In Paper World, the players’ goal is to create a landscape within a 3×3 grid. Everyone starts with a single card of value “1,” which serves as the foundation for the first stack. On their turn, a player must choose one of two available actions:
- Drawing cards — performed from five central piles. The player must take all cards of the same value OR all cards of the same color. There is a hand limit of 9 cards; any excess goes to a personal discard pile (penalty points).
- Placing cards — the player plays a set of cards from their hand of identical value or color. Cards are placed onto stacks within the 3×3 grid, following a rule of ascending order (1, then 2, 3, up to 5) within the same color.
It is possible to skip a number in the sequence once per turn, which requires discarding any other card from your hand to the negative points pile.
The deck also contains cards with a scissors icon. Placing such a card on top of a stack allows the player to take the scissors token. This token grants a bonus of free number skipping but simultaneously blocks that specific stack from further additions until the token is moved.
A key element is the objective cards—players race to complete specific patterns in their grid (e.g., a line of 3s or a column with a total sum of 12). The game ends when only two piles remain in the center. The final score is the sum of stars visible on the top of the stacks plus points from objective tokens, minus the number of cards left in hand and in the discard pile.
Review
The mechanics of Paper World are a classic blend of open card drafting, tile placement, and contracts. However, there are several twists in this game that prevent it from feeling derivative.
First and foremost is the card drafting system, which forces players to collect either all cards of a specific color or all cards of a specific value. This introduces an interesting dilemma: how to pick the cards you need while minimizing the intake of those that are useless. At the start of the game, there is more freedom, but with each passing round, the chance increases that a drawn card will no longer fit your grid. Occasionally, you will intentionally take extra cards just to use them as fodder for skipping values. A similar, though less restrictive, mechanism applies to placing cards, which slightly slows down the realization of planned goals.
The second highlight is the layered building, which enforces a specific card order—you cannot simply play a high-value card; you must first prepare the foundation. Combined with the restrictions on drafting and playing, the game offers a surprising amount of strategic depth despite its small footprint, representing a highly successful marriage of simplicity and the need for constant planning.
The interplay between objective cards and the skipping mechanic generates the most excitement. Players often face a choice: should I sacrifice a card to skip a number, complete a goal faster, and grab a 4-point token, or should I play economically but slower? The answer is usually found by observing the opponents’ progress. Of course, if you deliberately drew extra cards for discarding, the choice becomes much clearer. The scissors cards can also help, but they are a double-edged sword since they block one of your slots, and you don’t have full control over when you’ll be able to move the token.
Summary
Paper World is a brilliant and elegant project that successfully fits an enjoyable abstract puzzle into a quick, fifteen-minute session. We really liked the game for its fresh take on traditional mechanics and its charming visual presentation.