Game Review: Pick a Pen Series

I love a good roll and write and especially love it when there is a number of different colored pencils and dice. But what if we could find a way to smash together dice and colored pencils together? Let’s take a look at what that could look like!

The Pick a Pen series of games is published by Amigo Games and plays 2-4 players in approximately 30 minutes. It is designed by Reiner Knizia with art from Marlies Barends. There are 3 in the series: Gardens, Reefs, and Crypts.

Overview:

In Pick a Pen, players will roll all of the colored pencils to determine a number for each one. Depending on the sheet used and the game picked players will earn points in a variety of ways.

Gameplay:

All pencils are rolled, and each player drafts one until there are no more to pick from. Then all players take the colored pencils and uses them to do whatever the specific requirement is for the map.

In Gardens, players will color in garden groups in with the same color or different colors to score points. The more you make, the better chance you have to line up more points. The game continues until all spaces are full or all players have passes the full amount of times available.

In Reefs, players will start into different dive locations based on the color they use. Different colors are different routes and as you go down further you collect treasure chests or coins. The game continues until a certain number of coins or treasures are colored in.

In Crypts players will color in rows and columns of symbols. If you match a color of a symbol you can color another symbol as a bonus. Fill in 3 or 5 in a row, and gain a bonus. The game continues until a player fills in all of their symbols, then the most points wins!

Impressions:

I love roll and write games and I especially love them with some dice in the mix. In all of the Pick a Pen Games you get to roll some chunky and cute colored pencils and see where they land to determine what you use. This is such a great double use of game components and I really like how it works.

The games are different enough from each other so it works out well if you want to own them all, and I like all the variety between them. Gardens might be my favorite of the three but they are all easy to learn and teach to your group. Crypts is probably the easiest of the three to teach to someone and Reefs is the most challenging to balance out well.

The games are colorful, fun and an easy addition to just about any game night. Overall I would recommend checking them out and seeing if the games fit your style of play especially if you enjoy a good roll and write title!