The Idea
Since reading is my greatest passion alongside board gaming, I've often thought about how the two could be connected. Lately, while focusing mostly on black-and-white print and play microgames, the idea came to me almost immediately: a bookmark. Could a whole game fit on a single bookmark? One that requires nothing else to bring along—just the book itself, which already marks where we've left off? That was the challenge, and that's what I set out to solve.
After I came up with the core idea—and even made the first prototype, which I slipped into my current read (Proust: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 6)—I realized this game does have a kind of predecessor. Of course, every game I've ever played or designed is working somewhere in the background whenever new ideas emerge, but sometimes it only surfaces much later, consciously.
That's exactly what happened here. Looking back, I think that while the gameplay is different, in spirit Coin Age is very much a precursor to Mark & Play. Now I always carry both with me: one in my wallet, the other in my current book.
About the Game
👥 Players
1-2 players
⏱️ Duration
~10 minutes
🎯 Age
7+ years
The game can be played by 1–2 players, though if you're playing solo, several of you can still play in parallel and then compare your scores afterward. Playing time is around 10 minutes, and it works as soon as someone can read—so roughly from age 7 and up.
All you really need is a book, a bookmark, and a writing tool. At its core it's a paper-and-pencil game with a bit of push-your-luck and some room for combinations. Still, my focus was on simplicity—it's not meant to be a Ganz Schön Clever-style experience.
This is a microgame, a small pause between two bigger chapters, a playful little gag for readers.
How to Play
You have to open the book at a random spread: the two pages together indicate two dice values from 1–6. In solo mode you must use both values, but they can't be placed in the same area. In a two-player game, the active player chooses first, and then the opponent decides whether to take the other value or hand it back to the active player.
Dice values can earn you points and bonus actions, but if you get stuck, you might end up with penalty points instead. There's also an area on the game board where you have to collect words from the book itself and form a meaningful sentence with them.
The goal is to gather as many points as possible.
Free Download
Free Download Available
The game is available for free download and can be played, but if you feel inclined to support the game designer, you can do so on their Patreon page - even with just $1.
