Second Chance

A tiny pencil-and-paper shape puzzle: fit each shape into your 9x9 grid or you are out, with one second chance.

Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Published by: Edition Spielwiese
Editions by: Stronghold Games, Pegasus Spiele, White Goblin Games, Lautapelit.fi, TLAMA games, SD Games, MS Edizioni, Compaya.hu: Gamer Café Kft., Act in games

Second Chance (2019) is a pencil-and-paper shape puzzle that punishes your mistakes with elimination. Everyone gets a 9x9 grid and marks off a starting tile from a card. Each turn two shape cards are revealed, and you choose one and mark that shape somewhere on your own grid. Several players can pick the same card. If neither shape fits, you get a second chance: one card is revealed just for you, and if that fits you carry on, otherwise you're out. It plays one to six in about 15 minutes, so a round is over before the pencil wears down, with a simple but satisfying sense of tension as your grid fills.

Choose one of two shapes each turnA second chance card before eliminationEveryone plays simultaneously on their own grid

Who it's for

You want a pencil-and-paper puzzle that handles up to six at once and turns packing into a gentle duel of nerves.

Not for you if…

You dislike being eliminated or want direct interaction. You just fill your own sheet and hope the shapes behave.

Vibe's take

Quiet, then suddenly tense. Everyone scribbles away until the shapes get awkward and people start sweating over the last gaps.