How to run a game without a printer

A game without a printer usually stalls when the host realizes the rules depend on thirty handouts, secret cards, or an answer key nobody can see. Plan the session around one board or screen everyone can see, somewhere for each player to write answers, instructions that are both said and shown, and a backup that still works if the screen goes dark.

1. List everything you meant to print

Write down everything you planned to print: questions, secret information, answer sheets, team labels, score sheet, instructions, answer key, and take-home material. Mark each item as something everyone sees, something only one player sees, something players write on, or something only the host needs.

Then find another way to do each job. A question everyone sees can go on a board. A secret role can be whispered by the host. Answers can go in a notebook, or on a phone or tablet where they are allowed. A host-only key can stay on the host’s screen.

If every player needs different secret text at the same time and you have no reliable way to pass it to them privately, choose another game.

2. Choose one screen or board, and a backup if it fails

Use something already in the room:

• whiteboard or chalkboard;
• projector or shared screen;
• host device shown to one team at a time;
• a spoken question plus a short key word on show.

Then plan for the screen failing. Write the first 6 to 9 questions and their answers in the host’s notebook, or store them on a charged device that does not need the venue network. If the screen or board fails, say so once and carry on from the next question.

Do not make live internet access the only copy of the game.

3. Show the four steps of a turn

Write four words where everyone can see them: listen or read, choose, record, reveal. Add the time limit and pass rule underneath.

Demonstrate one complete turn with a neutral sample. Ask a player at the far side of the room to repeat the four words. If one is missing, revise the display or host position before beginning.

CAST’s UDL Guidelines recommend multiple media for communication and varied methods for response.¹ Explain out loud, show the four words, and let people answer in different ways as long as the task stays the same.

4. Give every player something to write answers on

Use existing notebooks, scrap paper approved for reuse, mini whiteboards, a notes app where devices are permitted, or fingers for a small fixed choice. Make sure each player has one before teams start talking.

For written answers, require everyone to commit before the reveal. For a fixed choice, count down and reveal simultaneously. If fewer than half the players have something to write on, switch to one answer per team and change the recorder every turn.

Do not ask players to write on furniture, walls, books, or personal items.

5. Make small teams of different sizes

For 23 players, use teams of 4, 5, 6, and 8. For 31, use 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. In each team, choose a speaker who answers first, a recorder, a checker, and someone who watches the board; larger teams add a second speaker or someone to carry scores.

Change the speaker every turn and the recorder every two turns. A latecomer joins the smallest team and watches one turn before answering.

If one team cannot see the board, move its board watcher rather than moving the whole team into a walkway or someone else’s view. CAST’s guidance includes varied methods for navigation and communication.¹

6. Have the host give out secret information instead of cards

If a player needs a hidden word, role, or constraint, bring that player to the host point or show the host device with the rest of the screen covered. Give one item, check they understood with a nod or by repeating it back, and close the screen or notebook.

Give waiting players something to do, such as choosing the next speaker or writing down the round number. If handing out secrets takes longer than the play they lead to, stop after this turn and switch to a version where everyone sees the same questions.

Never send a player a private link or ask for contact details merely to replace a card.

7. Give the answer key to one person

The host or one named checker holds the answer key and decides which answers count. For each question, prepare the answer, accepted alternatives, and one sentence that resolves the likely ambiguity.

Announce this rule for challenges: a team may give one short reason; the checker accepts it, rejects it, or cancels the question. If the decision takes more than 25 seconds, cancel the question for everyone and carry on.

If the answer depends on a live fact that the host did not verify before the event, remove the question. Do not search the web while the room waits.

8. Test everything with one practice question

Use one real question to check that everyone can see and hear, then test the answer sheets, reveal timing, and score reporting. Ask the checker on the farthest team to show whether each part worked.

Fix only what failed:

• question missed: add key words to the board or have board watchers pass it on;
• instruction missed: cut the steps down and show a turn again;
• board hard to read: write bigger and show fewer words;
• slow writing: change to a fixed choice or one answer per team;
• scores that don’t match: send all scores to one scorekeeper.

Test once more. If two things still fail, switch to your backup plan with the simplest way to answer.

9. Reveal and score the same way every time

Use the same sequence each turn: question, thinking time, commitment, reveal, answer, score. Do not explain the next question while players are scoring the current one.

Show the round number on the board and have the scorekeeper read totals after every 3 to 5 questions. If two totals don’t match, pause before the next question and settle it with the team’s recorder. Never carry a score you know is wrong into another round.

Stop a round early when the rules need explaining for two questions in a row or fewer than half the teams answer. Move to the simpler ending you prepared.

10. Finish without a handout

End with one question per team or one choice everyone shows at once. Announce the final score only after the time for score queries has ended.

Ask recorders to erase reusable boards, close notes, and return borrowed tools. Delete no player content from a personal device; tell its owner which temporary note is no longer needed and let that person manage it.

If the group wants the questions afterward, provide the public source already approved for sharing or write the source location on the board. Do not collect email addresses, create a new download, or promise a handout you did not prepare.

Run a 24 to 35 minute version from one card

Say first: “Watch one complete turn. We will listen or read, choose, record and reveal. You may pass when it is your turn to answer. Keep every answer hidden until I say reveal. If an answer is challenged, one checker decides from the answer key or cancels the question. We stop at [time].”

If a team finishes early, it keeps its answer covered, checks the recorder wrote it in the right place and chooses the next speaker. It gets no extra question. Announce before scoring that a tie is a shared result unless you have one tie-break question written on your host card. Use that question once. If it also ties, share the result. The 25-second rule in Step 7 settles every challenged answer, including the tie-break.

Printable no-printer game checklist

• Every item you meant to print is listed with what it was for.
• Items are marked as shared, secret, written on, or host-only.
• You know which board or screen everyone will look at.
• A backup is ready if the screen fails, without live internet.
• The first 6 to 9 questions and answers are available offline.
• Listen or read, choose, record, and reveal are visible.
• The time limit and pass rule are visible.
• Every player or team has something to write answers on.
• Team sizes are uneven and based on who actually came.
• The order for speakers and recorders is written down.
• The host has a way to give out secret information.
• The answer key has one named owner.
• Accepted alternatives are prepared for ambiguous questions.
• The 25-second rule for challenges is announced.
• Early finish and tied-score rules are visible without a handout.
• One practice question with no score is planned.
• The farthest team will check they can see and hear.
• All scores go to one scorekeeper.
• A simpler finish is ready for the early-stop rule.
• Borrowed things will be wiped and given back.

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