Pencil and paper games are great for road trips, restaurants, waiting rooms, and more. By definition, all you need are a pencil and a piece of paper, although you can also download and print this kidea which contains templates for the following games:

Hangman
Most people know how to play this classic game, but what about children who can't yet spell - or even read?

As a variation for younger children, consider playing an "I Spy" or 20-questions variant, where each wrong answer adds a piece to the stick figure.

Dots and Squares
Draw a grid of dots on paper, or use our template. The first player draws a line connecting two dots. The second player then draws another line to connect another two dots. The object of the game is to be the person who draws the last side of a square. Then you put your initials inside the square. In some variations on the rules, if you finish a square you get another turn. The person with the most squares when all the squares are drawn is the winner.

Crazy Critters This is a creative, non-competitive activity in which a piece paper is folded into sections. Each player draws a portion of a figure - a head, body, legs, or feet. The next blank section is then given to the next player, taking care that the previous section is concealed. Then giggle over the crazy critter that results!

Battleship
This game has the same rules as the official store-bought game, but all you need is a pencil, two pieces of graph paper or our template (print it twice). Each player needs two grids. Label each grid with numbers across the top and letters down the side, so that the squares are easily labeled from A8 to F5. The first grid will be for placing your own battleships, the second for recording shots against your opponent's ships. Each player places three or four "battleships" on his grid. A good rule of thumb is to have one 4-sqaure 'flagship', and two or three smaller ships. Then each player guesses the location of the other player's ships. The first person to "sink" all the other person's ships wins.