In the summer of 1996, James Ernest began his quest to bring happiness and joy to all the people of the world, by creating clever tabletop games and selling them really cheap. He named his company Cheapass Games, and they are still going today.
James has now released a black and white library of his board game classic’s that can now be downloaded for free as print and play versions.
See the List yourself at https://cheapass.com/free-games/originals/ or check out the list with links below
Print & Play Games List
In celebration of Cheapass Games in Black and White, a retrospective covering the black-and-white games published in the early days of Cheapass Games to be released in October, we’re pleased to offer these print-and-play games for your enjoyment! Other than redacting our old address and outdated contact information, these games are presented just as they were released years ago.
Make your print-and-plays last! Check out James Ernest’s YouTube channel for information on making game boards, cards, counters, and more!
KILL DOCTOR LUCKY
The first Cheapass Games title, published in 1996. You and your fellow players are bloodthirsty killers on a quest to murder an old man in his house.
BEFORE I KILL YOU, MISTER SPY…
You’re a supervillain! Capture hapless spies in your secret lair,and then either kill them right away so they don’t escape, or taunt them first for extra points.
BEN HVRT
You’re an aristocrat in Ancient Rome with a hundred Ducats burning a hole in your pocket, and you’re going to gamble them on chariot races—including your own chariot, outfitted with deadly weapons.
BLEEDING SHERWOOD
You’re a traveling salesman, following Robin Hood through Sherwood Forest. He gives money to the poor, and then you sell them a bunch of expensive crap they don’t need.
SPREE!
You’re useless teenagers looting a shopping mall in the middle of the night. Like ya do. Lovingly illustrated by Phil Foglio.
GET OUT
You’re a listless teenager living in your parents’ basement. Your goal is to get a job, get an apartment, and perhaps even get a life.
HUZZAH!
You’re a performer at Ye Merrie King James Faire, determined to entertain the crowds better than everyone else, so you can keep your job. There’s only one catch: The faire director hates everything the audience likes.
NEXUS
A simple puzzle game, with cards depicting various collections of nodes and connecting lines. Players take turns playing cards and capturing nodes, trying to control the most valuable nexuses.
THE VERY CLEVER PIPE GAME
One of James Ernest’s only pure abstract games. Create enclosed sets of your pipe color and score the cards in that section.
GIVE ME THE BRAIN
You and your colleagues are zombies working at a fast food restaurant, and you have only one brain to pass around.
LORD OF THE FRIES
It’s pretty hard to get anything done around here, since everyone is dead. But don’t let that worry you. As strange as it sounds, the dead can still assemble combo meals.
PARTS UNKNOWN
Ever wonder what it was like to manage a body parts retail store in the age of mad science? Of course not! But it was probably exactly like this.
DEVIL BUNNY BUNNANZA
A hostile bunny, saltwater taffy, and falling off skyscrapers for the sake of a ham. Includes Devil Bunny Needs a Ham and Devil Bunny Hates the Earth.
RENFIELD
Mmm, Bugs. You can’t eat just one. We suspect the gravediggers from Parts Unknownplay this game from dawn to dusk.
THE BIG CHEESE
You’re all managers at a huge company of rats. Your goal is complete projects by assigning your people to them, but the more people you assign, the longer the projects take. Just like in real life.
FIGHT CITY
Story? What story? It’s a city, and they fight. Inspired by the early trading card games, Fight City is a fast-playing card game with the potential for endless variety in deck construction.
ESCAPE FROM ELBA
You’re Napoleon, and so is everybody else, in this escape-themed board game where you build words out of trash.
SAVE DOCTOR LUCKY
It’s a cold night in the North Atlantic. The ship they called “Unsinkable” is going down by the head. And you and your despicable friends want to go down in history by being seen saving Doctor Lucky.
THE GREAT BRAIN ROBBERY
A cadre of wild zombies have decided to rob a train full of brains. It took them a while to figure out that any train filled with passengers is also a train full of brains. But now here we are.
AGORA
Agora is the Greek word for marketplace. It’s what you’re afraid of when you have agoraphobia.
THE DOCTOR LUCKY AMBIVALENCE PACK
Suppose you have a Doctor Lucky, and you can’t decide whether to kill him or to save him. The Doctor Lucky Ambivalence Pack contains an expansion board for either option.
WITCH TRIAL
Do your best to persuade an unpredictable jury in dozens of hard cases. Of course, it doesn’t really matter who lives and who dies; like everything else, it’s all about the money.
UNEXPLODED COW
Two problems with a common solution: Mad cows from England and unexploded bombs in France.
U.S. PATENT NO. 1
You’re all scientists who have invented time travel, each from a different point in history. But it really doesn’t matter when you started, because now you’re all racing to the day the patent office opens, July 30, 1790, to secure US Patent No. 1.
CAPTAIN PARK’S IMAGINARY POLAR EXPEDITION
Adventure! Excitement! These are the things about which you’ll be lying through your teeth, in this non-daring romp that never sets foot outside London.
FREELOADER
The best things in life are other people’s things. Freeloader is a game about mooching off others. Wander the streets trying to “borrow” food, clothing, and shelter, and maybe score a few points with the finer things.
ONE FALSE STEP FOR MANKIND
It’s the California Gold Rush, and your little corner of the world is so rich that you’ve decided to engage in a race to the Moon! What good is being rich if you can’t launch a few poorly-made moon rockets?
JACOB MARLEY, ESQ.
Long before Scrooge and Marley became the best of friends, young Jacob Marley ran an efficient little money lending firm in the heart of Dickensian London. The second best banking game you will ever play.
SECRET TIJUANA DEATHMATCH
You’re a wrestling promoter, luring bankrupt American businessmen into back-alley fights south of the border. You’ll pay your marks a million dollars if they win five fights, so your hope is that they only win four.
ENEMY CHOCOLATIER
You’re a disgruntled employee of the world’s most famous chocolate maker. You will take your secret family recipe, escape, and start your own factory as soon as you collect enough chocolate, sugar, nuts, and love.
CHIEF HERMAN
Enjoy Chief Herman’s Holiday Fun Pack and Chief Herman’s Next Big Thing, two packs of over two dozen games each!
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