The Mist is a One Paper Game about exploring a dangerous area covered in mist, where each square could be a number of things … until you dare to visit it.

A game so simple, the rules are on the paper itself.

On your turn, pick 1 icon from your current square to be the real one. (Cross out all the others.)
Then take one step (to an adjacent square).

That’s it. Collect the most valuable squares on your path, to get the most points at the end of the game.

What’s special?

Another true One Paper Game, with the rules on the board. (Though that isn’t really special anymore when you have to add “another” to the sentence.)

The biggest specialty, however, is the core idea. It basically simulates a “wave collapse function”:

All squares start in multiple states at the same time. (Most of them show 4 icons, one on each side.)
Only by visiting the square, must you pick which icon is actually the right one. (And remove the others.)
Hence, over time, the board “collapses” from all those options into one, final, true state.

This simple idea allows very, very deep strategy. Because every turn, you are asked the question: “Which of these 4 icons would be the best one to make permanent?” Not just now, but for the rest of the game.

And some of them might score lots of points now, but not later. Some of them might depend on the icons that other players choose: you’re all collapsing the board at the same time. Some of them might be great, but limit your movement for the next turn, causing you to get stuck in the middle of the jungle.

I love games that have such simple rules, yet such rich gameplay.

Additionally, I tried to design the special squares to create “organic” maps by default. For example, the “tree” tile scores more points if there are more trees nearby. This subtly encourages players to grow a connected forest on the map.

Do this often enough, for the whole game, and you end up with a board that actually looks like a somewhat believable map.

January 26, 2025 professional own project