Paper.io: claim land, guard your trail
Paper.io is a territory game from Voodoo for phones and the web. You leave your area to draw a line, then return to close the loop and claim everything inside. If anyone touches your line before you get home, you are out. Paper.io 2 is the more popular sequel.
The rules
You start with a small colored patch. Move outside it and you leave a trail behind you. Come back into your own color and the space your trail enclosed becomes yours. The goal is to own as much of the map as you can.
The danger is the trail. If an enemy crosses it while you are outside, you are knocked out. If you cross someone else's trail, they are. You can also take land from rivals by looping through their territory. Paper.io 2 lets you move freely and claim curved shapes instead of grid squares.
Tips to grow faster
- Take small bites. Short loops close fast and leave your trail exposed for less time.
- Hug your border. Loops that start and end close to your land are easier to finish safely.
- Watch for hunters. If someone is heading for your line, cut back home right away.
- Hit long trails. Players making huge loops are the easiest knockouts on the map.
- Steal from big players. Looping through a leader's land takes a big chunk at once.
Territory games on Roam
Land Grab is a territory-capture arena with the same draw-the-loop, guard-your-trail idea. Cover 3D turns it into a paint battle across rooftops where you color the city before anyone else does. Paper.io itself is a Voodoo game, played on its own site and apps.
Play it on Roam
More on Roam
Make your own territory game with Roam
Roam is a free iPhone app where you describe a game and play it. Change the map, the trail or who your rivals are by saying so. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.
Try: "territory grab in a snowy park, I draw with a sled trail, my friends are the rivals, cut their trail to knock them out"Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.
Questions people ask
Who made Paper.io?
Voodoo, the French mobile studio known for many hit arcade games.
What is the difference between Paper.io and Paper.io 2?
The sequel lets you move in any direction and claim curved shapes. The first game is grid based.
How do you lose in Paper.io?
Someone crosses your trail while you are outside your land, or you run into your own trail.