Draft & Write Records is a paper and pencil game that lets you build a rock band from the ground up. You gather musicians, producers, and stage hands to form your team. Your goal is to release albums and singles and perform shows. You start in small local pubs and work your way up to famous stadiums. Every player manages their own sheet of paper. You check off boxes to show your progress in different parts of running a band. You earn points for every step you complete. To decide which boxes you can check, the game uses a card drafting system.

The way you draft cards is similar to the popular game 7 Wonders. You start with a hand of cards. You pick one card and pass the rest to the player next to you. The card you choose lets you check off a specific part of your player sheet. You repeat this process several times. When only one card is left, you discard it. Then, you start a new round with fresh cards drawn from the deck.

Checking boxes on a piece of paper might sound simple, but it works well here. Some parts of the game are just mechanics that don’t directly relate to the theme. However, other parts make you feel like you are truly managing a band’s career, which is very enjoyable. The people you hire for your team each have four icons. These icons show how well your team members work together. Some spaces on your sheet are locked at first. To unlock them, you need money. This is realistic because running a band is a business, and funding is important. You also need to release a good mix of albums and singles. Your final score is calculated by multiplying these two elements, which makes logical sense.

Let’s look closer at the player sheet. In the middle, there are spaces that look like Polaroid photos. These are for your band members. Some icon spaces are linked together. You want these linked spaces to have the same icons to earn a bonus. In the top right corner, there is a grid of icons. You score points by completing rows and columns, including diagonals. Completing these lines also allows you to check off other spaces. On the right side, when you check off larger icons, you can claim bonuses located between them.

There are four public goals available during the game. These are checked at the end of every round. Multiple players can achieve the same goal. If a goal is scored, it is discarded, and new ones are drawn. One way the game ends is when a player completes six goals. Finishing a goal gives you points and bonuses that let you check off specific spaces. Like many pencil and paper games, this can trigger satisfying chain reactions where one move helps you complete several others.

Whenever you perform a show, you advance along paths on your sheet. These paths often have forks, meaning you must choose which direction to take. Some sections require you to pay money icons to unlock them before you can pass through. This adds a layer of strategy to your movement.

I found this game to be a lot of fun. I am not a huge fan of pencil and paper games in general, but I don’t dislike them either. This one works for me because of the theme. I had dreams of being a rock star many years ago. The card drafting mechanic works very well. It can be difficult to choose between an incredible vocalist and a god-tier lead guitarist. Sometimes, a producer might not seem valuable on their own, but if they click well with the rest of the team, they can help you do amazing things. You might wonder if you should pass on a good singer to hope for a better one who fits your band better, especially since you only have one singer slot. Card drafting also means you sometimes pick a card just to deny it to your opponents, known as hate drafting. There is a penalty mechanism in the game. If you are forced to take a person but have no slot left, you suffer a penalty. These penalties become more costly as they accumulate, so you must watch out for them. There is no direct interaction between players, but hate drafting can be devastating due to the penalty system. Most of the time, the game is pleasant because you focus on building your own dream band.

So yes, managing a band can be just as fun as being the lead singer.