PNP Friday for February 27, 2026 - What I Love About Space Privateer Command. Plus PNP news.
Jason jumps into command of a privateer ship seeking fortune and glory in space! Plus all the new print and play games you may have missed.
Welcome to Print & Play Friday! It’s February 27th and we’ve got a fresh batch of print and play news and games for your reading (and playing) pleasure.
Table of Contents
Main Feature: What I Love About Space Privateer Command
New Games This Week
Community Spotlight: How To Design A Print And Play Game, The Postmark Way
Crowdfunding News (PNP Previews & Campaigns)
Where Are They Now?
What I Love About Space Privateer Command
JASON GREENO // FEBRUARY 27, 2026
While the art caught my attention, the compact gameplay and space adventure story of Space Privateer Command are what made me pull the trigger on this print and play game from Kelvin Soong.
This was a bigger print and play build for me in a while. I’m usually playing or testing a roll & write game, so it was nice to craft something a little larger. And this game’s components really reward that effort (and ink use). Beautiful art and thematic graphics make you feel like you’re sitting at the helm of your own starship.
The story goes that you inherited a rust bucket ship “The Yabby” from your late father and decided to do some privateer work. You start by building up your reputation and stumbled into the privateer jobs as a Merchant, a Mercenary or a Pirate to make your way in this small slice of space.
I decided to scavenge one of my storage kits and make a quick cover image to hold the game. With just 6 sheets of paper to cut I was done crafting in 30 minutes.
In 2022, BGG Solo Game contest voters gave SPC won 1st place for Best Artist, 2nd place for Best Sci-Fi/Aliens/Space/Cyberpunk Game, 4th place for Best Complex Game and 4th place for Best Story-driven/TTRPG Game.
The Gameplay
I’m always intrigued by how different game designers approach the theme of ship captain + spaceship rust bucket that you improve over time, completing missions, gaining crew, unfolding mysteries and battling other starships. I tried my hand at this when designing The Final Lightyear (a modular solo space game with boss ship fights) and it was neat to see what angles Kelvin took with his game.
I think I should mention that it took me a few times reading the rules to get the hang of the system. I may go as far as sharing a Turn Flow cheat sheet to help players dive in faster. The loop is really pretty straightforward, but the rules are a bit hard to parse at first. There is a Setup Video and Playthrough Video though!
The Art — Scott Vanden Bosch
The art in this game has a great balance of sci-fi interest combined with lighthearted space romp. There’s always a another detail to spot in Scott’s intricate illustrations. The light-hearted quality lends itself to the the misadventure setting where you feel like ‘anything-could-go-wrong-any-minute’, but it’s ok, because it makes for a great story.
In addition to providing the art for SPC, Scott is the Director at 12field, currently Supervising Director and designer of The Strange Chores.
The Portability
This game packs a lot of space opera fun in a small package, errr zip file? It’s just 6 pages (for the game components—I access the rules on my iPad). The player supplied component calls for 25 cubes of two colors and 10 dice and a ship token. This easily fits in a small box that you can take on the go.
This portability does come with a price—the text can be a bit small on certain cards so bring your reading glasses—I did!
Okay, but where can I get the game?
You can also find 8 free prototype pnp giveaway cards to another system if join Kelvin’s newsletter.
Each week we share the new releases in the world of Print and Play. Here’s what’s new this week.
Battlecrest: Dowdran & Thrasher: Two of the latest Battlecrest heroes are now available via PNP. Thrasher (designed by Ian Howard) features big attacks and big blocks, and Dowdran (designed by Yann Perrin) slowly sets landmarks on fire. Check them both out, for just $1 each at: Link and Link.
Dungeon Pages: Underboss - Hin Vaka, Third Sword: The year-long set has been updated with the newest boss and dungeon. Don’t let ‘Third Sword’ fool you, this master swordsman is deadly. Hin Vaka is a slow build-style boss. He lures the hero in with seemingly errant strikes, minor scratches, then suddenly they find themselves in a in a whirlwind of attacks that leave no opponent standing. Link.
Battle Pages - Kingdom of Skilo Marching Order 4: The last kingdom in the Battle Pages year-long series has arrived! Each month introduces a new sheet, but each week changes up the enemy’s marching order to push you to try out new strategies. Link.
Publishers / designers submit your new PNP releases here: PNP Arcade Submission Form.
How To Design A Print And Play Game, The Postmark Way
This one is for the designers out there, and if you haven’t designed anything yet, print and play is such a great place to start. Matthew Dunstan from Postmark Games (Voyages, 52 Duels), shares his tips on how to design a print and play game, the Postmark way. If you’re interested in design, there are so many other good videos on Matthew’s page.
Here are a few PNP-related crowdfunding campaigns that we thought you might find interesting:
Dice Horde: A solo tower defense roll-and-write where you lead the charge against a wild incursion of dice-headed beasts bursting through fresh rifts to crash your last bastion! From Two Acorn Games. Starts at just $5 with only 5 days left on Kickstarter. Link.
Submit your PNP crowdfunding projects here: PNP Arcade Submission Form.
Are you looking for your favorite publishers from PNP Arcade? Check out this list.
Just added:
Mark Tuck: Mark has brought his collection of PNPs (from the beloved Orchard to Pocket Aquarium, and many more) to the Game Crafter. Link.
https://www.tuckgames.com/
Previously added:
Alexander Shen: If you’ve never played Quests Over Coffee or any of Alexander’s other fun games, be sure to check out his stuff on Itch.io. Link.
Button Shy Games: With hundreds of games on PNP Button Shy started uploading games on Itch.io and The Game Crafter. Expect regular releases of the older library of games as well as new content to come. Itch.io Link. The Game Crafter Link.
Cezar Capacle: Brazilian game designer, graphic designer, architect and musician. He’s been creating unique games for the past five years, on a variety of genres. Link
Clearly Sharp: Home page for Daniel Young, the designer of Gem Getter and Forest Floor. Link
Daws of Darkness: The Lost Village and its mini-expansion are now available at itch.io. The thick line art style of these co-op games really makes them stand out. Link
Epic Endeavor Games (Jason Greeno): The independent games by JG can be found on his Patreon page. Link.
Grimscribe: If you are looking for the year-long Grimlore series, you can find those here. Link.
Jack Neal Games: Jack’s games about power, value, and systems (Rust and Revenue and Charters: Profit Through Public Works) are now available at JackNealGames.com. Link.
Kealf Games: The new location for all things from Kelvin Soong of Kealf Games. PNP Stash Link.
PNP Arcade Publishing: For everything Dungeon Pages (and more to come) check out the PNP Arcade page at Itch.io. Link
Shiny Pigeon Games: PNP Arcade previously hosted Around The World In 15 Minutes, but at their site you can pick up Starfront Scouting Academy and the Packing Party series of games. Link.
We Heart Games: The Itch store for Mike Berg’s games (Crownfell, Exobase, Exoship) has the entire catalog of games. Link.
Would you like to submit a PNP Game?
With the help of publishers, designers and the community we will continue to share PNPs with all of you.
Click this link to submit information about a game
Games featured in these posts are not sponsored.