3 Dice Games to Try Before You Die

Posted Sunday, 12-Apr-2015

Contributed by Jessica Bowline

Let’s face it, when most gamers think dice, they think of a gathering of geriatrics sitting around playing Yahtzee or Boggle.

Give dice games a chance

Let’s get the dice rolling and address the elephant in the room: dice games catch a bad rap.  Dice games have historically been perceived as the boring game to play with our older friends and family.

Don’t get me wrong.  These are time-worn classics that most of us have played at one point or another.  These games teach us the fundamentals of dice play.  And while they expose us to another genre of gaming, a small triumph in its own right, mainstream dice games lack the luster to appeal to hardcore gamers.

We remain steadfast in our argument that we dig dice.  Dice games deserve a second coming-of -age.  In recent years a multitude of dice games have entered the market and for better or worse, they are here to stay.

Here are a few of our favorites (Warning: these are not your granny’s games)

Catan Dice Game

30 minutes of exciting fun! Like it’s predecessors in the Settlers of Catan series (see: 10 things you didn’t know about The Settlers of Catan), this dice game is all about building settlements, roads, cities, and hiring knights to forage a path of total world domination.

Designed for 2-4 players, opponents will build their resources and roll their way into victory.  This game holds a trace of the mundane traditional dice mechanism we’ve become so familiarized with but with all of the glory and excitement that the world of Catan has to offer.

Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Paper-and-Pencil, Set Collection

Roll Through the Ages: The Iron Age

Build your own iron-age civilization in under an hour in Roll Through the Ages: The Iron Age.  Explore the strategies of Greece, Phoenicia, and Rome as you erect monuments, fend off enemies, and strive to cultivate your society.  In this sequel to the dicing phenom, Roll Through the Age: The Bronze Age, players build, conquer, and trade though various dice combinations.  Grab your dice and prepare to roll through the ages and through hours of game play.

Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Press Your Luck

Macao

Recommended for 2-4 players, hard-to-find Macao is set at the end of the 17th century, in Macao.  Not for the faint of heart, game play can last upwards of 90 minutes.

Players take on the role of the energetic and enterprising adventurers who will explore this mysterious port city in the Far East.  Lasting 12 rounds, this dice game incorporates special ability card play into the action.  Players score points by delivering goods, paying gold coins, using the powers on their cards, and building in Macao. In the end, the player with the most points wins.

Mechanics: Action Point Allowance System, Card Drafting, Dice Rolling, Hand Management

Ranging from the quick and concise to the involved and complex, dice gaming offers a wide range of game play options.  What better way to introduce new players, children and adults alike, to the enticing world of table top fun than taking a crack at some of the most exciting dice games around?

Other fantastic dice games to check out:

Kingsburg

Can’t Stop (See: Throwback Thursday: Can’t Stop)

Machi Koro

Alien Frontiers

King of Tokyo

What are some of your favorite dice games?  Tell us in the comments below!

Published by BoardGamePrices.com

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