5 Best Dice Games From Kickstarter

Dice are one of the oldest accessories used in games. Some numbered cubes found by archeologists date back to 2800 BC. They sure didn’t have Castles of Burgundy or Roll for the Galaxy back then, but the simple excitement of rolling random numbers was enough –  especially for gambling and games like Backgammon or Senet. With the rise of modern board gaming, designers invented mechanics like dice placement, dice trading or even collectible dice games. Some famous tabletop games like Istanbul, 7 Wonders or even Carcassonne got their own, dice based variants.

Today we’ll show you our 5 favourite games based on dice, made with the help of Kickstarter.

Dice Throne

Picture from the campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mindbottlinggames/dice-throne

Dice Throne is a skirmish game, where equal number of players faces each other in deadly combat. The game takes a lot from the classic Yahtzee, but applies tons of innovations to the formula.

Each character type has its own set of dice, where certain sides correspond with unique abilities. Through the course of the game players roll a lot and collect cards. These can be used either as currency to buy upgrades or as more powerful attacks. Available heroes include melee specialized barbarian, moon elf with a bow, a pyromancer, shadow thief, paladin in heavy armor and a barehanded monk.

Matches in Dice Throne usually take 30 to 40 minutes. The only way to win is by becoming the last team (or person) standing.

Backers: 3,650

Pledged: $181,162

Fantastic Factories

Picture from the campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1602062107/fantastic-factories-a-dice-placement-engine-buildi?ref=discovery&term=dice

Fantastic Factories is, as the creators call it, a dice placement engine building game. While playing, everyone tries to build factories. The better they’re functioning, the more points you’re going to get at the end. Factories are built thanks to 35 different blueprint cards so your combinations will be different each time.

Rolling dice can help you meet the requirements printed on factory cards. You can also reroll thanks to the training institutions (like the dojo). Placing rolled dice on player boards lets you discover new blueprints and generate resources like metal, tools, energy and goods. It’s also possible to hire contractors, who help you in all kinds of ways.

The game sports a special solo mode where you compete against the so-called “machine”.

Backers: 4,387

Pledged: $160,904

Sagrada

Sagrada dice and player boards

Probably one of the most popular dice games originating from Kickstarter. In Sagrada players take on the role of stained glass window makers, and have to decorate the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral located in Spain.

Part of the game’s success can be attributed to the design of dice themselves. Colorful and translucent, they represent glass pieces used by the players to complete their masterpiece. Everyone gets his or her own window sheet detailing required colors and shades. You can’t place a similar dice (same color or number rolled) near others, which adds many layers of interesting puzzle gameplay. Tool cards allow players to reroll dice, or change their original locations.

Sagrada can be enjoyed solo or in a group of up to 4 players.

Backers: 2,981

Pledged: $151,946

Steampunk Rally

Picture from the campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roxley/steampunk-rally

During the industrial revolution, many people got their hands on steam engines and electricity. Colossal machines made of zeppelins, propellers, hover jets and tons of engines fly the skies and ride the countryside. Thanks to these, the most talented minds of the era, from Nikola Tesla and Wright Brothers to Marie Curie, can finally prove who is the best inventor. And they’ll do it… by taking part in a race.

Steampunk Rally combines dice placement mechanics with a card game. Players pick random cards and attach them to their vehicle. New elements usually power up the machine or make it function in a more efficient way. After that, everyone discards cards and rolls dice to generate key resources like electricity, heat and steam. Placing resource dice on the cards fuels them. At the end of each turn, players move through the race track, and try to be the first one to reach the finish line.

Backers: 3,195  

Pledged: $181,130


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Dungeon Dice

Picture from the campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293287047/dungeon-dice-relaunch-collect-dice-and-bash-monste?ref=profile_created

The story in Dungeon Dice tells us about a kingdom where each king gets eaten by a monster. This has been going on for decades. It was finally decided, that the next king has to be a great warrior. Your character may not be a legendary hero but he or she will do everything to become one and claim the throne. And that means killing lots of dangerous monsters.

This game has easily the biggest variety of dice out of all titles we’ve covered so far. They’re used for everything – no cards or player boards here. Instead we have separate dice for swords, bows, snake familiars, healing drinks and of course: for the monsters themselves. Players begin by randomly picking 2 items from the treasure bag. Next, they draw random monster dice and roll it to reveal the creature’s level. If they defeat it, they’re rewarded with one item from the potion bag. These can include healing potions, keys or even bombs.

Backers: 1,485

Pledged: $139,088

What do you think?

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