Dice Throne is a game of intriguing dice, tactical card play, powerful heroes, and unique abilities.
It's a fast-paced 2-6 player combat game (1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2, or free-for-all). Select from a variety of heroes that play and feel completely distinct from one another. Attack opponents and activate abilities by rolling your hero's unique set of five dice. Accumulate combat points and spend them on cards that have a large range of effects, such as granting permanent hero upgrades, applying status effects, and manipulating dice directly (yours, your teammate's, or even your opponent's).
Let's take a look at a turn of a 1v1 game.
The game begins with 2 players selecting their heroes. Player One chooses Moon Elf and player two picks Barbarian. Each player begins the game with 50 HP (Health Points).
Player One (the Moon Elf) won the roll to go first. The Moon Elf draws their 4 starting game cards and begins the game with 1 CP (Combat Point).
Note- The player that wins the starting roll does not draw a card (above their starting hand of 4) or gain CP above their 1 starting CP.
The Moon Elf then checks for status effects (like poison, or Burn) to resolve.
The next phase is called Main Phase (1). This is where the Moon Elf player can upgrade their hero board with cards from their hands if they have enough CP to pay for the upgrades. They can also play any Main Phase Action cards (blue cards).
Then they enter the Offensive Roll Phase. The Moon Elf can take up to 3 roll attempts (with their 5 dice) to accomplish an action or attack from their hero board. After deciding on an action within the 3 roll attempts an action is declared.
Then the Defensive Roll Phase begins where the opponent (Barbarian) can use their defensive roll (as it appears on their hero board). The amount of damage or incoming status affects are resolved and that concludes the Defensive Roll Phase.
During Offensive and Defensive Roll Phase any player can play Roll Phase Action cards from their hand as long as they have the CP to pay for it.
The Moon Elf player enters their second Main Phase where they can do any final hero board upgrades or play blue Main Phase Action cards.
The Moon Elf then must discard any extra cards over 6 from their hand.
The Barbarian player begins his turn by drawing one additional card (over his starting hand of 4) and gaining one CP (Combat Point) for a total of 2.
The Barbarian then follows the same phases the Moon Elf.
The game alternates hero turns until one player is at 0 Health.
DiceThrone is for 2-6 players, ages 8+, and runs 20-30 minutes for a battle. With the ever expanding gallery of heroes the game feels fresh each time you jump in!
- upgraded tokens
- dual-sided symbols
- Dice Throne Season 1
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- What a clever idea. I knew this set was coming for a while and I have to say, I'm pretty thrilled with it.
- I played the heck out of Tapestry when it first released and I have to say, seeing these bits kind of has me jonesing to play it again.
- Here you get all 80 character tokens, 40 generals and 40 financiers, all showing art from the game, so they'll fit right into your set.
- This promo card has three additional missions, which I'll avoid spoiling here, but as a little tease, it features the Canada arm, a real pride and joy of Canadians everywhere.
- These are two additional cases for the base game. I can't show them to you because of course, that would spoil them.
References (from this video)
- remastered edition with new characters
- heroes are distinct
- satisfying dice rolling and upgrades
- fun for competitive play
- merchandise availability is humorously questioned
- two new characters, the treant and ninja, among other distinct heroes
- Marvel Dice Throne
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat — Accumulating combat points to spend on upgrades.
- Dice Rolling — Players roll unique sets of five dice to attack opponents and activate abilities.
- upgrades — Long-lasting effects are gained by spending combat points on upgrades.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we're counting down the games they picked up next in this month's people's choice top 10.
- i love killing my opponents with good fortune it's the ultimate form of revenge
- who knew making dresses could be so cut through
- so many childhood memories and fights over world domination
- this is a great game it deserves more love i do think this is the kind of game that you would enjoy really do it's a great euro it really is
- backed this on kickstarter which is a classic defense of any game if i ever heard one
- if this doesn't win every award for best game production quality i'll be shocked every component is a work of art i'm obsessed
- it's one of the best games ever made it's so good it's always been in my top ten games it's always been in my top five games
- such a good game even worth all the setup with those tidgy hexes
References (from this video)
- two-player friendly
- strong theme and variety between heroes
- luck can dominate late-game
- battle Yahtzee
- fantasy battlegrounds
- duels between unique heroes
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- character differentiation — each hero has unique abilities
- combat resolution — dice results drive attacks and defenses
- Dice Rolling — roll and optimize dice to trigger effects
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a heavy boy
- we played this one tons in May
- I love this game, I love it, I love it
- we're learning
- this is a party game that you could play virtually
References (from this video)
- strong two-player experience
- repackaged Season One with improved experience and accessibility
- clear, compact personal components
- some players may want more centralization or a larger shared board
- hero duels with asymmetric abilities
- fantasy duel arena
- mythic, combat-focused
- Parks
- Wingspan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- two-player head-to-head focus — primarily a duel game, though supports more players
- Yahtzee-style dice combat with asymmetric characters — dice-driven duels where each character has unique abilities and upgrade paths
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- everything to me has sort of built around and built off of wasteland express
- this tub which is color coded to the player pieces
- the insert has transformed what is the absolute worst aspect of this game and made it this beautiful premium
- sleeving is a hobbyist mentality
- open like a feast as soon as you open the box
- the central basin allows you to get everything successfully into the box and the lid closes
- box mapping removes all inserts
References (from this video)
- one of the most perfect two-player games
- great for tournament-style play
- season 2 adds complexity for new players
- fantasy duel
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice-based combat/duel — dice-driven character battles with unique roles
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is being put to the top of the list it is anyways
- if somebody asked what my favorite game of the con was it was going to be this
- this is my new favorite game
- this is the best moment of my life basically
- they probably gave it to the right people because i'm gonna pump the heck out of this game
- we got to demo a new game that's coming out in January from Plaid Hat Games called Familiar Tales