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Description
Nokosu Dice is a trick-taking game for 3 to 5 players, each playing Number Cards and dice in their hand to win mini-games and score points against the other players over multiple rounds. In each trick, each player plays a card or die from their hand, and the winner of the trick score a point. There is also a chance to win bonus points at the end of each round if the number of the tricks won in the round matches the last dice left OR if a player declares they would not win any trick for the round and actually won no trick.
Year Published
2016
Featured Videos
Review
Nokosu Dice Review
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 1
This page: 1
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
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Video JzhBWJcR4SU
Drive-Through game_review at 0:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 31718 · mention_pk 93463
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Innovative twist on trick-taking by integrating dice as a visible, strategic component of your hand
- Public dice and player boards greatly improve readability and strategic planning
- Trump dynamics are evolving and force players to adapt their plans mid-round
- Deluxe edition adds tangible quality and clarity with improved components
- Solid length and pacing across 3-5 players; rounds are quick and replayable
Cons
- Can feel chaotic at five players, which may deter some groups
- Rule explanations can be non-intuitive; scoring rules especially require careful teaching
- Import costs and limited print runs can affect availability for US players
- Thematic depth is modest; some players may prefer heavier or more narrative trick-taking games
Thematic elements
- Dice-driven bidding within a procedural trick-taking framework; emphasis on information flow and adaptive strategy over narrative storytelling.
- A compact, competitive trick-taking arena where players draft dice and cards to determine trump and lead tricks.
- Procedural/abstract; focuses on mechanism-driven decision making rather than a strong thematic arc.
Comparison games
- The Crew
- Lord of the Rings
- Origin Story
- Dwarf King
- Chronicle
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deluxe components and aids — Deluxe edition provides a tray and double-sided English/Japanese rule cards and enhanced components to aid clarity and organization.
- dice drafting — Players draft color-coded dice that become part of their hand alongside their drawn cards, making dice physically representable options during play.
- dice drafting with cards — Players draft color-coded dice that become part of their hand alongside their drawn cards, making dice physically representable options during play.
- lead/follow card-and-die play — On a turn, players may lead or play either a card or a die; players must follow the lead suit or die color unless trump changes the rule.
- public dice and player boards — Drafted dice are publicly visible in front of each player, with player boards grouping dice by trump-related categories to aid quick parsing and planning.
- round structure and die left rule — At the end of a hand, one die remains unplayed; that die informs post-hand bidding for bonus calculation and summary scoring.
- scoring with bonuses — Each trick scores 1 point; bonuses are awarded for achieving zero tricks (10 points) and for meeting variability-based bonus thresholds depending on how many players hit their bonus.
- Trick-taking — On a turn, players may lead or play either a card or a die; players must follow the lead suit or die color unless trump changes the rule.
- trump determined by undrafted die — The trump is defined by the last die not drafted in a round, introducing a dynamic, evolving trump that can change each hand.
- two black dice for zero-trick strategy — Two special black dice allow a player to discard a dice and aim to win zero tricks for a bonus 10 points, adding a risk/reward element.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a trick taking game and it uses dice.
- one of my favorites over the last few years.
- It's pretty simple in terms of the mechanics, but it has a ton of interesting stuff.
- I definitely recommend it and you can get it.
- the chaoticness of five is not really that much different than the chaoticness of like a three-player game.
- the dice part of it is really what sells it for me.
References (from this video)
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