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I’ve mentioned being a fan of dice rolling games in quite a few of my blogs so far so I thought I’d make a blog purely for my fellow dice goblins. There are a lot of games that let you roll a die or maybe two at the same time, but how about games that let you roll 4, or 8 or 16 at once? Here are a few of my top games that let you spray the table with the little clickity clackity objects of desire. It might be worth investing in a dice tray for some of these games!
Yahtzee (Max dice: 5)
Yahtzee is the classic dice rolling game of risk vs reward. Players roll the five dice and work out what their best scoring opportunity is on the scorepad, rerolling up to three times if they’re unhappy with the result. Scores are tallied by the value on the dice for things like “Twos”, “Low Straight”, “Three of a Kind” or the ultimate “Yahtzee” (5 of a kind), with bonus points awarded for various achievements. Whilst it’s largely a game of luck, you also have to think about which rolls you decide to put into which category, because if you can’t fill any categories in a turn, you have to score one as 0. Is it better to safely score the 3 twos you rolled as “Three of a Kind”, or put them in “Twos” so you can hold out for a bigger score to put in the former?
The picture I have for this game is of my ancient hand-me-down 1970s edition. The current edition doesn’t come with the fancy dice tray, but is way more convenient and travel sized than my bulky old thing.
Railroad Ink Franchise (Max dice: 6)
Railroad Ink is now a large collection of games all around the same basic premise. You roll the 4 white dice which each have some combination of railway tracks or roads on them and then draw them into your whiteboard grid. There are a number of objectives to complete and potential helping hands to gain through the course of playing. At the end of the game, points are awarded for various achievements like longest road, number of exits joined together, or number of central squares filled. Railroad Ink combines luck, strategy and creativity in one delightful little game. Different editions have slightly different rules and each comes with two expansions, which add two extra dice to the game. These expansions add a wonderful array of extras to the game, from deserts to meteorites, from lakes to eldritch horrors, there are so many different editions and expansions to collect, there is always something new to try. Whilst the game recommends only playing with one expansion at a time, it can be fun to put in a few and see what glorious chaos ensues, although it might break the game a little.
Spots (Max dice: 9)
Spots is Yahtzee for the modern audience. Instead of competing for the best score from an array of somewhat bland and abstract poker hands, you are competing to be the first to give a home to the dogs on six cards. To gather these dogs, you must win their affection by choosing 1 of 6 available tricks to perform which grant you a plethora of different actions, from rolling dice, to gaining dog cards, to gaining treats. When rolling, players must place the dice on the corresponding values on their face up dog cards, if none are available, and they don’t have any treats left to use to reroll their score, they get buried in the yard. If all available dogs have all their dice needed, they are scored, turned over and safely adopted. However, if the buried dice ever get to more than 7 visible spots, all dice in the yard and on dogs are given back to the pool and the player must start again. Spots is a fabulous game of risk vs reward, with more variance than Yahtzee as different tricks can be performed within the game, and there are many different trick cards which can be chosen to make up a game.
Gelatinous (Max dice: theoretically 35, usually 7)
Despite its name, Gelatinous is not a sticky game, although the dice look like they might be, with that beautiful glittery green sheen. The aim of Gelatinous is to be the first to stack a two by two cube of dice and release your gelatinous cube creature. On each turn, everyone rolls the dice that they have in front of them, stacking dice that rolled a 3 into their cube, passing 1s to the left and 6s to the right. It’s that easy to build semi-sentient monsters that yearn to destroy wandering adventurers! There is no skill or strategy involved with this game, it is purely between you and the Gods, perfect as a late-night party game when everyone’s brains are oozing out and strategy is impossible. I like to add extra chaos by removing the round structure that is suggested and letting everyone go ham, just grabbing and rolling as much as they are physically able which brings a lot of laughs to the table.
Table-Top Role-Playing Games (Max dice: theoretically unlimited)
TTRPGs require a bit more work to play than the others on this list, but if you’re looking for a high roller, this is where you’ve got to go. Most TTRPGs involve an imaginary world that players roll dice to interact with. One player is usually the Game Master, responsible for setting the scene, playing non-player characters and adjudicating squabbles. The rest usually play a singular character that works with the other player characters to progress through the narrative that the GM is setting up. There are lots and lots of different games out there, whether you want a classic like Dungeons and Dragons, a spooky horror like Call of Cthulhu or even a romp through Ponyville in the My Little Pony Role-playing Game, whatever you fancy there is more than likely something for you. A lot of the thrill (and the potential for unlimited dice-rolling) comes from the ability of these games to be homebrewed, where people can create their own rules, stories and creatures with whatever traits they desire. Although the base games can pack a hefty dice-punch too, so Reddit tells me. For example, the 9th level evocation in DnD, Meteor Storm deals 20d6 damage in 2 types meaning 40 dice at once guaranteed if it succeeds. If you’re a GM with a bunch of NPCs getting hit at the same time, get ready to drown in dice.
Honorary Mention: Time of the Daleks (Max dice: 8)
I’ve saved Time of the Daleks for an honorary mention, because whilst it very much fits the brief, I’ve found if you’re not already a fan of Doctor Who, the number of steps in each turn can be quite a turn-off. If you are a Doctor Who fan dice goblin like me, then read on because this one is for you. The aim of Time of the Daleks is to get your Doctor to Gallifrey before the daleks. If the daleks reach home before you do, then everyone loses so it’s a semi-co-operative game. You take your Doctor and any companions you’ve accrued, across time and space, defeating enemies as you go using story dice. When you battle an enemy, they have a target of different symbols that you need to match by rolling your pool of dice. The Doctor and companions that you’ve chosen can be used to alter both your pool and your roll to get you closer to success. Whilst this is the main portion of the game, there are a lot of other facets, such as spending sonic charges, calling for help, resisting time anomalies, or even regenerating, which can make the game a lot more complex. This game is very entwined with the lore of Doctor Who, so at least a surface level interest in the show is recommended before sinking your teeth into this beast.
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