A game with a pun in the title always grabs my attention. In Dice Throne (get it “Dice Thrown? eh eh eh), players compete with each other (individually or in teams) by playing cards and rolling dice. Is this game a roll to victory and worthy of its throne or is it a throwaway?
Dice Throne is a strategic and highly asymmetrical dice and card game that can be compared to a love child between card games such as Magic the Gathering and Yahtzee. Each character has his/her own characteristics, special cards, dice and thus strategy. During a turn, players can activate cards/effects by paying combat points and roll dice to try and activate their combat powers. Each character board contains several abilities that players can activate with their dice roll. For example, a correct combination with a roll of the dice can be used to create a straight. Players can roll up to three dice, but they can use cards or properties of their character to influence this roll (or the roll of another player).
In addition to the “roll abilities”, each character also has several special abilities. These special effects can often be activated with a dice skill or by playing cards, for example. By activating these special abilities, you may place negative or positive status effects on yourself or other players. With these status effects, you can, for example, influence the dice rolls or the use of special abilities or cards.
Dice Throne is a great game that for me evokes the feeling of Magic the Gathering without the nasty aftertaste (namely the immense urge to collect everything in existence). It is a good mix of strategy, luck and risk management. Throwing dice is always exciting and players have more than enough influence on the luck factor. Due to the varied characters and strategies, the game has more than enough variation. Highly recommended and worthy of its throne!
