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Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men
Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men
2014 | Collectible Components, Comic Book / Strip, Dice Game, Fighting
Many games are standalone, meaning that the base game has all of the components necessary for play. Many games also later add expansion content. Some games fall into the “collectible” category – you start with a base set, and slowly add new game components over time. Dice Masters is one of these collectible games, specifically known as a collectible dice game (CDG). You can find many versions of Dice Masters, spanning from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Dungeons and Dragons. No matter the theme, however, the game always works the same way! My experience is with Marvel Dice Masters (from different sets), so that will be my focus.

You and your team of superhero comrades come across a group of rival supers. Maybe you’re all having a disagreement (a la “Civil War”), or maybe one of them ate your lunch out of the fridge at work. No matter the reason, your teams have agreed to fight each other. Each hero brings unique powers to the fight, and the last team standing wins!

Dice Masters is a competitive two-player game. Each superhero team consists of up to 8 heroes and 20 custom dice. On your turn, roll your dice to generate energy, recruit heroes, or attack your opponent! Some of your heroes might have special powers that can positively affect your dice rolls, or could even negatively affect your opponent’s available dice. Strategy is everything – the first player reduced to zero health loses!

A game of battling superheroes – awesome, right? Maybe not AWESOME, but I think it’s mostly awesome. The most frustrating part of Dice Masters for me is the “collectible” aspect. A basic starter set provides you with a decent amount of cards and dice, but in order to build a complete, fully-functioning team, you need to buy more components. The first couple of times I played, I was using only the starter set and I didn’t yet realize that this is a CDG. I only had heroes with basic powers and dice, and I failed miserably in those games against a seasoned Dice Masters player (Travis). Thankfully, my opponent gave me a bit of advice – do some research, find heroes with powers that complement each other, and build a strong team that way. He helped me build a team, and I bought those new components. I used that team in my next game, aaaand I still lost…but it was a closer game! I have since crafted a couple of more teams and acquired the necessary components, but this game definitely takes a lot of forethought and research for success. It’s not one you can just necessarily pick up and play right away.

I think that Dice Masters has more of a learning curve than the average two-player game. It is a pretty strategy-driven game, and that strategy is based on your chosen team of heroes. If you aren’t completely familiar with their powers or the special symbols on their dice, you could be missing out on some serious advantages in your fight. Each turn also has many elements to keep track of (roll dice, re-roll dice, spend energy, recruit/field heroes, use abilities, attack/defend, etc.), and it can be easy to forget a step. Once you get the hang of it, though, the game flows better. It definitely took me quite a few plays to get everything mostly down. So if you’re looking for a more complex dice game to play, I would say give Dice Masters a shot!

I like the theme, mechanics, and strategic implications of Dice Masters, but I don’t really like the collectible aspect of the game. I don’t get to play it too often, but I do enjoy getting the opportunity to play. All in all, Purple Phoenix Games gives Dice Masters a 18 / 24.

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/dice-masters-review/
  
Sagrada
Sagrada
2017 | Dice Game, Puzzle
Drafting dice to solve is fun. (0 more)
A great puzzle to solve every game. Competitively solving it efficiently.
  
40x40

Hilfandor (4 KP) rated Scion in Tabletop Games

Mar 22, 2018  
Scion
Scion
Creative options (2 more)
Dice/combat system
Variation of characters
High levels unbalanced (1 more)
Limited information for Game Master customization
  
    Rallyman

    Rallyman

    8.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

    Tabletop Game

    A racing (board) game where travelling further isn't necessarily as important as travelling faster! ...

    Cubitos

    Cubitos

    9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

    Tabletop Game

    Be fast or be last! In Cubitos, players take on the role of participants in the annual Cube Cup,...

Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice
2010 | Dice Game, Horror, Humor, Party Game, Zombie / Survivalist
The Strategy (2 more)
The Theme
5-15 minute rounds
Luck of the Dice (0 more)
Press Your Luck
Zombie Dice- is a excellent press your luck game. Its created by Steve Jackson Games. Which their made Munchkin, Chez Geek, Illuminati, and more. Zombie Dice is a excellent dice game, so let me explain more.

Gameplay: The gameplay of Zombie Dice is simple. The player has to shake a cup containing 13 dice and randomly select 3 of them without looking into the cup and then roll them. The faces of each die represent brains, shotgun blasts or "runners" with different colours containing a different distribution of faces (the 6 green dice have 3 brains, 1 shotgun and 2 runners, the 4 yellow dice have 2 of each and the 3 red dice have 1 brain, 3 shotguns and 2 runners). The object of the game is to roll 13 brains. If a player rolls 3 shotgun blasts their turn ends and they lose the brains they have accumulated so far that turn. It is possible for a player to roll 3 blasts in a single roll, but if only one or two blasts have been rolled the player will have to decide whether it is worth it to risk rolling again or "bank" the brains acquired so far and pass play to the next player. A "runner" is represented by feet and rolling a runner means that the player can roll that same dice if they choose to press their luck. A winner is determined if a player rolls 13 brains and all other players have taken at least one more turn without reaching 13 brains.

Its a excellent game and a must play if you havent already. Its fun, its easy and i love the theme of it. Thank you Steve Jackson Games.