You're, of course, entitled to your tastes and opinions. The primary player interaction lies not in the attack faces but in collectively managing three limited pools: dice, grain, and VP chips. If, in a 2-player game, one player really goes for more dice while the other goes for upgrades initially and the dice pool ends up split 6 dice vs 3 dice, then the 3 die player must end the game quickly, as the 6-die player will -- with enough time -- end up scoring many more improved die faces. Building an economy to buy dice also means you can later invest in set-a-die tokens to do combos: using a Banker to turn a huge pile of grain into VP chips or setting 3 Noble faces to score for each other for 15+ VP chips in a single turn, etc. If these strategies and big combos aren't showing up in your games, then you're probably over-doing upgrades and not building enough coin income. There's a lot more drama in Dice Realms than just roll-upgrade-repeat...
Yeah their review is not good, bc its apparent they hardly understand the game. Rahdo gave a much better review bc he understands the various strategies of the game so much better.
This game is an absolute gem. My favorite game right now. It has so much replayability, no down time and very interesting decisions to make. Also the player interaction is much higher than in games like Hadrians Wall. Its important what the other players do because they might end the game with their actions
We played 5 times! The problem is that those five tiles weren’t really interesting! It was nothing that made me feel like I wanted to play more after two plays (other than for the video). Many games (like Race) get’s better the more you play them, but they have to be fun the first 5-10 times for people to keep playing them. We are of course in a different situation than many other gamers, but there are many, many games I’d love to play more after reviewing them, to get better, understand the strategy and explore what is possible. Sadly that was not the case here!
Tom Lehmann is one of my favorite designers but this one was a miss for me too. Granted, we only played it once but after initially saying we would play it a few more times, my wife and I realized that we just weren't very interested. Having to pop the dice faces on and off constantly really made it less fun for me, especially since upgrades were so easy to come by which minimized how exciting it was to get them. I had multiple turns where I got 8+ upgrades at once and it was more of a chore than an exciting decision deciding which dice faces to pop off and replace. I also really missed the sense of escalation from, for example, Roll for the Galaxy where you have turns rolling a dozen or more dice that can be really fun and exciting. Rolling four dice at the end of the game was not that interesting. Even though they were heavily upgraded I could only see four of the faces at once, which limited how much cool stuff you could do. Since Tom made it I have no doubts that there is plenty of strategy and room for clever play, but the problems I have with it wouldn't go away even if the decisions became a bit more interesting over time. Race and Roll along with the City, Jump Drive and 1846 all appealed to me on my first play of them and, in addition, have plenty of depth for further play. I agree completely with Board Game Ramblings here: do your best to try before you shell out a lot of money for this, even if you are a big Lehmann fan. Also the first time set up is a huge pain in the butt so buy a second-hand copy if you can.
I had a taste for this mechanic in the rivalry expansion for roll for the galaxy. In that game I found it fiddely, not that interesting and it slowed the game down. I am not surprised that turning that concept into a full game didn't turn out to be winner. Maybe it is a better idea on paper? If anyone should be able to turn it into something good it should have been Tom Lehman.
It is great seeing a critical review from time to time. I saw the game at my local game store as well, and was stunned by the price. I read the rulebook just in case because it was a very hyped game, but I didn't understand the reason behind the hype other than the designer's person. It felt like the opposite of games I like. Not too much game with an insane amount of components. I prefer games nowdays that do a lot with little :D. I still think the game will find its audience, like more casual groups where price doesn't matter could really enjoy it. It might not be the greatest market, but could be a hidden gem for some (not for me though :)).
I don't agree with the review. I played it twice both me and my gf liked it very much. At least an 8 for me for the time being. Do not hesitate to buy it. Yes it is expensive but it has tons of replay value.
I look forward to Tom's comment :) Seems like there has been a trend more recently that games really have to have a well done integrated theme. Board gaming has changed and developers have to improve their games to follow. I was looking for a more accessible Roll for the Galaxy but this does not appear to be it.
“Improve”? I really don’t think an integrated theme is current trend. Between Roll And Writes and many successful games with a very thin theme, it just seems.. unlikely that it is. My flgs told me the reprint of RA was their most pre-ordered game ever. Anyway I would consider this Improved Dominion. It doesn’t share much with any of the RFTG series other than limited pools. There’s also already Jump Drive for the ‘easiest’ Race game. I thought Roll (base game) was already extremely accessible and honestly without the expansions I felt it didn’t have enough depth. This I feels far better in its ability to bring together gateway players while still appealing to more experienced gamers like myself (though Roll gets that extra needed depth with the expansions imho)
wanted to edit and add: there’s always been a good spot for integrated themes, I I have many euros from even 2008 that have pretty great integrated themes. So it’s not like I don’t appreciate them. I think they’ve become a bit more popular over time, but I don’t think there’s any kind of recent boom or some kind of requirement to make games more thematic otherwise they won’t sell etc.
Well before the play through was finished, I had already decided to pass on this one. It looks fine, but I'd rather play Roll Through the Galaxy. That already doesn't get played enough, and why have this competing for that same
I hope I disagree with you when I get my copy lol. It could go either way with me, but I think on the plus side my friends will likely dig it. Also is it weird that I’m happy you use a scale of numbers similar to mine?
@@esolo114 I really enjoyed it. The person I played it with, perhaps a bit less so, though they thought it was good. I’d give it a 9/10 on first impression, but I’ve only played once. It’s got good cross-appeal imho for gateway and more experienced gamers. I would probably pick this over Dominion most of the time and that is what I think it is most comparable to. I do like Dominion, mind you, though I probably never really crave playing that one which is why I don’t own it. But this feels like a very improved Dominion to me. You can also see a dash of Roll Through The Ages in there with the event die. Of course time will tell. I can’t imagine this falling below 7/10 over time for me, though I think it’s likely to hold its 9/10 for me overall. For reference, I would consider 5/10 average and 6/10 good and 7/10 very good. 8/10 great 9/10 is amazing and 10/10 is best of the best.
I should mention, I do think one negative that I didn’t count against it is that the initial sorting of dice faces when you first open the box is genuinely kind of annoying. It only needs to be done once. But I am glad that one time was done a good while before I played so it didn’t necessarily affect my opinion of the actual game.
At first changing die face looks super interesting but at second thoughts, why not just changing dice? 100 unique dice, while some faces don’t count unless having the required skill/level/card.
That’s a very different game. Largely it sounds basically like Roll For The Galaxy then, because you’re gaining or replacing dice that have pre set faces.
They are not remotely similar honestly, other than the very surface similarities. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That one always felt super luck based to me. This one, despite the luck of the dice, the free reroll makes it feel pretty low luck imho, much more comparable to dominion. Potentially less luck even depending on setups.
might as well just play Roll for the Galaxy and add in the Rivalry expansion module in if I want to play with dice faces... much better game for same price or less
Dice Forge has 8 dice and 108 die faces; Dice Realms has 18 dice and 668 die faces (70 different faces). Supplying exact counts of so many die faces is what drives up the cost.
It feels like dominion with dice. Just find a couple choices that work to give you the victory points the fastest to win. I was disappointed. The art on the cover is deceiving for the gameplay.
You're, of course, entitled to your tastes and opinions. The primary player interaction lies not in the attack faces but in collectively managing three limited pools: dice, grain, and VP chips. If, in a 2-player game, one player really goes for more dice while the other goes for upgrades initially and the dice pool ends up split 6 dice vs 3 dice, then the 3 die player must end the game quickly, as the 6-die player will -- with enough time -- end up scoring many more improved die faces. Building an economy to buy dice also means you can later invest in set-a-die tokens to do combos: using a Banker to turn a huge pile of grain into VP chips or setting 3 Noble faces to score for each other for 15+ VP chips in a single turn, etc. If these strategies and big combos aren't showing up in your games, then you're probably over-doing upgrades and not building enough coin income. There's a lot more drama in Dice Realms than just roll-upgrade-repeat...
Yeah their review is not good, bc its apparent they hardly understand the game. Rahdo gave a much better review bc he understands the various strategies of the game so much better.
This game is an absolute gem. My favorite game right now. It has so much replayability, no down time and very interesting decisions to make. Also the player interaction is much higher than in games like Hadrians Wall. Its important what the other players do because they might end the game with their actions
Glad you are enjoying it 🤩
I’m so happy I didn’t give in to any hype and passed on this until a review game out. Thank you for this review. You saved a lot of gamers.
Glad it was helpful for you! I know people will like this, but sadly it fell flat for us!
Make up your own mind. I think this game is excellent and probably my GOTY.
I love this hobby because I found this game a blast to play and so well designed… Now, it is very very expensive.
Oh yeah, it’s really great that we can enjoy different games! Some games we love, others would rate very low as well!
Glad you are enjoying it :)
Were you guys fans of Res Arcana or Race for the Galaxy?
I really like Race for the Galaxy, but was not a fan of Res Arcana!
How many times did you play? Reading on BGG that this game’s depth really comes through after repeated plays (similar to all Tom Lehman designs).
We played 5 times!
The problem is that those five tiles weren’t really interesting! It was nothing that made me feel like I wanted to play more after two plays (other than for the video).
Many games (like Race) get’s better the more you play them, but they have to be fun the first 5-10 times for people to keep playing them.
We are of course in a different situation than many other gamers, but there are many, many games I’d love to play more after reviewing them, to get better, understand the strategy and explore what is possible.
Sadly that was not the case here!
Tom Lehmann is one of my favorite designers but this one was a miss for me too. Granted, we only played it once but after initially saying we would play it a few more times, my wife and I realized that we just weren't very interested. Having to pop the dice faces on and off constantly really made it less fun for me, especially since upgrades were so easy to come by which minimized how exciting it was to get them. I had multiple turns where I got 8+ upgrades at once and it was more of a chore than an exciting decision deciding which dice faces to pop off and replace.
I also really missed the sense of escalation from, for example, Roll for the Galaxy where you have turns rolling a dozen or more dice that can be really fun and exciting. Rolling four dice at the end of the game was not that interesting. Even though they were heavily upgraded I could only see four of the faces at once, which limited how much cool stuff you could do.
Since Tom made it I have no doubts that there is plenty of strategy and room for clever play, but the problems I have with it wouldn't go away even if the decisions became a bit more interesting over time. Race and Roll along with the City, Jump Drive and 1846 all appealed to me on my first play of them and, in addition, have plenty of depth for further play. I agree completely with Board Game Ramblings here: do your best to try before you shell out a lot of money for this, even if you are a big Lehmann fan. Also the first time set up is a huge pain in the butt so buy a second-hand copy if you can.
@@BoardGamingRamblings The next question would be .... did you move out of the basic first recommended setup, or play that setup five times?
I had a taste for this mechanic in the rivalry expansion for roll for the galaxy. In that game I found it fiddely, not that interesting and it slowed the game down. I am not surprised that turning that concept into a full game didn't turn out to be winner. Maybe it is a better idea on paper? If anyone should be able to turn it into something good it should have been Tom Lehman.
It is great seeing a critical review from time to time. I saw the game at my local game store as well, and was stunned by the price. I read the rulebook just in case because it was a very hyped game, but I didn't understand the reason behind the hype other than the designer's person. It felt like the opposite of games I like. Not too much game with an insane amount of components. I prefer games nowdays that do a lot with little :D.
I still think the game will find its audience, like more casual groups where price doesn't matter could really enjoy it. It might not be the greatest market, but could be a hidden gem for some (not for me though :)).
You can get a lot of roll and writes for that price.
You can get a lot of a lot of things 😱
Rattlebones is another amazing dice building game that came before Dice Forge. I enjoy Rattlebones a lot more than Dice Forge.
Have you played Rattlebones? Uses the same dice.
I don't agree with the review. I played it twice both me and my gf liked it very much. At least an 8 for me for the time being. Do not hesitate to buy it. Yes it is expensive but it has tons of replay value.
I look forward to Tom's comment :) Seems like there has been a trend more recently that games really have to have a well done integrated theme. Board gaming has changed and developers have to improve their games to follow. I was looking for a more accessible Roll for the Galaxy but this does not appear to be it.
I’m seeing a lot of positive comments on BGG that the game actually is a more accessible Race
“Improve”? I really don’t think an integrated theme is current trend. Between Roll And Writes and many successful games with a very thin theme, it just seems.. unlikely that it is. My flgs told me the reprint of RA was their most pre-ordered game ever.
Anyway I would consider this Improved Dominion. It doesn’t share much with any of the RFTG series other than limited pools. There’s also already Jump Drive for the ‘easiest’ Race game. I thought Roll (base game) was already extremely accessible and honestly without the expansions I felt it didn’t have enough depth. This I feels far better in its ability to bring together gateway players while still appealing to more experienced gamers like myself (though Roll gets that extra needed depth with the expansions imho)
wanted to edit and add: there’s always been a good spot for integrated themes, I I have many euros from even 2008 that have pretty great integrated themes. So it’s not like I don’t appreciate them. I think they’ve become a bit more popular over time, but I don’t think there’s any kind of recent boom or some kind of requirement to make games more thematic otherwise they won’t sell etc.
Feels like it’s been 180 years for this to finally release…I mean when!?
Well before the play through was finished, I had already decided to pass on this one. It looks fine, but I'd rather play Roll Through the Galaxy. That already doesn't get played enough, and why have this competing for that same
I hope I disagree with you when I get my copy lol. It could go either way with me, but I think on the plus side my friends will likely dig it.
Also is it weird that I’m happy you use a scale of numbers similar to mine?
So what was the verdict?
@@esolo114 I really enjoyed it. The person I played it with, perhaps a bit less so, though they thought it was good. I’d give it a 9/10 on first impression, but I’ve only played once. It’s got good cross-appeal imho for gateway and more experienced gamers. I would probably pick this over Dominion most of the time and that is what I think it is most comparable to. I do like Dominion, mind you, though I probably never really crave playing that one which is why I don’t own it. But this feels like a very improved Dominion to me. You can also see a dash of Roll Through The Ages in there with the event die. Of course time will tell. I can’t imagine this falling below 7/10 over time for me, though I think it’s likely to hold its 9/10 for me overall.
For reference, I would consider 5/10 average and 6/10 good and 7/10 very good. 8/10 great 9/10 is amazing and 10/10 is best of the best.
@@bubblepipemedia3414 thanks for your thoughts! Very helpful
I should mention, I do think one negative that I didn’t count against it is that the initial sorting of dice faces when you first open the box is genuinely kind of annoying. It only needs to be done once. But I am glad that one time was done a good while before I played so it didn’t necessarily affect my opinion of the actual game.
At first changing die face looks super interesting but at second thoughts, why not just changing dice? 100 unique dice, while some faces don’t count unless having the required skill/level/card.
Because…every side does something else and you only upgrade one side of the dice and you have many options. Your suggestion sounds like a nightmare
That’s a very different game. Largely it sounds basically like Roll For The Galaxy then, because you’re gaining or replacing dice that have pre set faces.
Just wondering why Quarriors is not mentioned here as this is what this seems to be for me.
They are not remotely similar honestly, other than the very surface similarities. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That one always felt super luck based to me. This one, despite the luck of the dice, the free reroll makes it feel pretty low luck imho, much more comparable to dominion. Potentially less luck even depending on setups.
might as well just play Roll for the Galaxy and add in the Rivalry expansion module in if I want to play with dice faces... much better game for same price or less
The price is weird since Dice Forge seems to have more components and more artwork and is cheaper...
Dice Forge has 8 dice and 108 die faces; Dice Realms has 18 dice and 668 die faces (70 different faces). Supplying exact counts of so many die faces is what drives up the cost.
@@ptlehmann thanks for this detail that explains the costs.
Looks like a multiplayer solitaire? :/
It feels like dominion with dice. Just find a couple choices that work to give you the victory points the fastest to win. I was disappointed. The art on the cover is deceiving for the gameplay.
This is it?? I see it for about $90 everywhere. This is a $30 game, at best.
If a game is this ugly you know it's a Rio Grande game.