Dice crafting would be perfect for an adventure type game in which your character has abilities that improve. For me, it's like Mystic Vale - interesting for trying something that's new(ish), rather than rehashing the same ideas with a new theme pasted over the top, but I'm happy to wait for a more exciting implementation of it
Thanks for the video Jon! I know you've been working hard, and it always so great to see you really excited about a game. This one is definitely going on the list. Thanks for your review of Clank!, we absolutely love it and have been calling it "Tasty Fantasy Ketchup", hahahaha
Love this game for all the reasons you have highlighted. Luck is a factor but it is part of the fun. You can also think carefully about how to mitigate bad luck by choosing the right upgrades. A fun game and a spot on review
I already had this on my wishlist and you just go and make me desire it that much more! You just had to do a review of it didn't you? Man...this looks like fun.
Fantastic honest review yet again Jon & awesome analogies. I especially liked "it's like my life, but with nicer artwork." The pawns look like they've come from Magic Maze. I think my kids would love this game, as you said the artwork is amazing & its quite light. I didn't know too much about this game until I watched your video. Keep up the great work! 👍
Last time I checked it wasn't available on the german amazon page but now after receiving your blessing and it being available I gladly bought via your link. I need to think about your links more often when buying on amazon^^
We just played this last weekend. Much more fun than I anticipated. We are looking forward to giving it another go soon. Great Review as always. Cheers.
Great Video. Looks like a game anyone can learn. I find games with 50% luck 50% strategy always keep everyone competitive even new players. I like the little figure of your "character" that you sneaked into the background.
I played the game a few times and i wouldn't say the luck factor is too big. you will roll your dices 30-40 times in a game and it's gonna balance out your luck.There are lucky things such as buying a new face and then rolling it twice before your next turn comes up, but eventually everyone will completely level up one dice. Card buying decisions are really important and will truly shape your strategy.They are the main re-playability factor and i wish we could have more of them, although you can somehow mix the 2 sets to have different games.
High luck factor, but with highscores surpassing 400points, there is more to it than you'd think on first sight. I am only able to get a highscore of 188 (which is a winner in every group I played this). Love the game.
It's a nice overview of a fun looking game, but if you're going to put Amazon referral links in your description to make money, you should at least be clearly disclosing that you're doing it, that's a legal requirement and an ethical one.
I apologise, I clearly hadn't done my research on the subject. I've now amended the description stating that they are affiliate links and included the Amazon associates disclaimer. Is that sufficient? All the videos and blogs I found on the subject weren't definitive as to what the protocol is.
Totally. Basically the rules are "that stuffs totally fine just make sure people go into in full knowledge of whats happening". Disclosures have to be unavoidable and in the same place the link is, so in this case, you put yours right there in the description where the links also are, right next to them so it's totally fine. You could even start mentioning that those links support you in your videos, your viewers may choose to buy with your link explicitly to do so as a result, which might help you make some extra money.
Believe it or not, I'm a Sr. and just started playing this game. It is absolutely a blast. Fast moving and everyone plays at the same time. No getting bored during someones turn.
the box is incredible, I love Sobek 2 players but the packaging was so bad, we had to 3d print an insert, but this just does it for me! The game is a good gateway game, the best strategy wins, but the worse players have a chance since it involves more luck than others. One complaint is the rules, namely, the setup rules for a first game. It is TERRIBLE! luckily there is a really good vid on how to setup and play by night at the table so it isn't really a bother an the game is still well worth it. four out of five
I played it at the U.K. expo and was the last play of 4, before I had my second turn all the gold sides were bought (with most of them by the first player) - I felt I was out of the game (unable to upgrade my dice efficiently as the other players) before my second roll. Bitterly disappointed. Good video review though.
How can somebody buy all the gold faces before the second turn? the first player cannot buy everything on his first turn, and you are not allowed to buy 2 of the same face on the same turn. Going last also means that you would have saved up a bit and would be able to purchase the more expensive faces. I own this game and played quite a number of games already. I can confidently say that sun/moon shard faces are just as useful (or even better) as gold as some monster cards are just straight up VPs. I love the game, my family loves this game.. Sure it's rolling dice and the luck element is high.. but it sure feels good to be able to influence your luck..
Thanks for the reply jazRock13. First let me just say, I've only played a demo - and I wouldn't claim that my one experience is necessarily reflective of how most people will experience the game - I'm really glad you enjoy it, part of my disappointment probably was perhaps in part due my high expectations (the game looks amazing!). Anyway - to answer your question... It was a while a go so I don't remember the exact details of how it went down. You're correct on my first turn I had a decent amount of gold and managed to buy a good expensive dice side (most players had bought an extra gold side). However the first (but on reflection probably the second) player had had some good rolls and when it came back round to them they managed to grab all the remaining pure multi gold's and put them on his dice, so one of his dice had 4 or 5 sides with high gold on - I generally wasn't rolling more than 1 gold a roll and the opportunity increase those odds much were taken out of my hands before my second turn. Anyway the gold guy, was buying up loads of high value sides each turn - even when he didn't need it - and because it felt like I always got last pick I wasn't feeling all that great about the fairness of player order. In the end the Gold guy accelerated away and won handily. So my first impression wasn't great and it put me off purchasing it without at least giving it another couple of tries - but thats the way it goes sometimes. I might read the rules some time too, perhaps the guy demoing it got something wrong, or there is strategy to overcome it, hopefully. On one play I'd never claim it's broken, but I didn't enjoy myself as much as I would have liked.
Fair enough. I'm not saying your impressions are wrong, clearly people experience things differently. I just wanted to point out, especially for people browsing the comments, that going first and stacking on gold is not a definite win.. I do hope you give the game another chance because it truly is a fun and nice looking game :)
Rob I would note that the player who stacked lots of gold was not playing very well. Even if you only buy a few Gold faces, it's still easy to get way more than you can possibly use.
Rod Auger according to one of the comments further up, it's not a good 4 player game, apparently some of the resources had run out at the end of the second turn.
That was a false statement.. It was either there was a mistake with the initial gold allocation or they played it incorrectly. The first player only starts with 4 gold + whatever they roll, which is at most 2 gold. there is definitely quite a number of gold faces and considering you are not allowed to buy the same face on the same turn, it would be impossible to run out of gold faces before the second turn even with 4 players. I own the game and have been playing it with 4 players most of the time.. also stacking on gold is not the best way to win (although there is a way to convert gold to VP), and going out to get some cards is essential. I'd say that the game is definitely more enjoyable with 4 players as you roll your dice more, but it plays pretty well with just 2 players..
It actually sets up pretty quick.. the insert is very cleverly designed that as long as you put everything back where it is supposed to go, it will always be ready for play the next time you bring it out. That being said, changing back the dice to its default sides is the one additional step you need to do when cleaning up the table. But even that is not that bad, just have everyone revert their own dice after the game ends, and it should be done pretty quick. My tip to keep the 1 gold faces separated from the rest of the faces during game play. That makes defaulting back the dice easier.
If I buy a copy of Dice Forge using your link in the description and it doesn't come with that mini-Timmy, I'm gonna riot and report you for false advertising...
This looks brilliant, looking at a bunch of different games. Trying to pick the best one for my first board, and to try get my girlfriend and group of friends into board games. My short list is the following (including this game): Black Fleet, Photosynthesis, Splendor, Takenoko, Surivie Escape from Atlantis, Islebound and Above and Below. Any suggestions?
do people seriously not know about Rattlebones? boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150146/rattlebones it was "dice crafting" 3 years ago and a pretty good game
I'm well aware of Rattlebones. I was using some poetic licence, since Dice Forge has coined the term "dice crafting", and Rattlebones doesn't call itself as such.
I was also very surprised that Rattlebones was not mentioned. Undeserved laurels for Dice Forge, and a missed opportunity to compare. That nitpick aside, this was an excellent video. Enthusiastic, thorough, well shot, well edited.
Yeah I don't think RB is particularly strong as a game, and there is a tool required for removing the dice faces. The only point I wanted to make is that the video strongly implies DF innovated dice crafting when nothing of the sort is true. But DF certainly took the ball and ran with it to create an excellent game.
I find exclusively luck based games frustrating so it's good to know that they one probably isn't for me even though it might be cool to play once or twice with friends.
You get to influence your luck though.. I also wouldn't say it is exclusively luck.. For example, I invest heavily on sun shard faces..guess what happens? I'll be rolling mostly sun shard faces.. XD The nice thing is that you are rolling on EVERYONE'S turn, so it eliminates that "one-bad-roll-that-lost-me-the-game" kind of thing that happens on most dice-based games. There are even cards that allow for some extra rolls, which means I'd be getting even more sun shards! I highly suggest that you at least try the game, you might be surprised.. :)
Building dices...0_0 you serious ? actually i agree this is sound exciting , i also like the game design , the artwork is flowing and adjusting every aspect of the game, like cards to a cards place hold..This is a real needed review , i heard your recommendation camarade , you done excellent explication, i solute you :)
Dice crafting would be perfect for an adventure type game in which your character has abilities that improve.
For me, it's like Mystic Vale - interesting for trying something that's new(ish), rather than rehashing the same ideas with a new theme pasted over the top, but I'm happy to wait for a more exciting implementation of it
Sounds like a pitch for Dice Throne
You can get similar effect by drawing tiles from a bag, and customize the bag over time
Thanks for the video Jon! I know you've been working hard, and it always so great to see you really excited about a game. This one is definitely going on the list.
Thanks for your review of Clank!, we absolutely love it and have been calling it "Tasty Fantasy Ketchup", hahahaha
"Oh, I almost forgot about the theme, but, then... so did they." Killin' it.
Played this for the first time last night and wondered why I was having so much fun, well put!
Love this game for all the reasons you have highlighted. Luck is a factor but it is part of the fun. You can also think carefully about how to mitigate bad luck by choosing the right upgrades. A fun game and a spot on review
I already had this on my wishlist and you just go and make me desire it that much more! You just had to do a review of it didn't you? Man...this looks like fun.
1:45 is it me or can you almost hear the thought "Is the pun strong enough or do I need to say 'dice-lemma'?" :D
Damn it! I wish I'd come up with dice-lemma!
Great job with this review!
Fantastic honest review yet again Jon & awesome analogies. I especially liked "it's like my life, but with nicer artwork." The pawns look like they've come from Magic Maze. I think my kids would love this game, as you said the artwork is amazing & its quite light. I didn't know too much about this game until I watched your video. Keep up the great work! 👍
'It's like my life but with nicer artwork'. Best. Review comment. Evah.
Last time I checked it wasn't available on the german amazon page but now after receiving your blessing and it being available I gladly bought via your link. I need to think about your links more often when buying on amazon^^
+Froschritter Thanks for the help!
We just played this last weekend. Much more fun than I anticipated. We are looking forward to giving it another go soon. Great Review as always. Cheers.
Libellud is always producing excellent quality games, despite that some times the theme is a little bit weird.
Just picked this up. I really am looking forward to playing it
This brings more joy than deck-building? HERESY!
Where are the insane combos?
The only thing I don't like about Actualol is that he's not a fan of deck building :P
Can you speak to how the dice feel in your hand? I've handled modular dice before and they felt flimsy and didn't have a satisfying roll-feel
Dangit, wish I saw this somehow before Dice Tower Con. My roommate snagged a copy Day 1 and I never got it to the table!
Great Video. Looks like a game anyone can learn. I find games with 50% luck 50% strategy always keep everyone competitive even new players. I like the little figure of your "character" that you sneaked into the background.
Very nice and funny review! I'm definitely going to try dice forge.
I played the game a few times and i wouldn't say the luck factor is too big. you will roll your dices 30-40 times in a game and it's gonna balance out your luck.There are lucky things such as buying a new face and then rolling it twice before your next turn comes up, but eventually everyone will completely level up one dice. Card buying decisions are really important and will truly shape your strategy.They are the main re-playability factor and i wish we could have more of them, although you can somehow mix the 2 sets to have different games.
High luck factor, but with highscores surpassing 400points, there is more to it than you'd think on first sight. I am only able to get a highscore of 188 (which is a winner in every group I played this).
Love the game.
It's a nice overview of a fun looking game, but if you're going to put Amazon referral links in your description to make money, you should at least be clearly disclosing that you're doing it, that's a legal requirement and an ethical one.
I apologise, I clearly hadn't done my research on the subject. I've now amended the description stating that they are affiliate links and included the Amazon associates disclaimer. Is that sufficient? All the videos and blogs I found on the subject weren't definitive as to what the protocol is.
Totally. Basically the rules are "that stuffs totally fine just make sure people go into in full knowledge of whats happening". Disclosures have to be unavoidable and in the same place the link is, so in this case, you put yours right there in the description where the links also are, right next to them so it's totally fine.
You could even start mentioning that those links support you in your videos, your viewers may choose to buy with your link explicitly to do so as a result, which might help you make some extra money.
+TotalBiscuit, The Cynical Brit Great, thanks for the advice!
your underwear is on too tight. jesus christ relax.
It' s great to see youtubers look out for each other! :)
awesome, i think i will try this one
I never got to go to not-Legoland as a kid. (Our family
had a limited budget, often spent on not-Lego.)
are the numbers that we can swap on the dices plastic? like, durable plastic??
ha ha ha! Another great review. "Wake up, we're playing a game here!"
What are the games in the center and on the right of the table in the end-of-video image?
The games go Carcassonne, Ticket To Ride, Generic Dice, Pandemic, Dead of Winter.
Thanks.
I just can't stop wondering why there's a big screen TV on the floor behind you... :-)
Believe it or not, I'm a Sr. and just started playing this game. It is absolutely a blast. Fast moving and everyone plays at the same time. No getting bored during someones turn.
Lovely clear visuals of the components, thanks! How long does setup take?
the box is incredible, I love Sobek 2 players but the packaging was so bad, we had to 3d print an insert, but this just does it for me! The game is a good gateway game, the best strategy wins, but the worse players have a chance since it involves more luck than others. One complaint is the rules, namely, the setup rules for a first game. It is TERRIBLE! luckily there is a really good vid on how to setup and play by night at the table so it isn't really a bother an the game is still well worth it. four out of five
i like dice forge so much. Thank you for the cool video!
Thank you!
Hey, what is that miniature Timmy about??
+Sander van der Linden My girlfriend had it made for me for my birthday :)
Nice! I noticed it all the way at the end, then looked back and saw it was in all the shots, haha! Sneaky :P
I spotted mini-you on the table. How awesome! :)
The right length for a review, take note 'stand in front of a wall of games and give a rules overview followed by it's [insert adjective]' reviewers
"like any good parent" - this gave me a good laugh (I'm a parent).
I played it at the U.K. expo and was the last play of 4, before I had my second turn all the gold sides were bought (with most of them by the first player) - I felt I was out of the game (unable to upgrade my dice efficiently as the other players) before my second roll. Bitterly disappointed. Good video review though.
Thanks for the insight! That does sound pretty frustrating.
How can somebody buy all the gold faces before the second turn? the first player cannot buy everything on his first turn, and you are not allowed to buy 2 of the same face on the same turn. Going last also means that you would have saved up a bit and would be able to purchase the more expensive faces. I own this game and played quite a number of games already. I can confidently say that sun/moon shard faces are just as useful (or even better) as gold as some monster cards are just straight up VPs. I love the game, my family loves this game.. Sure it's rolling dice and the luck element is high.. but it sure feels good to be able to influence your luck..
Thanks for the reply jazRock13. First let me just say, I've only played a demo - and I wouldn't claim that my one experience is necessarily reflective of how most people will experience the game - I'm really glad you enjoy it, part of my disappointment probably was perhaps in part due my high expectations (the game looks amazing!).
Anyway - to answer your question... It was a while a go so I don't remember the exact details of how it went down. You're correct on my first turn I had a decent amount of gold and managed to buy a good expensive dice side (most players had bought an extra gold side). However the first (but on reflection probably the second) player had had some good rolls and when it came back round to them they managed to grab all the remaining pure multi gold's and put them on his dice, so one of his dice had 4 or 5 sides with high gold on - I generally wasn't rolling more than 1 gold a roll and the opportunity increase those odds much were taken out of my hands before my second turn. Anyway the gold guy, was buying up loads of high value sides each turn - even when he didn't need it - and because it felt like I always got last pick I wasn't feeling all that great about the fairness of player order. In the end the Gold guy accelerated away and won handily.
So my first impression wasn't great and it put me off purchasing it without at least giving it another couple of tries - but thats the way it goes sometimes. I might read the rules some time too, perhaps the guy demoing it got something wrong, or there is strategy to overcome it, hopefully. On one play I'd never claim it's broken, but I didn't enjoy myself as much as I would have liked.
Fair enough. I'm not saying your impressions are wrong, clearly people experience things differently. I just wanted to point out, especially for people browsing the comments, that going first and stacking on gold is not a definite win.. I do hope you give the game another chance because it truly is a fun and nice looking game :)
Rob I would note that the player who stacked lots of gold was not playing very well. Even if you only buy a few Gold faces, it's still easy to get way more than you can possibly use.
Purkis you are bad for my bank balance! Another great video mate :)
I hope your affiliate link is still good! Just used it to get the game. Excited to have it:)
Oh no!!! You've made me doubt my decision not to get this game...I'll have to try it out it seems...should've gotten in that demo at UKGE...
Can't seem to find how many players is best for the game. Would you say that it's a good two player game?
Rod Auger according to one of the comments further up, it's not a good 4 player game, apparently some of the resources had run out at the end of the second turn.
That was a false statement.. It was either there was a mistake with the initial gold allocation or they played it incorrectly. The first player only starts with 4 gold + whatever they roll, which is at most 2 gold. there is definitely quite a number of gold faces and considering you are not allowed to buy the same face on the same turn, it would be impossible to run out of gold faces before the second turn even with 4 players. I own the game and have been playing it with 4 players most of the time.. also stacking on gold is not the best way to win (although there is a way to convert gold to VP), and going out to get some cards is essential. I'd say that the game is definitely more enjoyable with 4 players as you roll your dice more, but it plays pretty well with just 2 players..
So tempted to pick this up in my FLG, but I've too many unplayed games to justify it.
Great review!
Setting this up is going be one kind of a hell...
It actually sets up pretty quick.. the insert is very cleverly designed that as long as you put everything back where it is supposed to go, it will always be ready for play the next time you bring it out. That being said, changing back the dice to its default sides is the one additional step you need to do when cleaning up the table. But even that is not that bad, just have everyone revert their own dice after the game ends, and it should be done pretty quick. My tip to keep the 1 gold faces separated from the rest of the faces during game play. That makes defaulting back the dice easier.
+jazRock13 Yeah, I agree with jazRock13
If I buy a copy of Dice Forge using your link in the description and it doesn't come with that mini-Timmy, I'm gonna riot and report you for false advertising...
Interesting he should mention a "dice hospital" lol.
rattlebones is one of the earlier dice crafting game.
This looks brilliant, looking at a bunch of different games. Trying to pick the best one for my first board, and to try get my girlfriend and group of friends into board games. My short list is the following (including this game): Black Fleet, Photosynthesis, Splendor, Takenoko, Surivie Escape from Atlantis, Islebound and Above and Below. Any suggestions?
Great review btw! Much better than some of the others I've seen on this board game.
do people seriously not know about Rattlebones?
boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150146/rattlebones
it was "dice crafting" 3 years ago and a pretty good game
I'm well aware of Rattlebones. I was using some poetic licence, since Dice Forge has coined the term "dice crafting", and Rattlebones doesn't call itself as such.
I was also very surprised that Rattlebones was not mentioned. Undeserved laurels for Dice Forge, and a missed opportunity to compare. That nitpick aside, this was an excellent video. Enthusiastic, thorough, well shot, well edited.
I saw it in a clearance bin once and passed it by
Yeah I don't think RB is particularly strong as a game, and there is a tool required for removing the dice faces. The only point I wanted to make is that the video strongly implies DF innovated dice crafting when nothing of the sort is true. But DF certainly took the ball and ran with it to create an excellent game.
I forgot about Rattlebones and wanted to mention Blank White Dice, but Blank White Dice was not good anyway and it even wasn't first.
I find exclusively luck based games frustrating so it's good to know that they one probably isn't for me even though it might be cool to play once or twice with friends.
You get to influence your luck though.. I also wouldn't say it is exclusively luck.. For example, I invest heavily on sun shard faces..guess what happens? I'll be rolling mostly sun shard faces.. XD The nice thing is that you are rolling on EVERYONE'S turn, so it eliminates that "one-bad-roll-that-lost-me-the-game" kind of thing that happens on most dice-based games. There are even cards that allow for some extra rolls, which means I'd be getting even more sun shards! I highly suggest that you at least try the game, you might be surprised.. :)
You sir done good review ))) this game look easy and fun to play ,not the heavy engine type :) want to try it
Building dices...0_0 you serious ? actually i agree this is sound exciting , i also like the game design , the artwork is flowing and adjusting every aspect of the game, like cards to a cards place hold..This is a real needed review , i heard your recommendation camarade , you done excellent explication, i solute you :)
excellent review. game looks great, but damn you John, my wallet hates You! I always end up buying the stuff you review.
Very beautiful art design but RNG element is too much for me 😅 this game is better for youngsters!
Great review!