We LOVE The Red Cathedral. Have played it at 2, 3, and solo. I think you'd really like it. The number of pips on each die tell you how far you can move it around a rondel and where it lands you pick up resources (and other abilities). Under Falling Skies is one of my favorite solo experiences. I haven't even played the campaign because I enjoy the base game so much. I want to pick up Diced Veggies when it comes out and am curious about Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers. Btw, have you ever played a game called Noctiluca? It's a fun little puzzle-y game that uses loads of colorful dice.
Definitely wanting to play The Red Cathedral and Under Falling Skies very soon! Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers was good but not anything super unique. Draft a die, do something on the sheet. Also this is the second time someone has mentioned Noctiluca in the comments. It has been added to the list for sure! It sounds great. 😊
I’m a huge fan of dice games, happy that you gave Sagrada a default shoutout. Red Cathedral gets a big thumbs up from me played at Dice Tower West. I also want to try Creature Comforts and Under Falling Skies.
Flash Point: Fire Rescue also uses dice to figure out random locations for the fire. It really makes it feel like you are firefighters fighting a wild fire. Very on point with the theme. Excellent game.
I love Flash Point so much! I got it to play with my brother who is a firefighter, but he's not super into board games, so I just play it by myself. 🔥👨🏻🚒
The expansions are such fun, too. You can play as a dog, or play a harder map. Great cooperative game. I don't think the dice mechanism for placing smoke is suffiently different to qualify for the list, though.
Under Falling Skies is so cool. Basically, you place dice in your base that do certain actions. The higher the number, the more power. However, whatever column you place them in, all the alien ships will go down that many spaces. So it's a bit of risk/reward mechanic. There are certain spaces in the the sky where your guns can blast enemy ships, so you might only place a three in a certain column to move the enemy ships down three spaces to ensure they get blasted. There are also white dice... Basically when you use them, you can reroll all remaining dice. And blue robot dice... When you use their value, you subtract one and can use the lower value for free next turn. Really cool puzzle of a game! One of my fave solo games.
The way Under Falling Skies uses dice is great. The same dice that control your actions also control the enemy’s attack. This automatically prevents any particular dice value from being stronger than another. High value dice are great for you, but are also great for the enemy. Low value dice don’t do much for you, but also slow down the enemy.
Wow a lot of cult of the new games here lol. Except Stone Age which is a classic! Woodcraft is ok, but i think Suchys better dice game is Pulsar 2849. If you haven’t played Pulsar, do it! Some good games that use dice with interesting mechanics are Oracle of Delphi, Trismegistus, Bora Bora, Marco Polo 1&2, and Lorenzo il Magnifico. Encyclopedia is so meh lol. Played it once and it was so long at 4 players. Also, the dice mechanic is basically null. You’re always incentivized to choose other players’ dice, so they’re forced to choose your dice and so you get a bonus. The game is basically set collecting colors and habitats.
As someone that got into the hobby in 2019 and REALLY got into it in 2021 I feel like that is understandable. My goal is to experience more older games in the future for sure! I appreciate the recommendations!! 😊
Troyes is a classic: the dice are "drafted", you have to pay to use other players dice. Dice are used to fight off barbarians (almost cooperatively -with a twist), or as workers, which may or may not get to activate. Different and fun.
Pulsar 2849 is a fantastic action selection game that uses dice. The most unique bit about it is the drafting and the resulting turn order selection adjustments.
I brought Creature Comforts to a game night last night and basically said the same thing about player count…no more than 3! :D I have a couple of other dice games you may enjoy and will bring them out to Symposium sometime…Noctiluca which is a lovely, abstract, puzzley game from Shem Phillips, and Cupcake Empire which is a quick-moving economic game with dice worker placement. In both games the dice are central to the game and so nice in completely different ways. 😊
There has been a few mentions about Noctiluca in the comments so far so I would absolutely LOVE to try it! Also anything about cupcakes I'm down to play! 😂👏🏻 They both sound great!
Hey Jenna, I used to work for Alley Cat games (dice theme park/ hospital and eternal palace) and still great friends with them, I’ll have a chat and see if I can hook you up!
Check out Roll Camera! Pretty unique game, with custom dice. Fun co-op game (that can be played solo) where you're trying to make a movie. I like how you have to place the dice when building the film set.
Troyes The Dice Game Sentient The Artemis Project Coimbra Manhattan Project Energy Empire Dinosaur Island RAWR and Write Signorie Fantastic Factories 👍
Encyclopedia is fun but less dice oriented than I woudl've liked, Rajas is excellent, Brew is very fun but simple, Red Cathedral is one of our favourite dice games so thinky and love how much game is in a small box. Tiletum is another game that uses dice in a really fun way!
Wow, castellans of Valeria looks amazing! And I agree about Wayfarers of the south tigris. It's really such a clever mechanism. I have yet to play the game, but I watched some playthroughs.
Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun may be my favorite in this category... Dice can be used to gain resources (based on color) or to take actions. Every two rounds, the obelisk turns, symbolizing the sun moving around it. This may shift the dies' position on the board, changing their ability to be drafted (or not) and shifting balance, pure to tainted or reverse, which affects scoring and turn order. The game is tight and thinky, forcing players to think ahead to predict the sun's effect on the dice.
Interesting picks. From the title, I was expecting more radical use of dice, like in Space Movers 2201 (where you roll the dice one-by-one, trying to whack earlier dice to a result you want). In the somewhat more conventional space, Praetor has a cool system where dice workers gain experience each time you use them, becoming more powerful. But eventually (when they hit 6) they retire, and you have to pay them a pension.
I really like the exposure mechanic in The Artemis Project. Basically, it's a dice worker placement game. There are certain locations where you can place dice to gain resources or additional colonists. A higher die value will reap you greater benefits. However, a lower die value will place you sooner in priority to get those benefits. For instance, if Player A drops a four value die on the Quarry to try and gain four minerals and Player B follows that up with a two value die the two value die will be prioritized. So, if there are only four minerals total Player B will get two and Player A will only get two, essentially losing out on the extra two value from his die. It really makes you think about which dice you want to send where and when to do it. You want to get as much benefit as possible but you don't want to waste any die values. The other game I want to mention is my #1 all-time game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures by IDW Games. It's my #1 mainly for the IP but it is a genuinely good game, also. In this one, you roll character-specific dice, arrange them on your player board, and these dice results will determine your available actions for the round. The unique aspect comes in with dice-sharing. You share dice with the player immediately to your left and right. So, of your three dice you have to think carefully about which die you want in the middle (only you can use it) and which die you want on the left (you and the player to your left will both use it) and which die you want on the right (you and the player on your right will both use it). This essentially gives each character five dice worth of actions you can take and you really ponder over how to arrange them to give each character the actions they need for that round. It's a really simple mechanic that feels very thematic in representing the Turtles' teamwork.
I'm so excited to play The Artemis Project! We almost played it a few weeks back but didn't have time. I'm sure it will get to the table soon! Thank you so much for the recommendations! 😊
@@TheBoardGameGarden Definitely let the Garden know your thoughts if and when you play it! I played a game a couple weeks ago with my Fiancée, who is not a gamer but will happily, willingly, and skillfully play games when I ask her to. She beat me by one point, 32-31! It was a great game and we still make references back to it.
Encyclopedia is great and has very interesting way of using dice indeed. You can either use your dices or steal some from other players but each player, at the beginning of his/her turn decide the benefit associated with each dice, so you usually try to put the dices you want in slot with lesser reward (but also can try to get both the right dice and the bigger reward).
I love they way The Age of Atlantis looks, im a sucker for Atlantis as a theme, but its really hard to get a hold of and I dont care enough to hunt it down when there are so many other games to play
The Red Cathedral is mentioned at 33:13 :-) - and yes - I would also add Marco Polo and .... Lorenzo -> the advantage here, that the dice are for / concern all players. So the fortune is 'eliminated' ... if you understand what I mean 🤔.
I don't comment much, but a few things... Firstly, well great, I have more games added to the ever-growing wishlist 😆 And secondly, The Magnificent. Doesn't seem to get the love it deserves but it's one of my top 3 solo games. Dice worker placement, plus tile laying... and plenty of ways to mitigate dice for a satisfying puzzle. Also helps that it has great organization and is so quick to get to the table within the retail box! I love dice too and think it might be one to look into 🙂
YES! The Magnificent looks amazing and I don't hear many people talk about it! I hope to try it soon. And haha! Sorry about adding more to your list! 😂
Great video. If you are enjoying Roll Player, then you may really like Roll Player Adventures that has combat and skill tests that use dice manipulation in super fun and engaging ways.
All of these are great! Have you tried Herbaceous Sprouts from Pencil First Games? It's about planting different plants in a communal garden. It's really fun! :D
Thanks Bree! I actually tried Teotihuacan on BGA and I totally forgot! It was good! I just didn't know what I was doing most of the time because I started to play without learning. 😂 I do that often with BGA games. I'll have to check out Rise Of Tribes, thanks! 😊
I love how thru out the years they've succeeded in giving the dice another purpose than just roll and move. Out of those games I'd love to play Roll player, Wayfarers and Castellans.
I like Dead Men Tell No Tales! Pirates running around a burning ship and the dice are used to represent the fire level. Not much actual dice rolling other than the setup. Love Merchants Of The Dark Road though and I would have been surprised if that one wasn't on the list. 😁
Also forgot about Noctiluca in which the dice are jellyfish you are trying to get based on their location, color, and number in order to fill jars. There's a solo mode on that one.
We LOVE The Red Cathedral. Have played it at 2, 3, and solo. I think you'd really like it. The number of pips on each die tell you how far you can move it around a rondel and where it lands you pick up resources (and other abilities). Under Falling Skies is one of my favorite solo experiences. I haven't even played the campaign because I enjoy the base game so much. I want to pick up Diced Veggies when it comes out and am curious about Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers. Btw, have you ever played a game called Noctiluca? It's a fun little puzzle-y game that uses loads of colorful dice.
Definitely wanting to play The Red Cathedral and Under Falling Skies very soon! Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers was good but not anything super unique. Draft a die, do something on the sheet. Also this is the second time someone has mentioned Noctiluca in the comments. It has been added to the list for sure! It sounds great. 😊
I’m a huge fan of dice games, happy that you gave Sagrada a default shoutout. Red Cathedral gets a big thumbs up from me played at Dice Tower West. I also want to try Creature Comforts and Under Falling Skies.
Yeah it deserves it! Love Sagrada! 😊 And dang! Everyone is really making me want The Red Cathedral even more!
I came to this list just to make sure Wayfarers was getting the love it deserves...my work here is done :).
It deserves all the love! 😊👏🏻
Flash Point: Fire Rescue also uses dice to figure out random locations for the fire. It really makes it feel like you are firefighters fighting a wild fire. Very on point with the theme. Excellent game.
I love Flash Point so much! I got it to play with my brother who is a firefighter, but he's not super into board games, so I just play it by myself. 🔥👨🏻🚒
The expansions are such fun, too. You can play as a dog, or play a harder map. Great cooperative game. I don't think the dice mechanism for placing smoke is suffiently different to qualify for the list, though.
Under Falling Skies is so cool. Basically, you place dice in your base that do certain actions. The higher the number, the more power. However, whatever column you place them in, all the alien ships will go down that many spaces. So it's a bit of risk/reward mechanic. There are certain spaces in the the sky where your guns can blast enemy ships, so you might only place a three in a certain column to move the enemy ships down three spaces to ensure they get blasted. There are also white dice... Basically when you use them, you can reroll all remaining dice. And blue robot dice... When you use their value, you subtract one and can use the lower value for free next turn. Really cool puzzle of a game! One of my fave solo games.
I love that tension that your solution is also causing you problems.
i just picked up falling skies. going to give it a playthrough tonight
One of my favorite solo games!
This sounds fantastic!! 😊👏🏻 It's definitely one I need to try soon!
The way Under Falling Skies uses dice is great. The same dice that control your actions also control the enemy’s attack. This automatically prevents any particular dice value from being stronger than another. High value dice are great for you, but are also great for the enemy. Low value dice don’t do much for you, but also slow down the enemy.
So many people have been recommending Under Falling Skies in the comments! Thank you. It's now at the top of my list. 😊
Hi, and thanks for your list. What we played few times in the last weeks was The Taverns of Tiefen Thal. Greetings from Germany
Wow a lot of cult of the new games here lol. Except Stone Age which is a classic! Woodcraft is ok, but i think Suchys better dice game is Pulsar 2849. If you haven’t played Pulsar, do it! Some good games that use dice with interesting mechanics are Oracle of Delphi, Trismegistus, Bora Bora, Marco Polo 1&2, and Lorenzo il Magnifico.
Encyclopedia is so meh lol. Played it once and it was so long at 4 players. Also, the dice mechanic is basically null. You’re always incentivized to choose other players’ dice, so they’re forced to choose your dice and so you get a bonus. The game is basically set collecting colors and habitats.
Fuse, Fantastic Factories, Space Base and Dragonwood are all great dice games.
As someone that got into the hobby in 2019 and REALLY got into it in 2021 I feel like that is understandable. My goal is to experience more older games in the future for sure! I appreciate the recommendations!! 😊
CC captions: Wafers of the South Tigress.. 😂
😂👏🏻
Troyes is a classic: the dice are "drafted", you have to pay to use other players dice. Dice are used to fight off barbarians (almost cooperatively -with a twist), or as workers, which may or may not get to activate. Different and fun.
Gang of Dice is the best dice game I have played in a long while. Highly recommend.
Pulsar 2849 is a fantastic action selection game that uses dice. The most unique bit about it is the drafting and the resulting turn order selection adjustments.
Here's a couple of other dice game recommendations: Dice Forge & Unearth
Rajas of the Ganges uses dice on so many ways there aren't any bad rolls
I brought Creature Comforts to a game night last night and basically said the same thing about player count…no more than 3! :D
I have a couple of other dice games you may enjoy and will bring them out to Symposium sometime…Noctiluca which is a lovely, abstract, puzzley game from Shem Phillips, and Cupcake Empire which is a quick-moving economic game with dice worker placement.
In both games the dice are central to the game and so nice in completely different ways. 😊
There has been a few mentions about Noctiluca in the comments so far so I would absolutely LOVE to try it! Also anything about cupcakes I'm down to play! 😂👏🏻 They both sound great!
I love Tiletum. I like dual-use dice.
Hey Jenna, I used to work for Alley Cat games (dice theme park/ hospital and eternal palace) and still great friends with them, I’ll have a chat and see if I can hook you up!
No way! Thank you so much! 🥰 I really appreciate that. Would love the opportunity to try them and share my thoughts.
My favorite game with unique dice mechanisms is Coimbra 👍 Nice video!
I've heard many great things! Thanks Billy! 😊
Red Cathedral 👍👍👍
Check out Roll Camera! Pretty unique game, with custom dice. Fun co-op game (that can be played solo) where you're trying to make a movie. I like how you have to place the dice when building the film set.
Troyes The Dice Game
Sentient
The Artemis Project
Coimbra
Manhattan Project Energy Empire
Dinosaur Island RAWR and Write
Signorie
Fantastic Factories
👍
Encyclopedia is fun but less dice oriented than I woudl've liked, Rajas is excellent, Brew is very fun but simple, Red Cathedral is one of our favourite dice games so thinky and love how much game is in a small box. Tiletum is another game that uses dice in a really fun way!
Wow, castellans of Valeria looks amazing! And I agree about Wayfarers of the south tigris. It's really such a clever mechanism. I have yet to play the game, but I watched some playthroughs.
Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun may be my favorite in this category... Dice can be used to gain resources (based on color) or to take actions. Every two rounds, the obelisk turns, symbolizing the sun moving around it. This may shift the dies' position on the board, changing their ability to be drafted (or not) and shifting balance, pure to tainted or reverse, which affects scoring and turn order. The game is tight and thinky, forcing players to think ahead to predict the sun's effect on the dice.
Interesting picks. From the title, I was expecting more radical use of dice, like in Space Movers 2201 (where you roll the dice one-by-one, trying to whack earlier dice to a result you want). In the somewhat more conventional space, Praetor has a cool system where dice workers gain experience each time you use them, becoming more powerful. But eventually (when they hit 6) they retire, and you have to pay them a pension.
I love Roll for the Galaxy for using dice for worker placement, planet goods, and ships.
19:50 That looks like it is based on Mendel's discovery of genetics! He worked on pea plants like that.
I really like the exposure mechanic in The Artemis Project. Basically, it's a dice worker placement game. There are certain locations where you can place dice to gain resources or additional colonists. A higher die value will reap you greater benefits. However, a lower die value will place you sooner in priority to get those benefits. For instance, if Player A drops a four value die on the Quarry to try and gain four minerals and Player B follows that up with a two value die the two value die will be prioritized. So, if there are only four minerals total Player B will get two and Player A will only get two, essentially losing out on the extra two value from his die. It really makes you think about which dice you want to send where and when to do it. You want to get as much benefit as possible but you don't want to waste any die values.
The other game I want to mention is my #1 all-time game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures by IDW Games. It's my #1 mainly for the IP but it is a genuinely good game, also. In this one, you roll character-specific dice, arrange them on your player board, and these dice results will determine your available actions for the round. The unique aspect comes in with dice-sharing. You share dice with the player immediately to your left and right. So, of your three dice you have to think carefully about which die you want in the middle (only you can use it) and which die you want on the left (you and the player to your left will both use it) and which die you want on the right (you and the player on your right will both use it). This essentially gives each character five dice worth of actions you can take and you really ponder over how to arrange them to give each character the actions they need for that round. It's a really simple mechanic that feels very thematic in representing the Turtles' teamwork.
I'm so excited to play The Artemis Project! We almost played it a few weeks back but didn't have time. I'm sure it will get to the table soon! Thank you so much for the recommendations! 😊
@@TheBoardGameGarden Definitely let the Garden know your thoughts if and when you play it! I played a game a couple weeks ago with my Fiancée, who is not a gamer but will happily, willingly, and skillfully play games when I ask her to. She beat me by one point, 32-31! It was a great game and we still make references back to it.
Encyclopedia is great and has very interesting way of using dice indeed. You can either use your dices or steal some from other players but each player, at the beginning of his/her turn decide the benefit associated with each dice, so you usually try to put the dices you want in slot with lesser reward (but also can try to get both the right dice and the bigger reward).
I instantly thought of Monster Lands and Teotihuacan ...love both of those.
I love they way The Age of Atlantis looks, im a sucker for Atlantis as a theme, but its really hard to get a hold of and I dont care enough to hunt it down when there are so many other games to play
I'd add to your list, two games:
The Red Cathedral and The Voyages of Marco Polo.
What do you think about them?
The Red Cathedral is mentioned at 33:13 :-) - and yes - I would also add Marco Polo and ....
Lorenzo -> the advantage here, that the dice are for / concern all players. So the fortune is 'eliminated' ... if you understand what I mean 🤔.
Excited to eventually try both! 😊
I love Wayfarers of the South Tigris! Also Sagrada is a good one too. Have a nice day!
Euphoria and Unearth also have very interesting dice mechanics.
Wreck Raiders also from KTBG makes interesting use of its dice.
Great video🙂 I think Tumble town also fits here.
Too Many Bones is great, but can be time consuming.
I don't comment much, but a few things...
Firstly, well great, I have more games added to the ever-growing wishlist 😆
And secondly, The Magnificent. Doesn't seem to get the love it deserves but it's one of my top 3 solo games. Dice worker placement, plus tile laying... and plenty of ways to mitigate dice for a satisfying puzzle. Also helps that it has great organization and is so quick to get to the table within the retail box! I love dice too and think it might be one to look into 🙂
YES! The Magnificent looks amazing and I don't hear many people talk about it! I hope to try it soon. And haha! Sorry about adding more to your list! 😂
Circadians First Light. A dice worker placement game published by Garphill games and designed by S J Macdonald.
OHHH! I didn't know this one had dice worker placement! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Great video. If you are enjoying Roll Player, then you may really like Roll Player Adventures that has combat and skill tests that use dice manipulation in super fun and engaging ways.
Roll Player Adventures if definitely one we want to try! Both Francis and I really enjoy Roll Player. 😊👍🏻
All of these are great! Have you tried Herbaceous Sprouts from Pencil First Games? It's about planting different plants in a communal garden. It's really fun! :D
I haven't but I really want to!
My favorite game in this category is Rise of Tribes! Never seen another game even similar. Also worth checking out Teotihuacan.
Thanks Bree! I actually tried Teotihuacan on BGA and I totally forgot! It was good! I just didn't know what I was doing most of the time because I started to play without learning. 😂 I do that often with BGA games. I'll have to check out Rise Of Tribes, thanks! 😊
I love how thru out the years they've succeeded in giving the dice another purpose than just roll and move. Out of those games I'd love to play Roll player, Wayfarers and Castellans.
Same!! 😊
I think roll for the Galaxy has to be included here. Dice are phase selection, currency, and resources. They just do everything in the game
That's been one I've been wanting to try. That and Race For The Galaxy. 😊👍🏻
Cubitos seems like a glaring omission: hundreds of dice, plenty of fun!
Very true! Why didn't I include Cubitos?! I totally forgot about that one! I've played it twice and really enjoyed it. Thanks for reminding me. 😊
I like Dead Men Tell No Tales! Pirates running around a burning ship and the dice are used to represent the fire level. Not much actual dice rolling other than the setup. Love Merchants Of The Dark Road though and I would have been surprised if that one wasn't on the list. 😁
Also forgot about Noctiluca in which the dice are jellyfish you are trying to get based on their location, color, and number in order to fill jars. There's a solo mode on that one.
@@fan243dd7 Ohhh I saw this one! It looks gorgeous!
First comment!
Are you still going to do an unboxing/review of the new Castles of Burgundy??
I'm sure you already saw the video but it is up now! 😊 I'm also doing a re-boxing and organization video this week for it as well.
Excited to watch, Jenna.