Dice Forge was a happy accidental discovery of ours. We first saw it on Amazon in one of their “what others buy after viewing this item” lists. We were intrigued by the beautiful artwork and the concept of forging your own dice and needed to know more. So off we went to YouTube to see if we could find someone who reviewed the game and to get a true feel for how it played. It was through this game that we also happened upon Rahdo’s YouTube channel but more on that in another blog. Let’s get back to Dice Forge and why we love to get it on our table!
Reinventing the Wheel
As with any dice rolling game, your actions are up to luck of the roll, right? But what if you could upgrade your dice to increase your chances of getting what you really want? That’s exactly what you do here and it is so unique and satisfying! In Dice Forge, you are a hero and you are competing to get the most glory from the gods. Thirteen feats (out of twenty-four possible) lay before you and the magic dice are how you bring in the resources needed to complete these feats and please the gods. It is up to you to choose which feats you want to perform and which you think will give you the edge before the gods.
Keeps Player’s Interested
Game engagement is high! At the beginning of each player’s turn, every player rolls their dice and collects their “divine blessing” (resources). We love the engagement that comes with rolling on everyone’s turn and that it keeps you invested between your turns as you continue to grow your resources for your next turn. We also love that out of all the feats only two of them will negatively affect other players. It’s a refreshing break from games where getting ahead means sabotaging your friends to ensure your own victory.
Quality Storage and Creative Components
The storage in this game is a dream come true! As you can imagine, a game in which you are changing the faces on two dice per player, comes with a lot of pieces. We love how well thought out the insert in the box is and that the box itself is integrated into game play. The upgradeable die faces are beautifully laid out in a double-layered board that comes with a sleeve and strap to ensure that the pieces don’t shift around between plays. The sleeve is printed with a picture of which die face goes where, so clean up moves relatively quickly and every die face will always find its proper home.
The attention to detail in the player boards is incredible as well! They are wonderfully cut out cardboard pieces that perfectly fit their tracking cubes in each square. They also have notches where different feat cards that you are working on can be placed, and a neat interlocking piece that increases your overall potential for resources. The dice and their removable die faces are sturdy and as you pop them on and off there is no fear that you’re about to break them. Nothing about the game feels like it was an afterthought or cheap. Seriously, the components and insert are drool-worthy!
Dice Forge is a beautiful and unique game. We love the ability and power to change our dice faces and how well that is delivered. It’s simplistic in its rules and concept, but there is a delightful challenge to upgrading your dice and choosing your feats. The well thought-out storage of the game pieces is a goal for us as we think about Alynthia and it’s future needs of an insert and storage.