Dicetopia Review
Image: All Or None Games
INTRODUCTION
More often then not, I tend to play board games in the evening as a way to unwind after finishing the chores for the day. As a result, my intellectual capacity for playing more complex board games can at times best be described as non-existent. Enter, stage right Dicetopia: a cyberpunk themed board game for 1 – 4 players designed by Tobias Hall and published by All Or None Games. Could this be the much-needed, nano-infused vitamin injection my online virtual “doctor” prescribed? I mean, to be honest he is more robotic than flesh and blood and he does not hold a medical degree but he does wear a stethoscope so he must be legit. Right?
Full disclosure: A review copy of Dicetopia along with the solo expansion was kindly provided by publisher All Or None Games.
COMPONENTS
I will cop to it, the artwork on the front cover of Dicetopia immediately piqued my curiosity: the icy cool blue tones which contrast with the vivid pink neon lights is truly eye catching. Similar words of praise can be said when describing the dual layered main board where players will assign their dice throughout the course of the game. It may be small in stature, but the city board makes a big impression. The included translucent six-sided dice have a nice feel to them, and the cards are made with a linen finish. I do however have some mixed feelings regarding the character art for the faction leaders. Some of them are great, like for example the robotic Banxa Corporation or the cybernetically enhanced followers of Ewo. But other character portraits have an almost muddy and rushed feel to them, like for instance the Hollows. I also found the overall art and iconography used in the various Mission cards to be somewhat “bland” for the lack of a better word. Ultimately, my criticism of the illustrations is based more on my personal frame of reference rather than any actual shortcomings of the game in question.
OVERVIEW
Digital rendition of a four player game of Dicetopia in progress. Photo: All Or None Games
Welcome to the futuristic city known as Dicetopia, a widespread metropolis built on a foundation of cybernetic implants and shattered dreams. Here, the strong prey on the weak like wolves about to disembowel a flock of sheep. It is like the old saying goes “one man’s death, another man’s bread” and you are most definitely a wolf, hungry for power and influence. As a leader of a criminal syndicate you will take to the streets of Dicetopia, sending out your agents in an attempt to establish control over the various neighbourhoods that make up this dystopian backdrop.
In a game of Dicetopia, players will send out their agents i.e. workers to one of the six city districts in order to collect various resources which are represented as one of three different coloured dice: weapons (purple), information (blue) and money (clear). In addition to exerting area control through the use of worker placement, the game also features dice manipulation as a core game mechanism. A game of Dicetopia lasts six rounds, during which each player will trade one of their workers for a die from the central city board and then activate the special associated with the chosen district. Once every player has deployed all their agents in exchange for dice, the game ends and whoever has the most amount of victory points is declared the kingpin of the underworld known as Dicetopia.
At the start of the game, each player is dealt a faction card along with six tokens representing their agents. Each one of the crime syndicates has a special ability that can be activated once per game, for example the cybernetically enhanced humans of the Ewo Following faction can choose to perform an action of their choice instead of the activated neighbourhood, or the Tuulu Priests who have the ability to re-roll dice on either their own player board or the central main board. In addition to the faction card, each player also receives two Mission cards as part of the set-up. These cards provide end of game scoring opportunities if the player is able to fulfil the listed requirements, they also give you a starting point regarding forming a strategy.
By deploying their Agents i.e. workers to the various neighbourhoods of Dicetopia, players are vying for control against rival gangs. Photo: Fredrik Schulz
Once all the dice has been randomly allocated to the six neighbourhoods, players will take turn exchanging one of their agents with a die from the central board. After selecting a die and placing it on the individual player board, you then perform the action of the chosen district and this is where Dicetopia starts to shine. For it is most certainly the case that this little dice game can become quite vicious, considering the various effects that are available throughout the neighbourhoods. Some actions do not directly intervene with your opponents, like for example the Agency district which allows you to draw a new Mission card and discard old one in hopes of acquiring more lucrative deals and end of game victory points. But other neighbourhoods such as the Nethal Syndicate allows the active player to and I quote “Swap places between two Dice on Faction Boards” end quote.
Playing Dicetopia can sometimes be best described as a knife fight in a phonebooth, where players are constantly jostling back and forth for dominance over the neighbourhoods. For it is also the case that in addition to the Mission cards, each player will score an amount of victory points equal to the sum of all their acquired dice when the game ends. Much like the classic dice-based board game Troyes, being too attached to your precious dice could result in tears as your opponent’s steal them from right under your nose. But despite these design choices which lean towards “take that” territory, the game never feels unfair. This is largely due to the fact that Dicetopia is a level playing field, where every player has the ability to enact sweet revenge to those that have wronged them in the ongoing turf wars.
THE SOLO MODE
Say hello to Steve! He is without a shadow of a doubt the moodiest, most mentally unstable artificial adversary that has graced the solo board game community. When playing Dicetopia in solitaire you will square off against this hulking brute of a man and his rather shall we say erratic modus operandi. Remember in Star Wars episode IV, when Han Solo advised the droids not to upset Chewbacca otherwise the Wookie in question would tear off their arms from their socket? Same principle applies with Steve, only slightly less furry.
The solo mode in Dicetopia consists of a deck of seven cards, each card is divided into three rows that are colour coded from green to red. At the start of Steve’s turn, you will roll a six-sided die which will determine his mood for the current round. Based on the mood track on his faction card, you will then proceed to resolve one of the three corresponding actions on the solo mode card. In addition to bestowing some manner of grief upon you, each row on the solo card also dictates to which neighbourhood Steve is sending his agent. Because this artificial opponent plays for keeps, there will be instances where you find yourself utterly humiliated as a result of Steve’s unpredictable behaviour. But here is the kicker: you can play that game too.
“Steve seems utterly bored, ‘suddenly he mutters ‘Why don’t we just settle this with a fight to the death instead?’” Photo: Fredrik Schulz
Does Steve have a die in his possession that would benefit your grand master plan? Then visit the Nethal Syndicate district which allows you to swap places between two dice on faction boards resulting in you taking Steve’s precious die and, in the process, leaving him with one of your crappy valued die. Does one of Steve’s mission cards reward additional victory points for having a certain numerical value to the dice? Head on over to the Gugu Airforce and re-roll one of his die in the hopes of denying him valuable points at the end of the game. He may fight dirty but so can you, if you want to be the top dog of the criminal underworld known as Dicetopia then prepare to get your hands dirty.
Although the solo cards provide a good portion of comical relief in the form of Steve’s rather unstable state of mind, I did have some difficulty in regard to interpreting certain actions that he wants to perform. Specifically, when he is taking the highest valued die from the central board. There is this notion, that when Steve is acquiring or manipulating dice, he does so according to a “search pattern” which begins in one of the corners of the city board. There were several instances where I found myself reading the text on a solo card repeatedly in order to fully understand how I should execute Steve’s action for the current turn. This could very well be a “me problem” as opposed to an actual fault on the behalf of the solo mode in Dicetopia but it is nevertheless something I experienced on several occasions’ during my playthroughs of the game.
FINAL THOUGHTS
“Dicetopia is a quick strategic board game with heaps of variety about snatching shiny dice loot, taking over neighbourhoods and completing sneaky missions!” These words are printed on the back of the box and they do a perfect job in summarizing the game in question. For it is most definitely the case that although Dicetopia is small in stature, it still manages to provide a relatively meaty experience given the quick playtime. Is it going to set the world on fire? Probably not, after all this is a twenty to thirty-minute board game that operates almost entirely on randomness and to a certain extent also “take that” mechanisms.
And for me that is perfectly fine, because Dicetopia does not pretend to be anything else than what is advertised on the box cover. It clearly states that this is lighter game, a cardboard appetizer to start off the evening before venturing into heavier board game territory. Sure, one could argue that playing Dicetopia is an experience plagued with randomness. That you are unable to form any kind of long-term strategy as a direct result of people messing up your plans and stealing dice to the left and right. And they would be entirely correct in their assessment. But this is a level playing field, everyone has the tools to intervene with their opponents plans and vice versa. Again, it is hard to fault a game that lasts less than half an hour and is totally transparent with the fact that this is a game you play for the accompanying laughs that ensue rather than revelling in strategic depths but to each his own.
I also enjoy the fact that the solo mode has a narrative to it. There were several instances where I found myself laughing out loud over the course of my solo sessions with Dicetopia when revealing Steve’s various actions, which are based on his wild mood-swings. These small snippets of flavour text help to sell the idea that you truly are facing off against a brute who, more likely than not, will break several of your bones regardless of who wins the actual game.
