Dice Forge

Game 7 of the “Bailey House Mini Xmas, not quite a marathon but let’s see how we go, Boardgameranza” is “Dice Forge” played by myself and Jack(7) late one evening after everyone else is in bed.

Dice Forge is one of Jack’s favourite games but Toby finds it a little bit too complex so it only comes out on rare “just us” occasions.

“Dice Forge” is a resource gathering “dice building” game with a unique mechanic where you can buy new dice faces from the shop that go onto your customisable dice. It’s a super cool mechanic that works really well.

Players roll dice to gather resources, which they can use to buy new dice faces or cards that grant special powers. The goal of the game is to earn the most victory points after 7 rounds, which are earned by completing quests and purchasing certain cards.

1. Each player starts the game with a set of dice, which have a number of different faces on them (pretty low-powered), each with a different symbol representing a different resource. Gold is used to buy more stuff and rubies and sapphires are used to purchase cards with powers.
2. On a player’s turn, they roll their dice and collect the resources shown on the faces that land up.
3. Players can use their resources to purchase new dice faces or cards from a shared pool. New dice faces can be placed on the player’s dice, replacing existing faces, and can grant additional resources or abilities when rolled.
4. Players can also use their resources to buy cards that have abilities such as giving you extra resources or allowing you to copy the dice rolls of others.
5. The game ends after 7 rounds.

While n the surface it all looks rather complex there is no text to read and as long as there is an adult it’s all very achievable even for a non-reader (will try again with Toby(4) this summer as I reckon he can do it.

There is the right amount of strategy-to-luck ratio trying to work out which face to purchase, which face to replace and which dice to put it on.

Jack(7) and I love this game and if you are looking for something that’s a bit of a step up from a kids’ game but not quite the complexity of some adult games this is a great bet that really captures the imagination.

Component quality is extremely high and it genuinely comes with my favourite insert I have ever encountered in any game and it all packs away beautifully.

This is definitely not for absolute beginner board game kids but if your kids can cope with something like Coraquest they can cope with this.

Did I mention how much I like the amazing insert?