Diceland: Dragons & Diceland Cyburg
From: James Ernest Games
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Diceland: Dragons & Diceland Cyburg is a new Paper Dice Game from James Ernest Games.
A game of unique design, Diceland incorporates the idea of collectible card games into a constructible dice game. There are several version of this game but this review will cover the Diceland game itself and the two review copies I was sent – Dragons and Cyburg.
From the website: “Diceland is a paper dice game that combines aspects of miniatures games, collectible card games, and physical sports.”
The Game: Diceland requires you to construct an army (or fleet) out of the paper 8-sided dice you are given in each pack. The two packs I was given contained 12 constructible dice – enough for 4 players to play. In the packs I was given, there are teams represented with different color borders. These can be played together or mixed together to form your army. Armies are formed by point values.
You designate a playing area, and there are specific rules on how these dice can be thrown into the game play area. Once in game, the die acts like a miniature and moves by flipping the die along its access. Each die represents a character or other entity in the particular game world, be it fantasy, sci-fi or cyberpunk. Each face of the die contains different statistics for the character in different states of play. Each face is subtly different and which side is face up decides what your character is capable of doing that round. There are special effects, defense values, and other stats on each face.
Each turn a player can either throw a die into play or activate his die for action. Activating allows a player to move, attack, or use a special effect. Every die has different abilities, and their game effects are defined in the rulebook.
The only randomization is the face of the die. Attacks are determined by comparing values of attack vs. defense or block. There are three types of attacks – short ranged, long ranged and all ranged. Range is relative, however. For example, short range attacks can be made only on the nearest enemy.
From the website: “Diceland is quick to play, and requires just the right mix of strategy, luck, and skill. ”
Dicelands: Dragons: Dragons is a fantasy setting with four armies of three dice each. Each army includes one Dragon, one Dragon Master, and one second character (either an assistant to the master or a dragonet). This set introduces such abilities like Dragon Master, Thunder Clap, Swamp Gas, and Backfire.
Diceland: Cyburg: Set in an dark urban cyberpunk near-future, the Cyburg pack contains two big teams of cyber warriors. The two teams are the CyCops, (a 7-dice team totaling 43 points) and the HardCell, (a 5-dice team worth 44 points).
In conclusion, Diceland is a clever little game that is an interesting alternative to the much more expensive collectible miniature games out there. There is a wide variety of packs available, from the ones mentioned above to a space version involving starships, a version based on the classic OGRE® and GEV® games from Steve Jackson Games, and others. The art is outstanding. It plays like a miniature game but also has elements of collectibility. The difference here is price and that is an attractive difference.
For more details on James Ernest Games and their new Paper Dice Games “Diceland: Dragons & Diceland Cyburg” check them out at their website http://www.diceland.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Diceland: Dragons & Diceland Cyburg
From: James Ernest Games
Type of Game: Paper Dice Games
Game Design by: James Ernest
Art by: EdH Müller, Salvatore Aiala
Number of Pages: 4
Game Components Included: Several card stock paper dice, some assembly required.
Retail Price: $ 8.95 (US)
Number of Players: 4
Player Ages: 13+
Website: www.diceland.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung