HoNoToGroABeMo Day Thirty-One: It Is Done
6 years ago
6:49 AM
I thought I'd do a series on games where the physical pieces determine the mechanics-- by that the physical relationship of the pieces to each other, how they move (usually miniatures style) is actual rather than representational. To begin, we have:
Diceland is a series of Paper Dice combat games published by CHEAPASS GAMES. I bought only the OGRE set, so my comments are based on that, though I hear all games have similar mechanics with some custimization due to theme.
The pieces, as you might have already have figured out, are octahedral paper dice. In OGRE, you have one big-ass die (the OGRE) versus several teeny and medium sized die (the other guys). The game is licensed by SJG and designed to imitate the classic microgame of the same name.
The game has some innovative touches. You actually TOSS items on the table from a pre-determined height to bring them into play,and that's kind of an important thing (like.. dice, gitit?). The initial toss indicates your position and angle to the target. The point of the angle on each triangular tip of the dice side is WHERE YOUR WEAPON IS POINTING (clever, neh?)
If the target is within a certain range and in sight line to the end of the triangle, combat may ensue. This is a simple comparison of attack versus defense, and the defense loses (gets killed). That's the part I find a tad too simplistic. Of course, on the OGRE, it's the "system" that dies, not the whole, entire tank.
Movement is pretty cool... you push on a yellow dot at the edge of the point of the triangle, and the the side of the dice piece rolls over, moving the die forward or backward.
I've played the OGRE versus the other guys as a solitaire game, and the OGRE whomped them. I think there are not enough other guys to kill the OGRE in the mix that ships with the game. On the other hand, there are now singles available directly from Cheapass.
In general, I enjoyed the game and would like to see a GEV version done, but I suspect the sales have been flat or we might have seen it already.
The game itself is fairly innovative but I would tinker with the mechanics (naturally!!!) to make the combat closer to OGRE/GEV. At the price, DICELAND OGRE is certainly affordable and it won't break the bank to check it out.
Image from BoardGameGeek
Diceland: Rollin' tetrahedrons..
Diceland is a series of Paper Dice combat games published by CHEAPASS GAMES. I bought only the OGRE set, so my comments are based on that, though I hear all games have similar mechanics with some custimization due to theme.
The pieces, as you might have already have figured out, are octahedral paper dice. In OGRE, you have one big-ass die (the OGRE) versus several teeny and medium sized die (the other guys). The game is licensed by SJG and designed to imitate the classic microgame of the same name.
The game has some innovative touches. You actually TOSS items on the table from a pre-determined height to bring them into play,and that's kind of an important thing (like.. dice, gitit?). The initial toss indicates your position and angle to the target. The point of the angle on each triangular tip of the dice side is WHERE YOUR WEAPON IS POINTING (clever, neh?)
If the target is within a certain range and in sight line to the end of the triangle, combat may ensue. This is a simple comparison of attack versus defense, and the defense loses (gets killed). That's the part I find a tad too simplistic. Of course, on the OGRE, it's the "system" that dies, not the whole, entire tank.
Movement is pretty cool... you push on a yellow dot at the edge of the point of the triangle, and the the side of the dice piece rolls over, moving the die forward or backward.
I've played the OGRE versus the other guys as a solitaire game, and the OGRE whomped them. I think there are not enough other guys to kill the OGRE in the mix that ships with the game. On the other hand, there are now singles available directly from Cheapass.
In general, I enjoyed the game and would like to see a GEV version done, but I suspect the sales have been flat or we might have seen it already.
The game itself is fairly innovative but I would tinker with the mechanics (naturally!!!) to make the combat closer to OGRE/GEV. At the price, DICELAND OGRE is certainly affordable and it won't break the bank to check it out.
Image from BoardGameGeek
