‘Marvel: Dice Throne’ Board Game Review
Rolling dice has been a fundamental part of gaming culture for hundreds of years. From simple bluffing and betting games to modern games that use dice as workers to drive powerful effects, there’s something about throwing a handful of die onto the table that can evoke excitement in almost anyone. This is especially true of the past few years, since dice have increase dramatically in variety and quality – there are even modular dice featuring in some games these days. With that said, games like the (mostly) 1v1 battler Dice Throne have become increasingly popular, so much so that Roxley Games has now partnered with Marvel to produce Marvel: Dice Throne.
Marvel: Dice Throne was first made available via Kickstarter, where it launched with custom packaging and a set of eight heroes (and villains) to choose from. The retail version (which is what we are reviewing today) comes with a base game box featuring four characters, whilst the other four are available as two separate expansions of two characters each. In the base game are Thor, Loki, Scarlet Witch and Miles Morales Spider-Man. So what is Marvel: Dice Throne then? Well, simply, it’s a game in which two players try to reduce the health of their opponent (which begins at 50) to zero, mainly by rolling dice and upgrading the abilities associated with their character.
If Marvel: Dice Throne were really as simple as that, it would almost certainly lack the depth and scope that enables it to feature eight characters – let alone the twenty-odd that exist outside the specific Marvel variant. Yes, somehow, Marvel: Dice Throne manages to do several interesting things at a purely mechanical level, even before you consider the theme. Firstly, it makes each character feel unique through their various basic abilities (usually activated by dice) and the deck of cards that accompanies them, secondly, it does this whilst remaining very well balanced, and thirdly, it never strays away from being what it is – a dice rolling game.
Take Loki, for example – who we all know is a bit of a trickster. His basic abilities include those which will hurt the enemy directly, but they also include several variants on the use of his “Bag o’ Tricks” which relates to a stack of tokens his character card comes with. When a character receives this bag, then whether they are Loki or not, they will be triggered to roll a die and must accept whatever the outcome is – it might hurt them, it might help them – that’s just how Loki is. Thor, by contrast, is a more straightforward combatant; he can throw Mjolnir (to do one damage) and various abilities allow him to return it, and his abilities generally deal damage (which grows in strength as he channels his thunder) but he has only one defensive ability which can make him vulnerable.
In the core box, Marvel: Dice Throne Scarlet Witch is perhaps the most complex character because she has many status effects that relate to her use of magic. She can power up her own magic to unleash devastating attacks, and she can debuff her opponents. Miles Morales Spider-Man is perhaps the most nuanced character – seeming relatively weak at first, but rapidly impressing with his combo attack (which allows multiple attacks to chain in a single turn) and his ability to restrict opponents with web-based attacks. Whilst I haven’t experienced the other four characters in the specific Marvel metagame, I can say that other character that I have used in Dice Throne more generally have all been very unique, and therefore I expect that the other four Marvel characters will be as well.
Structurally, Marvel: Dice Throne is really simple. Each player chooses one of the characters and takes their pieces – which are all boxed up individually in a lovely GameTrayz insert – and then sets them out. There’s a board detailing all starting abilities, a deck of cards which includes upgrades to those abilities (which simply overlay them) as well as special effects and supplementary powers. Each character has a set of custom dice to match their theme and then there’s a handy guide to explain what any specific abilities do, and to house any tokens (such as Loki’s Bags O’ Tricks.) The overall presentation is second to none really, and this is a fantastic example of how far board games have come since the early 2000’s.
And in terms of how it plays, Marvel: Dice Throne feels very modern and straightforward. Each turn (ignoring the first) begins with Upkeep – where the active player deals with any status effects or specific abilities that list Upkeep as their trigger, and then they take two combat points (or CP.) They then enter the first Main Phase – where they can spend CP to play one or more cards or activate CP abilities (if they want to, and can afford it.) After this, they enter the Roll phase – rolling their dice up to three times and then using them to activate one or more abilities – for example if a certain set of symbols or a straight are rolled, different effects might trigger. If any of these roll’s results in an attack, then the opposing player will be able to use one of the defensive abilities (if they have one) to try and stop some of the damage. Damage is then taken, effects are resolved, then a second Main phase happens followed by the clean-up for the turn.
Play passes like this from player to player until one of the characters reaches zero health – at this point the player who still has health wins. In a multiplayer game, the rules are similar except that players can choose to either target a specific opponent, or simply target the player to their left (which makes the game feel slightly less aggressive and avoids ganging up on one individual.) The great thing about this structure is that it means that each game is over within about 30 minutes – and it’s really simple to then pack all the pieces back into each character tray and either swap them or change one character out for another. There’s real potential here to play several games back to back and have each one feel fresh and interesting thanks to the character variation.
Overall, Marvel: Dice Throne is a really well-made game that succeeds both as an excellent product and as a thoughtfully designed and engaging experience. Players at all skill levels can pick up and play, with experienced veterans definitely having the edge, but the luck of the draw (and especially the roll) being a common denominator that levels the playing field. I love the fact that the game can be expanded both within the Marvel universe and beyond it, and even with just the base four characters, there’s a lot of variety and content to experience. Marvel: Dice Throne is a game that is well worth a look, and it’s pretty unique in terms of how good a product it is, alongside what a fantastic time it offers.
**** 4/5
Marvel: Dice Throne is available online at 365Games.co.uk, or at your local games store. Don’t know where yours is? Try this handy games store locator
