Tales of a GM is running the 12 Days of Dicember, a project dedicated dice in all their randomized glory. The question for the third day of Dicember is “What is your favourite dice game?”
My hands-down favorite is Zombie Dice (website/Amazon) by Steve Jackson Games. It’s a push-your-luck game in which the players are zombies trying to catch humans and eat their brains before the aforementioned humans either run away or kill the zombies with shotguns. I first played it as a pick-up game at MEPACon while waiting for a session to start.
I ended up getting the game for Christmas and played it with my kids. My son loved it (my daughter less so, something about disliking the undead). Then we spent Christmas vacation with my parents and my son introduced it to his cousins … who also loved it. It’s been a staple of Newquist gaming ever since. You can read my review on Nuketown.
My son wasn’t scared/unnerved by the undead angle, but if your kids might be, check out Dino Hunt (website/Amazon). It’s the same basic mechanic but involves humans catching dinosaurs.
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A small portion of my dice hoard. Credit: Ken Newquist
Hi Ken,
Another great entry, thanks.
I like the sound of “push-your-luck” dice games. That would work well with our young family. As you suggest, the boys may not take to the zombie theme, so I will take a look at Dino Hunt.
Great recommendation
Phil
Thanks! It is a cool mechanic. I like how it forces the kids to think through the decision of whether to push their luck or not. You’ve got three brains (or dinos), but you need another six to catch up with — and pass — your cousin. She might win on the next turn if she can get another brain. So what do you do? Play it safe with the three brains you have in hand? Or push your luck and hope to win it all?
Surprisingly there was very little crying with these games (unlike *Munchkin*, which often leads to pleading and recriminations). I think part of that is how fast the game goes; you can easily play a game in a few minutes, so the kids know they’ll have another chance as soon as this game is over.