Dice Throne came on the scene in 2018 with their Season 1 box, introducing us to a handful of colorful characters and their engaging fantasy yahtzee gameplay style. Since then Season 1 Rerolled, Season 2, Dice Throne Adventures, and Marvel Dice Throne have all been released. So where’s a good place for new players to start? Read on for our complete Buyer’s Guide!
Season One
Dice Throne: Season One initially came in a fairly standard-sized box consisting of 6 heroes that varied in playstyle and complexity. Players could choose from Barbarian, Moon Elf, Pyromancer, Monk, Paladin, or Shadow Thief (listed in order from most straightforward to most complex). Of the original 6, my 2 favorites are the Barbarian (the only hero with a complexity 1 rating) for his straightforward, no-nonsense playstyle, and the Shadow Thief, who is the complete opposite. Playing the Shadow Thief means using poison, stealing resources, and drawing the game out for as long as possible. Playing as the Barbarian means punching. Hard. Once Dice Throne decided to give each character their own tray, the box got bigger and they added the Ninja and Treant characters and called it Dice Throne Season One: ReRolled. The larger box style that they used from this point on is harder to store on shelves, but nice in that you can grab your two heroes quickly from their own trays and start playing in just a few moments.
Season Two
If Season One was all about fantasy characters, Dice Throne: Season Two gives players their choice of video game and internet mashups with enough choices to please anyone. Season Two also gives us characters with minions or compatriots as well as different powered up tokens and abilities. The Gunslinger and Samurai are the most straightforward (the latter might be one of my favorite choices from this season). The Tactician is reminiscent of enemies from Command & Conquer, utilizing the full weight of his army against you. The Huntress can call on her sabertooth tiger to fight for and defend her as well. The Cursed Pirate might be the most interesting new mechanic and character: she has a double-sided board, and while she does more damage in her cursed state she also takes damage each round. The Artificer is a complex character (6 on the scale) with his many bots and abilities, and the Seraph is so close to Mercy from Overwatch fame that I wonder if they worried about Blizzard’s lawyers. The Vampire Lord is an interesting addition in that it’s probably the darkest character yet, using both vampirism and blood magic to deal damage. Overall, Season Two shows Dice Throne’s ability to continue to make interesting and new characters, and I look forward to seeing what they have in store for Season 3.
Dice Throne Adventures
Dice Throne Adventures is a cooperative expansion for anyone wanting to team up with friends and take on bosses and portals in a dungeon-crawl-type experience. Players will have to work together during portal crawls as they plan out their moves collecting loot, portal shards, and helping each other battle enemies along the way. Boss fights against the Mad King himself or fallen heroes have an AI ruleset to keep things interesting, and conquering them lets players gear up for another run at a portal. I really like the cooperative dungeon crawl feel that Adventures gives, right down to the Diablo-style loot. Being able to get new cards and power up your character sounds like a lot of fun, but I would definitely rank this entry as not a first-buy, but a must for anyone who loves Dice Throne and wants to try it out in a cooperative environment.
Marvel Dice Throne
In 2022, Dice Throne came out with a Marvel Dice Throne Kickstarter, which featured Spider-Man Miles Morales, Loki, Thor, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Black Widow, and Scarlet Witch. Some complaints were levied when the roster was revealed, but I am still nothing but smiles about the crossover. Sure, I’d love to see them come out with another set with classic Avengers, but I also don’t know how different Iron Man with his repulsor blasts and flying ability would be from playing as Captain Marvel with her cosmic blasts and flying ability. In short, the roster we did get is varied and has interesting possible matchups. They also did a good job of making each hero feel unique and incorporated what makes them stand out on the battlefield. For instance, Black Panther passively gains a token called Kinetic Energy, with a limit of 8. At any time he can use Kinetic Energy to increase his damage, or if it ever reaches the stack limit he immediately gains 2 Combat Points, 2 cards, and does 5 damage to an enemy. If playing original or fantasy characters doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you might look into getting a Marvel Dice Throne set or 2, or go all-in on the Battle Chest of all 8 characters.
Where to start?
On Dice Throne’s website, you can get any of the complete Battle Chests containing all 8 characters for Season 1 Rerolled, Season 2, and Marvel, and it’s the only place right now to get Dice Throne Adventures (besides resellers). In a smart move on their part, you can also buy any promo cards from their website that you might have missed out on from old crowdfunding campaigns.
But for anyone just starting out, you might consider picking up a smaller package of 2 or 4 characters (from your FLGS if possible, or online if necessary). It costs a little bit more that way if you end up wanting everything, but then you’re also not stuck with a huge box of regret should it not end up being fun to you. Since they came out with Rerolled, many of the Season 1 and Season 2 characters are available in 2-packs, and the Marvel characters are available in 2 and 4 packs. Dice Throne suggests getting Barbarian vs. Moon Elf for someone’s first box. I would agree with that for Season 1, and suggest Gunslinger vs. Samurai from Season 2 and Captain Marvel vs. Black Panther from Marvel. These sets of characters are the least complex, but by no means any less fun. Players should also feel free to collect, mix, and match up characters as they please, as Dice Throne has done their best to keep the playing field level with each release. Some characters will match up better than others, but you should be able to take a character from any season and match them up with any other release and have a good time.
If you like rolling dice and playing games with dice and cards, there’s a good chance you’re going to like Dice Throne in 1 or many of its iterations. It’s easy to set up and explain, and with the individual trays for each character putting everything away is a breeze. The hardest part? Picking which character to play as.
Review copies were provided for many but not all of the products mentioned here. This guide will be updated as products release and time allows.