Enlarge image
»Swop«: 66 dice in eleven colors
Photo: Maren Hoffmann / DER SPIEGEL
»Swop«: colorful brain burner
A dice game in which you don't roll dice: "Swop" is pure tactics.
At the beginning, the 66 colorful dice are tipped out and randomly distributed on the board.
A beautiful eye-catcher!
But the fun colors are deceptive, because now the brainstorming begins.
In each turn you can swap the position of two dice.
This way you can create new combinations that will bring you more points the smarter you are.
The supreme discipline is the “Swop”, in which six dice form a straight, a double or two groups of three.
It really gets a lot of points when several qualifying groups are formed through the exchange.
This sounds easy and can be learned very quickly.
But as easy as the rules are, maximizing points is difficult.
In the rules booklet, the author couple presents an example of how “swapping two dice can create up to eight new sequences.”
But you yourself have not yet succeeded in doing so.
In the master game, the colors of the dice also come into play.
Unfortunately, I have to admit: I've rarely felt as horribly stupid as I did during "Swop."
I don't see any existing or possible combinations particularly well.
My brain tries, but fails time and time again.
I can't even excuse myself with a lack of luck because the luck factor is almost zero.
You constantly feel like you could have done more, but at some point you give up.
If you are unlucky enough that other players tend to have option paralysis, you should insist on a turn timer.
Otherwise it could take forever.
Nevertheless: Among the abstract games, this is a very successful one - and you should particularly train the muscles that you use least often.
At its core, “Swop” is a solo or two-player game, but you can also organize yourself into teams.
The game is sold on the homepage of the publisher Biwo Spiele.
By Otmar Bettscheider and Karin Herrmann, for one to four people aged eight and over, around 30 to 45 minutes per game,
Hand on it:
Sudoku conquerors, chess players, numbers people
Stay away:
people who have difficulty recognizing patterns and gut players
»Kniffel for one«: a completely new dice feeling
Sometimes you would like to play something nice and simple, but you can't find any other players.
Then you play something like “Candy Crush” on your cell phone.
You can do it, but it's also nice if you set the table nicely and rediscover an old game all by yourself.
Most people are probably familiar with “tricks”: you throw five dice up to three times and write the results strategically on a piece of paper.
Ever since I got to know “Pretty Clever,” which is now available in several versions on the market, I never thought that the good old “Kniffel” could grab me again.
But this solo version is really something special.
You play a campaign in which there are new tasks from time to time and in which you have to manage your own dice.
This gives the old idea a completely new twist - and it's surprisingly exciting to see whether and how well you make it through the round.
You enter the results in a campaign book so that you can even compete with other solo players at a different time.
By Reiner Knizia, for one person aged eight and over, around 20 minutes per game
Hand on it:
mobile phone game fans who want to go on digital withdrawal
Stay away:
People who have little interest in abstract games
»Fiddles«: Short game for rule minimalists
Two dice, a pencil, a piece of paper – and off we go: “tinkering” is a kind of “trick”, only shorter and with a special trick.
There are nine squares on the piece of paper, each with four fields, into which everyone writes the numbers rolled in each round: either in two connected blue fields or in any free white fields.
When all fields are filled with numbers, the game ends.
If you like it more challenging, play with the colorful back, then you still have to pay attention to the colors of the fields.
Of course, a lot of it is a matter of luck.
But there is also a little bit of tactics involved.
At the end, all squares on the sheet are scored; points are awarded for pairs, doubles, straights (i.e. four consecutive numbers) or different numbers.
The highlight: If you have something of each variety, you get extra points.
Not very complex, but that's exactly why it's relaxing - as a little game snack in between or as a nightcap after a bigger game.
It's nice that everyone is on it at the same time.
This means that even large groups can play a quick round.
By Jannik Walter and Reinhard Staupe, for one to 15 people aged eight and over, around 15 minutes per game
Hand on it:
relaxed stomach players
Stay away:
Ambitious strategists
“Sugar cubes”: Tasty teasing
Sweets, gummy bears, lollipops: all the task cards that are put on the table look sweet, but it doesn't really matter.
The topic is completely arbitrary, it could just as easily be about beetles, planets or cars.
Apart from that, the very interactive dice game is entertaining fun for anyone who likes to annoy their fellow players and is looking for a game that can be explained in two minutes.
There are always a few task cards that we compete for: for example, a full house with three and two of the same dice, the highest total or even a certain number of points.
It's your turn to distribute your dice among the cards so that he or she completes the task - and from then on you have to worry that someone else will complete the task even better by using more or higher dice.
Then you get your own dice back without scoring any points.
If your dice are still on the card the next time it is your turn, you pocket the card.
This is how you collect victory points.
Joker cards can help you get lucky.
“Cube Sugar” plays fluffy, fast and dynamic – and it rarely lasts just one round.
By Sophia Wagner, for two to four people aged eight and over, around 30 minutes per game
Hand on it:
people who like to annoy others
Stay away:
People who don't like being teased
“Terraforming Mars – the dice game”: planet dicing
Warning, now it gets a little more complex.
The first four games in this text have few rules and are all ideal for beginners.
This one is more for more experienced players who aren't afraid to read a few pages of rules before playing and get their bearings.
Anyone who gets involved will be rewarded with an exciting game in which you can even control the amount of luck yourself.
The game is an offshoot of “Terraforming Mars” in which you gradually make the planet habitable through cards that you play, collect and use.
This is how you collect points.
This dice version captures the original atmosphere of the game well, but the games are significantly shorter and often more dynamic.
But chain hoists are also in demand here, the interaction between the players is rather low;
everyone builds their own card machine.
We all want to put as many good cards of our own into our display as possible.
But that comes at a cost: we have to spend resources on it.
This is where the dice come into play, which show different symbols.
Which one you get is a matter of luck.
We can help with certain actions, change dice or turn them to the desired side.
We do this until at least two of the three Mars parameter scales - water, oxygen, heat - reach the maximum value.
In each turn we have to decide whether we want to take action on Mars or produce new resources.
As with the base game, the many cards offer a wealth of tactical options: some bring resources, others instant effects or special actions.
It's a matter of taste whether you prefer to risk more and trust your own luck with the dice.
You can also play it safe and build a card machine that can reliably manipulate dice.
The rules are excellently written down and pleasingly coherent.
A good solo variant is included.
By Jacob Fryxelius and Daniel Fryxelius, for one to four people aged ten and over, around 45 to 60 minutes per game
Hand on it:
planners, designers, mechanical engineers
Stay away:
interaction lovers
,
communication players
,
dice luckers
“Too Many Bones”: Attention, nerd alert
Sixteen circles on a board measuring just 23 by 25 centimeters on which you move round chips around: Sounds like a nice little game for in between, doesn't it?
Far from it, because the “dice adventure,” as it says in the subtitle, pretty much marks the upper end of complexity that a game can achieve.
But it is also undoubtedly one of the best expert games.
In English, "Too Many Bones" (TMB) has a loyal fan base who hotly discuss every character in the game in forums, compare strategies and exchange ideas about the many expansions.
We play cooperatively against a horde of villains.
We are the Gearlocs, rather petite heroes who try together to free their country from evil creatures.
Heroes and villains are represented by a stack of life point chips.
If you are weakened in combat, your stack becomes smaller, and if you no longer have any life points, you have to leave the battlefield.
Seven different tyrants can compete against us, accompanied by a plethora of bad henchmen.
The many possible combinations increase the appeal of replaying.
Each of the four player characters has unique skill dice that he or she can acquire and use throughout the game.
Of course, you are not immune to mistakes.
Sometimes the dice only show bones (hence the name of the game, which translates to "too many bones"), but we can collect even those and use them for an individual backup plan.
There are a wealth of tactical options.
We have to work well together to defeat the respective final boss.
Event cards, treasure chests, special items and conditions make the game an adventure with many surprises.
The fact that it feels so thematic and atmospheric despite the abstract feel of the game board is also due to the well-told story that gradually unfolds through the event cards.
The material is beautiful and very sturdy.
The cards are made of PVC, the play mats are made of neoprene, the chips from which we stack heroes and villains, and the 139 special dice are made of heavy plastic.
You could probably play TMB underwater without any problem.
Not that you often find yourself in this situation, but better safe than sorry.
By Adam Carlson and Josh Carlson, for one to four people aged 12 and over, around 90 to 120 minutes per game
Hands on:
Experienced strategy players with a penchant for strange topics, lovers of games with lots of expansions, fans of luxury haptics
Stay away:
beginners, rule haters, complexity refusers